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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Mixed feelings about this one. I was incredibly excited to start. Christmas, queer, romance... yes please! Maybe I set the bar too high.
Ellie and Margot start of as a sort of one sided enemies to lovers trope with Ellie being suspicious of Margot. It's a good start. Both women grew on me quickly but the story got worse as it progressed.
Margot comes to the family manor with her fake boyfriend Ben. Ben is a wonderfully written character. He is sweet and genuine, a softie with a heart of gold. Maybe if he wasn't so sweet it would've been better to read about Margot and Ellie keeping him in the dark and hurting his feelings. It felt wrong. But Ben, sweet as he is, got over it quickly... just like his entire family. They didn't seem to mind that Margot had been faking a relationship with Ben while hooking up with his sister... it felt very unbelievable.
Than there is Taylor. The abusive ex. It gave Margot depth as a character but also ruined a great deal of the budding relationship between her and Ellie for me. Especially since that relationship ended recently. Everything felt rushed it a way. I kept thinking 'sweet girl, you need to heal first'. For both their sakes.
So Taylor along with the forecast of Margot and Ellie having to somehow come forward with this 'secret' to the rest of the family ruined the romance for me.
The potential was there.
I was in hindsight more interested in sweet Ben and his love interest (who was introduced into the story way too late).
Ellie and Margot start of as a sort of one sided enemies to lovers trope with Ellie being suspicious of Margot. It's a good start. Both women grew on me quickly but the story got worse as it progressed.
Margot comes to the family manor with her fake boyfriend Ben. Ben is a wonderfully written character. He is sweet and genuine, a softie with a heart of gold. Maybe if he wasn't so sweet it would've been better to read about Margot and Ellie keeping him in the dark and hurting his feelings. It felt wrong. But Ben, sweet as he is, got over it quickly... just like his entire family. They didn't seem to mind that Margot had been faking a relationship with Ben while hooking up with his sister... it felt very unbelievable.
Than there is Taylor. The abusive ex. It gave Margot depth as a character but also ruined a great deal of the budding relationship between her and Ellie for me. Especially since that relationship ended recently. Everything felt rushed it a way. I kept thinking 'sweet girl, you need to heal first'. For both their sakes.
So Taylor along with the forecast of Margot and Ellie having to somehow come forward with this 'secret' to the rest of the family ruined the romance for me.
The potential was there.
I was in hindsight more interested in sweet Ben and his love interest (who was introduced into the story way too late).
I love Christmas, I love romance, and I LOVE queer romance. Therefore, I was so excited to find this lesbian Christmas romance, set in the English countryside no less… but it really disappointed me. The author tries to make points about important issues like intimate partner violence, but the writing style is very heavy handed. It feels predictable and repetitive. I’d recommend reading Kiss Her Once For Me instead—the plot is almost the same (same falling in love with the sister of the pretend boyfriend tropes), but the writing is more enjoyable.
emotional
hopeful
sad
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:
Complicated
A pretty good fake dating story.
funny
hopeful
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
My thoughts: Talia Samuels has created a feel good, Christmassy, forced proximity fake dating novel that also unpins themes such as domestic abuse and gaslighting.
I loved both Ben and Margot as characters and you could feel a genuine friendship between them - but also blatantly obvious to see was there lack of sexual connection - as accurately portrayed by Samuels which for the reader makes it all the more funny!
I loved that this forced-relationship didn’t follow the usual girl falls for boy routine; rather she falls for his sister! Awkward - but hilarious! And the reader could pick up on their connection straight away; even if Ellie was initially trying to use FBI like skills to catch Margot out after suspecting she is a gold digger after her brothers money
I loved both Ben and Margot as characters and you could feel a genuine friendship between them - but also blatantly obvious to see was there lack of sexual connection - as accurately portrayed by Samuels which for the reader makes it all the more funny!
I loved that this forced-relationship didn’t follow the usual girl falls for boy routine; rather she falls for his sister! Awkward - but hilarious! And the reader could pick up on their connection straight away; even if Ellie was initially trying to use FBI like skills to catch Margot out after suspecting she is a gold digger after her brothers money
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dnf-ed at 27% because apparently women can’t date men and need to come out at the same time ????