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roxanamalinachirila's review
2.0
It was a while before Christmas that I decided to buy a book bundle from storybundle.com, because I felt like something Christmas-y and most of the movies on Netflix were either crap, or I'd seen them before.
There was nothing saying that this book was part of a series, and even less that said it was book four in a series. I honestly started reading it because I had a choice between romance and murder, and I decided on murder.
Where do I even begin.
Ok, let's start with the good: the book in itself isn't necessarily bad. It follows some popular beats that are popular for a decent reason. Detective Noel Kringle's company is hired for a simple job: keeping an eye on a toy stash gathered for charity. But when he leaves his friend and employee in charge for the night, the philanthropist who hired them is murdered and his body is found the next morning under the mound of toys. That's not bad. Pretty standard, but not bad.
But who even *is* the target audience of this book? Because while the murdery plot feels like it's for crime enthusiasts, the setting feels like it's out of a kids' movie.
Noel Kringle is the second son of Santa Claus and has Santa powers. His employee is a troll. His friend is an elf (the sort who made toys). While I could see this work if the world and characters were gritty and realistically scary, the book made them rather cartoonish instead. I never really understood what was up with the toy drive that was being raised for needy children (how about... food and clothes, too? People do that). Or with the Christmas elf who got a bee in his bonnet for very little reason.
The plot, at least, seemed promising, as Noel's issues piled up: a fight with his friend, pressure from a cop, possible blood magic going on by killing celebrities in *ironic* ways, a request for help from his brother, a request for help from the runners of the toy drive for him to somehow make all the toys held as police evidence be returned - if the ending had managed to wrap it all up neatly, I'd have been *on board*. Instead, the fight with his elf friend was solved by... not solving it, but deciding to ignore it on both sides. The blood magic was forgotten about the moment the baddie was chased off (possibly temporarily?) by thinking about Christmas at it. The issue for his brother was passed off to someone else who solved it off-screen. And the request regarding toys was elf ex machina-ed at the end. The more I think about it, the less satisfied I am.
A book that's pretty much forgettable, and oddly mismatched in themes and approaches. While it's not horribly bad, it's not something I'd have chosen to read, had I known what it was like, nor do I feel the slightest inclination to try to other books in the series.
There was nothing saying that this book was part of a series, and even less that said it was book four in a series. I honestly started reading it because I had a choice between romance and murder, and I decided on murder.
Where do I even begin.
Ok, let's start with the good: the book in itself isn't necessarily bad. It follows some popular beats that are popular for a decent reason. Detective Noel Kringle's company is hired for a simple job: keeping an eye on a toy stash gathered for charity. But when he leaves his friend and employee in charge for the night, the philanthropist who hired them is murdered and his body is found the next morning under the mound of toys. That's not bad. Pretty standard, but not bad.
But who even *is* the target audience of this book? Because while the murdery plot feels like it's for crime enthusiasts, the setting feels like it's out of a kids' movie.
Noel Kringle is the second son of Santa Claus and has Santa powers. His employee is a troll. His friend is an elf (the sort who made toys). While I could see this work if the world and characters were gritty and realistically scary, the book made them rather cartoonish instead. I never really understood what was up with the toy drive that was being raised for needy children (how about... food and clothes, too? People do that). Or with the Christmas elf who got a bee in his bonnet for very little reason.
The plot, at least, seemed promising, as Noel's issues piled up: a fight with his friend, pressure from a cop, possible blood magic going on by killing celebrities in *ironic* ways, a request for help from his brother, a request for help from the runners of the toy drive for him to somehow make all the toys held as police evidence be returned - if the ending had managed to wrap it all up neatly, I'd have been *on board*. Instead, the fight with his elf friend was solved by... not solving it, but deciding to ignore it on both sides. The blood magic was forgotten about the moment the baddie was chased off (possibly temporarily?) by thinking about Christmas at it. The issue for his brother was passed off to someone else who solved it off-screen. And the request regarding toys was elf ex machina-ed at the end. The more I think about it, the less satisfied I am.
A book that's pretty much forgettable, and oddly mismatched in themes and approaches. While it's not horribly bad, it's not something I'd have chosen to read, had I known what it was like, nor do I feel the slightest inclination to try to other books in the series.
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