Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Love - Book Review

Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Love by Robert Marro Jr.
Publication: November 5, 2024
Pages: 368 pages
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars ☆☆☆☆
Sweet Spark: Could Scrooge really just have happily ever after once Marley and the ghosts left? Or did he truly have the change of heart to want to fix what he'd messed up in his previously miserly life?

I meant to watch the 1950s movie that this continuation was based off, but never quite got to it (I'm way more of a reader than a watcher...). With that said, my very general knowledge of A Christmas Carol was plenty to be familiar with the characters in this great follow-up. 

We've got Scrooge and Cratchitts, but several years have passed. There's a whole new generation of Cratchitts, and good ole Bob's son is at risk of being just as greedy as Scrooge was back in the day. Luckily, Scrooge's heart is truly changed, and he wants to prevent this path for his now-close friend's family. In familiarizing himself with their situation, he also encounters his previous love, Alyce, who left him for his selfish, greedy ways. Because, of course he does!

Scrooge knows that being blustery and trying to prove to everyone how he has changed will never work - it would only show him to be eternally selfish and look like he only changed for them to appreciate it. And that's not what happened. 

The lessons that Scrooge learned from Marley go on to benefit several groups that Scrooge finds it within his power to influence. 

What could probably have been summed up in a much shorter fan-fiction was developed into an enjoyable novel. Scrooge's life and business changed, and so did his whole way of seeing the world. He knows that while something may be right, he can't control or buy everything he wants, even if he's rich enough. The book earned 4 out of 5 stars and was a great progression of a classic holiday story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my free copy of this ebook. Receiving the book for free did not influence my opinions or review. 

HoHoHo Holiday Haiku Challenge WINNER!!

Yay! The HoHoHoRAT2024 was so much fun! I saw lots of posts with some great holiday reads - thanks to everyone who participated and shared. 

As an elf, I hosted the Holiday Haiku challenge :) Thanks to those who shared your creative haikus. I gave the list of participant numbers to my husband to pick the lucky winner, and he chose my lucky number, 13!

Congrats to Melissa the Reading Nerd for her winning haiku:

Jesus' Birthday, Hooray!

Such a glorious time of year

I am exhausted

Melissa won a $15 Amazon gift card from me! Congratulations!!

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - December 1, 2024: Happy December

Wow! Was November over in a blink or what?!? I finished packing the kids' advent jars this morning (but bought the last of the treats yesterday). A four-day weekend sounds cool, til you realize that Thanksgiving Thursday was for family, Friday was more of the same, Saturday was recovering from Thursday & Friday, and now Sunday is everything I should have done for the last three days, plus dreading Monday. Yay?

I'm back for another great Sunday to regroup with Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer and Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz. It's the last couple days of the HoHoHo Holiday Readathon with Caffeinated Reviewer. Join the main challenge, and then there are seven great challenges at different sites for participants to win even more prizes! My challenge is a Holiday Haiku - join the challenge, then come back to enter.

What I'm reading this week:

I finally finished Lightborne: A Novel by Hesse Phillips. It was an enlightening novel about Christopher Marlowe - a playwright contemporary of Shakespeare. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars. Watch for my review soon at Books I Think You Should Read. I'm partway through Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Love on my kindle, and deciding on my next print book read... maybe Side Effects are Minimal or Damaged Beauty: Joey Superstar. We'll see!

Three Good Things:

1. My sister-in-law's sister read my tarot cards on Friday, and said all good things. I really needed to hear that. I have applied for (IIRC) nine different jobs this year. The first internal application was the most soul-crushing. I applied for a job I'd discussed with my managers before as a natural progression into the part of the job I really like the most. I applied in February, was told by my managers that their approvals were in place and everything was fine... then heard nothing. Two new people were hired to that team in early spring. Last week I got an email from the recruiter that they'd decided to move forward with another candidate. Ya think? Anyway. my reading said I'm doing everything right and my good outcomes are on their way within the next few months.
2. I got the kids' advent jars together in time! I posted a picture of these before, and explained that I fill the small baby food jars with a treat for each day in December. I try to make it stuff the kids will be happy to open, not just the same chocolates already in the candy dish. Today they each opened a mini Funko pop. They both got tiny Disney characters which are part of four-packs they'll see as they open  more jars. None of us is exactly sure when we'll open them each day, as ideally we should all be home to do it. They may send me pictures sometimes instead, as I leave earlier than they're usually awake. We'll make it work.
3. Weird for a good thing, but I think I forgot I hadn't had enough caffeine yesterday. I felt pretty blech all day yesterday, and hubby was blaming the fruit wine from Friday, but then I actually kept feeling worse. I went to bed a little after 6pm and slept til 9 this morningj and woke up realizing I only had one can of soda yesterday. Work and life have had me consuming several times that each day for a while. I think I found the culprit. :eyeroll:

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. A few posts ago I bragged that my holiday cards were designed, ordered, and even delivered! Now I need to address and mail them. I get paid Friday, so that will be my time to get postage. I think I'll look online today for fast & cheap return address labels. I regularly get them from charities, but usually pitch them to reduce clutter...
2. I have yet to pick up one of my old counted cross-stitch kits to work on. It's still on the list.
3. I finished my Cruella & Maleficent Lego BrickHeadz, now I just have my bonsai set left that is not yet assembled. Maybe next weekend? I do like the therapeutic value of Legos. I'm able to forget my worries for a bit while I focus on the directions. I read an article that said things like that (I think their example was knitting) is good for the soul because you're not focused on the stressful things, and then you have something to show for your time and effort...

My Holiday Wish List - Day 12 - 2024

There's a few make up things I use regularly, and they all need to be restocked in my bathroom ;)

For full-coverage foundation, I love my Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Wear (it's the one with the black top). It also is SPF 15, if including that or not is an option. My shade is 110C, but the Lancome website says that is currently out of stock! I originally got mine at Ulta.

I got the Winky Lux White Tea Tinted Moisturizer at Target. It is SPF 30, so I wear it quite a bit especially in summer. Unfortunately, their bottle doesn't say what shade it is! I would be either Fair or the next 'darker' (which still is pretty pale) one.

Lastly, I also got my Tarte Tubing Mascara at Ulta. It's the purple tube, with black mascara, and I generally get waterproof, if that's an option (I can't even read the tiny label on the bottom).

My Holiday Wish List - Day 11 - 2024

First of all, the slippers earlier on my wish list have become urgent! One of my slippers disappeared on Saturday night. Yes, I realize that sounds ridiculous. We don't have a dog, and my cats have never been the sort to steal anything larger than a hairband. So where is my right slipper!???

Anyway, while slippers are on my list every year, so are compression socks <3 I'm perpetually cold all winter, and the squeezy socks just feel so good! Facebook showed me some new ones a little bit ago, and they look so fun! CrazyCompression.com has single pairs, as well as three, four and five packs, available in standard or wide sizes. I think the standard would be fine. My shoe size says I should wear a Sm/Md. The aqua cute sloths are adorable, and the Super Mom pack has an amazing looking comic print included! 

My Holiday Wish List - Day 10 - 2024

This one was started by my kids. My daughter especially loves these Needoh squishies. I like borrowing the more firm ones the most, so I think that's the Dream Drop and the Ice Cube. Maybe more, but when I asked her which ones were most firm, she said I should search Tik Tok. I am not falling for that. As soon as I search, I'm sure most of my videos will suddenly be about Needohs, and then I'll just need them more. 

If you get what I'm trying to say, leave me a comment with which of the firm Needohs are your favorite!

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - November 24, 2024: The Girl Lives

And that's a wrap! Last night was the fourth and final performance of my daughter's high school's production of Little Women. OMG. They were so, so amazing. I tend to bounce around volunteering and see bits of and pieces of the show, except for one performance when I buy tickets and barely leave my seat for intermission. Even so, I am again spending the next day wishing I could watch it again. 

This is probably my latest start ever on Sunday Salon and Sunday Post. Everything I planned to do Friday after work and all day yesterday ended up pushed til today. Which means today has been non-stop, but I'm determined to get this and my holiday wish post for today up before I crawl into bed with my kindle and a night-cap.

What I'm reading this week:

Friday night I did finish up reading The Woman at the Wheel (historical fiction about Bertha Benz), and started on Ebenezer Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Love (my first holiday read for the HoHoHo Readathon with Caffeinated Reviewer.

For print books, I'm starting to feel like I'm in the home stretch of Lightborne (hopefully I can wrap that up this week). I think I've currently given up on Little Women, but I do hope to read it over the holidays before I start a review copy of The Other March Sisters which publishes in February 2025.

Three Good Things:

1. Little Women. Sorry. I'll probably stop talking about it now that it's over. But SO proud of my Jo March, her talent, her dedication, and her amazing performance. Also, since it's sort of a small town, I get to see so many acquaintances at the shows. That's always interesting.
2. We found a new euphonium instructor for my son! Euphonium was the baritone, back in my day, and he started playing it last school year. He took a few lessons from a high schooler who is a friend of our family, but that high schooler graduated and went away to college. So today was my son's first lesson with a college student near us, who was recommended by the band director. The first lesson went well, and we'll be back next week.
3. A short work week! Man do I need this! Thanksgiving for us Americans is this Thursday. Hubs has all week off, and the kids only go to school on Monday and Tuesday. I'm so happy I at least get Thursday and Friday off. Woo-hoo!!

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. The chips are down! I have GOT to finish our advent jars this week. Obviously. Since the kids start OPENING the jars a week from today.
2. I couldn't decide whether this belonged in good things or goals, but I already designed and ordered our holiday cards (go, past Becki!) and now I need to address and mail them. The sooner the better.
3. I also want to put some of my quiet me time while everyone else is enjoying their shorter-than-my-week holiday week to finish up my Lego BrickHeadz so I can do my Bonsai tree from last Christmas before I get new Legos! LOL We're having a creative dream Lego sets backlog that needs to be taken care of!

My Holiday Wish List - Day 9 - 2024

I have well and truly fallen down the rabbit hole. LOL

This site (Storiarts) has SO MUCH fun stuff! I - of course - like lots of the Alice in Wonderland stuff (although I'm currently pretty partial to Little Women also, although there seem to be less items with this theme). And I really enjoyed The Night Circus too.

Well, apparently although this was supposed to be just adding a quick item or two to my holiday wish list, it's somehow become a refreshing of my 'books I want to read again' list. 

Anyway, super fun site for browsing. the fingerless gloves, scarves, headbands, and nifty leather quote bracelets looked like some pretty neat items to me.