This was a really fun sweet Christmas novella. I enjoyed the both the setting and the storyline and particularly enjoyed the balance between the intrigue, mystery and romance.
Claudia is a reindeer from the Pole, she’s a prospect for the sleigh team. At the last minute she gets called up, to fulfil the role of Comet.
Jillian is an elf, she’s based in New York as a personal assistant, looking after the North East America part of the sleigh route.
When Claudia is drafted into the team she’s assigned to Jillian’s part of the world. A big part of what makes this such a fun sweet read is her exploration of the human things and her experiences with New York at Christmastime. I really liked that Night manages to describe these experiences so you feel like you’ve shared them with Claudia, but doesn’t go overboard on the descriptors.
There’s some mystery and intrigue in the storyline, as someone is trying to ruin Christmas by creating non-believers, leaving the reindeer having to track down the culprits. This works in keeping the storyline interesting, it would have been a very different narrative were it to just discuss the getting reading for delivering presents.
This was an enjoyable read with a refreshing take on a Christmas romance.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I haven’t had the opportunity to read a Benson full-length until this one, and I’m really really glad I started here. This has firmly planted itself as one of my top three books of the year. It was slower, deeper and far more powerful than I was expecting. I couldn’t put it down because of how I felt about the book.
Tilly, Evie and Sean have been friends since university. They’ve stayed close for over ten years. Tilly’s a runner, not an actual athlete, someone who runs from her emotions. Evie and Tilly both have unrequited feelings for each other, but never talk about it. When Tilly disappears after a fight between the two of them, Evie unexpectedly falls pregnant. The world Tilly returns to will never quite be the same again.
I loved the narrative and the construction of the storyline. I enjoyed how the change in point of view included Sean, and that it wasn’t just about Tilly and Evie. The additional viewpoint Sean provides on how the pair have grown together over the years and the impacts of each episode of Tilly leaving, adds both empathy and understanding for both Tilly and Evie.
I don’t want to reveal the underlying narrative or the issues the characters face, because a big part of the enjoyment for me was the discovery. I spent a lot of time guessing in my head trying to work this out and I couldn’t, adding to my enjoyment levels further. The book is long, but I never felt bored with the story. Every chapter was needed to paint the picture of day to day life and the impact of Evie being pregnant on her friendship with Tilly.
The diversity in this book is fantastic. I felt at home with this small group of queer friends, one bi, one pan, one genderqueer and aromantic. Evie and Sean aren’t white. One of my favourite parts of the diversity is how it’s just normal in their world. They are descriptors of the characters, but not the most important thing about any of them in the narrative. There are small things dotted throughout the book to illustrate heritage, respectfulness and identity.
The secondary characters are great. I loved Evie’s mother. The people that Evie works with all come alive on the page despite their brief interludes. I also loved that this book was set in Australia. It provided a refreshing setting that just felt right.
It’s safe to say I would highly recommend this to all queer romance fans. You’ll need to put some time aside, but it’ll make every minute worth it.
I received an e-ARC directly from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Grace is a book editor acting as Nicola’s temporary assistant at their company. Nicola ends up having to cover a book conference at short notice, when of course there are no other methods of transportation available to them than sharing hours in a car.
The story is somewhat predictable to begin with. They end up in a B&B because the weather gets too bad for them to continue their journey. There’s only one room available.
The things I liked about the story was their connection about their backgrounds. Whilst they had an inevitable split during the narrative due to inability to communicate, it was due to the past and not a hurt one or the other had inflicted and it was resolved relatively quickly.
I found the epilogue to be a nice sweet way to sign the story off and I did find myself wishing this had been a longer story, as I feel it would have been less predictable with more to help with the tropes.
Whilst it contains the usual kinds of things, it was still a sweet, easy page turner that I enjoyed reading. I think Christmas romance fans find this an enjoyable way to pass an hour or so.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Three high quality Christmas novellas. I enjoyed all of them for different reasons and am actually struggling to decide on an overall rating so I’ve rated them all individually below:
Triple Dog Dare – Georgia Beers
5 stars – I loved this story. Sasha was interesting as Brooke’s boss in 16 Steps to Forever but she’s great in this. I love the premise of needing a fake girlfriend for Christmas in order to try and win a date from your sister. Sasha and Kennedy are great both as a fake couple and a real one. I loved the back any forth between Sasha’s sister and Kennedy as she tried to trip them up and how Beers deals with the grief of lost ones at Christmas, the emotions around really falling for one another and the guilt in lying without making this a heavy story. I’d have loved this if it was a full novel too.
Hustle & Bustle – Maggie Cummings
4 stars – Toby is a cop with a social work background. She’s sweet and romantic at heart. She meets Hannah at Central Park Christmas market where she’s running a stall. I liked the diversity snuck into the story and enjoyed spending time in New York during the Christmas season. I enjoyed this storyline but I’m not sure I’d have enjoyed it as much without the New York setting. The narrative is sweet and sincere, with as much of a slow burn sweetness as is possible to get in a novella. The epilogue left me sated with a nice ending to Toby and
A Christmas Miracle – Fiona Riley
3.5 stars – I haven’t had the opportunity to read Bet on Me yet, so I’m only aware that Mira is a character in the novel and am coming to this not knowing anything else about her. I enjoyed this story but wasn’t able to connect with it as much as the other two works. I liked both Mira and Courtney as characters and they work well together on the page. This had more angst in it than the other stories due to the tensions at work for Courtney and the issues Mira was having her bar due to staffing so I felt pulled out of the Christmas fantasy a little. The humour was enjoyable though and I liked the journey both characters took in the short period of time the story covered.
I’d happily recommend this collection to anyone looking for some fun wlw Christmas reads.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A feel good, sweet romance from Beers. I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as Hopeless Romantic but this definitely cemented my enjoyment of Beers’ work for me. I liked this took place in the same universe as Hopeless Romantic and I’m hoping there’s more to come from this town.
Brooke has recently moved into town for a new job with a real estate agency. She’s well thought of in her field and is leaving behind family disappointment. Macy is a home stager who happens to work with the company Brooke has started with.
I liked Macy’s animal menagerie and the delicate way that Beers wrote her exploration of how to meet someone whilst dealing with the death of a previous partner. I loved her clumsiness and reactions to both Brooke and her family. I also really enjoyed her interactions with her nephew.
I really identified with and liked Brooke. I appreciated that Beers included a character that was both bisexual and of faith. I thought both of these and the reactions of the characters to these things were written really well. From the quick reading of the blurb I did I was expecting Brooke to have a lot more control issues than she actually did. Her moving and settling into a new job, whilst meeting someone she likes and trying to keep control makes things interesting.
I liked that both characters were intriguing with careers and pasts that made sense with regards to how they react to each other, which made the book a compelling read.
Fans of Beers will love this, and all romance fans will enjoy this too.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
LGBTQ+ Reader 