Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos

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

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.

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.

OMG what a fun holiday read! I loved Sally and Pearl. They had so much chaos while vacationing but it was all worth it in the end. It was a great friendship read and many laugh out loud moments. I always love when a good mystery happens when characters are on vacation and seeing how they figure everything out. If you want a fun holiday read about friendships and solving a little mystery this book is for you!

Thank you for allowing me to read this arc early.

I absolutely loved this book. I felt like I have became friends with Pearl and Sally. I didn’t want the story to end. I hope this is not the end of their adventures. I even had to go back and read there first adventure and loved it just as much. I love the fun and quirkiness between the characters.

When I last dropped in on Sally and Pearl, they were basking in the successful conclusion to a murder investigation in Mexico. This visit, I find they're roommates and watch true crime shows together. Sally, who loves all things Christmas, is dismayed her children and their families won't be able to visit this year, the first since her late husband's death, but Pearl, despite her take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward Christmas is determined to help give her friend a memorable Christmas. Well, it is memorable. For both.

While a fun read about their holiday at McKenzie Bridge, where Mike, the former DEA guy that Sally felt.... something .... for, is now Chief of Police. He invited Sally for this holidays, opening the door to romance, but gets a lot more company than expected, including, of course, Pearl. I won't go into details, that would ruin some of the fun, but let's just say the holiday involves both Christmas card perfect scenes and cookies as well as a flooded hotel, runaway reindeer, troubled children (and marriages), delayed flights, angels, some, uh, very under-dressed travelers in a storm, and, well, enough teasers. Sally and Pearl, who was wearing an "I solved a murder and all I got was this lousy sweatshirt" (hot pink, I might add) as the story opens, somehow manage to be right in the middle of it. What is the "it" they are in the middle of? Well, a community Christmas, obviously, but the question of who is trying to harm the town gossip, Birdie? Or, is it all in Birdie's imagination?

Needless to say, this time spurred on by Sally, Sally and Pearl can't help looking into it. It's a fun ride, or should I say sleigh ride. Amid all the action and disruptive events, we get to look deeper into not just Sally's heart in this book, but Pearl's. While she always seems upbeat and in search of the next Happy Hour, her past does have an impact on her actions. Nope, not sharing any more details other than to emphasize that there is more to this series than fun, humorous events and close calls. And, oh, sugar cookie fans, of which I am one, you'll find Pearl's prize winning recipe at the end.

Thanks #NetGalley and #OpenSkyPublishing - #WendyDay for welcoming me back for a visit. Already looking forward to my next.

Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos by Wendy Day is a fun and festive holiday story with a little bit of mystery mixed in.
I found the characters to be very likeable and the story was well paced. I loved the atmosphere and the spirit!
Please find attached by spoiler free youtube review for my full thoughts.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfS-hm5866o&t=316s

Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos by Wendy Day opens with Sally and her best friend Pearl going off to sing karaoke the night before Thanksgiving. The next day, Sally learns that none of her children will be home for Christmas, she becomes depressed. Shortly there after, Sally receives a phone call, and Pearl and her are off to spend the Christmas holidays with their friend Mike in the idyllic Christmas town of McKenzie Bridge where a local woman claims someone is trying to murder her.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for the free copy of Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos by Wendy Day in exchange for my honest review. The title of the novel caught my attention as I wanted a book centered around Christmas to read. I was excited to learn that I had been approved to read this book.

When I requested to read this book, I didn't know it was the second book in a series, but that was okay as the author did a fabulous job at providing a quick synopsis of what happened in the previous book. I enjoyed most of the characters, especially Sally and Mike. I wasn't overly enthused with Pearl, but she did end up growing on me.

After not being in the Christmas spirit last year, I've been determined to have ALL the spirit this year, and Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos has helped me with my Christmas spirit. I hope it does the same for any one else that reads it.

This was a quick, fun, and entertaining read, and I look forward to reading the author's other books. I gave Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos by Wendy Day four out of five stars.

Sally and Pearl, the fiesty septuagenarians we first meet in Mexico, Margaritas, & Murder, are back for an all new wild adventure in Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos. The description of the Golden Girls meets Thelma and Louise fits fairly well (minus the ‘suicidal’ ending from the movie of course, lol). Sally couldn’t be more hyped for Christmas…that is until she finds out none of her family are going to be able to make it this year. Skipping Christmas wouldn’t really bother Pearl (as she’s not the biggest fan of the holiday), but Sally wouldn’t dream of skipping it. So rather than stay home and be miserable, the dynamic duo end up heading for McKenzie Bridge, a picturesque small town with a passion for Christmas. But as we learned from the previous book when these two travel chaos follows…and of course that’s most definitely the case this time around. This was another fun, fast paced adventure that had me smiling from start to finish. I’d like to thank Wendy Day, Open Sky Publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of Christmas, Cabernet, and Chaos.

https://www.amazon.com/review/R3M77UAQQK3SJK/ref=pe_1098610_137716200_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Christmas Cabernet, & Chaos 🎄
By Wendy Day

Thanks to netgalley for giving me a copy for a honest review

What's it about?:

Golden Girls meets Thelma and Louise

After her holiday plans fall apart, Sally drags her grumpy best friend, Pearl, to McKenzie Bridge- a small town famous for Christmas magic.

When a local woman claims someone is trying to kill her, and the Police Chief won’t listen, the spunky senior sleuths jump into action.

Can Sally and Pearl save Christmas?

My thoughts:
This is Second book in the Sally and Pearl mysteries I have read and reviewed the first being Mexico, Margaritas, & Murder I really enjoyed reading this one as well 😊 I really love Sally and Pearl they are so fun together and have a great friendship. There are so many laugh out loud moment I would highly recommend it.

Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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.

I loved this story! I read the first story in this series a few months ago and was so excited to jump back into this world. I adore the friendship between Sally and Pearl and the fun that they get into. The cozy mystery vibes mixed with Christmas were so much fun!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC for an exchange for an honest review.

Such great book, I enjoyed it.