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A review by chanzlyn
A Holly Jolly Ever After by Sierra Simone, Julie Murphy
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It's honestly such a toss up where this book really is for me??
Overall I LOVED the book, it hit the Hallmark Spice Movie levels for me and then some. Truly some of the best spice I think between the two series (Kallum had some nice dom vibes).
I don't love the accidental-pregnancy trope but it works for this world because it's a contemporary hallmark romance. Like I genuinely hate accidental-pregnancies but it felt alright for this tbh.
Also they brought up how Winnie has narcolepsy and mention it a lot in this book only to ultimately do nothing with it. It felt unnecessary and just like filler to make the book longer for some reason. I'm ALL for representation of people's disabilities and the like but I feel like if you're going to mention it as much as they did in this book and to not do anything with it just felt so weird.
But on the other hand, some of the writing was a bit odd.
Spoilers ahead, not detailed:
I thought it was odd that half way through the book the two were basically in love and happy and it was ONLY half way?? I'm not a slowburn kind of person so it's not that I wish that they had held out longer but it's more like the plot after they got together felt a bit jarring.
I hate third-act breakups but they don't just break up once, but TWICE! And it's because of a miscommunication/lack of communication!!! LIKE YALL ARE 30, TALK TO EACH OTHER. I get some of the traumas that Winnie has, absolutely, but her inability to talk to the one person she was trusting and was making unilateral decisions for both of them was so bizarre.
I honestly kind of wanted the first half and just the last third of the last half to be the story. Like after the first break up, just skip to Kallum giving her space and just doing his LA thing to setup for the baby.
But all-in-all, this was a cute silly hallmark spiced story.
Winnie was fun and brought up interesting discussions about the purity culture but I think it was too much. I understand she was recovering from it and trauma heals differently for everyone but it felt too much of a focus for this book. Kallum, what a dream guy - lumber jack, dad bod, kind of man that's a dom but also respectful?? Loooved him. He definitely had a bit of a childish personality but I feel like they showed how he was well rounded in that he can be serious when it was necessary.
Overall I LOVED the book, it hit the Hallmark Spice Movie levels for me and then some. Truly some of the best spice I think between the two series (Kallum had some nice dom vibes).
I don't love the accidental-pregnancy trope but it works for this world because it's a contemporary hallmark romance. Like I genuinely hate accidental-pregnancies but it felt alright for this tbh.
Also they brought up how Winnie has narcolepsy and mention it a lot in this book only to ultimately do nothing with it. It felt unnecessary and just like filler to make the book longer for some reason. I'm ALL for representation of people's disabilities and the like but I feel like if you're going to mention it as much as they did in this book and to not do anything with it just felt so weird.
But on the other hand, some of the writing was a bit odd.
Spoilers ahead, not detailed:
I thought it was odd that half way through the book the two were basically in love and happy and it was ONLY half way?? I'm not a slowburn kind of person so it's not that I wish that they had held out longer but it's more like the plot after they got together felt a bit jarring.
I hate third-act breakups but they don't just break up once, but TWICE! And it's because of a miscommunication/lack of communication!!! LIKE YALL ARE 30, TALK TO EACH OTHER. I get some of the traumas that Winnie has, absolutely, but her inability to talk to the one person she was trusting and was making unilateral decisions for both of them was so bizarre.
I honestly kind of wanted the first half and just the last third of the last half to be the story. Like after the first break up, just skip to Kallum giving her space and just doing his LA thing to setup for the baby.
But all-in-all, this was a cute silly hallmark spiced story.
Winnie was fun and brought up interesting discussions about the purity culture but I think it was too much. I understand she was recovering from it and trauma heals differently for everyone but it felt too much of a focus for this book. Kallum, what a dream guy - lumber jack, dad bod, kind of man that's a dom but also respectful?? Loooved him. He definitely had a bit of a childish personality but I feel like they showed how he was well rounded in that he can be serious when it was necessary.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy