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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
lighthearted
4.75 stars but I’m rounding up to 5 for the app because I enjoyed it so much!!
Tropes:
Enemies [to friends] to lovers
Fake boyfriend
Sunshine/grumpy duo
Spice level:
One level above fade-to-black (imo)
Likes:
- Chapter 26 ♥️♥️♥️
Washing her hair and asking her specifically which products to use and in what order??? Swoon. Every curly-haired-girl’s dream.
- Cherry’s writing style. The flow. The humour. The heartache. The everything. This is the first of her book I’ve read and it’s definitely made me want to come back for more. This book gave me some good LOL moments, made me cry, and kept me captivated the whole way through.
- Kai’s relationship with his younger brother. For a guy that hasn’t gone to therapy, it is profoundly healthy that Kai understands his crappy relationship with his parents isn’t Mano’s fault, because so many people would have (wrongfully) held that against Mano.
- The twist with Matthew/MJ?? I did NOT see that coming!! In general I felt like there were a few twists that kept me on my toes, and I liked that she had more than just one moment like that. For a book of its size, I figured it would be a pretty cut and dry up-and-down-hill plot line with a singular peak, but there were some good waves in there. But not too much that the story felt cramped, either.
- Curtis, the doorman. I love him. And grandma.
- I like that no one’s crap behaviour was excused by someone going “but it’s Christmas! Everyone deserves a second chance during the holidays!” No. Absolutely not. People need to be held responsible no matter the time of year, and I like that Kai didn’t always bend to his parents guilt trips because of that.
Dislikes:
- I wish we could have seen Matthew/MJ get more than just shoved out the door by Alec and had Alec tell us more about why he was finally throwing him out.
- Kai’s parents. Eff them. But in seriousness, I do also wish the ‘apology’ scene could have played out a bit more. It felt kind of rushed and I would have liked to see his parent squirm more and have to relive being told the crappy things they put Kai through (even though I know the book says he’s brought it up to them before, but it just felt like they got off too easy in a way).
- idk why it bugs me so much that Holly never actually really apologized for running into Kai and really being the reason he dropped all the booze. She wasn’t even looking where she was going (and apparently never does??) and just expects people to constantly move out of her way when she’s walking and reading? Girl!! Take some responsibility on your end! That’s my only gripe with her, really, though. Other than that I thought she was lovely.
- I would have liked to have seen Holly be able to get a final word in with Cassie and Daniel because it also really felt like they got off Scott-free. Maybe it’s just me being a hot head, but I would have GONE OFF on them for what they did. I just want to know that they felt some ounce of remorse for hurting Holly or that someone told them they were pieces of trash instead of just getting their (seemingly-so) happy ending together.
I guess really I just wanted to see more of the crappy people getting told off lol
Overall, I love love LOVED it. Such a quick and fun read, highly recommend!
Tropes:
Enemies [to friends] to lovers
Fake boyfriend
Sunshine/grumpy duo
Spice level:
One level above fade-to-black (imo)
Likes:
- Chapter 26 ♥️♥️♥️
Washing her hair and asking her specifically which products to use and in what order??? Swoon. Every curly-haired-girl’s dream.
- Cherry’s writing style. The flow. The humour. The heartache. The everything. This is the first of her book I’ve read and it’s definitely made me want to come back for more. This book gave me some good LOL moments, made me cry, and kept me captivated the whole way through.
- Kai’s relationship with his younger brother. For a guy that hasn’t gone to therapy, it is profoundly healthy that Kai understands his crappy relationship with his parents isn’t Mano’s fault, because so many people would have (wrongfully) held that against Mano.
- The twist with Matthew/MJ?? I did NOT see that coming!! In general I felt like there were a few twists that kept me on my toes, and I liked that she had more than just one moment like that. For a book of its size, I figured it would be a pretty cut and dry up-and-down-hill plot line with a singular peak, but there were some good waves in there. But not too much that the story felt cramped, either.
- Curtis, the doorman. I love him. And grandma.
- I like that no one’s crap behaviour was excused by someone going “but it’s Christmas! Everyone deserves a second chance during the holidays!” No. Absolutely not. People need to be held responsible no matter the time of year, and I like that Kai didn’t always bend to his parents guilt trips because of that.
Dislikes:
- I wish we could have seen Matthew/MJ get more than just shoved out the door by Alec and had Alec tell us more about why he was finally throwing him out.
- Kai’s parents. Eff them. But in seriousness, I do also wish the ‘apology’ scene could have played out a bit more. It felt kind of rushed and I would have liked to see his parent squirm more and have to relive being told the crappy things they put Kai through (even though I know the book says he’s brought it up to them before, but it just felt like they got off too easy in a way).
- idk why it bugs me so much that Holly never actually really apologized for running into Kai and really being the reason he dropped all the booze. She wasn’t even looking where she was going (and apparently never does??) and just expects people to constantly move out of her way when she’s walking and reading? Girl!! Take some responsibility on your end! That’s my only gripe with her, really, though. Other than that I thought she was lovely.
- I would have liked to have seen Holly be able to get a final word in with Cassie and Daniel because it also really felt like they got off Scott-free. Maybe it’s just me being a hot head, but I would have GONE OFF on them for what they did. I just want to know that they felt some ounce of remorse for hurting Holly or that someone told them they were pieces of trash instead of just getting their (seemingly-so) happy ending together.
I guess really I just wanted to see more of the crappy people getting told off lol
Overall, I love love LOVED it. Such a quick and fun read, highly recommend!
3.75. This was a cute quick read! It was a little too cringy for me though & the main girl cried way too much for my liking.
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so cute and the perfect holiday romance. Holly has had a hard year, what she thought was going to be the best day of her life became the worst and she's been trying to recover ever since. Holly is on a quest to find a date for christmas so she takes all her first dates to this new and hot restaurant. The owner, Kai, just happens to be one of her neighbors. He watches her bring all these dates and decides to coach her through it because she's not getting second dates. Watching Kai and Holly become best friends and more was just super cute. Kai was actually perfect. I'd like to be a regular at his restaurant too.
Spice: 2
Spice: 2
funny
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
Ms Brittainy Cherry is one of my top favorite authors. I didn't get a chance to read this one when it came out last season but I am so happy I finally did this holiday season! The first two chapters were a tad cheesy for me and I even found myself thinking it was so different from her other novels. I continued through it and I am so happy I did! It was such a sweet story and I found myself laughing throughout with all the characters. Kai's inner thoughts, his actions and his speeches were fantastic and pure book boyfriend perfection. I loved the silly charm of Manu and Holly was symbolic of every awkward moment we have all had. I read this one in one night/ morning. A fun, sweet quick read! 4.25 stars for this one!
I LOVED THIS SO MUCH! My favorite holiday read yet. I was sucked in from the very beginning. Our heroine, Holly, is HYSTERICAL and I found myself laughing all the way through to the end. It's rare that a book can make me laugh out loud so much! I also LOVE Kai and the way he can't help but fall for Holly, even though he doesn't want to. This is grumpy/sunshine GOLD and I am obsessed! An absolute must read this holiday season -- and a reread every one after.
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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:
Yes
Kai and Holly have both been hurt, but their responses could not be more different. Holly desperately wants to find a new love, while Kai turned his heart into Fort Knox, and thus begins our journey on the grumpy sunshine train. This story was so funny and shocking. Ms. Cherry had my jaw on the floor multiple times and giggling at the outright foolishness contained in these pages. Kai's little brother Mano is probably my favorite character, and I really liked watching Holly and Kai's story unfold. There are some things about the word choice and general editing of this book that annoyed me, but I still really enjoyed it. One other thing that really put a bad taste in my mouth is how a bisexual character is portrayed as an opportunistic, cheating jerk. Maybe if there was more than one Bi character it wouldn't have bothered me so much, but the trope of bisexuals being cheaters is toxic garbage.