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knitdyeread's review against another edition
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
amberinpieces's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Cursing, and Alcohol
Minor: Antisemitism, Death, Death of parent, Biphobia, Terminal illness, Classism, and Sexual content
chandlery's review against another edition
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death, Alcoholism, and Grief
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Two women brought together by grief become instant enemies & hate-work together to save the tree farm their departed loved one left behind. A charming fall/winter enemies to lovers holiday romance. I enjoyed the characters and how they worked through their respective trauma. I wish the dad had been a character and not just a boogie man, and that we got more of the tree farm flavor than the small glimpse.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Child abuse, Grief, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism
Toxic parent, narcissistjfhobbit's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Grief
lady_valhella's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Miriam is a mess, Noel is a toxic. Both have scars from their pasts but Noel is so high up on that horse that she seems to think only her past trauma is legit and all other past traumas can be managed if you just try harder. Tara is the only worth while character in this whole scenario and Miriam does her dirty more than once and Tara has the grace to forgive this woman.
That is just my issue with main stream character and the love triangle.
That is just my issue with main stream character and the love triangle.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Death, Body shaming, Bullying, and Cultural appropriation
There are so many other things I disliked about the story and the writing. I just can’t for the life of me understand why Miriam and Noel are into each other and recognize that even with therapy they are bad news for each other. Noel is emotionally abusive IMO. And I am all for WLW but Miriam should have ended up with Cole, especially since Cole and Hannah were never shipped, total missed opportunity there. I am not Bi and cannot speak to what that feels like but I am clutching my pearls at the fact that Miriam is supposedly bi but is only into women unless Timothy Oliphant showed up at her door. I mean Cole is all the things she needs in a partner and I am upset that I have to read a queer book and advocate for the hetro style ship here. Why Tara was ever slightly interested in Miriam is beyond me. And I have never in all my years of reading ever heard an author describe a character as Fat unless, MAYBE, they were describing an undesirable character.sarahthescrivnr's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child abuse
Minor: Alcoholism and Death of parent
moonyreadsbystarlight's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a neat holiday romance. There was more emotional depth around the events that are described in the blurb than I thought there might be, which was a nice surprise. There was a realistic amount of mess and grieving as well as discussion of trauma. I really loved that other friendships and community were also a big part of the book, not just minor characters shoehorned in.
I liked so much about this, but there were parts of the writing that just weren't for me. I can't describe it much without spoilers or just talking for longer than a book review should be. Even still, it was a good read!
And for those who care, the spicy scenes are fade to black. So, while there's plenty of lusting, this may be good for folks who aren't super into heavy sex scenes.
I liked so much about this, but there were parts of the writing that just weren't for me. I can't describe it much without spoilers or just talking for longer than a book review should be. Even still, it was a good read!
And for those who care, the spicy scenes are fade to black. So, while there's plenty of lusting, this may be good for folks who aren't super into heavy sex scenes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death, Cancer, Grief, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Fatphobia, Antisemitism, and Drug use
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
3.5
My final holiday read of 2023! This was sort of a Jewish-Christmas mash-up, as a lot of the characters are Jewish but they are trying to save Carrigan's Christmasland. The premise was fun, the characters were pretty well rounded for the most part, and it had some excellent holiday vibes.
I do think the book itself was slightly longer than it needed to be. Part of that was because of how much time takes place, I think. It just felt a little drawn out. But I did enjoy the romance! It felt realistic to me.
If you do pick this up, be warned there are some pretty heavy themes of grief and dealing with past traumas from abuse. It's still a rom-com, but definitely with some heavier themes.
I do think the book itself was slightly longer than it needed to be. Part of that was because of how much time takes place, I think. It just felt a little drawn out. But I did enjoy the romance! It felt realistic to me.
If you do pick this up, be warned there are some pretty heavy themes of grief and dealing with past traumas from abuse. It's still a rom-com, but definitely with some heavier themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death, Child abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Antisemitism and Sexual content
softstuff513's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
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? Yes
2.5
The readers voices annoyed me, and the main character annoyed me. I did like how Jewish it was. You don’t see that often. And cass reminded me of my great aunt…. Also ended on a really random cliffhanger? (Not a spoiler because the cliffhanger is unrelated to the rest of the story) Is there supposed to be a sequel? The pacing was really weird… felt like it rushed through some parts, and characters kept popping up it was hard to track if they were there the whole time or are flying in and out of state…???
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Grief