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margaret03's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Death, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
tiffanne11's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
The premise of this book is that a writer heads to Santa Claus, IN to be inspired for her next holiday romance and falls in love.
There was a lot to love about this book and if you weren't hungry and craving a cozy day snowed in, it will definitely bring out those feelings.
But the author self-insert with this story becoming her book that lands on the NYT Best Seller list and keeps her at her publishers felt too forced. It felt wildly underdeveloped in some areas. The two main characters instantly connected and started banging, but we don't really see that connection on the page. It's just like, they hot, let's go. Their past hurts also only come up as plot devices and not in a way that feels natural. The Dorian/Mya backstory at least makes the reader feel for him, even while he is mostly chasing his lower head's pleasure.
It felt superficial but was trying to be deeper and it just didn't land for me.
There was a lot to love about this book and if you weren't hungry and craving a cozy day snowed in, it will definitely bring out those feelings.
But the author self-insert with this story becoming her book that lands on the NYT Best Seller list and keeps her at her publishers felt too forced. It felt wildly underdeveloped in some areas. The two main characters instantly connected and started banging, but we don't really see that connection on the page. It's just like, they hot, let's go. Their past hurts also only come up as plot devices and not in a way that feels natural. The Dorian/Mya backstory at least makes the reader feel for him, even while he is mostly chasing his lower head's pleasure.
It felt superficial but was trying to be deeper and it just didn't land for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Sexual content
josie2k's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
gwenswoons's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved this! A super-fast lovely holiday romance — listened in audio on one day and it was such a treat while driving and then unpacking, lounging, and resting at home. The two main characters, Saira and Dorian (and their lovely narrators Charlie L. Wood and Tony Roberts!) had so much chemistry and such fully drawn personalities and identities and backstories! I loved it. The MCs also had really believable and significant family and friend relationships, as well as work that they cared about a lot — important to me in a romance or rom-com!! And I always love a bookish protagonist like Saira. I found the sex writing SO HOT (despite generally finding the word “yoni” icky and that being the author's word of choice, hahaha, but it didn’t ruin it for me which is saying a lot honestly).
I thought a few moments were very expository in a sort of heavy-handed way — like in Dorian’s initial chapter where he basically lists out in chronological order the tragic circumstances of his wife’s death leading to his current life as a (hot) widower! Just those and a few other writing-y things that slightly didn’t work for me — a handful of exact-wording repetitions, etc. But overall a delight and will for sure be really excited to read more by Charity Shane’.
I thought a few moments were very expository in a sort of heavy-handed way — like in Dorian’s initial chapter where he basically lists out in chronological order the tragic circumstances of his wife’s death leading to his current life as a (hot) widower! Just those and a few other writing-y things that slightly didn’t work for me — a handful of exact-wording repetitions, etc. But overall a delight and will for sure be really excited to read more by Charity Shane’.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
cupcakes_and_coffee's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved the small-town Christmas setting and all the details. A cute and quick read to keep me in the holiday spirit. It is quite spicy, which I knew going in but thought I was ok with because it was not an unexpected surprise. But IDK, I get that it’s what a lot of people like but the sex scenes really take away from the story imo. They don’t really start until the 2nd half but I ended up just skipping through quickly as I found those parts pretty cringe. I didn’t mark off stars bc it’s just a preference for me and I did really like everything else. The story, the characters, and the writing were all really good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Alcohol
Moderate: Death
dawnstrickland's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Holiday Magic
This story brought the holiday cheer! Great characters, including a unique town. There was playful banter and intoxicating connection. I thoroughly enjoyed the festive holiday elements and culture being showcased. Saira's winter wonderland firsts guide Dorian to find love again. A blanket of snow, heartfelt emotion, and joy.
This story brought the holiday cheer! Great characters, including a unique town. There was playful banter and intoxicating connection. I thoroughly enjoyed the festive holiday elements and culture being showcased. Saira's winter wonderland firsts guide Dorian to find love again. A blanket of snow, heartfelt emotion, and joy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Grief
brebooks_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death
cristineconey's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death
jackiepreston's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Death
shanaepraystoo's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A Novel Christmas by Charity Shane' is a medium-paced Christmas-themed romance novel with lovable, diverse characters. I really enjoyed the story, learning about Saira and Dorian and Santa Claus, Indiana was so much fun. The story kept me highly engaged. Initially I found the narrators boring, but over the course of the audiobook, I realized they were actually pretty good and they did a good job with these characters. I highly recommend A Novel Christmas.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Alcohol