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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
sugarcainn's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence and Domestic abuse
jillkaarlela's review
emotional
hopeful
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
4.5
Taylor Swift Songs: “peace”, “Afterglow”
Age rating: 17+ (3 steamy chapters, 1.5/5🌶️)
Why did I wait so long to read Talia Hibbert’s books??? They are so good!!! I really enjoyed this sweet and spicy yet remarkably moving holiday novella! I loved that while it was an uplifting romance, it also dealt with issues of parental trauma, homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health (specifically intrusive thoughts) etc. and in a novella, no less!! The characters in the book were so charismatic and I really liked them for each other!! If you like “he falls first and falls harder”, you will LOVEEEE Cash, because this man is OBSESSED with her!! And we love a giant tatted grumpy/shy man!!!! He’s so cute, I love him!! While everything did happen pretty quickly, since this was a novella, I feel like it all made sense and felt right/not rushed. It still had emotional growth and depth while being relatively short. Overall, really enjoyed this quick read, and I highly recommend!
TW: domestic abuse, violence, intrusive thoughts, homelessness, parental death
Age rating: 17+ (3 steamy chapters, 1.5/5🌶️)
Why did I wait so long to read Talia Hibbert’s books??? They are so good!!! I really enjoyed this sweet and spicy yet remarkably moving holiday novella! I loved that while it was an uplifting romance, it also dealt with issues of parental trauma, homelessness, domestic abuse, mental health (specifically intrusive thoughts) etc. and in a novella, no less!! The characters in the book were so charismatic and I really liked them for each other!! If you like “he falls first and falls harder”, you will LOVEEEE Cash, because this man is OBSESSED with her!! And we love a giant tatted grumpy/shy man!!!! He’s so cute, I love him!! While everything did happen pretty quickly, since this was a novella, I feel like it all made sense and felt right/not rushed. It still had emotional growth and depth while being relatively short. Overall, really enjoyed this quick read, and I highly recommend!
TW: domestic abuse, violence, intrusive thoughts, homelessness, parental death
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Violence
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
mslori's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I loved Baily's character, I however, did not like Cash. Just too moody, justified moodiness, but still not something I'd want to deal with in real life. And I felt things were a bit rushed in the end. So very cute, but not my fav of Hibberts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Domestic abuse
alexareads27's review
hopeful
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
3.75
As usual I love Hibbert’s writing! I felt the ending was a tad rushed and wish the book was longer.
Content Warnings
Minor: Domestic abuse and Violence
kbairbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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
This was short, and sweeter than I had expected! Yes I imagined there would be sexy parts but the heart behind it was really lovely.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy
lovelymisanthrope's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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
3.0
This was a really sweet and quick Christmas themed romance. "Merry Inkmas" follows Bailey, a barista who gets fired for helping out a homeless friend, and Cash, the owner of a tattoo studio who decides to step in and help because he has secretly been crushing on Bailey for months. The story kicks off a few weeks before Christmas, Cash's favorite time of year.
This novella is only 210 pages, so the story moves really quickly, but I did not think it felt too insta-lovey, which is a huge testament to the talent of Talia Hibbert. This definitely would be a fun read around the holidays because it really gets you into the Christmas spirit. I really enjoyed seeing Bailey and Cash fall for one another and see them help one another overcome traumas in their past. I look forward to reading more from Talia in the future.
This novella is only 210 pages, so the story moves really quickly, but I did not think it felt too insta-lovey, which is a huge testament to the talent of Talia Hibbert. This definitely would be a fun read around the holidays because it really gets you into the Christmas spirit. I really enjoyed seeing Bailey and Cash fall for one another and see them help one another overcome traumas in their past. I look forward to reading more from Talia in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence
Minor: Death of parent
ziraa's review
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While this book has diverse characters, the lead is somewhat relatable and the love interest is the grumpy-heart-of-gold we all know and love, I felt the character development was cut short. Both the love interest and main character struggle with emotional issues and what I think would be some form of PTSD or trauma, which is something so interesting to read in a spicy book and, in my view, makes the characters and the story feel less shallow and gives the book real relevance; but unlike in some of her other works (like the Brown Sisters series), the issues they both faced are presented and mentioned throughout the book in both of their POV's, but there's no real arc to be seen, just their problems and how they decide to completely ignore them to succumb to their horniness . Then again, it´s a bit over 200 hundred pages, so you really can't get everything.
I do have to admit that I adore the way Hibbert ads secondary characters that feel diverse and very rounded without info-dumping or making very obvious hints towards their particular characteristics.
I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because, while it lacked the character development I'm used to seeing in her other novels, the story felt true and believe, it was fast-paced, the spicy was just right, it had an emotional factor that had me wanting to hug the characters and give them hot chocolate, and it definitely made my Christmas eve and Christmas day a whole lot more entertaining.
I do have to admit that I adore the way Hibbert ads secondary characters that feel diverse and very rounded without info-dumping or making very obvious hints towards their particular characteristics.
I gave it 3 out of 5 stars because, while it lacked the character development I'm used to seeing in her other novels, the story felt true and believe, it was fast-paced, the spicy was just right, it had an emotional factor that had me wanting to hug the characters and give them hot chocolate, and it definitely made my Christmas eve and Christmas day a whole lot more entertaining.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence