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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
This was OK. I probably would’ve given at 2 1/2 stars if I could have. I’m not exactly sure if it was the book or if it was the fact that I was distracted. I liked the group of friends, especially when the guys all got together. The audible narration was good, and I always enjoy Lucy Score’s writing style.
3.75
I could have done without the many comments about calories and dieting but this was a cute and spicy Hallmark vibes Christmas book.
I could have done without the many comments about calories and dieting but this was a cute and spicy Hallmark vibes Christmas book.
how did i read this already? is this a repub? i'm so clueless sometimes i swear! anyway! this is for those hgtv lovers – i felt like i was watching one of my favorite shows play out on the pages alongside a cute little romcom.
*thanks to bloom books and netgalley for the ARC!*
*thanks to bloom books and netgalley for the ARC!*
lighthearted
Wow do I have thoughts. To make this easier, let’s talk about the good first, and then the bad.
The Good:
I generally don’t like Christmas romances because they remind me too much of terrible Hallmark movies, but I think this book strikes a good balance between having Christmas elements and still a decent storyline that could exist outside of it being Christmas time. The actual story here outside of the romance is really good. I love HGTV, so the story of a fixer upper tv show star with a heart of gold swooping in to save a devastated Christmas town in time for the holidays is a great premise in my opinion.
Cat is also awesome (with one glaring flaw that we’ll get to). She such a strong character. I love how dedicated she is and she’s just so competent. Like really incredible at her job which is such an attractive quality. The side characters are also nice, though we don’t spend a ton of time with each one. I didn’t read the previous book with Paige and Gannon, but they were fun in this. I really liked Sara a whole lot.
The Bad:
Pretty much every issue I have with this book boils down to one thing: Noah Yates. He is insufferable. Clearly Lucy Score wanted this to be an enemies to lovers sort of book, but it so rarely works in contemporary romance because there are very few realistic reasons for two characters to hate each other in a real life setting and then find love. In this case, she makes the story enemies to lovers by making Noah an absolute piece of shit for the first half of the book. He is HORRIBLE to Cat, who does absolutely nothing to deserve his ire. He is judgmental, misogynistic, and just plain rude. It made it impossible for me to get behind the romance between him and Cat because he didn’t deserve her in the slightest.
In a way it makes Cat a worse character, because she is so firm about having self-respect and being treated right, but gets with this man who has done nothing but disrespect her since first meeting her. It makes no sense that they would be together. They’re both hot, so they’re attracted to each other, but they hate each other one minute, make out once when they’re drunk, and then all of a sudden there’s a spark there? Now he wants to treat her like a human being? Because he wants to have sex with her? And once they have sex, he suddenly becomes such a caring guy. The problem is, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that he’s this kind, caring, affectionate man when he has shown only the opposite until they sleep together. It’s gross.
The sex scenes in this book are also not it. Parts of them are okay, but the language the author uses to describe it feel icky to me. It’s just not my thing.
Overall:
The first half of the book is not good, primarily because Noah is so awful. The second half is really good, because he’s no longer a piece of shit, but is tainted by knowing where they started. I think this is an entertaining read, and I think a lot of romance readers will enjoy it if they can get past Noah’s terrible personality. Would I recommend it? Probably not. But I do understand why some people really enjoyed this book.
The Good:
I generally don’t like Christmas romances because they remind me too much of terrible Hallmark movies, but I think this book strikes a good balance between having Christmas elements and still a decent storyline that could exist outside of it being Christmas time. The actual story here outside of the romance is really good. I love HGTV, so the story of a fixer upper tv show star with a heart of gold swooping in to save a devastated Christmas town in time for the holidays is a great premise in my opinion.
Cat is also awesome (with one glaring flaw that we’ll get to). She such a strong character. I love how dedicated she is and she’s just so competent. Like really incredible at her job which is such an attractive quality. The side characters are also nice, though we don’t spend a ton of time with each one. I didn’t read the previous book with Paige and Gannon, but they were fun in this. I really liked Sara a whole lot.
The Bad:
Pretty much every issue I have with this book boils down to one thing: Noah Yates. He is insufferable. Clearly Lucy Score wanted this to be an enemies to lovers sort of book, but it so rarely works in contemporary romance because there are very few realistic reasons for two characters to hate each other in a real life setting and then find love. In this case, she makes the story enemies to lovers by making Noah an absolute piece of shit for the first half of the book. He is HORRIBLE to Cat, who does absolutely nothing to deserve his ire. He is judgmental, misogynistic, and just plain rude. It made it impossible for me to get behind the romance between him and Cat because he didn’t deserve her in the slightest.
In a way it makes Cat a worse character, because she is so firm about having self-respect and being treated right, but gets with this man who has done nothing but disrespect her since first meeting her. It makes no sense that they would be together. They’re both hot, so they’re attracted to each other, but they hate each other one minute, make out once when they’re drunk, and then all of a sudden there’s a spark there? Now he wants to treat her like a human being? Because he wants to have sex with her? And once they have sex, he suddenly becomes such a caring guy. The problem is, I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that he’s this kind, caring, affectionate man when he has shown only the opposite until they sleep together. It’s gross.
The sex scenes in this book are also not it. Parts of them are okay, but the language the author uses to describe it feel icky to me. It’s just not my thing.
Overall:
The first half of the book is not good, primarily because Noah is so awful. The second half is really good, because he’s no longer a piece of shit, but is tainted by knowing where they started. I think this is an entertaining read, and I think a lot of romance readers will enjoy it if they can get past Noah’s terrible personality. Would I recommend it? Probably not. But I do understand why some people really enjoyed this book.
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
It is a quick read and gets you in the Christmas spirit!
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-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 ⭐️ This was a lovely read! It is basically a Hallmark Christmas movie in a book, which is exactly what I was wanting! I loved this story, this town, and it was a nice, easy enemies-to-lovers escape.
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
emotional
lighthearted
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