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shelbyswartzel's review
5.0
This was such a cute collection of stores. They meshed together perfectly
pixieauthoress's review
3.0
I'm not big on novellas; I'll read them if the topic is really interesting to me, or if the author is one of my favourites, but in general I find them repetitive if they're joined together by a common theme. I read a collection a couple of years ago that centred around historical romances at Christmastime set in log cabins. Nine stories in total, and by the end, I was a little tired of the log cabin/Christmas themes. I probably wouldn't have picked this collection up on my own, but a friend leant it to me, and the idea of a grandmother setting all her granddaughters up on blind dates sounded pretty cute.
I won't lie--the premise is cute, and the grandmother in this book is pretty awesome. I hope I'm wearing t-shirts with whacky sayings and keeping up-to-date on new technology when I'm her age. However, there were several points when I was tempted to just give up on this collection. I'm glad I persevered, as the stories did seem to get better as I progressed through the book.
Several plot elements were repeated throughout the novellas, which made them feel free repetitive, and a bit contrived. In three of the stories, the heroine runs away from the hero because she overhears him saying something that she thinks is about her, and misinterprets it. I'm not a big fan of the Big Misunderstanding trope at all, but using it three times in the same collection? Not good. There are plenty of other reasons why the hero and heroine could be driven apart. Another repetitive plot element that bugged me, although not as much, was that several of the characters were reeling from bad relationships with someone who was just after their money. How often does this really happen? Maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles, but I've not met anyone with this problem. One character with this backstory is fine, but several of the characters in this book either came from family wealth, or made a ton of money in their job. I know it's seen as typical that every woman wants to marry a rich man, but these characters would be a lot more relatable if they earned a regular wage and occasionally struggled to scrape together a meal plan at the end of a tough month.
I love a authentic, well-integrated faith element when I read a Christian novel, but these novellas came across as downright preachy--and this is coming from a girl who reviews Christian Fiction on a regular basis. I did worry that maybe I was getting tired of Christian fiction in general, as I had similar issues with another book I read recently ([b:For the Twins' Sake|519598|For the Twins' Sake|Jillian Hart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1175482365s/519598.jpg|507507]) but then I checked the publication dates of both books and realised they were from the early 2000s. Maybe I just don't like Christian novels from this time period? Maybe they were more preachy back then? Either way, this book did not have the kind of spiritual content that I appreciate. Aside from the heroine in the third novella, none of the characters had a personal spiritual issue to work through--instead, their stories were peppered with references to wanting to date a good Christian guy, wanting to witness to new acquaintances, and long descriptions of church services. Some of the references felt a bit forced, as if they were there to remind us that the characters were Christian. Others were just downright cheesy. One hero prayed with the heroine after their first date, and the heroine prayed that he wouldn't kiss her because she wanted him to meet her moral standards. (She could have just told him that she would prefer to wait until later to kiss, but that's besides the point). I think the most cheesy part was in the second novella, where the heroine tells the hero that they can't meet up with their business clients because if the the clients see them arguing then that won't be good for their "Christian witness" as they'll seem like they're just as bad as the rest of the world. Do people really say things like that in real life? Personally, I think it's good for non-Christians to see Christians struggling with real life problems because it's a great reminder that we are NOT better than the rest of the world--we're simply sinners saved by the grace of God.
Also, every single tiny plot element was tied up perfectly in each novella. Have you been witnessing to a new friend? They become Christians! Worried about your sister's crazy lifestyle? Her new boyfriend witnesses to her! And I think every couple ended up married or engaged, even through they hadn't known each other that long. I don't mind books ending in a wedding scene if it makes sense, but for some of these couples, I felt like they needed to spend more time together before they tied the knot. It's totally okay to have a couple in a committed relationship at the end of the book, rather than married. It's not any less romantic ;)
Overall? I didn't hate this collection. The first novella was okay, and I think they steadily got better from there, but I don't think I'd rate any of them higher than a 3.5. A lot of the plots felt a bit contrived (although this may just have been because they repeated some of the same issues between stories) and the spiritual element was just way too cheesy and forced for me. I think the third novella is my favourite, simply because the heroine is unconventional and is more assertive with the hero, and because she has a serious issue to work through with God.
I never really felt like I got to know the heroes in this collection, and looking back, I think the heroines got more POV time? I feel like this is typical of the time period for romance novels. Personally, I'm glad we get inside our heroes heads more nowadays :)
Ultimately, this novella collection will probably appeal to some people, but it was a bit too cheesy and contrived for me. I will be looking out for more books by Bev Hutson, since I liked her story the most. Not a complete waste of time (as it definitely helped me figure out what I do and don't like about romances!) but I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Also, my edition has an entirely different cover, and Kristin Billerbeck's name is spelled incorrectly. Sorry Kristin! That must suck.
I won't lie--the premise is cute, and the grandmother in this book is pretty awesome. I hope I'm wearing t-shirts with whacky sayings and keeping up-to-date on new technology when I'm her age. However, there were several points when I was tempted to just give up on this collection. I'm glad I persevered, as the stories did seem to get better as I progressed through the book.
Several plot elements were repeated throughout the novellas, which made them feel free repetitive, and a bit contrived. In three of the stories, the heroine runs away from the hero because she overhears him saying something that she thinks is about her, and misinterprets it. I'm not a big fan of the Big Misunderstanding trope at all, but using it three times in the same collection? Not good. There are plenty of other reasons why the hero and heroine could be driven apart. Another repetitive plot element that bugged me, although not as much, was that several of the characters were reeling from bad relationships with someone who was just after their money. How often does this really happen? Maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles, but I've not met anyone with this problem. One character with this backstory is fine, but several of the characters in this book either came from family wealth, or made a ton of money in their job. I know it's seen as typical that every woman wants to marry a rich man, but these characters would be a lot more relatable if they earned a regular wage and occasionally struggled to scrape together a meal plan at the end of a tough month.
I love a authentic, well-integrated faith element when I read a Christian novel, but these novellas came across as downright preachy--and this is coming from a girl who reviews Christian Fiction on a regular basis. I did worry that maybe I was getting tired of Christian fiction in general, as I had similar issues with another book I read recently ([b:For the Twins' Sake|519598|For the Twins' Sake|Jillian Hart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1175482365s/519598.jpg|507507]) but then I checked the publication dates of both books and realised they were from the early 2000s. Maybe I just don't like Christian novels from this time period? Maybe they were more preachy back then? Either way, this book did not have the kind of spiritual content that I appreciate. Aside from the heroine in the third novella, none of the characters had a personal spiritual issue to work through--instead, their stories were peppered with references to wanting to date a good Christian guy, wanting to witness to new acquaintances, and long descriptions of church services. Some of the references felt a bit forced, as if they were there to remind us that the characters were Christian. Others were just downright cheesy. One hero prayed with the heroine after their first date, and the heroine prayed that he wouldn't kiss her because she wanted him to meet her moral standards. (She could have just told him that she would prefer to wait until later to kiss, but that's besides the point). I think the most cheesy part was in the second novella, where the heroine tells the hero that they can't meet up with their business clients because if the the clients see them arguing then that won't be good for their "Christian witness" as they'll seem like they're just as bad as the rest of the world. Do people really say things like that in real life? Personally, I think it's good for non-Christians to see Christians struggling with real life problems because it's a great reminder that we are NOT better than the rest of the world--we're simply sinners saved by the grace of God.
Also, every single tiny plot element was tied up perfectly in each novella. Have you been witnessing to a new friend? They become Christians! Worried about your sister's crazy lifestyle? Her new boyfriend witnesses to her! And I think every couple ended up married or engaged, even through they hadn't known each other that long. I don't mind books ending in a wedding scene if it makes sense, but for some of these couples, I felt like they needed to spend more time together before they tied the knot. It's totally okay to have a couple in a committed relationship at the end of the book, rather than married. It's not any less romantic ;)
Overall? I didn't hate this collection. The first novella was okay, and I think they steadily got better from there, but I don't think I'd rate any of them higher than a 3.5. A lot of the plots felt a bit contrived (although this may just have been because they repeated some of the same issues between stories) and the spiritual element was just way too cheesy and forced for me. I think the third novella is my favourite, simply because the heroine is unconventional and is more assertive with the hero, and because she has a serious issue to work through with God.
I never really felt like I got to know the heroes in this collection, and looking back, I think the heroines got more POV time? I feel like this is typical of the time period for romance novels. Personally, I'm glad we get inside our heroes heads more nowadays :)
Ultimately, this novella collection will probably appeal to some people, but it was a bit too cheesy and contrived for me. I will be looking out for more books by Bev Hutson, since I liked her story the most. Not a complete waste of time (as it definitely helped me figure out what I do and don't like about romances!) but I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
Also, my edition has an entirely different cover, and Kristin Billerbeck's name is spelled incorrectly. Sorry Kristin! That must suck.
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