I truly enjoyed Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos by Wendy Day. It was a perfect Christmas book! I loved Sally and Pearl and all their adventures.

I loved this novel! Sally and Pearl are such a fiesty duo, trying to solve the attempted murder of the town's "matriarch" (at least, she thinks she is).

I love a grumpy-sunshine combo, and in this case, it is a platonic love relationship between Pearl and Sally - we get to see a true difference between Sally's love of Christmas, and Pearl's willingness to put up with it for Sally's sake.

I can only hope I am as adventurous as these ladies when I am older, and I will definitely be checking out any new books that come from this series!!

4.5

Pearl and Sally are best friends and decide to take a trip for Christmas. Along the way, a mystery just happens to find its way to them. Their friendship is sweet and it was fun to see how they helped each other along the way. However, the story didn’t grab me. I think this is a book for fans of cozy mysteries.

Review to be posted to social media:

“Wendy Day describes her book Christmas, Cabernet & Chaos as “Golden Girls meets Thelma & Louise” and I couldn’t agree more.

A cute story, we follow best friends Pearl and Sally on an adventure in the days leading up to Christmas. After discovering that her children won’t make it down for Christmas, Sally and Pearl head to Mackenzie Bridge to find some Christmas magic with Sally’s “friend” Mike- police chief of Mackenzie Bridge. Just when things start looking up for Sally after her kids tell her they’ll make it for Christmas after all, the town gossip claims that someone is trying to poison her. No one believes her, except Sally, self proclaimed detective. Sally drags Pearl on a mission to uncover the truth, determined to make the most out of a Christmas turned quite…chaotic.

This was a sweet story, and is perfect for a specifically targeted group of readers. It was a bit dry, and the content that was meant to be relatable didn’t necessarily appeal to me. I did enjoy the friendship between Pearl & Sally, and it reminds me of how I want to be growing old with my best friends. The mystery component came into play about halfway through the book, so the entire ordeal felt rushed. If it had been introduced sooner, I feel it could’ve been flushed out more.

In all, I wouldn’t likely wouldn’t read this book again, however I want to reiterate that I just don’t think I fit the target audience.

If this appeals to you, catch “Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos” on shelves in just a few days Dec 6 2022. 🎄 💫”

A cozy mystery with warm characters and an interesting storyline. The book includes Pearl’s Secret Sugar Cookies 🍪
Would recommend
Thank you to Wendy Day, NetGalley and the publisher for the arc of this book.

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Day, and Open Sky Publishing for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.
Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos releases December 6, 2022

This is a holiday read where the featured main characters are in their 60’s, which was a pretty nice change of pace from what I usually read.

Sally and Pearl are best friends. A year ago, they took a trip to Mexico and accidentally stumbled upon busting up a drug ring. That’s how they met Mike, a former DEA agent, and now the new chief of police in this small town in Oregon.

A year ago, Sally’s husband passed away. This is her first Christmas without him. On thanksgiving day, her children broke the news that none of them will be able to spend the holidays with her, which has Sally devastated.
Luckily for her, with her rather grumpy best friend by her side, they are welcomed to spend the festive season with Mike in McKenzie Bridge.

- Christmas tree farms
- cutting down a fresh tree
- a parade with floats
- competitive baking contest with some sabotage mixed in
- snow storm
- attempted murder
- a bonus sugar cookie recipe at the end

The repetitiveness in Pearl’s dialogue added up quickly — the many “ain’t”, “oh my stars”, and the entire book of misspelled “ya’ll”.
The food poisoning scene and the whole church/God/Angels was not really my cup of tea, but, if you’re looking for a read that is more family focused with a mystery to solve and romance as a minimal subplot, this would be a good option!