Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Christmas Orphans Club

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman

30 reviews

coffeekitaab's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Can best friends have a meet cute? If so, Hannah and Finn's is the ultimate one. Sighs. Not everyone can/wants to celebrate Christmas with family - Hannah and Finn are two such individuals who cross paths in their Uni halls whilst the rest/most of the student body have left during the christmas break. Christmas orphans is about this group of friends and the trajectory of their friendship over the period of 11 years/ Christmasses which sees how the group develops over time and introduces us to their backstories to show where they come from, where they're heading etc. It's real and raw, so heartwarming and just a cosy read. I've never come across this premise before and as a concept I found it really heartwarming and well written. The characters are perfectly balanced and flawed/human - I love Finn, I love Hannah (I was laughing out loud in parts and sobbing in others), I was invested in them all as I moved through the pages, becoming their cheerleader and just wanting them to get their happy ending. Loved it! Highly recommend :)

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jadehusdanhicks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Was this my favourite book? No. But on a bitter sweet Christmas Day sat watching greys anatomy because I’m estranged it helped me feel seen. Seen in a way I never thought I would. Books have forever been my escape for as long as I know. Seeing the found family, the various relationship troubles and family types in this book was amazing and so well written.

So many Christmas books are Holly and Holly but for some of us this is Xmas This is our holidays.

I’m definitely going to hold this one door. And will definitely be a reccomendation to others like me.

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cde10's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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arireadsitall's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really loved this book!! Made me want to my hug my best friends a little tighter. It’s a story of chosen family and creating new traditions! Because it’s a friend group expect high drama but the laughs are there as well

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cass_lit's review against another edition

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2.75

I think this was a me-problem. Everyone is liking this, and I love that for them. Unfortunately it didn’t really work for me and I think the #1 reason for why that is was because I don’t have the emotional bandwidth right now for these very emotionally complicated fictional characters. I’m all for real, complex characters but the issue here was that between these flashbacks of Christmases past, we were ONLY getting their bad sides. Until the end, we never once met Hannah when she wasn’t so insecure and too wound up in her to be the good friend everyone apparently thinks she is. Priya and Theo both never got POVs (kind of weird considering the emphasis on the 4 of them), but at least Theo got screen time in Finn’s chapters. Ironic, considering Priya’s monologue in the hospital. And Finn’s chapters, despite having a very traumatic and real coming-out-to-his-family history, were mostly just pining over Theo and we had zero indication as to whether that was reciprocated (except that a Christmas story deserves a HEA).

Also, one niche issue with the time jumps here: why didn’t they tell us what year the present was? We kept working towards it but I had no idea how many christmases we’d still be having in between to work through!

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kateped's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-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

3.75

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted medium-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

3.5

The Christmas Orphans Club is the story of four friends who always spend Christmas together in one unconventional way or another. I liked the way stories of Christmases past were interspersed with the story of Christmas present. I also liked the way the characters grew, and that Hannah especially came to accept that change doesn’t have to be bad. This book included some diversity in terms of race and sexuality which I appreciated. Although it featured a romance it was chiefly a story of friendship and found family, an emphasis I found refreshing.

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