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A review by haileyldavidson
A Season for Second Chances by Jenny Bayliss
1.0
This had little to no holiday charm. It was undeniably blindingly boring. It was a Christmas Romance, that had no spirit of Christmas, and did not introduce the main romantic plot until 40% of the way through the book. And that’s not to mean that the romance began at that point- no. The two characters that were going to fall in love (supposedly) meet for the very first time, 40% of the way through the book. I feel like a lot of time was spent in places where it was not needed- I loved the main character coming to terms with her divorce and being comfortable with herself beyond who she was in her marriage. However- way way WAY too much time was spent on her ex-husband! And that’s not to mean the character was fixated on or reminiscing about her ex-husband but no he was actually an active character in the book that was very present until about 70% of the way through the book.
The book also seems to be trying very hard to convince me that it is British. The language used throughout is really aggravating. I don’t need to read “Blimey!” or “Bollocks” or “Jolly good” or EVEN “holy fuckwits!” every 3 pages to know that this character is a Brit. You can have a certain energy about the atmosphere and the characters that has a distinct feel. Something that says “This feels very British in a respectful and not at all obnoxious way that is actively compelling and endearing to the story, its characters, and the writing. (See: Olive by Emma Gagnon) This book- couldn’t do that to save its life. It felt like it thought it was quite clever and quirky- but for me, it fell flat and was annoying.
The romance is so incredibly boring and drags throughout the almost 500 pages of this book. (No romance novel should be almost 500 pages, almost no book should be 500 pages) And for some reason, despite the obvious length of the writing- none of it could endear me to a single character. The initial meeting of the two main romantic characters happens at about 40% of the way through the book- and they fight because this is also enemies to lovers. The enemies to lovers plot doesn’t work well for me. The concept is that our FMC is a winter guardian for an older woman’s historical home. The woman’s nephew, our MMC, is hoping to sell the property and not have his aunt return to it in the future. He is painted as a villain for this and I don’t disagree that he is a jerk about it. But anyone with a proper head on their shoulders knows that taking care of your aging relatives is extremely complicated, it’s difficult and upsetting to move people away from their home, but it’s hard to relocate yourself to be able to take care of them. In any case…at her big big age of like 40-something….this FMC should know that this is obviously a family dispute and likely a painful private matter. But she is really strange in the way that she has no friends so she seemingly attaches herself quite loyally to anyone who shows her kindness. So she is fighting tooth and nail for this old woman- who hardly knows her, against the wishes of her family. She is a STRANGER. This is such disrespectful behaviour. Like imagine telling a seasonal tenant “just remember you need to move out by this date, please and thanks. We’re moving my aging family member and dealing with the closure of this property.” And your tenant who again- is a stranger to your relative, and even stranger to you- starts yelling at you telling you that you’re a money hungry asshole, and your auntie deserves to be at home you monster. Like that is absolutely deranged.
So they obviously got off to a rough start, the MMC being portrayed as very grumpy (wonder why) until he very swiftly and randomly shifts into this playful, sweet, fun-loving guy. It felt like that part of his development was so insanely rushed just so these two could get together.
Lastly, this IS NOT a holiday romance. There’s more mentions of Halloween then there is mention of Christmastime. In fact- the majority of the book takes place throughout Autumn. It begins in September.
F this book I’m very sad about this I just want to feel festive.
The book also seems to be trying very hard to convince me that it is British. The language used throughout is really aggravating. I don’t need to read “Blimey!” or “Bollocks” or “Jolly good” or EVEN “holy fuckwits!” every 3 pages to know that this character is a Brit. You can have a certain energy about the atmosphere and the characters that has a distinct feel. Something that says “This feels very British in a respectful and not at all obnoxious way that is actively compelling and endearing to the story, its characters, and the writing. (See: Olive by Emma Gagnon) This book- couldn’t do that to save its life. It felt like it thought it was quite clever and quirky- but for me, it fell flat and was annoying.
The romance is so incredibly boring and drags throughout the almost 500 pages of this book. (No romance novel should be almost 500 pages, almost no book should be 500 pages) And for some reason, despite the obvious length of the writing- none of it could endear me to a single character. The initial meeting of the two main romantic characters happens at about 40% of the way through the book- and they fight because this is also enemies to lovers. The enemies to lovers plot doesn’t work well for me. The concept is that our FMC is a winter guardian for an older woman’s historical home. The woman’s nephew, our MMC, is hoping to sell the property and not have his aunt return to it in the future. He is painted as a villain for this and I don’t disagree that he is a jerk about it. But anyone with a proper head on their shoulders knows that taking care of your aging relatives is extremely complicated, it’s difficult and upsetting to move people away from their home, but it’s hard to relocate yourself to be able to take care of them. In any case…at her big big age of like 40-something….this FMC should know that this is obviously a family dispute and likely a painful private matter. But she is really strange in the way that she has no friends so she seemingly attaches herself quite loyally to anyone who shows her kindness. So she is fighting tooth and nail for this old woman- who hardly knows her, against the wishes of her family. She is a STRANGER. This is such disrespectful behaviour. Like imagine telling a seasonal tenant “just remember you need to move out by this date, please and thanks. We’re moving my aging family member and dealing with the closure of this property.” And your tenant who again- is a stranger to your relative, and even stranger to you- starts yelling at you telling you that you’re a money hungry asshole, and your auntie deserves to be at home you monster. Like that is absolutely deranged.
So they obviously got off to a rough start, the MMC being portrayed as very grumpy (wonder why) until he very swiftly and randomly shifts into this playful, sweet, fun-loving guy. It felt like that part of his development was so insanely rushed just so these two could get together.
Lastly, this IS NOT a holiday romance. There’s more mentions of Halloween then there is mention of Christmastime. In fact- the majority of the book takes place throughout Autumn. It begins in September.
F this book I’m very sad about this I just want to feel festive.