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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
slow-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Just For December cemented my appreciation for Williams’ writings. She is really good with charging her storylines with emotional depth and creating multi-dimensional characters for protagnists. Evie and Duke come from the same world, yet are totally the opposite. Their interests and goals in life differ. Throughout the sampler, we get to see glimpses of their personalities, dreams and struggles. They got off on the wrong foot which flared their dislike towards each other then ended up fake dating . Truthfully, their relationship felt more like a grumpy x sunshine trope than an enemies to lovers, but again, it was only a sampler that was cut short at the raising action. The best part is yet to come. I really enjoyed the setting, it gives off the romantic, happily ever after, fuzzy vibes. I have a feeling that Duke is going to be the first to fall in love.
Definitely, it’s a book worth reading during the festive season curled up in a ball and enjoying a mug of hot chocolate. I can't wait to read all of it!
Definitely, it’s a book worth reading during the festive season curled up in a ball and enjoying a mug of hot chocolate. I can't wait to read all of it!
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book started off rough for me. It's written in the present tense and it took me about 40% of the way through before I stopped noticing. There was also a long build up to our hero and heroine even liking each other and then it went to top speed except for the obligatory Big Misunderstanding.
Evie is our heroine and she is dealing with a lot. Her mother is in an Alzheimer's care facility but Evie has a spending habit which means that she hasn't actually paid the bill in three months. This spending issue, by the way, is somewhat resolved but this is a long-term issue that will need more than just her friends' peppiness to resolve. In addition to the spending issues, Evie's other sins include being anti-human (grumpy) and determined to believe the worse in... everyone. Including the actor who is portraying the hero of one of her books which is being adapted into a movie.
Duke Carlisle genuinely enjoys Evie's books. They bring him joy in a world that contained his alcoholic mother and his costar/girlfriend has just been outed as having an affair with their director. And he was pretty sure he was in love with her. Mostly. And now Evie is being downright rude to him and the resulting negative publicity is probably going to tank their movie. So the studio heads think that Evie and Duke dating will bring them some good will. He needs just a little extra since he is up for a big award for one of his guest star roles. Evie's a prickly bush but he finds himself strangely attracted.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Evie is a writer, and she's not the kind making waves on Booktok. She doesn't even have any social media accounts, nor does she do signings or interact with her fans. She writes books and goes on with her life. Until one of her books is made into a movie, and they require her to join them on location in Germany. She gets off on the wrong foot with the leading man, Duke, and somehow, they fake date to make things better. Duke manages to thaw her frozen, cynical heart, but is it enough to bring these two opposites together and pull off a Christmas miracle?
This book had so much potential that I was thrilled when I got an ARC copy of it. Enemies to lovers, fake relationships, and a celeb-normie paring? Sign me up! But two things had me slogging through this like I was breaking a path through 3ft of snow. The first, and bigger thing, is Evie. She's not just brusque or introverted, or bad at communicating. Oh no, Evie is downright mean and cruel. I couldn't stand her at the beginning of the book, and later on, when she was facing a broken heart because of a (fake dating trope required) misunderstanding with Duke, I thought to myself: oh, that serves her right. ((I am aware that is not very kind of me.)) -2 stars for an unlikable heroine.
The second thing that I couldn't stand, is that the author doesn't seem to have done any research on Germany (or perhaps Europe?), because throughout the book, she calls the freeways in Germany the "autostrada" which is Italian, and in Germany, they're called the Autobahn. A very particular thing, but as someone who has lived in Germany, I know that people around the world know what it's called, because I often got asked about what driving on the Autobahn is like. -.5 stars for a lack of Google skills.
I wouldn't recommend this book, which makes me sad, because the book was well written.
I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.
This book had so much potential that I was thrilled when I got an ARC copy of it. Enemies to lovers, fake relationships, and a celeb-normie paring? Sign me up! But two things had me slogging through this like I was breaking a path through 3ft of snow. The first, and bigger thing, is Evie. She's not just brusque or introverted, or bad at communicating. Oh no, Evie is downright mean and cruel. I couldn't stand her at the beginning of the book, and later on, when she was facing a broken heart because of a (fake dating trope required) misunderstanding with Duke, I thought to myself: oh, that serves her right. ((I am aware that is not very kind of me.)) -2 stars for an unlikable heroine.
The second thing that I couldn't stand, is that the author doesn't seem to have done any research on Germany (or perhaps Europe?), because throughout the book, she calls the freeways in Germany the "autostrada" which is Italian, and in Germany, they're called the Autobahn. A very particular thing, but as someone who has lived in Germany, I know that people around the world know what it's called, because I often got asked about what driving on the Autobahn is like. -.5 stars for a lack of Google skills.
I wouldn't recommend this book, which makes me sad, because the book was well written.
I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.
adventurous
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
Soo I have read this book in less than a day because I LOVE Laura Jane Williams books and this book was no exception.
Where do I start?
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I had high hopes for Just for December, having read all of Williams' previous books, and I was not let down at all! This book is my favourite out of all the books she has written -so far!
To start off I didn't fully like the main character, Evie as she was cold to everyone and really kept to herself and I felt she got annoyed too easily, however knowing she doesn't interact much with people it seems normal to be annoyed with somethign you aren't very used to. Enter Duke. Duke is an actor, and all round dreamy guy. Both Evie and Duke have secrets they would rather not have the world find out, and once they start to get to know eachother their secrets become more apparent to them, as well as allowing them to form a deeper bond. I liked how one thing Evie was keeping from others was mentioned at the start, and I was worried it would never be mentioned again, but it does closer to the end which was satisfying.
Tropes!
If you know me you'll know my favourite trope of all is fake dating, and behold Just for December has exactly that! There is also, forced proximity, some-what-enemies to lovers,
Despite being set in December, the book doesn't focus on Christmas time and winter, though both play a part in it, and reading it during a very hot day in August it was nice to escape somewhere cooler, so yes this book can definitely be read at whatever time of the year.
I am giving this book 5 stars and I am very excited for the next book by Laura Jane Williams!