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balletbookworm 's review for:

A Holly Jolly Ever After by Julie Murphy, Sierra Simone
4.0
funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Liked it, but not quite as much as the first one. I feel like some plot threads are left dangling (like, when does Winnie tell him that she has narcolepsy? when does Kallum tell her he's always felt second place to everyone else?) and narrative was slightly disjointed. But once we're back in Christmas Notch it was such a fun ride. 

Winnie's google search SEO really let her down but also
Kallum throwing the shocker the FIRST TIME he and Winnie are together and she's never had an orgasm before, ever, is like a "closed course, professional driver" move and wow was that unexpected for the first sex scene


If you've got some purity culture trauma, this does get into that quite a lot in Winnie's background. (Also, can we talk about how Kallum's basically slut-shamed because consenting adult women decide his d*ck is the gateway to their marriage hopes? I had some choice words for his mom and sister. Also, maybe Winnie for not recognizing that either.)