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gemmalaszlo's review against another edition
2.0
I couldn't stand the hero.
From the back cover:
Christmas Bells, Wedding Bells...
When Nick Gallagher returned to his hometown for his brother's Christmas wedding, the confirmed bachelor and military man had to exchange his usual army fatigues for something more suitable--the tux of a best man. Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon he found his attention straying...mostly to the very pretty neighbour next door.
Allison Lee doesn't trust men--especially ones as charming and handsome as Nick. She knew firsthand that men usually ran of at the mention of the word "commitment". And she couldn't risk having her heart broken again. But even as Allison withdrew, Nick seemed to draw closer...
And my review:
This is a reprint. This story was originally published in 1992.
I've found that Stella Bagwell is a hit-or-miss author. I've enjoyed some of her books, and hated others. Unfortunately, THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER was not one from the former catagory.
The author's writing style is engaging and flowing, if you ignore the big of back-and-forth with the points of view in each scene. The author tended to jump from the hero's thoughts to the heroine's and back and forth throughout each scene, which got pretty distracting and annoying after awhile.
I was looking forward to reading about two commitment-phobic people finding true love. Nick is your standard "don't fence me in" romance hero, while Allison is your standard "burned by a man in the past" heroine. Since she'd been left not only with a broken heart, but a son to raise on her own, it was understandable that Allison would want to hold Nick at arm's length.
But Nick would have none of it. And this is where it got annoying. He decides he's interested, and so starts pursuing her, ignoring everything she says. The word "no" means nothing to him. Even if his intentions are good, constantly over-ruling someone because you supposedly "know better" is very childish and rude. After a while, I wanted to smack his face. He offers to help her carry her son to her car. She says no thanks. He goes ahead and does it anyway. He then hops in her car so that he can help unload the kid at her house, in spite of her protests. He sees that she has no fire in her fireplace, and makes one. Never mind that the heroine just told him she didn't want a fire. See the pattern emerging? The heroine even tells him that it's rude to constantly overrule what someone says, even when your intentions are good.
So what does he turn around and do two seconds later? He sees that she doesn't have a Christmas tree in her living room. Well, she must have been waiting for this big man to help her get one, right? Grr. He doesn't ask, would you like some help getting a Christmas tree? or would you even like one at all? No, instead he announces to her "I'm coming over tommorrow at six and we'll go and get a Christmas tree." What is wrong with this guy? You don't tell someone, you ask them. And if they refuse, you back off!
A woman has a right to say "no thanks" and a man should respect it--even if he thinks he knows better! (This is along the same line of twisted reasoning that rapists use--"well, she secretly wanted it anyway") Creepy or what? His behavior was just so disrespectful and chauvnistic and I lost all respect for him. I wanted the heroine to go and find someone better. And hating the hero is the kiss of death for a romance novel.
From the back cover:
Christmas Bells, Wedding Bells...
When Nick Gallagher returned to his hometown for his brother's Christmas wedding, the confirmed bachelor and military man had to exchange his usual army fatigues for something more suitable--the tux of a best man. Nick had never thought about settling down, but soon he found his attention straying...mostly to the very pretty neighbour next door.
Allison Lee doesn't trust men--especially ones as charming and handsome as Nick. She knew firsthand that men usually ran of at the mention of the word "commitment". And she couldn't risk having her heart broken again. But even as Allison withdrew, Nick seemed to draw closer...
And my review:
This is a reprint. This story was originally published in 1992.
I've found that Stella Bagwell is a hit-or-miss author. I've enjoyed some of her books, and hated others. Unfortunately, THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER was not one from the former catagory.
The author's writing style is engaging and flowing, if you ignore the big of back-and-forth with the points of view in each scene. The author tended to jump from the hero's thoughts to the heroine's and back and forth throughout each scene, which got pretty distracting and annoying after awhile.
I was looking forward to reading about two commitment-phobic people finding true love. Nick is your standard "don't fence me in" romance hero, while Allison is your standard "burned by a man in the past" heroine. Since she'd been left not only with a broken heart, but a son to raise on her own, it was understandable that Allison would want to hold Nick at arm's length.
But Nick would have none of it. And this is where it got annoying. He decides he's interested, and so starts pursuing her, ignoring everything she says. The word "no" means nothing to him. Even if his intentions are good, constantly over-ruling someone because you supposedly "know better" is very childish and rude. After a while, I wanted to smack his face. He offers to help her carry her son to her car. She says no thanks. He goes ahead and does it anyway. He then hops in her car so that he can help unload the kid at her house, in spite of her protests. He sees that she has no fire in her fireplace, and makes one. Never mind that the heroine just told him she didn't want a fire. See the pattern emerging? The heroine even tells him that it's rude to constantly overrule what someone says, even when your intentions are good.
So what does he turn around and do two seconds later? He sees that she doesn't have a Christmas tree in her living room. Well, she must have been waiting for this big man to help her get one, right? Grr. He doesn't ask, would you like some help getting a Christmas tree? or would you even like one at all? No, instead he announces to her "I'm coming over tommorrow at six and we'll go and get a Christmas tree." What is wrong with this guy? You don't tell someone, you ask them. And if they refuse, you back off!
A woman has a right to say "no thanks" and a man should respect it--even if he thinks he knows better! (This is along the same line of twisted reasoning that rapists use--"well, she secretly wanted it anyway") Creepy or what? His behavior was just so disrespectful and chauvnistic and I lost all respect for him. I wanted the heroine to go and find someone better. And hating the hero is the kiss of death for a romance novel.
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