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A review by paperbacksandsketchbooks
Christmas in Aspen by Anita Hughes
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Thank you St. Martin's Press for the gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Christmas in Aspen read like a Hallmark movie and a fairytale; it gave off the perfect cozy Christmas vibes!
FMC Caroline is an editor for a NYC publishing house and is coping with the recent death of her mother. After finding a letter from a so-called lover of her late mother's, she ends up in Aspen to learn who it is. While she's there, she just might end up finding love of her own...
I liked Caroline as a character. I thought she was sweet and she really cared about her career and this side quest of finding her mother's secret lover.
I feel like the main point of this story got lost in between all the other stuff that happened:
1. Caroline is struggling with her job and is told she needs to find a manuscript to sell ASAP, so now that's all Caroline can think about.
2. Daphne - Caroline's sister - also ends up in Aspen to elope with her boyfriend of 2 months. So that's mentioned a lot and Caroline deals with that, too.
3. Caroline meets MMC Max and starts a sort of romantic fling with him. It's very volatile mainly because Caroline can't make up her mind about him.
4. Caroline also meets an aspiring author, Nick, and she wants to help him with his manuscript so she has something to give her publisher. This becomes a huge part of the story but never goes anywhere.
5. Caroline is going through these letters from a late author friend of her mother's, Nina, and these letters become a huge focus of the story.
So while the synopsis makes us think this huge mystery of Caroline finding her mother's secret lover is the main focus of the story, it's really not because - spoiler alert - she has to wait until NYE to solve this mystery and that doesn't happen until the end of the book. I personally did not mind this but other readers may find it disappointing.
The cast of characters in this book was great and I liked how all of the various plot lines played out. The ending was very much worth the journey to get there!
Overall, a cute cozy Christmas story. If you enjoy Hallmark movies, you will enjoy this!
Christmas in Aspen read like a Hallmark movie and a fairytale; it gave off the perfect cozy Christmas vibes!
FMC Caroline is an editor for a NYC publishing house and is coping with the recent death of her mother. After finding a letter from a so-called lover of her late mother's, she ends up in Aspen to learn who it is. While she's there, she just might end up finding love of her own...
I liked Caroline as a character. I thought she was sweet and she really cared about her career and this side quest of finding her mother's secret lover.
I feel like the main point of this story got lost in between all the other stuff that happened:
1. Caroline is struggling with her job and is told she needs to find a manuscript to sell ASAP, so now that's all Caroline can think about.
2. Daphne - Caroline's sister - also ends up in Aspen to elope with her boyfriend of 2 months. So that's mentioned a lot and Caroline deals with that, too.
3. Caroline meets MMC Max and starts a sort of romantic fling with him. It's very volatile mainly because Caroline can't make up her mind about him.
4. Caroline also meets an aspiring author, Nick, and she wants to help him with his manuscript so she has something to give her publisher. This becomes a huge part of the story but never goes anywhere.
5. Caroline is going through these letters from a late author friend of her mother's, Nina, and these letters become a huge focus of the story.
So while the synopsis makes us think this huge mystery of Caroline finding her mother's secret lover is the main focus of the story, it's really not because - spoiler alert - she has to wait until NYE to solve this mystery and that doesn't happen until the end of the book. I personally did not mind this but other readers may find it disappointing.
The cast of characters in this book was great and I liked how all of the various plot lines played out. The ending was very much worth the journey to get there!
Overall, a cute cozy Christmas story. If you enjoy Hallmark movies, you will enjoy this!