Scan barcode
coligmueller's review against another edition
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
morganwiard's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? No
2.5
Good narrator for the audiobook!
Literally devastating though. I am sick with sadness and rage.
To be fair to the author, I should not have gone in blind on this one. I was looking for a winter time read cause they usually help me see winter a little more positively rather than see it as pure seasonal depression, but this was the absolute wrong choice for that type of read. 😂
However, I will hand it to her that she is a good writer. Creative story line and good characters. Seems the story was very well thought out and I really admire that. BUT, the ending ruined the entire book for me. The author chose violence against her readers, and I can’t forgive it. 😂😂😂
If you’re easily devastated, I strongly recommend looking up the trigger warnings on this one.
Literally devastating though. I am sick with sadness and rage.
To be fair to the author, I should not have gone in blind on this one. I was looking for a winter time read cause they usually help me see winter a little more positively rather than see it as pure seasonal depression, but this was the absolute wrong choice for that type of read. 😂
However, I will hand it to her that she is a good writer. Creative story line and good characters. Seems the story was very well thought out and I really admire that. BUT, the ending ruined the entire book for me. The author chose violence against her readers, and I can’t forgive it. 😂😂😂
If you’re easily devastated, I strongly recommend looking up the trigger warnings on this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Car accident, Grief, and Medical content
anniesbookpicks's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Cancer
hannah_steven's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Car accident, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cancer
shel_bay11's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, and Terminal illness
carmenvillaman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
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? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
backpackingbookworm's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Terminal illness
kerrygetsliterary's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent and Infidelity
soobooksalot's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This may have been a case of "the cover made me do it". I'm a sucker for beautiful winter/holiday book covers!
Christmas is tough for Josie, the main character of Always, In December.
She lost her parents in a car accident on Christmas Day and has a secret tradition to write a letter to them every year since.
En route to mail her letter, she falls in the street and meets Max. Sparks are immediate, despite recent breakups on either side.
The description of this one said its's an emotional and romantic read. And it does get there! Much of it fell flat for me until the end, unfortunately. Perhaps a pacing issue.
It happens! Onto the next!
Christmas is tough for Josie, the main character of Always, In December.
She lost her parents in a car accident on Christmas Day and has a secret tradition to write a letter to them every year since.
En route to mail her letter, she falls in the street and meets Max. Sparks are immediate, despite recent breakups on either side.
The description of this one said its's an emotional and romantic read. And it does get there! Much of it fell flat for me until the end, unfortunately. Perhaps a pacing issue.
It happens! Onto the next!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, and Infidelity
bethanyearle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
sad
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Minor: Cancer