Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - A Cross-Country Christmas

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

A Cross-Country Christmas by Courtney Walsh

9 reviews

infusionofviolets's review

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-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

4.5

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jenniee_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

5.0

This was such an easy 5 star read for me. I was looking for something quick and light to read for the holidays and I finished this in 2 days and did not want it to end. That’s how much I loved it. The banter between Lauren and Will was perfect and I caught myself giggling to myself quite often. The dual POVs were a nice added touch and, to be honest, I appreciate that it was a clean romance. I also just really like a good road trip story. I’m a sucker for a good cheesy Hallmark Christmas story, so if that’s your vibe then definitely give this a shot!

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amanda_reads13's review

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lighthearted fast-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

3.0

Lauren's sister in law is about to have a baby and her brother wants her to come home for Christmas. The problem is that Lauren is terrified of flying. So, her brother arranges for her to get a ride with his best friend Will.

This is a cute book that reads like a Hallmark Christmas movie. She is an uptight planner whose focus is all on her work. He is a shameless flirt who is scared to take professional risks. Lauren hold a massive grudge against Will for reasons he cannot remember and now they are stuck in a car together for a week.

Lauren had an awful childhood and was basically abandoned by her parents. She doesn't trust anyone but herself. The holiday season is especially hard for her.

Will was once a talented baseball player with prospects of going pro. But in college he messed up so bad that he lost his scholarship and his chance at the pros. Unfortunately, Lauren was also an unexpected casualty of his destructive ways.

Being in a car with Will for a week seems like torture to her, and instead of making the best of it she acts like an immature child. Eventually she learns to actually communicate and tell him the truth. Will spends most of the book beating himself up over his past and being afraid of the future.

Tropes: brothers best friend, road trip

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beckyremillard's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

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abrich's review against another edition

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reflective fast-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? It's complicated

Look. Lauren sucks. Big time.

She hates on Will for being friendly. Is sexist. Hates women. Hates men. Super judgey. Major pick me. And let’s just mention the major issue she’s mad at Will about is SA and if genders were reversed everyone would talk about it. You can’t know and acknowledge someone is that wasted then make out with them then be mad when they don’t remember it.

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dkgreads's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

Well that was super sweet and fun! I totally want to take a road trip down Route 66 now! And I can only hope my hubby is half as swoony as Will Sinclair, LOL! Just kidding, my guy is the swoon-worthiest 😍

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jackiie's review

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emotional funny lighthearted slow-paced

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

2.0

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kbairbooks's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

(Spoiler review) oh my goodness gracious I love this I now need to devour every single piece of work Courtney Walsh has ever put out into this world I even loved the little note from the author at the end of the book! This book made me tear up it made my heart skip it was everything everything everything everything. The only reason I didn’t give it a five star is because there were certain details I felt like I was missing? For example maybe they described how they looked at the beginning of the book but I genuinely either forgot or didn’t pay attention or skimmed over or something I don’t know what these characters look like at all and nowhere in the rest of the book after the point that I realized I didn’t know what they look likeDid she ever mention what they looked like. For example she would flip her hair but at no point when they talk about the color of her hair like she flipped her brown hair over her shoulder or what the fuck ever so I still don’t know what they look like but I finished the book I really loved it I’m going to make this one also a Christmas tradition that I read every year because this was just magical and everything I needed and wanted a more in my life. Oh also there is 0 smut in this book. A smush of kissing but that’s literally it.

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madsmcw_reads's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

4.0

A wonderfully Hallmarkesque Christmas romance. A slight enemies to lovers trope but mostly a brother's best friend trope (which is one of the best imo). Lauren and Will are both pretty closed off people so one of my favorite parts of this story was seeing them learn to trust and open up to one another. We didn't find out what Lauren's issue with Will was until pretty far into the book and I think it did the story a disservice. Some of the things she did felt immature and I may have viewed her actions differently if I knew sooner. The last few chapters absolutely made this book for me. They were just absolutely heartwarming and I loved them.

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