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torianne91 's review for:
Holly Jolly July
by Lindsay Maple
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First and foremost, thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | Canary Street Press as well as Harlequin Audio for providing this ARC copy in exchange for my honest review
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊
⚝ Rating ⚝: 2.75✩ / 5✩’s (rounded up)
⚝ Review ⚝: Home Alone meets John Tucker Must Die??? Weird combo, but okay. I can maybe see the vision. Unfortunately, I was somewhat lost in execution. I feel like SUCH an outlier on this one.
Mariah and Ellie have both taken jobs on the same movie set, a Christmas movie being filmed in small town Canada in July, preparing for a holiday release--Mariah as a makeup artist and Ellie as an actress. Neither are entirely where they want to be career wise though. While Mariah thinks that these small town Christmas movies are a cheap step backwards, and takes that frustration out on basically everyone, and Ellie is disappointed that she has yet again been passed over by a lead but refuses to let the world see her as upset or sad. On their first day on the job, they both meet men who they determine are good distractions from their workplace disappointments. For Mariah, it's the bartender who also happens to be an old high school crush, and for Ellie, it's the sweet maintenance worker who is employed at the cabins she is staying at.
But after a few weeks, it comes to light that both these men are lying to them and cheating on them, so Mariah and Ellie team up to compile a series of 'home alone'-esque pranks on the unfaithful men in an effort to get them to admit to what they are doing. But as pranks ensue, an attraction between the two seems to be growing.
The hijinks and mayhem are told through a dual POV between Mariah and Ellie, and I just didn't really find myself connecting to either of them.
I *really* wanted to enjoy this one, even with Christmas not being my favorite holiday, this sounded cute and fun. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I'm all for bubbly sunshiney characters, but Ellie was just too much and I found I liked her chapters the absolute least. The forced merriment and cheer and bending everyone to love Christmas as much as she does (Spoiler: It's an almost concerning amount of love for Christmas) was honestly, kind of annoying. Personally, I don't think I could spend any time around someone who's entire personality is just 'Christmas'.
As for Mariah, I felt like I could have loved her, but so much about her felt glossed over, her past, her trauma, why she is the way she is, why she is so eager to move on. Things are mentioned, but never really revealed. For me, it simply felt like there was a lot lacking in Mariah's character.
On top of that, the relationship between Ellie and Mariah...wasn't that believable. They went from being furious and angry about being cheated on and lied to to being extremely attracted to each other in a matter of like...minutes? No real build up, no real connection.
I will give the book this though, the pranks were a lot of fun and Ellie was indeed an evil genius. I just wish I liked her more.
⚝ Audio/Narrator⚝: The narration wasn't terrible, but unfortunately, it also wasn't my favorite. Narrated by Lauren Sweet and Angelina Rocca, I felt that the narration was a bit...unbalanced. The narrations for Ellie were extremely dynamic and energetic, while for Mariah, I felt they were almost...bored. And while yes, I do understand this was a grumpy x sunshine storyline, grumpy doesn't have to mean monotone or boring.
⚝ Representation ⚝: Bisexual and Bi-Awakening
⚝ TWs ⚝: Drug use, alcoholism, bullying
My monthly reading breakdown for May will be posted to TikTok, IG, and Threads the first week of June.
·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙·̩̩̥͙＊
⚝ Rating ⚝: 2.75✩ / 5✩’s (rounded up)
⚝ Review ⚝: Home Alone meets John Tucker Must Die??? Weird combo, but okay. I can maybe see the vision. Unfortunately, I was somewhat lost in execution. I feel like SUCH an outlier on this one.
Mariah and Ellie have both taken jobs on the same movie set, a Christmas movie being filmed in small town Canada in July, preparing for a holiday release--Mariah as a makeup artist and Ellie as an actress. Neither are entirely where they want to be career wise though. While Mariah thinks that these small town Christmas movies are a cheap step backwards, and takes that frustration out on basically everyone, and Ellie is disappointed that she has yet again been passed over by a lead but refuses to let the world see her as upset or sad. On their first day on the job, they both meet men who they determine are good distractions from their workplace disappointments. For Mariah, it's the bartender who also happens to be an old high school crush, and for Ellie, it's the sweet maintenance worker who is employed at the cabins she is staying at.
But after a few weeks, it comes to light that both these men are lying to them and cheating on them, so Mariah and Ellie team up to compile a series of 'home alone'-esque pranks on the unfaithful men in an effort to get them to admit to what they are doing. But as pranks ensue, an attraction between the two seems to be growing.
The hijinks and mayhem are told through a dual POV between Mariah and Ellie, and I just didn't really find myself connecting to either of them.
I *really* wanted to enjoy this one, even with Christmas not being my favorite holiday, this sounded cute and fun. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me. I'm all for bubbly sunshiney characters, but Ellie was just too much and I found I liked her chapters the absolute least. The forced merriment and cheer and bending everyone to love Christmas as much as she does (Spoiler: It's an almost concerning amount of love for Christmas) was honestly, kind of annoying. Personally, I don't think I could spend any time around someone who's entire personality is just 'Christmas'.
As for Mariah, I felt like I could have loved her, but so much about her felt glossed over, her past, her trauma, why she is the way she is, why she is so eager to move on. Things are mentioned, but never really revealed. For me, it simply felt like there was a lot lacking in Mariah's character.
On top of that, the relationship between Ellie and Mariah...wasn't that believable. They went from being furious and angry about being cheated on and lied to to being extremely attracted to each other in a matter of like...minutes? No real build up, no real connection.
I will give the book this though, the pranks were a lot of fun and Ellie was indeed an evil genius. I just wish I liked her more.
⚝ Audio/Narrator⚝: The narration wasn't terrible, but unfortunately, it also wasn't my favorite. Narrated by Lauren Sweet and Angelina Rocca, I felt that the narration was a bit...unbalanced. The narrations for Ellie were extremely dynamic and energetic, while for Mariah, I felt they were almost...bored. And while yes, I do understand this was a grumpy x sunshine storyline, grumpy doesn't have to mean monotone or boring.
⚝ Representation ⚝: Bisexual and Bi-Awakening
⚝ TWs ⚝: Drug use, alcoholism, bullying
My monthly reading breakdown for May will be posted to TikTok, IG, and Threads the first week of June.