What do you think?
Rate this book
Coventry #1
Zimtsterne mit Zuckerkuss
Zimtsterne mit Zuckerkuss - bk344; Bastei Lübbe Verlag; Becky Cochrane; pocket_book; 2009
351 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2006
4 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
December 11, 2018
Edit: Re-read, yet again.
I stayed up to nearly midnight finishing "A Coventry Christmas," and laughing all the while (much to the chagrin of the attempting-to-sleep husband beside me). Keelie is a blast. She's an assistant manager for a grotesque boss at a bookstore, and Christmas is coming, with all the attendant issues thereof (you can tell that Becky Cochrane has book retail history, and the scenes in the book store made me chuckle for their accuracy). She's tired, cranky, hates Christmas, and just wants... well, something. Anything. Preferably being swept off her feet (and out of the bookstore) by the handsome beefy security fellow who picks up the morning deposit. But, with a broken ankle and time off at Christmas for the first time since her retail career began, Keelie has the chance to walk... well, hobble... into a new sort of Christmas.
With the superb group-of-friends style that I've come to know and love from Cochrane and her compatriots in other works, the ensemble cast is just the right mix of people, and the plot kept me laughing, smiling, and interested. Empathizing with Cochrane's characters isn't hard - somehow, regardless of how out-there some of the characters might be, you click with them and get pulled in for the ride.
If you're having anything like a rough Christmas period, snap this book up. I do warn you that it will eat up what little spare time you have, might make you stay up late, and your husband might take it from you and say things like, "No book right now, talk to me," but don't worry - it's worth it. And you can always steal the book back when he falls asleep.
I stayed up to nearly midnight finishing "A Coventry Christmas," and laughing all the while (much to the chagrin of the attempting-to-sleep husband beside me). Keelie is a blast. She's an assistant manager for a grotesque boss at a bookstore, and Christmas is coming, with all the attendant issues thereof (you can tell that Becky Cochrane has book retail history, and the scenes in the book store made me chuckle for their accuracy). She's tired, cranky, hates Christmas, and just wants... well, something. Anything. Preferably being swept off her feet (and out of the bookstore) by the handsome beefy security fellow who picks up the morning deposit. But, with a broken ankle and time off at Christmas for the first time since her retail career began, Keelie has the chance to walk... well, hobble... into a new sort of Christmas.
With the superb group-of-friends style that I've come to know and love from Cochrane and her compatriots in other works, the ensemble cast is just the right mix of people, and the plot kept me laughing, smiling, and interested. Empathizing with Cochrane's characters isn't hard - somehow, regardless of how out-there some of the characters might be, you click with them and get pulled in for the ride.
If you're having anything like a rough Christmas period, snap this book up. I do warn you that it will eat up what little spare time you have, might make you stay up late, and your husband might take it from you and say things like, "No book right now, talk to me," but don't worry - it's worth it. And you can always steal the book back when he falls asleep.
January 13, 2025
5 stars
Keelie works at a bookshop in a mall. Her boss is a jerk, but Keelie likes her co-workers and job (mostly) in spite of that. What she doesn't like is Christmas. Or the fact that her boss is putting more pressure on her because someone is coming from corporate to check out their loss revenue (theft) because it is over the allowable average. She has a great group of friends, a hamster, a loving family, and a place to live in the area she loves. But when Keelie breaks her ankle at work, everything changes. Instead of just having Christmas Day off, she leaves early for her friend's grandmother's small home town. And the people she meets and gets to know changes her outlook, or rather, the pause that she is forced to take from her life, changes her outlook.
This is hard for me. I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to merit 5 stars, but the fact that it didn't follow the usual romance tropes and conventions makes it stand out enough that I want to acknowledge that, and I think 5 stars is the way to go. Plus, I'm still thinking about how it worked around and turned my expectations inside out, which also needs mentioning. There are several men who come across Keelie's path, and each of them would, in a conventional romance novel, be THE LOVE INTEREST. There is the loss guy sent from corporate, who seems to be antagonistic toward Keelie, and who Keelie realizes overheard her venting to her friends about her job. Then there is the guy who gets unseated from his horse when the vehicle that Keelie is travelling in comes close to hitting them. And the guy she meets in a coffee shop and banters with. But none of those guys really get her going. The one that does is married, and that's a big no for Keelie. But when she returns to her home after Christmas, her friends seem to be moving on with plans for the future, and Keelie finds that she doesn't really enjoy her job anymore and doesn't know what she has a passion for. She just knows that something has to change. So she makes those changes, and her life starts coming together. I appreciated that one of Keelie's best friends is gay, and not only wasn't he a stereotype (except for the fact that he was a hair dresser), he got a boyfriend, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And Keelie moved and changed her job FOR HERSELF, not because of a man. It wasn't until she was happy with her life that any romance-y things started to happen, although once they did, it happened quickly. But it seemed to be like that for everyone in the book. Oh, and I really liked that . So yeah, very much not what I was expecting, but something that gave me a lot of food for thought about romance and the general formula for writing them.
Keelie works at a bookshop in a mall. Her boss is a jerk, but Keelie likes her co-workers and job (mostly) in spite of that. What she doesn't like is Christmas. Or the fact that her boss is putting more pressure on her because someone is coming from corporate to check out their loss revenue (theft) because it is over the allowable average. She has a great group of friends, a hamster, a loving family, and a place to live in the area she loves. But when Keelie breaks her ankle at work, everything changes. Instead of just having Christmas Day off, she leaves early for her friend's grandmother's small home town. And the people she meets and gets to know changes her outlook, or rather, the pause that she is forced to take from her life, changes her outlook.
This is hard for me. I'm not sure if I enjoyed it enough to merit 5 stars, but the fact that it didn't follow the usual romance tropes and conventions makes it stand out enough that I want to acknowledge that, and I think 5 stars is the way to go. Plus, I'm still thinking about how it worked around and turned my expectations inside out, which also needs mentioning. There are several men who come across Keelie's path, and each of them would, in a conventional romance novel, be THE LOVE INTEREST. There is the loss guy sent from corporate, who seems to be antagonistic toward Keelie, and who Keelie realizes overheard her venting to her friends about her job. Then there is the guy who gets unseated from his horse when the vehicle that Keelie is travelling in comes close to hitting them. And the guy she meets in a coffee shop and banters with. But none of those guys really get her going. The one that does is married, and that's a big no for Keelie. But when she returns to her home after Christmas, her friends seem to be moving on with plans for the future, and Keelie finds that she doesn't really enjoy her job anymore and doesn't know what she has a passion for. She just knows that something has to change. So she makes those changes, and her life starts coming together. I appreciated that one of Keelie's best friends is gay, and not only wasn't he a stereotype (except for the fact that he was a hair dresser), he got a boyfriend, and it wasn't a big deal at all. And Keelie moved and changed her job FOR HERSELF, not because of a man. It wasn't until she was happy with her life that any romance-y things started to happen, although once they did, it happened quickly. But it seemed to be like that for everyone in the book. Oh, and I really liked that . So yeah, very much not what I was expecting, but something that gave me a lot of food for thought about romance and the general formula for writing them.
December 15, 2018
Mir hat es leider nicht so gut gefallen. Der Titel ist ein bisschen irreführend - denn eine richtige Weihnachtsgeschichte ist es für mich nicht, Weihnachten kommt zwar vor und ist quasi auch ein Auslöser für einige Dinge, aber so richtig zentral ist das Thema für mich nicht. Die Figuren bleiben mir zu blass und ich konnte mich mit niemandem so richtig "anfreunden". Vieles war mir dann auch zu plakativ bzw. zu wenig weit gedacht. Ich glaube aber mittlerweile, dass ich teilweise wirklich ein "Kulturproblem" mit Romanen habe, die im Süden von Amerika angesiedelt stimmt. Da spielen oft Faktoren/Werte mit rein, mit denen ich jetzt nicht so viel anfangen kann.
December 24, 2018
This was the perfect holiday read: entertaining, quick, and calming. The main character and I even have the same home town! This is the winter version of a good beach read.
August 15, 2020
B. fiction, holiday fiction, contemporary
January 1, 2021
Es ist ein total schöner Weihnachtsroman, jedoch hat mir persönlich noch etwas gefehlt. Jedoch ist es ein gutes Buch für Zwischendurch.
December 10, 2012
I swore I wouldn't work another retail Christmas, and yet where do I go everyday to work? A mall. Now don't get me wrong, I quite love my job, but Christmas in retail is exhausting, overwhelming and the Grinch always manages to make an appearance, whether in the form of a customer, co-worker or self. At this time of the year I make it a point to read happy Christmas fluff because frankly, my poor brain can't handle much more.
Enter Keelie and Hamlet and their Coventry Christmas adventure. My manager Nathan mentioned the book to me in passing, saying that it was one of his favourite reads at Christmas time, especially since it was fairly clear that Becky Cochrane definitely has retail, bookstore in particular, history.
First off, I give Becky Cochrane a salute, cheers Becky, you nailed it on the head! There are quite a few things about Keelie's daily routine that I am familiar with, from the basics of opening a store, to horrid customer experiences; I even sprained my ankle recently!
Keelie and her best friends Evan and Ivy decide to spend Christmas with Ivy's Granny in Coventry, and while Keelie's Christmas spirit has been greatly diminished by years of retail servitude, Coventry begins to transform her perspective.
Cochrane's cast of characters really make this a book for everyone. Every personality type is touched on. Shy girls, business women, stay at home moms; Cowboys, vets and businessmen, someone for everyone!
Coventry Christmas is a true view of how jaded and cynical we can all get at Christmas when we lose the magic, and how easy that magic can bring us back to life when we open up and let it in.
Enter Keelie and Hamlet and their Coventry Christmas adventure. My manager Nathan mentioned the book to me in passing, saying that it was one of his favourite reads at Christmas time, especially since it was fairly clear that Becky Cochrane definitely has retail, bookstore in particular, history.
First off, I give Becky Cochrane a salute, cheers Becky, you nailed it on the head! There are quite a few things about Keelie's daily routine that I am familiar with, from the basics of opening a store, to horrid customer experiences; I even sprained my ankle recently!
Keelie and her best friends Evan and Ivy decide to spend Christmas with Ivy's Granny in Coventry, and while Keelie's Christmas spirit has been greatly diminished by years of retail servitude, Coventry begins to transform her perspective.
Cochrane's cast of characters really make this a book for everyone. Every personality type is touched on. Shy girls, business women, stay at home moms; Cowboys, vets and businessmen, someone for everyone!
Coventry Christmas is a true view of how jaded and cynical we can all get at Christmas when we lose the magic, and how easy that magic can bring us back to life when we open up and let it in.
January 2, 2016
Zuerst möchte ich anmerken, dass der Titel des Buches falsche Erwartungen wecken könnte. Das Buch ist keine typische Weihnachtslovestory, wie man sie bei "Zimtsterne mit Zuckerkuss" erwartet. Genauer gesagt kommen Zimtsterne gar nicht vor - Weihnachten spielt auch nur eine sehr untergeordnete Rolle.
An sich ist es eine schöne Geschichte rund um Keelie, Verkäuferin in einem Buchladen, deren Freunden und deren Familien. Neben der klassischen Liebesgeschichten, die gleich auf verschiedenen Ebenen stattfinden, steht vor allem die Veränderungen im Leben eine Rolle - denn am Ende des Buches ist alles ganz anders.
Richtige Überraschungen gibt es nicht. Auch keine großen Probleme, die bewältigt werden müssen. Alles geht seinen Gang, an sich ist die Geschichte deswegen ziemlich vorhersehbar.
Trotzdem ist sie nicht zu kitschig, was für mich ein echter Pluspunkt ist. Mir haben besonders die philosophischen Einlagen gefallen.
Anfangs hatte ich etwas Probleme, in die Geschichte hereinzukommen. Das lag aber nicht am Schreibstil - dieser ist schön flüssig, sodass sich das Buch gut lesen lässt. Allerdings wird man am Anfang mit Informationen über die verschiedenen Charaktere regelrecht zugeschüttet, sodass man sich erstmal zurechtfinden muss.
Alles in allem ist es eine nette Geschichte für Zwischendurch, die man - auch wenn nicht sehr weihnachtlich - warm eingekuschelt auf dem Sofa lesen kann.
An sich ist es eine schöne Geschichte rund um Keelie, Verkäuferin in einem Buchladen, deren Freunden und deren Familien. Neben der klassischen Liebesgeschichten, die gleich auf verschiedenen Ebenen stattfinden, steht vor allem die Veränderungen im Leben eine Rolle - denn am Ende des Buches ist alles ganz anders.
Richtige Überraschungen gibt es nicht. Auch keine großen Probleme, die bewältigt werden müssen. Alles geht seinen Gang, an sich ist die Geschichte deswegen ziemlich vorhersehbar.
Trotzdem ist sie nicht zu kitschig, was für mich ein echter Pluspunkt ist. Mir haben besonders die philosophischen Einlagen gefallen.
Anfangs hatte ich etwas Probleme, in die Geschichte hereinzukommen. Das lag aber nicht am Schreibstil - dieser ist schön flüssig, sodass sich das Buch gut lesen lässt. Allerdings wird man am Anfang mit Informationen über die verschiedenen Charaktere regelrecht zugeschüttet, sodass man sich erstmal zurechtfinden muss.
Alles in allem ist es eine nette Geschichte für Zwischendurch, die man - auch wenn nicht sehr weihnachtlich - warm eingekuschelt auf dem Sofa lesen kann.
September 4, 2015
Keelie arbeitet in Houston in einem großen Buchladen und ihr Chef Rodney ist ein echtes Ekel, der ihr alles vermiest. Zum Glück aber hat sie ihre Freunde: die Zwillinge Holly und Ivy und ihren bester Freund Evan, einen schwulen Friseur. Es geht ziemlich rasant zu, die Geschichte nimmt schnell an Fahrt auf: Evan, der rausgeworfen wird von seiner launischen Chefin; Keelie, die sich in der Buchhandlung den Fuß bricht; Ted, der im Buchladen merkwürdige Diebstähle aufklären soll und plötzlich zusammen mit Keelie und deren Freunde bei der etwas schrägen Oma von den Zwillingen auf dem Land in einem charmanten Städtchen landet und natürlich nicht zu vergessen: Hamlet, Keelie's Hamster der krank wird und dadurch eine ganze Reihe Ereignisse in Gang setzt.
Wunderschöne Geschichte in der viel passiert und dennoch wirkt es nie übertrieben und man lacht und leidet mit Keelie und ihren Abenteuern und ich war traurig, als ich die letzte Seite umgeblättert habe. Ein tolles Buch, das ich bestimmt noch mal wieder an Weihnachten lesen werde.
Wunderschöne Geschichte in der viel passiert und dennoch wirkt es nie übertrieben und man lacht und leidet mit Keelie und ihren Abenteuern und ich war traurig, als ich die letzte Seite umgeblättert habe. Ein tolles Buch, das ich bestimmt noch mal wieder an Weihnachten lesen werde.
November 26, 2016
"Zimtsterne mit Zuckerkuss" war ein Flop auf ganzer Linie. Selten waren alle Figuren so dermaßen blass wie hier. Vor allem die Nebencharaktere haben quasi keine Eigenschaften und sind bloß wandelnde Klischees. Vor allem nervig fand ich den schwulen besten Freund, der nichts war als ein schwuler Friseur. Ernsthaft?!
Die Protagonistin war zusätzlich einfach nur anstrengend und dumm. Sie verliebt sich Hals über Kopf in diesen Tierarzt und sieht sich nach einem Tag schon als die liebende Stiefmutter seines Kindes. Und er findet das auch noch wundervoll... Als ob!
Außerdem gab es ständig Logikfehler.
Was mich aber am meisten gestört hat war, dass es im Klappentext als ein Weihnachtsbuch angepriesen wird. Nach der Hälfte des Buches ist das Fest aber schon wieder vorbei und die Feierlichkeiten wurden bloß innerhalb eines Absatzes erwähnt, gingen also so schnell, wie sie gekommen waren. Und überhaupt kann ich diese ganzen verzweifelten Frauen, die Weihnachten hassen, nicht mehr sehen bzw. möchte nicht mehr von ihnen lesen.
Die Protagonistin war zusätzlich einfach nur anstrengend und dumm. Sie verliebt sich Hals über Kopf in diesen Tierarzt und sieht sich nach einem Tag schon als die liebende Stiefmutter seines Kindes. Und er findet das auch noch wundervoll... Als ob!
Außerdem gab es ständig Logikfehler.
Was mich aber am meisten gestört hat war, dass es im Klappentext als ein Weihnachtsbuch angepriesen wird. Nach der Hälfte des Buches ist das Fest aber schon wieder vorbei und die Feierlichkeiten wurden bloß innerhalb eines Absatzes erwähnt, gingen also so schnell, wie sie gekommen waren. Und überhaupt kann ich diese ganzen verzweifelten Frauen, die Weihnachten hassen, nicht mehr sehen bzw. möchte nicht mehr von ihnen lesen.
January 8, 2021
Keelie is forced to take a break from her Christmas bookstore job when she breaks her ankle so she joins her friends in going to Coventry.
This is a great little book. I really struggle to read romance these days, and this was a re-read for me. I realized this time through that part of why I love it is that it really isn't a romance. It's more of a slice-of-life fiction story. Anyone who has worked retail during the holidays will feel for Keelie. I cheered for her as she found a better life - it's a total wish fulfillment story. Her hamster Hamlet was pretty cool, too.
Do yourself a favor and give this one a read. I'm going to put the author's other Coventry book on my TBR and I haven't added a 'romance' in years.
This is a great little book. I really struggle to read romance these days, and this was a re-read for me. I realized this time through that part of why I love it is that it really isn't a romance. It's more of a slice-of-life fiction story. Anyone who has worked retail during the holidays will feel for Keelie. I cheered for her as she found a better life - it's a total wish fulfillment story. Her hamster Hamlet was pretty cool, too.
Do yourself a favor and give this one a read. I'm going to put the author's other Coventry book on my TBR and I haven't added a 'romance' in years.
March 16, 2011
Love love love this book. As someone who has recently found her "home". Becky Cochrane nails the feeling perfectly. Coventry Christmas is truly a celebration of love, the love that exist between friends, between partners,the love between family members, a girl and her hampster and even between a place and the citizens that choose to be there. This book made it's way under the tree of my friends and family. I wanted to share a holiday blessing .
November 18, 2014
So habe ich es mir (fast) vorgestellt: witzig, banal aber nicht komplett klischeehaft, für dieser Art des Formats originell, winterlich, romantisch, feminin aber nicht komplett mädchenhaft oder überdimensional feministisch und sehr nett geschrieben. Der Schluss, wo sich auf einmal alles total beschleunigt hat, hat mir nicht wirklich gefallen, aber ansonsten… also es gibt die noch! „Frauen-Romane“, die man ohne Zahnschmerzen lesen kann.
December 19, 2012
Cute holiday book. Well written. Good banter between most of the characters. I thought the main male love interest was a little too written-by-a-woman, as in, no man would ever say those things, it sounded more like banter between two girlfriends. All in all though, I recommend if you like to immerse yourself in holiday romance at Christmas time.
October 22, 2014
Escaping to Coventry, Texas, for the holidays, Keelie is in for a Christmas that's as unpredictable as it is merry. When the local vet starts making house calls to check on Keelie's under-the-weather hamster, Keelie wonders if this Christmas might bring what she's always wanted: true love.
Christmas stories are good any time of year.
Christmas stories are good any time of year.
December 13, 2014
I'm not usually a straight-out romance book person, but by God, I want to move to Coventry! Thank you, Becky, for creating such a wonderful world! I've been to Coventry for a wedding (A Coventry Wedding), and now for Christmas. I want to go back!
*sigh*
*sigh*
June 27, 2007
This book was adorable. It's fun, goofy fluff.
December 26, 2010
Okay I'm giving up on this book now. I just don't connect with the story, the characters, the whole thing. The book sounded so great when I found it in the book store but I just can't get into it.
July 20, 2016
I might have gotten into this if I was 20 years younger. Darn it. I'm too old for a light Christmas story of a 28 year old and her dramatic friends. Or, at least, THIS light Christmas story.....
December 26, 2013
It was a cute little Christmas story.
January 5, 2011
Dragged on a bit to long for my taste. Predictable love story.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews