Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
So I am not a fan of Christmas, but I do enjoy holiday books. It makes no sense because I do not get fired up about holidays in general. For me this book was a 3.5 rounded up. I thought it was funny in places, but not as funny as some of Lydon's other books. I thought the characters were okay, and I enjoyed it enough to continue the series. I typically love the friend to lover romance but this one isn't a favorite. Just kind of a light romance, something I would consider a quick read. If you want some easy entertainment, with a few laugh and chuckle moments this would be the perfect book. If you are a fan of Lydon this one will not disappoint. I can easily see why this could be a favorite of theirs.
***No Synopsis, But Probably Spoilers***
I do not give out five star reviews very often. There are a lot of books that I like, but not very many that I love; that will stay with me long after the first reading. All I Want For Christmas has profoundly changed my attitude as I am not a Christmas-y sort of person, but this book has put me in a festive state quite appropriate for the season. Having just finished it, I am considering getting the Christmas decorations out of the loft a few weeks early.
Now, I read the one star and two star reviews for this book and it's funny how subjective book tastes are for each reader. I can see their point. You either love Tori Hammond or you hate her. I happen to love her. Yes, she is flighty and prone to rash choices and drama, but she is like the Lucille Ball of this romantic comedy. She LOVES Christmas. She loves the sights, sounds, tastes and the overall feeling of the holiday so it makes sense that it is going to amp up her quirkiness to a level 10.
The book itself is like an advent calendar, with each chapter a countdown until Christmas day. Ms. Lydon's knack for witty banter and situational comedy is on steroids for this book. There were a few occasions where I had to set the book aside due to fits of laughing. Part of her humor is how she uses references to pop culture to point out the silliness of a situation. When Tori is preparing for one of her blind dates she says, "...tonight I was turning my attention to Jenny, who was not from the block, but rather from West London." There are little gems like these throughout the book that made me smile to myself. I am not going to spoil some of the book's grander comedic moments.
Ms. Lydon also has a penchant for using imagery in the most wonderful ways. She takes everyday things and turns them into the most delightful metaphors. Here is a stellar example: "It was as if my mind had just installed a photo editor and was trying out every happy filter possible. Right now, my whole world was set to Sunshine and Yellow Glow." Her novels always include these types of surprises.
Yes, this is a five star book for me. I am not comparing it to the great tomes of the twenty-first century, but for me, at this moment, it was perfect.
I do not give out five star reviews very often. There are a lot of books that I like, but not very many that I love; that will stay with me long after the first reading. All I Want For Christmas has profoundly changed my attitude as I am not a Christmas-y sort of person, but this book has put me in a festive state quite appropriate for the season. Having just finished it, I am considering getting the Christmas decorations out of the loft a few weeks early.
Now, I read the one star and two star reviews for this book and it's funny how subjective book tastes are for each reader. I can see their point. You either love Tori Hammond or you hate her. I happen to love her. Yes, she is flighty and prone to rash choices and drama, but she is like the Lucille Ball of this romantic comedy. She LOVES Christmas. She loves the sights, sounds, tastes and the overall feeling of the holiday so it makes sense that it is going to amp up her quirkiness to a level 10.
The book itself is like an advent calendar, with each chapter a countdown until Christmas day. Ms. Lydon's knack for witty banter and situational comedy is on steroids for this book. There were a few occasions where I had to set the book aside due to fits of laughing. Part of her humor is how she uses references to pop culture to point out the silliness of a situation. When Tori is preparing for one of her blind dates she says, "...tonight I was turning my attention to Jenny, who was not from the block, but rather from West London." There are little gems like these throughout the book that made me smile to myself. I am not going to spoil some of the book's grander comedic moments.
Ms. Lydon also has a penchant for using imagery in the most wonderful ways. She takes everyday things and turns them into the most delightful metaphors. Here is a stellar example: "It was as if my mind had just installed a photo editor and was trying out every happy filter possible. Right now, my whole world was set to Sunshine and Yellow Glow." Her novels always include these types of surprises.
Yes, this is a five star book for me. I am not comparing it to the great tomes of the twenty-first century, but for me, at this moment, it was perfect.
Disappointing
The book started pretty well, it was cute and Christmas-y and the failed dates were embarrassingly hilarious. But then the 'almost' girl from the past showed up and the main character turned completely unlikable. Her obsession with her teenage crush was irritating at best. I wish the story was more focused on the relationship that actually turned out to be the right one instead of putting it in the back until probably around 3/4 into the book and then rush it.
The book started pretty well, it was cute and Christmas-y and the failed dates were embarrassingly hilarious. But then the 'almost' girl from the past showed up and the main character turned completely unlikable. Her obsession with her teenage crush was irritating at best. I wish the story was more focused on the relationship that actually turned out to be the right one instead of putting it in the back until probably around 3/4 into the book and then rush it.
This was quite repetitive sadly. My main gripe though is how quickly the characters assumed someones sexuality. If a character has been in f/m relationships previously, them now being in a sapphic or achillean relationship doesn't mean they're then gay or lesbian. Most media making even queer stories binary(to the point where they make a big deal about sapphics having been in f/m relationships previously etc) makes me tired and I don't want it. I might read more by this author, but this was not it
Rating: A mug of hot chocolate with marshmallows on top and a shot of peppermint schnapps
Highlight of note: One of our lead's dates goes so badly she falls asleep in the loo...
Will you read more by this author? Probably.
Other note: This is an adult romance and does have some explicit sex in it.
This sapphic romance is enjoyably cute with moments of hilarity. Tori decides in late November that she wants to have a girlfriend to spend Christmas with and figures that surely someone in London must be suitable. So she signs up on a dating app and launches into a series of comically bad dates. During the second disaster, right after she wakes up from a twenty minute nap in the bathroom during which her date bailed, she runs into a friend who has recently become engaged to a woman Tori hadn't met yet. Except when they meet, it turns out they did know each other. In fact, they were best friends in school, up until they shared a kiss and the other girl, Nicola, freaked so bad that not only did she stop talking to Tori altogether, she got pregnant! To say that this distracts Tori from her quest would be an understatement. Not only is her first love now openly interested in women and living in London, but she's a firefighter. Who wouldn't be distracted by that?
Tori's best friend and flatmate is named Holly due to being born on Christmas. (I really need to remember to thank my parents that I'm neither Holly nor Noelle.) I related a lot to Holly, being also tall and gorgeous. Wait. No. I'm short and, at best, cute. But when we find Holly sitting on the couch eating Picked Onion Monster Munch, watching soccer, and telling her friend she'd be happy to write a dating blurb for her but not until halftime, I went, "It's me! If I were younger, taller, and British!" Clearly, she was my favorite cast member.
Nicola was an interesting love interest, although clearly she has a lot of issues, not the least of which is that she's engaged to be married in a few weeks to someone who she's only known for a few months but is flirting and eventually making passes at "The Girl Who Got Away." Clearly, impulse control is something that Nicola struggles with.
And I'm not sure what to think of Tori's coworkers. Between her and her officemates, the same toaster sets of the fire alarm three times over the course of the month this book covers. Each time the buildinging is evacuated and the fire department shows up. If someone in my building did that and still hadn't replaced said toaster, I'm pretty sure I would gift them one for the holidays just so that I wouldn't keep getting forced out onto the sidewalk while I'm trying to work. Also, the fire department probably should have insisted on a new one by the time this had happened twice, shouldn't they?
At any rate... As I said before, parts of this book are riotously funny. And the romance is sweet with a resolution that made me smile. My only real complaint is that I felt like the book could have ended with the chapter that concluded at the 79% marker. The remaining twenty percent had some tie-up value, but nothing at all tense was left to resolve.
Overall, I really liked this book even if I thought it could have ended a smidge earlier. The author has a lot of other books out, including more in the "All I Want" series that covers what happens to Tori and her beloved later, and I will probably be checking those out.
To read the notes I took while reading, visit my blog at https://andyreadsthings.blogspot.com/2019/12/all-i-want-for-christmas-by-clare-lydon.html
Highlight of note: One of our lead's dates goes so badly she falls asleep in the loo...
Will you read more by this author? Probably.
Other note: This is an adult romance and does have some explicit sex in it.
This sapphic romance is enjoyably cute with moments of hilarity. Tori decides in late November that she wants to have a girlfriend to spend Christmas with and figures that surely someone in London must be suitable. So she signs up on a dating app and launches into a series of comically bad dates. During the second disaster, right after she wakes up from a twenty minute nap in the bathroom during which her date bailed, she runs into a friend who has recently become engaged to a woman Tori hadn't met yet. Except when they meet, it turns out they did know each other. In fact, they were best friends in school, up until they shared a kiss and the other girl, Nicola, freaked so bad that not only did she stop talking to Tori altogether, she got pregnant! To say that this distracts Tori from her quest would be an understatement. Not only is her first love now openly interested in women and living in London, but she's a firefighter. Who wouldn't be distracted by that?
Tori's best friend and flatmate is named Holly due to being born on Christmas. (I really need to remember to thank my parents that I'm neither Holly nor Noelle.) I related a lot to Holly, being also tall and gorgeous. Wait. No. I'm short and, at best, cute. But when we find Holly sitting on the couch eating Picked Onion Monster Munch, watching soccer, and telling her friend she'd be happy to write a dating blurb for her but not until halftime, I went, "It's me! If I were younger, taller, and British!" Clearly, she was my favorite cast member.
Nicola was an interesting love interest, although clearly she has a lot of issues, not the least of which is that she's engaged to be married in a few weeks to someone who she's only known for a few months but is flirting and eventually making passes at "The Girl Who Got Away." Clearly, impulse control is something that Nicola struggles with.
And I'm not sure what to think of Tori's coworkers. Between her and her officemates, the same toaster sets of the fire alarm three times over the course of the month this book covers. Each time the buildinging is evacuated and the fire department shows up. If someone in my building did that and still hadn't replaced said toaster, I'm pretty sure I would gift them one for the holidays just so that I wouldn't keep getting forced out onto the sidewalk while I'm trying to work. Also, the fire department probably should have insisted on a new one by the time this had happened twice, shouldn't they?
At any rate... As I said before, parts of this book are riotously funny. And the romance is sweet with a resolution that made me smile. My only real complaint is that I felt like the book could have ended with the chapter that concluded at the 79% marker. The remaining twenty percent had some tie-up value, but nothing at all tense was left to resolve.
Overall, I really liked this book even if I thought it could have ended a smidge earlier. The author has a lot of other books out, including more in the "All I Want" series that covers what happens to Tori and her beloved later, and I will probably be checking those out.
To read the notes I took while reading, visit my blog at https://andyreadsthings.blogspot.com/2019/12/all-i-want-for-christmas-by-clare-lydon.html
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not being a Christmas-sy person, I was skeptical about reading this book, but I ended up quite liking it. Christmas romance read on Christmas eve. Although I kind of saw the ending coming a couple chapters into the book, the journey Tori took in her quest for a Christmas girlfriend was very entertaining.
Short, sweet, Christmassy: Clare Lydon made Christmas gay and she did it well. The perfect antidote to finals stress.