Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Christmas on the Island

Don't usually read fluffy romantic novels, but with it being the festive season I thought i would give it a go. All in all is was completely dissapointing! The book promised Christmas but it was more wintery as it refered mostly to the weather, it didn't refer to Christmas that much and when it did, it was only about Christmas trees and the school nativity. I was also expecting alot more from the writing. Characters relied on discrimatory tropes, which for a 2018 release was uncalled for. The female characters were very passive and the plot point around a teacher and Doctor morally shouldn't be in a relationship together beacuse of their job titles was pathetic. In my copy there were a few plot errors which just seemed lazy e.g "Joel went to reach for Joel's arm". I just didn't get the hype and popularity for this author and wouldn't read a book from them again. Book was a massive eye roll for me, one positive was that it was a quick read!

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asourceoffiction's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted sad fast-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

4.0

I've read two other Jenny Colgans and they were ok, but didn't blow me away, so I wasn't sure what to expect from this. And I was so pleasantly surprised. So often with light romances it can get a little unbelievable (especially with Christmas in the mix), but this was messy, complicated and real, and I loved it. I felt so much more emotional connection with characters who were really working hard for a happy ending that just doesn't always appear the way you'd like.

I also love how it dealt with many different family dynamics; including how a sweet but inexperienced community can make a Muslim family feel welcome and included who do not celebrate Christmas. And this allows room to address some lasting hurtful stereotypes that go along with traditional nativity performances. It didn't shy away from difficult subjects and trod the line without preaching or going too light-hearted.

My one issue, that I've experienced in all of Colgan's books, is how badly some of her sentences need editing. Several thoughts will merge into one, and eventually the numerous comma separations are insufficient to keep the intended meaning. Some of her writing is really beautiful (particularly on the bleak and stunning island of Mure), but every now and then I'd come across a section I'd have to read three times to even begin to understand.

Thankfully this didn't happen too often and didn't detract from the story, which was sad and uplifting at the same time, and oh so Christmassy.

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jacquibear's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

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hannahkiwi's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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caitlinjadams's review against another edition

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lighthearted relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

First order bit: this was less Christmasy than I had been hoping for and until I came to Goodreads/Storygraph, I didn’t realize it was third in a series (for which I blame Libby), so some of my complaints (such as that it took a long time to get a solid hold on the cast of characters) likely aren’t fair. I think it still holds that this was a book that felt like it was trying to be an ensemble tv show more than it was trying to be a book. Probably my biggest gripe is that for a book told in third person limited POV with so so many different characters serving as the limited POV in turn, I could never tell whose POV I was reading without the markers of literally naming the character by name. If only there had been as many narrative voices as there were POVs. Still. It was a nice enough winter read.

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