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autumnwitch14's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
Read this book if you seek sexual tension building while a troubled past is being used as an edgy backdrop for smut scenes. If you want to read about a balanced relationship forming, pick up some other book (I suggest Hibbert's The Brown Sisters series, I'm far more impressed with those books than this one).
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 epiloqueCash and Bailey are thrust into a happy ever after of one big family with seemingly no trauma or baggage remaining. The premises of this book had potential to discuss the heavy topics and show how to deal with them, but the novella falls short in this regard, unlike the other books by Hibbert I've read. Hibbert's later books address representation and struggles in a more wholesome and considerate way. Perhaps Merry Inkmas could have accomplished that as well, if it had been a fully fleshed out novel instead of a shorter novella.
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
mayareadsxo's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
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
jourdanicus's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
5/5 on the spicy scale 🌶️ as usual, which I've come to expect and appreciate from Talia Hibbert. Sadly I felt the plot was a little rushed, which, I guess, ok, it's a novella. Worse than the pacing for me though was the emotional immaturity of Cash. I didn't really like that it was his mom who ended up telling Bailey all about their traumatic past. I felt like that should have been a moment between Cash and Bailey.
Also, something about the homeless person savior subplot rubs me the wrong way but idk. And the fact that Cash hadwatched Bailey in the coffee shop enough to draw her a lot without her knowledge... Seems kinda stalkerish in hindsight I guess?
Obviously I will continue to read more by the author, she's one of my favorites especially for romance and erotica, with POC and ND representation. This one just didn't hit like the others for me personally.
Also, something about the homeless person savior subplot rubs me the wrong way but idk. And the fact that Cash had
Obviously I will continue to read more by the author, she's one of my favorites especially for romance and erotica, with POC and ND representation. This one just didn't hit like the others for me personally.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Physical abuse
Minor: Stalking, Mental illness, and Classism
bootsmom3's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, and Physical abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail and Pregnancy
megsbookishadventures's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
lucy__342's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
I think out of all Talia Hibbirt books Cash and Bailey are 100% my fave as a couple. But the storyline was very mediocre yet the characters were lovable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse and Child abuse
what_karla_reads's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
5/5 stars
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Cursing
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
notsobinaryart's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Mental illness
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child abuse, Death, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Pedophilia
sienasummerrreads's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.5
First Christmas read for 2023 and unfortunately, it missed the mark for me. I went into this blind and didn’t know what to expect. I mention a few scenes below which may contain spoilers.
The author references the MMC as an alphamello bad boy. I found him quite mushy. At the start, he was kind, fluffy and nice but then it turned into him being grumpy and all over the place with his mood when working for him. The FMC labelled a good girl who was shy at the start but then got confident way too fast. I didn’t fall in love with their connection.
I would have loved to see more information on the FMC’s family and the homeless storyline of the MMC. I have many unanswered questions.
There are a couple of scenes that drove me a little crazy. First is when they have their first sexual encounter after the kiss. She was giving him a blowie behind the reception desk and a co-worker interrupted and nearly caught them. Fast forward to later that day they didn’t discuss what happened and ended the chapter with come spend time with my family at Christmas we are leaving on the 23rd. The next chapter came and they were in the car on the way to celebrate Christmas. These characters had no discussions about the encounter except it mentions they texted dog memes to each other. I would have expected being your first encounter pushing the boundaries we would have gotten some sort of communication after nearly being caught but nothing except dog memes. Lastly, she works on her assignment early morning on Christmas Eve after spending a night together. He woke up and saw she was upset and stressed which resulted in her losing words on her upcoming assignment which is said to be months away. She lost the words due to her laptop playing up. Working on this assignment makes no sense due to it being Christmas and also this man whips out a Christmas present which ends up being a new laptop at that exact moment. I don’t recall her mentioning previously her laptop was playing up throughout the book until this point.
I appreciate the idea of the story but the execution wasn’t for me.
If you love:
🔹Holiday Reads
🔹Workplace
🔹One Bed
🔹Tattoo Artist & Receptionist
🔹Fast Paced
🔹Quick Easy Read
Genre/Type: Christmas Romance 18+
APK: Kindle
Pages: 190
Rating: 🌟🌟.5
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Tropes or Themes: Christmas, Barista, Workplace, One Bed, Boss, Receptionist, Tattoo Parlour, Artist, Plus Size, Sexual Content, Cursing, Alcohol & Third Person. Mentions: DV & Violence
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
The author references the MMC as an alphamello bad boy. I found him quite mushy. At the start, he was kind, fluffy and nice but then it turned into him being grumpy and all over the place with his mood when working for him. The FMC labelled a good girl who was shy at the start but then got confident way too fast. I didn’t fall in love with their connection.
I would have loved to see more information on the FMC’s family and the homeless storyline of the MMC. I have many unanswered questions.
There are a couple of scenes that drove me a little crazy. First is when they have their first sexual encounter after the kiss. She was giving him a blowie behind the reception desk and a co-worker interrupted and nearly caught them. Fast forward to later that day they didn’t discuss what happened and ended the chapter with come spend time with my family at Christmas we are leaving on the 23rd. The next chapter came and they were in the car on the way to celebrate Christmas. These characters had no discussions about the encounter except it mentions they texted dog memes to each other. I would have expected being your first encounter pushing the boundaries we would have gotten some sort of communication after nearly being caught but nothing except dog memes. Lastly, she works on her assignment early morning on Christmas Eve after spending a night together. He woke up and saw she was upset and stressed which resulted in her losing words on her upcoming assignment which is said to be months away. She lost the words due to her laptop playing up. Working on this assignment makes no sense due to it being Christmas and also this man whips out a Christmas present which ends up being a new laptop at that exact moment. I don’t recall her mentioning previously her laptop was playing up throughout the book until this point.
I appreciate the idea of the story but the execution wasn’t for me.
If you love:
🔹Holiday Reads
🔹Workplace
🔹One Bed
🔹Tattoo Artist & Receptionist
🔹Fast Paced
🔹Quick Easy Read
Genre/Type: Christmas Romance 18+
APK: Kindle
Pages: 190
Rating: 🌟🌟.5
Spice: 🌶️
Series or Stand Alone: Stand Alone
Tropes or Themes: Christmas, Barista, Workplace, One Bed, Boss, Receptionist, Tattoo Parlour, Artist, Plus Size, Sexual Content, Cursing, Alcohol & Third Person. Mentions: DV & Violence
Check Triggers ⚠️ 💫
All Round Romance Reader
Sienasummerrreads 💕📚
TikTok | Instagram | Goodreads | StoryGraph | Everand | Amazon | Audible Reviews 💫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Physical abuse and Violence