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parksunhee 's review for:

Mean One by Ab. Cynthe
3.0

Well, that was certainly a way to reimagine the Grinch—gory, fast-paced, and just a touch unhinged. It's definitely original, I’ll give it that. But with everything moving at breakneck speed, I barely had time to remember who was who, let alone get emotionally attached. Everyone just sort of… existed, and then chaos happened. (I know it’s a novella duh but still, extra sauce of character development would’ve been great - I wanted to know more about Max or Cindy somehow)

Cindy could’ve used a bigger role in the actual storytelling rather than just being there for plot vibes. And turning Max into a person? Bold move, but not one I saw coming—or particularly needed. It was more confusing than compelling.

That said, I have to admit I appreciated the ending. Most Christmas tales wrap up with a warm, fuzzy moral and a sprinkle of hope. This one? Not so much. And weirdly, I liked that.

It’s hard to care about anyone in this story—but maybe that’s exactly the point. Maybe *not* caring is the twisted gift the author was going for.

Oh, and the spicy scenes? Absolutely deranged. But also... surprisingly effective. I’ll never look at mistletoe the same way again.