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m_allardyce 's review for:
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Winter Romances
by Stephanie Perkins
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is a collection of romantic YA short stories all themed around Winter and its holidays. Featuring YA juggernauts such as Rainbow Rowell, Jenny Han, Holly Black, and countless others, the cosy read is designed to be read curled up somewhere warm with a cup of tea and a heart full of holiday cheer.
I really did enjoy some of the stories. Rainbow Rowell, for all her sins, does write endearing characters whose romantic tension feels tangible on the page. She somehow manages to write a yearning slow burn in just 25 pages which is a magical way to begin the collection. Similarly, Gayle Forman’s story of a low stakes Hannukah miracle is also a great read. I found the two love interests who feel alien in their University town and who are drawn together by their sense loneliness incredibly relatable. The conflict feels real and comes to a hopeful end that honestly left me wanting more.
There are also some stories I really didn’t enjoy, and which definitely affected my overall rating of the book. Kelly Link’s story of a man who might be a ghost, or a fox, or fae felt confused and longwinded. The protagonist came across as pretentious, and the love story itself was so strange I couldn’t find myself rooting for it. Similarly, Laini Taylor’s tries to do too much world building in such a short span of narrative that the overall feeling of the story is underwhelm. There isn’t enough time to get to know the protagonist AND her world that I struggled to invest in her plight, exacerbated by the fact that this was the final story in the collection.
Overall, there are some cute tales in this collection, and it definitely delivered on the cosiness promised. Across the board my main issue was the theme of ‘instalove’ that many of the stories had which is not a romance trope I enjoy, but there is only so much one can do in a short story.
I really did enjoy some of the stories. Rainbow Rowell, for all her sins, does write endearing characters whose romantic tension feels tangible on the page. She somehow manages to write a yearning slow burn in just 25 pages which is a magical way to begin the collection. Similarly, Gayle Forman’s story of a low stakes Hannukah miracle is also a great read. I found the two love interests who feel alien in their University town and who are drawn together by their sense loneliness incredibly relatable. The conflict feels real and comes to a hopeful end that honestly left me wanting more.
There are also some stories I really didn’t enjoy, and which definitely affected my overall rating of the book. Kelly Link’s story of a man who might be a ghost, or a fox, or fae felt confused and longwinded. The protagonist came across as pretentious, and the love story itself was so strange I couldn’t find myself rooting for it. Similarly, Laini Taylor’s tries to do too much world building in such a short span of narrative that the overall feeling of the story is underwhelm. There isn’t enough time to get to know the protagonist AND her world that I struggled to invest in her plight, exacerbated by the fact that this was the final story in the collection.
Overall, there are some cute tales in this collection, and it definitely delivered on the cosiness promised. Across the board my main issue was the theme of ‘instalove’ that many of the stories had which is not a romance trope I enjoy, but there is only so much one can do in a short story.