Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist by Edward Thomas, Brooke Bloomingdale, Codi Hall

24 reviews

bookcheshirecat's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

2.5

 “Losing the people she loved was her biggest fear. Yet, she knew at times, she pushed them away. She should have been better to Gabby. But she was too caught up in her own grief at the time.”

➽ Oh dear, this book was such a mess 🙈 I had some hopes for this series, especially as I had an Arc for the second book, but Nick & Noel's Christmas Playlist was a chore to get through. The story is about Nick who is coming back from military service and his best friend Noel, who is basically part of his family as they are so close. I was expecting a cute, festive friends-to-lovers romance, but I didn't like any of the characters or dynamics in this book!

➽ Noel gives off huge 'Not Like Other Girls' vibes and spends the entire book fighting Nick's ex. Please let us leave these tropes behind, they are SO tiring! Noel makes a point of setting herself apart from other women and how she's 'one of the guys', especially as she only has one female friend (Gabby). It was clear that she saw herself as better than Nick's ex and their immature fighting was so embarrassing for two grown women. Noel couldn't control herself (even resorting to physically attacking Nick's ex at one point) and the entire girl-on-girl (or rather woman-on-woman) hate was just because of their relationship with Nick 🙃

➽ The romance wasn't my cup of tea at all. I like friends-to-lovers romances when they are done well and this wasn't the case here! Nick and Noel didn't have any chemistry and their getting together felt so forced and sudden that I didn't get to root for them at all. Add to that the drama of Nick's ex and Noel's own dalliances and they got on my nerves.

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sophiemartin's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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eryn_gilbert's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

3.0

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ggreen1379's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sami_leigh's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

⭐️⭐️.75/5
🌶️🌶️/5

“Every time I’m with her, it’s like the world shines a little brighter.”

🎄 Friends to lovers
🎄 Slow burn
🎄 He falls first
🎄 FMC overcomes trauma surrounding death of parents 
🎄 Family Christmas Tree Farm
🎄 Some well established secondary characters 
🎄 Fake dating (briefly to make exes jealous)
🎄 Found family
🎄 Epilogue

🚩 Toxic masculinity & sexism in characters’ speech & thoughts towards each other. Writing normalises men being shamed as ‘effeminate’ & ‘enuch’, women as ‘ho’, ‘bitch’, and slut-shamed.
🚩 Little growth in characters surrounding sexist & toxic remarks
🚩 Moderate typos

⚠️ Pregnancy, moderate violence, car accident (not on page), death of parents (not on page), misogyny/sexism, toxic relationship, toxic friendship, vomit, MC returns from active duty in military.
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aflseniors09's review against another edition

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challenging emotional fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

It's fine. Cute cheesy romance. 
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leau84x's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

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filipa_maia's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.0

Alright, this is not (by far) my kind of book! With that being said: this book is really cute.

The story is well thought and the characters have really great background stories, all of them (even Amber). Noel's past really touch my heart. I understood her emotions and actions. Nick's character is super kind and lovable and his family is adorable and caring. Such a warm and cute book. Just perfect for Christmas.

The reason why I don't read this genre is well portrait in this book: girls fighting each other for a guy, characters who just don't make up their minds, and every single sex scene is described with very excruciating details (we get it - he is hot, she is hot, they have lots of sex).

Anyway, if this is your type of book, go ahead, you will enjoy it! 
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kb33's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Cute. I liked the main characters and family. The catty ex/frenemy was a tired old trope that would have been better left out. 
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meganfischer's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.5

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