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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
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:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you HTP, Canary Street Press, & The Hive for the gifted digital copy!
The December Market
RaeAnne Thayne
Publishing Date: October 8, 2024
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎧 Narrator: Vanessa Johansson 🎧
This is technically the second book in a series but I read it as a standalone and I don’t feel like it was a problem. I have such mixed feelings about this one. There was some really great representation throughout. Cultural diversity, substance abuse and mental health rep, a child with Down’s syndrome, and older characters involved in romances. I appreciated all of this so much. The whole concept of the Holiday Market was cute. We get forced proximity when our firefighter MMC, Rafe, is put to work in the first aide tent at the market where Amanda has a booth with her soap shop.
What didn’t work for me was that the FMC was just really annoying and negative. She had such issue with her grandmother showing romantic interest in someone. She was cold when she heard Rafe’s son asked Santa for her to be his mom for Christmas. She was just so so unlikable for me. I also found Rafe to be very judgemental of her at points. In addition, I felt like the author took the unhealthiness of relationships past a little too far. It was like everyone was in a toxic, borderline abusive relationship in the past, which diluted the impact of our main characters pasts.
🎧 The narration here was just ok for me. It was not always easy to tell when characters switched during dialogue as there wasn’t a lot of differentiation of voice tones. I also feel like the narrator did a great job with the older characters but stayed too close to that voice when the younger characters were speaking, which made them sound older and had me confused how old people were at points.
emotional
medium-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
A fun read about second chance love. There are some serious issues as it also addresses dealing with loving someone with addiction issues, depression, and aging family members. While I won’t rush out to buy any of the authors backlist, I won’t hesitate should they come to me.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced