Happy Holidays?

By: L.L. Bartlett, Lorraine Bartlett

Narrated by: Steven Barnett

Length: 1 hr and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

The best thing about the holiday season is spending time with family. At the same time, sometimes the worst thing about the holiday season is spending time with family. The stories in this collection touch on that and more as Mandy Nichols, Jeff Resnick, and Judi Straub struggle through what's supposed to be the joyous season. One family contemplates murder; another wants to end what they see as a bad relationship, while another can only see their loved one for what she can do for them. Sound familiar? Happy Holidays? puts the Christmas fun into dysfunction!

©2006, 2010, 2013 Lorraine L. Bartlett (P)2017 Lorraine Bartlett

Only one complaint

What made the experience of listening to Happy Holidays? the most enjoyable?

I had forgotten I have the ebooks individually. I loved the stories though at least one of the endings was sad. I can identify with the characters in each of the Christmas stories, but it is good to know most had a happy ending. The voices for each story added to the enjoyment of the tales. Well done!

What did you like best about this story?

Each story started with a character uncertain of a happy Christmas. Each one with the exception of one, had a great Christmas ending. The one that didn't was sadly expected.

What about Steven Barnett’s performance did you like?

He has a good range for changing his voice as needed for the different characters in the story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes and it is one I will listen to again and again.

Any additional comments?

I only have one complaint. The stories don't quite feel finished.

Short Story Collection

Any additional comments?

This is a collection of holiday short stories. The stories have a common theme-family more accurately dysfunctional family. In “We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert”, Mandy Nichols and family find out that the very miserly Uncle Albert, that has forever been mooching off the whole family, is actually a very wealthy man. Learning how wealthy Uncle Albert causes a lot of drama in the family.“Bah! Humbug”, a Jeff Resnick story where Jeff and Maggie spend a very awkward Christmas with Maggie’s family. Will this holiday be the end of Jeff and Maggie? In “Blue Christmas”, Judi Straub is feeling a little depressed since her family has their own plans and she will be all alone. Judi wins a vacation for Christmas which she hopes will be the begin of a less lonely life.

A great way to escape holiday stress is reading these enjoyable short stories. It’s not around the holiday time, that’s okay you can still enjoy these stories. Author Lorraine Bartlett is a natural storyteller and Narrator Steven Barnett does a wonderful job bringing the stories to life.

I was given a copy of this book in hopes I would submit a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

When Christmas isn't all it's cracked up to be

This audiobook is comprised of three short stories written by Lorraine Bartlett/L.L. Bartlett. Some people have the picture-perfect Christmas, with a loving family and wonderful friends to help them celebrate. Others are surrounded by greedy people who lie, cheat, and manipulate, regardless of the season. That's the theme of the these stories and what will keep you hooked.

The first one, We're So Sorry Uncle Albert, was my favorite. It's Christmas when a family finds out that their uncle, who is temporarily in the nursing home, has been sitting on a fortune all his life. He's been loud, annoying, and cheap all of his life, so they collectively decide it's time to do him in and take his money. One member of the family, the only one to seemingly have a heart, decides to turn them in and save her uncle. She can't sit by and let this happen, no matter how horrible her uncle is. Her motives are entirely pure....aren't they?

The second story is part of the Jeff Resnick series but works perfectly well as a standalone and it is titled Bah! Humbug. Jeff is having a rough time and is spending Christmas with his girlfriend's family, who don't really understand him or like him much. Jeff has premonitions/visions since suffering a head injury, something that he prefers to keep to himself. When his heroic actions at Christmas dinner are misconstrued as something else, Jeff is left questioning his future.

The third tale, Blue Christmas, is about a woman named Judi who is struggling to find happiness over the Christmas season. Her parents are deceased and her siblings are selfish. Her job is stressful and her social life is non-existent, so when she wins a trip to Puerto Rico, she immediately sets off over the holiday. Things aren't any better there until she meets a mysterious man who seems to fall in love with her. Is he real, a figment of her imagination, or a con?

If you are looking for something a little less conventional for the holiday season, you will really enjoy this trilogy of short stories. Good mix of mystery, drama, and romance.

Excellent Holiday Stories

What does Steven Barnett bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He brought the characters to life much more as I listened.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Jeff going to meet Maggie's family for Christmas.

Also Uncle Albert at the end of the story.

Any additional comments?

I loved each story as I listened. Stories of hopes and dreams, promises of a happy life and family good and bad during the holiday season.