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klandry98's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Death of parent and Death
infjkiki's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent and Sexual harassment
3frenchtoast's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Infidelity
Minor: Emotional abuse and Death of parent
thegreatelise's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, it is a great Christmas book with a great story and great characters
It has a little Gilmore girls vibe so if you like that série you might enjoy the book, it is set in a small town where everyone knows everybody, one characters is a cafe owner just like in Gilmore girls and overall there is a little vibe
I find the idea of the 12 dates pretty good, it could have very quickly fallen into a repetitive cycle but I found it still enjoyable actually
However I hated the constant mention of sex throughout the book, there was nothing really explicit but I don’t like that she always mention how she wants to throw her pantie into whoever’s face
I thought it was going to be a basic 3 star, enjoyable but nothing amazing, but I was glad to see that I was wrong
At some point something starts to get obvious and I loved it, it got me way more into the story than I was, it is literally my favorite trop, I loved it
I was so happy with the ending
Some part were a bit cringe but it’s okay because the rest of the book is great
Overall it is a great Christmas story that, despite being more than 400 pages long is a pretty fast read and a great mix between the dates moments and her life.
I was so so so happy to see that the story turned into a childhood friends to lovers!
Honestly I was hoping that since chapter 2 but since Matt has a girlfriend I thought it wouldn’t be possible, but the more I read the more I got hopes and it happened !
I was scared of some possible outcome such as she get rejected because he loves Sarah (which it was obvious he loved Kate) or that she chooses to stay with Richard
Speaking about Richard, I knew he was bad news and I smelled the red flags, the thing that made me know he wasn’t a good person was when he was threatening that poor guy whose name I can’t remember, but Kate decided to give him another chance, she shouldn’t have because well man was married
I love Drew also! A bit cliché but he is cool
It has a little Gilmore girls vibe so if you like that série you might enjoy the book, it is set in a small town where everyone knows everybody, one characters is a cafe owner just like in Gilmore girls and overall there is a little vibe
I find the idea of the 12 dates pretty good, it could have very quickly fallen into a repetitive cycle but I found it still enjoyable actually
However I hated the constant mention of sex throughout the book, there was nothing really explicit but I don’t like that she always mention how she wants to throw her pantie into whoever’s face
I thought it was going to be a basic 3 star, enjoyable but nothing amazing, but I was glad to see that I was wrong
At some point something starts to get obvious and I loved it, it got me way more into the story than I was, it is literally my favorite trop, I loved it
I was so happy with the ending
Some part were a bit cringe but it’s okay because the rest of the book is great
Overall it is a great Christmas story that, despite being more than 400 pages long is a pretty fast read and a great mix between the dates moments and her life.
I was so so so happy to see that the story turned into a childhood friends to lovers!
Honestly I was hoping that since chapter 2 but since Matt has a girlfriend I thought it wouldn’t be possible, but the more I read the more I got hopes and it happened !
I was scared of some possible outcome such as she get rejected because he loves Sarah (which it was obvious he loved Kate) or that she chooses to stay with Richard
Speaking about Richard, I knew he was bad news and I smelled the red flags, the thing that made me know he wasn’t a good person was when he was threatening that poor guy whose name I can’t remember, but Kate decided to give him another chance, she shouldn’t have because well man was married
I love Drew also! A bit cliché but he is cool
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, and Death
cady_sass's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-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? No
2.5
November book club pick
This showed promise but was overall lacking for me. The chapters are way too long, there are way too many inconsequential characters that add nothing to the plot (NOT the 12 dates), there is so much filler “Christmas” content that only exists to remind us of the hallmark movie world they live in. By the time I was halfway through I was just skimming the pages of descriptive Christmas shit and looking for the next line of dialogue. Don’t even get me started on the plot holes 😂 (Except for Laura and Matt, no one does ANY work? Ever? How do they have any money?)
Honestly I would overlook ALL of that if the romance felt satisfying, but it didn’t. We went from 0 to 100 real quick and the story was not fleshed out enough for it to feel believable. We basically rambled on about shitty dates (that were very entertaining, don’t get me wrong), then suddenly she’s realizing she’s in love with him, then they’re professing their love for each other and happily ever after. I NEED MORE! If you LOVE hallmark Christmas movies (even the bad ones) this is for you. But only you. This is a very niche audience.
Lastly, can you be more on the nose than naming the cafe “the pear tree” in a Christmas novel? OF COURSE there will be a partridge in a pear tree at some point 🤣
This showed promise but was overall lacking for me. The chapters are way too long, there are way too many inconsequential characters that add nothing to the plot (NOT the 12 dates), there is so much filler “Christmas” content that only exists to remind us of the hallmark movie world they live in. By the time I was halfway through I was just skimming the pages of descriptive Christmas shit and looking for the next line of dialogue. Don’t even get me started on the plot holes 😂 (Except for Laura and Matt, no one does ANY work? Ever? How do they have any money?)
Honestly I would overlook ALL of that if the romance felt satisfying, but it didn’t. We went from 0 to 100 real quick and the story was not fleshed out enough for it to feel believable. We basically rambled on about shitty dates (that were very entertaining, don’t get me wrong), then suddenly she’s realizing she’s in love with him, then they’re professing their love for each other and happily ever after. I NEED MORE! If you LOVE hallmark Christmas movies (even the bad ones) this is for you. But only you. This is a very niche audience.
Lastly, can you be more on the nose than naming the cafe “the pear tree” in a Christmas novel? OF COURSE there will be a partridge in a pear tree at some point 🤣
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship
liltastypuff's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I just found this boring and repetitive. Read like a .99 novel. Characters were fine, but bland. Very predictable.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Infidelity
amberinpieces's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Blood
laurelparkb's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
It was fine. Slow paced and I struggled to connect with the characters. I personally would not read again but it is not inherently bad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol and Toxic relationship
linesiunderline's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This should absolutely be made into a holiday movie. It would be WAY more entertaining to watch than most of the schlocky stuff on tv during the holiday season.
There’s so much to enjoy in this light, fun read. It’s super festive. It has cute (if predictable) romance tropes. The quaint English village vibes are PERFECTION - really, sense of place is a definite strength for this author. As a bonus there’s a lot of scrumptious food writing worked into the storyline. Kate is a very likable heroine with a sense of humour - in some ways a little reminiscent in her energy of Bridget Jones but without being so hapless and out of control.
If you’re after an easy holiday read, I think this could be just the ticket. And the audio is lovely!
There’s so much to enjoy in this light, fun read. It’s super festive. It has cute (if predictable) romance tropes. The quaint English village vibes are PERFECTION - really, sense of place is a definite strength for this author. As a bonus there’s a lot of scrumptious food writing worked into the storyline. Kate is a very likable heroine with a sense of humour - in some ways a little reminiscent in her energy of Bridget Jones but without being so hapless and out of control.
If you’re after an easy holiday read, I think this could be just the ticket. And the audio is lovely!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexism and Grief
ldslizzard's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I enjoyed the overall book, but it was very slow moving! There was a lot of detail written about pieces that had no relevance to the story. Lots of unnecessary information which made the book slower. I would have given the slower pace a pass had it not been for the ending. The ending seemed rushed and all the developed tension just magically disappeared! Was it a fun, light hearted read? Sure! Wouldn't read again!
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Infidelity