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authormadisonnoelle's review
3.0
What I Liked: This imagery in this book is beautifully written. I could picture Hollydell so vividly! It was the perfect wintery holiday setting. And who doesn’t love books set in Scotland!?
What I didn’t: Maggie was kind of ridiculous. How many times must you be brushed off in 6 months before you realize you no longer have a relationship? Also, she was kind of…a snob, snarky and rude for no reason. And kind of a wuss. Take charge of your life, woman!! And the self-deprecating nonsense got a little old. Also… The freaking fat phobia! Holy balls..don’t worry about eating too many calories, because you can work it off on a hike, he broke up with me because I’m fat, the calorie guilt…UGH. Enough already! Seriously, as someone who has worried about calories for over 25 years and now has a healthy relationship with food, this is just ridiculous. Also, I don’t think this can really be categorized as a romance because there wasn’t really much to it until the last 20 or so pages.
It might sound like I hated this book. I really didn’t. I actually really enjoyed it. I mean, you can’t get a more Christmassy town than Hollydell. The descriptions were magical. And it wasn’t cheesy in the slightest. I just really wish the romance had more meat to it. I definitely recommend it for a fun holiday read as long as you don’t expect to much in the romance department.
What I didn’t: Maggie was kind of ridiculous. How many times must you be brushed off in 6 months before you realize you no longer have a relationship? Also, she was kind of…a snob, snarky and rude for no reason. And kind of a wuss. Take charge of your life, woman!! And the self-deprecating nonsense got a little old. Also… The freaking fat phobia! Holy balls..don’t worry about eating too many calories, because you can work it off on a hike, he broke up with me because I’m fat, the calorie guilt…UGH. Enough already! Seriously, as someone who has worried about calories for over 25 years and now has a healthy relationship with food, this is just ridiculous. Also, I don’t think this can really be categorized as a romance because there wasn’t really much to it until the last 20 or so pages.
It might sound like I hated this book. I really didn’t. I actually really enjoyed it. I mean, you can’t get a more Christmassy town than Hollydell. The descriptions were magical. And it wasn’t cheesy in the slightest. I just really wish the romance had more meat to it. I definitely recommend it for a fun holiday read as long as you don’t expect to much in the romance department.
annewithabook's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
4.25
I really enjoyed this book! It's got that perfect cozy romance feel combined with the magic of Christmas. Although the characters (outside of Maggie) don't have strong development, they are all sweet and fun. Maggie was a bit annoying with how she just couldn't take a hint from Dirk and move on, but I loved the magic feel of Hollydell. If you are looking for that perfect feel of Christmas, this book will definitely be great for you! I also appreciated how it's a clean romance, with more focus on the characters getting to know each other instead of jumping in bed together.
sophcart_'s review
Sadly too many mentions of “is this Christmas food worth the calories?” and “I’ll need to take a walk to burn off this food!”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
Although it doesn’t mention eating disorders, I believe some phrases could be triggering to those who’ve had or have eating disorders.