Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Always, in December

Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Always, in December by Emily Stone

28 reviews

shel_bay11's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

3.75

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backpackingbookworm's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Anyone who knows me knows I strongly dislike romance novels. Throw in a Christmas setting and I'm even more likely to avoid. However, my book club picked this one as our holiday read and after a series of very heavy books, I knew I needed something quite light and easy-going. Now, this book is everything but light and easy-going but that is the reason it worked for me. I'm not here for unrealistic happily ever afters - I like books with a bit of substance and a character twist that throws you off-guard. I want all the imperfects and none of the steam. Did this book tick these boxes? It absolutely definitely did.

It's a hard book to categorise without spoilers and I was actually quite disappointed that the blurb compared it to a certain book as that kind of gave a huge hint as to what was to come. It's certainly not your typical cutesy Christmas read which is refreshing considering how many saturate the market.

I really connected to the characters, especially once we had the shift in perspective and heard Max's side of the story. I loved all the different settings, from Christmassy London and autumnal Scotland to glorious spring in New York. This gave me all the armchair travel I've been missing, especially the UK parts that I miss terribly at this time of year.

The reason this one dropped a star was because it felt dragged out in places, such as the party in New York and the wedding in Scotland and that slowed the pace for me and made it a bit of a slog to get through.

That being said, this one clearly made an impact as I rarely ever cry at books but this one had me sobbing into my pillow. I can't wait to read the author's next book!

Rating breakdown

Plot/narrative - 4.4
Writing style/readability - 4.1
Characters - 4.4
Diverse themes - 3.8
Ending - 4.3

Overall - 4.2

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kerrygetsliterary's review

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emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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laura_berger's review

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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maria1085's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Oh my heart! This book was so beautiful. Josie and Max’s story will warm your heart but also break it. This was not a happy Christmas love story, but it was a wonderful story all the same. I loved Josie and Max’s chance meeting, and how their lives were destined to intertwine. Josie always avoids Christmas and this year Max is doing the same, but after spending the holiday together it seems like it could be the start of something. But after the holiday is over Max leaves without saying anything, leaving Josie wondering why.
The story takes place over a year, and it’s in that year that they meet in the most unlikely of places and not always at the best time. Will these two have a chance to be together? It was a heartbreaking and beautifully told love story that had me in tears at the end. If your looking for a lighthearted Christmas story this is not it, but if you want a love story that will stay with you read this one.

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