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A review by matmatmatty
Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
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
4.5
A seasonal second-chance sapphic romance!
Five years after Charlotte was left at the altar, she is invited to spend Christmas with her colleague and friend at her family home. Not a fan of December, she wants to get through the Christmas period as quickly as possible then go on her music tour through Europe. But she realised that Christmas might be a lot harder when she realises another guest has been invited - none other than her ex-fiancée Brighton. The two of them now need to navigate the Christmas holiday, with all their baggage.
This was a really sweet story about second chances - really made me think about sometimes it really is 'right person, wrong time'. I loved hearing about Charlotte and Brighton's relationship through the years (we saw flashbacks to various points in their life, where we go to understand their backstory and what happened between them). I really felt for Charlotte but over the course of the story grew to understand Brighton's point of view and ended up feeling for her too. The dynamic between the two (both in the past and in the present) was handled quite well, and made them feel like well-developed characters with a lot going on.
The sex scenes also felt really natural - not just shoed in to have a sex scene, but rather they flowed with the story. They were also very well-written!
There were times where the story felt a little sitcomy and wacky, especially at the Turtledove events, but overall that didn't distract from my enjoyment. I think for a Christmas story, scenes like that are expected and they weren't as outrageous as they could be.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this - Ashley Herring Blake has not let me down so far and I'm glad that this was another enjoyable story from them!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC and the opportunity to read this early!
Five years after Charlotte was left at the altar, she is invited to spend Christmas with her colleague and friend at her family home. Not a fan of December, she wants to get through the Christmas period as quickly as possible then go on her music tour through Europe. But she realised that Christmas might be a lot harder when she realises another guest has been invited - none other than her ex-fiancée Brighton. The two of them now need to navigate the Christmas holiday, with all their baggage.
This was a really sweet story about second chances - really made me think about sometimes it really is 'right person, wrong time'. I loved hearing about Charlotte and Brighton's relationship through the years (we saw flashbacks to various points in their life, where we go to understand their backstory and what happened between them). I really felt for Charlotte but over the course of the story grew to understand Brighton's point of view and ended up feeling for her too. The dynamic between the two (both in the past and in the present) was handled quite well, and made them feel like well-developed characters with a lot going on.
The sex scenes also felt really natural - not just shoed in to have a sex scene, but rather they flowed with the story. They were also very well-written!
There were times where the story felt a little sitcomy and wacky, especially at the Turtledove events, but overall that didn't distract from my enjoyment. I think for a Christmas story, scenes like that are expected and they weren't as outrageous as they could be.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this - Ashley Herring Blake has not let me down so far and I'm glad that this was another enjoyable story from them!
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC and the opportunity to read this early!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Vomit