The Eggnog Chronicles

A charming little piece of lighthearted chick lit only slightly spoiled by the totally surprising and very descriptive sex scenes in each of the three vignettes. This book is about 3 women -- 2 sisters and a great friend. The sisters, Ricki and Jane, lost both parents -- first their dad to a heart attack, and then their mom to cancer. The relationship between the sisters is just beautiful. I love the way this author writes the part when Jane calls to give Ricki some upsetting news: "'Oh, Janey. . . .' Her voice was fraught with that familiar catch, the flicker of pain that I'd come to recognize over the years when girls in the third grade were making fun of her, when she'd skinned her knee in the park, when a teenage boy had lied to talk her into having sex, when our father had fallen to the table with chest pains and never recovered. It was my job to keep that sound from Ricki's voice, my job to protect her." In Ricki's story, there is a great description about God: "I don't completely subscribe to the notion that God is only prsent in churches, but when your heel scrapes along the stone floor of a cathedral, the air thick with incense and watery light sifted through stained glass, it's clear that God is there. ...so I'd knelt down and prayed to the God who is bigger than any cathedral ..." It already sounds more substantive than most chick lit, no? This book had 3 likeable, interesting women, and their stories alone were sufficient for the book. The sex scenes were so random and unnecessary. It's not like it's a book about sex. This writer is better than that, and I was a bit disappointed. Not because I can't read a book with a sex scene. But because they were unnecessary, unnecessarily graphic, and added nothing. I should note that I did not read this book during the Christmas season, which may or may not have affected how "Christmas-y" it seemed to me.

This book tells the story of three women over three holiday seasons. Each story is told in the first person. The first is Jane and she is debating over her career and choice in men. She also finds out that she has a a thyroid condition, which causes her to examine her life so far. The next story involves her sister, Ricki, who has moved down to North Carolina to be with her boyfriend-who is still married. This was my favorite character in the book. She realizes that the life she has there with her friends and business is better than the one with her SO! The third story revolves around Emma who is a friend of the sisters. She and her SO are trying to get pregnant. He goes out of town on Thanksgiving and her ex pops by and something happens. A few weeks later at a X-mas party, she does the pregnany test and its positive! I won't give up what happens, but this is a cute book that has a few sex moments and a good holiday message.

A friend recommended this book knowing that I am a fan of Christmas books such as SKIPPING CHRISTMAS and SHEPHERDS ABIDING. I love these heartwarming stories (when they're not too religious) and EGGNOG CHRONICLES delivers on so many levels. I related to the three women in their individual stories, really felt for them, and loved the Christmas atmosphere and the sense of community in the beach town as well as New York City. If you enjoy reading a great holiday story about the bond between friends with a few laughs thrown in, this is the read your looking for!