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autumnwitch14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content, Domestic abuse, and Stalking
Moderate: Medical trauma, Classism, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
witcheep's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It bothers me that the Merry Inkmas's main characters Cash and Bailey are represented as nearly perfectly goodhearted people that want to save each others from the ghosts of their dark and traumatic pasts: Both their parents have been in different kinds of abusive relationships. This has lead to the main characters to close up in order to shield themselves from similar harm, but they seem to easily warm up to each other because of their sexual chemistry.
However, Cash and Bailey's relationship has big imbalances of power all the time: they are a customer and a server, or a boss and and employee. There is also economical inequality in their relationship. These things are not addressed enough in my opinion, even though they clearly affect the characters' choises in the present and bring up similar situations from their past where things went very badly. This is a novella so I understand there isn't room for very in depth bonding on mental level if you want to write about the sexual tension building up and releasing in multiple smut scenes, as happens in this book. Maybe I picked up a wrong book for me, but I would have preferred to see more chemistry in the interpersonal relationship besides the bedroom.
I hoped these issues would be at least mentioned in the ending, but they are completely brushed under the rug. In the epiloque
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
readbykatherine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
mayareadsxo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Domestic abuse
readwithpep's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Cancer
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Pregnancy
megsbookishadventures's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
lucy__342's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse
bekacrook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
But the pacing of the book just didn't fit with some of the themes included. I know it's a romance book so it's not meant to be realistic but a man with a lot of childhood trauma and complex emotions around love is not going to miraculously change the way his mind thinks or what it tells him in one conversation outside a church with a woman. The same goes for Bailey's issues surrounding love, they appeared to just disappear overnight.
The epilogue was very sweet though.
Minor: Child abuse, Stalking, and Domestic abuse
what_karla_reads's review
- 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
2/5 spice
Tropes:
Acquaintances to lovers
BWWM
Work together
Boss/ Employee
Trauma/healing
Grumpy/sunshine
Forced proximity
One Bed
Dual POV
Loved it! That's really all I can say about this one. It was my first time reading this author's work, and I just loved it. All the Christmas vibes and a cute, grumpy man that melts for his girl... just wonderful 👌🏽
Trigger/Content warnings:
Mentions DV and child abuse as memories, explicit language, sexual content
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse