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A review by beate251
The Night Before Christmas by Nicola Knight
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for this ARC.
Felicity Brooks hates Christmas since her Dad abandoned the family on Boxing Day when she was six and her Mum turned to alcohol. James hates Christmas since his fiancée abandoned him on Boxing Day. Their meet cute is a tiny kitten brought by James on Christmas Eve to the animal rescue centre Felicity works in. Sparks fly pretty much instantly, even though James wears a penguin costume. However, their progress is stalled by various exes and jealousy, plus serious trust and abandonment issues on Felicity's side.
I acknowledge that this is a debut novel but all that angst and jealousy was too much for me. Adam is a walking red flag, stalking Felicity and not taking no for an answer, but Felicity herself is a damaged doormat who can't face up to him for long, crumbling instantly once he collapses on her. I expected a cute, light-hearted, funny Christmas story but what I got were characters with serious issues who permanently stood in their own light.
I didn't even like Felicity's friends very much - Bex certainly does not follow the friend code and should be ashamed of herself, but Felicity also doesn't feel like a good friend to her for not trying to intervene.
Also, for a book that has Christmas in the title and a cute festive penguin on the cover, this isn't very Christmassy at all - for one because the main characters don't like Christmas but also because it doesn't actually cover very much of the Christmas period.
I liked the rescued animals (who wouldn't), but the whole story is so predictable, and I didn't find any of the characters very mature. James backs off after a talk with Adam, Felicity lets her Dad issues overshadow her whole life and both of them irrationally hate Christmas as if it's Christmas's fault that sometimes bad things happen during it. In the end Felicity only seems happy once she is loved by a man and I'm not really sure that's a great message to send.
Read if you like cats, men in penguin costumes and traumatic childhoods.
Felicity Brooks hates Christmas since her Dad abandoned the family on Boxing Day when she was six and her Mum turned to alcohol. James hates Christmas since his fiancée abandoned him on Boxing Day. Their meet cute is a tiny kitten brought by James on Christmas Eve to the animal rescue centre Felicity works in. Sparks fly pretty much instantly, even though James wears a penguin costume. However, their progress is stalled by various exes and jealousy, plus serious trust and abandonment issues on Felicity's side.
I acknowledge that this is a debut novel but all that angst and jealousy was too much for me. Adam is a walking red flag, stalking Felicity and not taking no for an answer, but Felicity herself is a damaged doormat who can't face up to him for long, crumbling instantly once he collapses on her. I expected a cute, light-hearted, funny Christmas story but what I got were characters with serious issues who permanently stood in their own light.
I didn't even like Felicity's friends very much - Bex certainly does not follow the friend code and should be ashamed of herself, but Felicity also doesn't feel like a good friend to her for not trying to intervene.
Also, for a book that has Christmas in the title and a cute festive penguin on the cover, this isn't very Christmassy at all - for one because the main characters don't like Christmas but also because it doesn't actually cover very much of the Christmas period.
I liked the rescued animals (who wouldn't), but the whole story is so predictable, and I didn't find any of the characters very mature. James backs off after a talk with Adam, Felicity lets her Dad issues overshadow her whole life and both of them irrationally hate Christmas as if it's Christmas's fault that sometimes bad things happen during it. In the end Felicity only seems happy once she is loved by a man and I'm not really sure that's a great message to send.
Read if you like cats, men in penguin costumes and traumatic childhoods.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship