Review: My True Love Gave to Me edited by Stephanie Perkins

Since it's Christmas Eve I thought it would be fitting to share my thoughts on this beautiful winter anthology :D

My True Love Gave to Me

edited by Stephanie Perkins

October 14, 2014

321 pages

Goodreads  Indigo

Goodreads Summary:

If you love holiday stories, holiday movies, made-for-TV-holiday specials, holiday episodes of your favorite sitcoms and, especially, if you love holiday anthologies, you’re going to fall in love with My True Love Gave To Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by twelve bestselling young adult writers, edited by international bestselling author Stephanie Perkins. Whether you enjoy celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or New Year's there's something here for everyone. So curl up by the fireplace and get cozy. You have twelve reasons this season to stay indoors and fall in love.

Review

Yes the cover characters are ice skating XP This is my first time reading an anthology and it definitely won't be my last! The overall design of this book has captured my heart and some of the stories inside gave me goofy smiles. I won't give each individual story a rating but I will give my thoughts on each one and then give the book an overall cat rating. My True Love Gave to Me is the perfect holiday read!

Midnights by Rainbow Rowell

This story stole my heart! Rainbow Rowell's ability to give all the warm and fuzzy feelings is incomparable. Midnight was such a charming story. It was uncomplicated and Noah and Mags were simply adorable. I want more!

The Lady and the Fox by Kelly Link

It took me a bit of time to get into this one but I ended up liking it. Miranda was a good girl who's thankful to be surrounded by generous people. The romance was quick and weird but I guess it was one of those inexplicable things? I was surprised by the girl's bravery and the outcome of her action.

Angels in the Snow by Matt de la Peña

A very down-to-earth story with my favourite character from this anthology: Olive! This cat knows her looks and stares. I felt sorry for Shy and his situation but cat-sitting Olive may have been his best decision. The cat practically matchmade him with Haley~

Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me by Jenny Han

This one was so short it felt incomplete to me. I was disappointed. That's all. (See what I mean?)

It’s a Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown by Stephanie Perkins

Another favourite story of mine! I felt an urge to run out and buy a Christmas tree after finishing this story. Marigold and North are such great festive names. I love that we got both characters' backstories. It made me like them even more!

Your Temporary Santa by David Levithan

The more of this story I read, the more confused I became. What started off as a nice gesture sort of turns sour after an exchange of bitter words. I didn't get where the hostility came from and there was no explanations afterwards.

Krampuslauf by Holly Black

Such an unique and very Holly Black style story! There was an ass (literally) in this story. Certain characters gave me goose bumps but they also made me very satisfied. So weird but I enjoyed it :D

What the Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? by Gayle Forman

This one was kind of a meh for me. I guess the interactions between the two characters were fun but nothing was particularly memorable.

Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus by Myra McEntire

A story about second chances I loved the characters in this one. Vaughn is a prankster who doesn't exactly have a pleasant home life. "Shame leads to secrets, and secrets lead to lies, and lies ruin everything." (p. 209). When one of his prank goes awry he ends up in unexpected company and learns to change. The troublemaker redeeming himself with the help of the innocent church girl was cute.

Welcome to Christmas, CA by Kiersten White

Yes to food, Christmas and home. Ben's ability to know what food people need makes me happy. The name game was super adorable. I love how Maria sneaks it into their conversations. A touching and eye-tearing story about belonging.

Star of Bethlehem by Ally Carter

This story would make a perfect Hallmark Christmas TV movie. It was cheesy but heartwarming in all the right places. It was a tad bit on the unrealistic side but I love the idea of getting away completely and experiencing things outside your norm.

The Girl Who Woke the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

A bizarre but imaginative story. The writing was really beautiful, almost dreamlike which was quite fitting with the story ;)

To sum it all up, My True Love Gave to Me gave me all the Christmas feels! I highly recommend reading it during the winter months. And after you're done, try and see if you can match the couples on the cover to the couples in the each story!

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All opinion are my own and not affected in any way. All quotes were taken from the Advance Review Copy I received.