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solspringsreads's review against another edition
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? It's complicated
2.75
I’m genuinely so disappointed. I’ve read only one book by this author, Happy Singles Day, which is technically book one of this holiday-themed series of romance novels. I’d thought the book was fine, if a little bland and predictable; but when I started this book, I was instantly drawn in significantly more. The plot moves very quickly and the characters have one of the most intense cases of insta-love I’ve ever read, but I was having a fun time overall—this was just pure romantic fluff, as simple as that.
And then… the third act conflict erupted.It’s a predictable “plot twist”: the characters weren’t actually married at all because of very real legal requirements, so the whole time they’d been agonizing about whether or not they should get divorced even though they clearly were attracted to each other was null and void! Now they could just date normally, right? WRONG, because somehow the protagonist Cara had the STRANGEST CHARACTER SHIFT IMAGINABLE. Throughout the book she’s pretty self-effacing and humble, referencing different insecurities from her writing abilities to her previous dating experiences. But somehow upon the revelation that their impromptu drunken wedding wasn’t legally binding, Cara immediately goes sicko mode and decides that her not-husband Finn knew the whole time and was… [checks notes] using her for her Hollywood connections???? I was genuinely so baffled by this. In the 3 seconds of character details we get of Finn pre-marriage, his only references to even a mild interest in acting/Hollywood are that he’s a really enthusiastic tour guide at a local historical spot and he “did some acting in school.” Like… sorry, I didn’t realize that caring about your job and maybe participating in the school’s spring musical made you destined for the big screen, but according to Cara it does! What’s truly wild is that after Cara accuses Finn of using her, he just apologizes for her misunderstandings and “leaves her to prove his love,” which makes her I guess snap out of whatever episode she had. This whole ending genuinely ruined the book for me.
Aside from that chaos, I had a genuine criticism/concern about the book: the rampant alcoholism. While drinking is extremely normalized in American culture, especially the social drinking present in this book, I was genuinely concerned by how often drinking was referenced throughout the book. Even the premise of the book is that the protagonist, Cara, got extremely drunk on whiskey and had an impromptu wedding with a handsome Irish stranger, and while other characters reference this incident (often while drinking with Cara in some other social setting) it’s never acknowledged as maybe… concerning? Just sort of played for laughs. There are multiple scenes where Cara is out with friends and starts drinking on an empty stomach, only to realize that she “should eat” because she doesn’t want to get sick. In any other novel I feel like Cara’s constant drinking would be examined as an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with her high-maintenance boss and stressful job, but in this book it’s brushed off as just a social norm. It was something I noticed constantly through this (very short) read and I was surprised that the fact that it wasn’t acknowledged at all—like, sure, my lighthearted fluffy holiday romance doesn’t have to confront the normalization of binge-drinking and alcoholism, but seeing it perpetuated so blatantly did make me feel uncomfortable… especially since it was Cara’s drinking that lead to the premise of the plot anyway.
Overall, I was really disappointed and frustrated by this book. It had plenty of fun and cute moments, but those were vastly overshadowed by the glaring issues I mentioned already. I’m not sure if I’ll read anything else by this author, especially after my lukewarm feelings towards the other book from this series—fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me and all.
And then… the third act conflict erupted.
Aside from that chaos, I had a genuine criticism/concern about the book: the rampant alcoholism. While drinking is extremely normalized in American culture, especially the social drinking present in this book, I was genuinely concerned by how often drinking was referenced throughout the book. Even the premise of the book is that the protagonist, Cara, got extremely drunk on whiskey and had an impromptu wedding with a handsome Irish stranger, and while other characters reference this incident (often while drinking with Cara in some other social setting) it’s never acknowledged as maybe… concerning? Just sort of played for laughs. There are multiple scenes where Cara is out with friends and starts drinking on an empty stomach, only to realize that she “should eat” because she doesn’t want to get sick. In any other novel I feel like Cara’s constant drinking would be examined as an unhealthy coping mechanism to deal with her high-maintenance boss and stressful job, but in this book it’s brushed off as just a social norm. It was something I noticed constantly through this (very short) read and I was surprised that the fact that it wasn’t acknowledged at all—like, sure, my lighthearted fluffy holiday romance doesn’t have to confront the normalization of binge-drinking and alcoholism, but seeing it perpetuated so blatantly did make me feel uncomfortable… especially since it was Cara’s drinking that lead to the premise of the plot anyway.
Overall, I was really disappointed and frustrated by this book. It had plenty of fun and cute moments, but those were vastly overshadowed by the glaring issues I mentioned already. I’m not sure if I’ll read anything else by this author, especially after my lukewarm feelings towards the other book from this series—fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me and all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
kaydeedickins's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Infidelity
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