Reviewed by Joséphine on
My full book review is now up on Word Revel.
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December 21, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5 stars
Initial thoughts: I love a good Christmas story — yes, even with a huge dose of romance — around this time of the year. On that front Christmas Cakes and Mistletoe Nights delivered for the sweetness amidst the hardships the characters faced. I adored Lija and Stan, though they were secondary characters. Rounded up with Fay and Danny, the main characters, as well as Rainbow, this book was a joy to curl up with.
However, the writing style did leave a bit to be desired, with tired phrases of, "I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding" and variations like, "I put down the kettle, that I hadn't even realised I was still holding[...]" These always trip me up, no matter how much I've been enjoying a book. I would've liked it more if the prose had been tighter to balance the pace of the plot, which was rather drawn out in the first half before it finally unfolded in the second half of the book.
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Note: I received a finished copy from a local distributor in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 21 December, 2018: Finished reading
- 21 December, 2018: Reviewed