When it comes to reviewing this type of books (I call it my guilty pleasure), I don’t expect unpredictable plots or an amazing masterpiece. So the rating is based on how enjoyable and entertaining reading this book for me was (and to be completely honest, that’s how ratings work for me, in general).
The Plot
Of course, it will be no surprise to you that the plot is pretty much predictable. Not even the synopsis hides that. The selling point of this book is that even you being perfectly aware of the direction of the plot, it’s that sort of thing you still want to read! You want to hear about the story of two people who apparently hate each other, but discover they have more than in common than they’d initially thought. You want to hear about people who chose love over comfort and convenience. You want to hear that people can still fall in love even after having lost complete faith. The plot might be predictable yes, but sometimes, all you need is a bit of romance and faith in your life. And for that, this book is pretty much inspiring, if not a bit naive.
The Characters
Despite the fact that I liked all the “fireworks” and the love-hate relationship between Skylar and Alec, I didn’t feel much for each one of them individually. Alec was the though, unavailable and unreachable guy with a broken heart, which was a safe bet for swooning material. Then Skylar, insanely beautiful, who is so much more than your average hot girl. To be fair, it’s refreshing to read a book that features a bombshell with a brain as opposed to the overused plain Jane. Who said you can’t be pretty, care about your pretty shoes, but still have a brain and be willing to get dirty (in all senses, really). I do think Skylar was a character with so much potential. At some point, though, it gives the impression as if she is trying too hard, and even comes across as needy sometimes. She wants to be tough but in fact, most of the time, she is trying to convince Alec of how much he needs to give a try to a relationship and be happy again – much to her benefit. During the rest of the time, she is simply being way too physical, in every kind of possible situation and scenario, in order to probably compensate the emptiness in her heart. It was just a bit too much. Apart from that, I have to say I loved her attitude towards both her family and ex.
Me not being a pet person, I absolutely despised the stereotype about dog lovers and how this was used to depict a bad image about Alec’s ex. Okay, we get it, the woman is horrible and uninteresting. But what does that have to do with liking or not liking dogs? “You are so different from my ex, you actually like dogs?” So what?
The Writing Style
I thought the writing style was very suitable to the genre and progression of the story. The author doesn’t use the chapters as a separation between POVs, but instead, we have access to both Skylar and Alec’s POV (individually) which makes us feel as if we are inside the characters’ minds.
Overall, Christmas Ever After was a fun, enjoyable read, along the lines of ‘You know how it’s going to end, but you still want to read’. It had unexplored potential that could be used to actually defy the genre and relied a bit too much in stereotypes and tropes.
36 Responses
I’m not really familiar with s.f. & fantasy, but your review makes this book sound interesting!
It has its ups and downs 🙂
One of the many reasons why 😉
Good book review. Everyone loves a feel good moment and happy ending stories are sometimes all that we need to cheer ourselves up.
Exactly my thoughts. It works every time 🙂
I had never heard of this book before. But i liked the review and might try reading it sometimes. Thanks.
Thank you:) Let me know what you think if you end up reading it
I love fantasy too, even YA lit but I will admit I love reading chick lit on holidays or at times when I’m studying and sick of reading ‘heavy’ academic stuff. I hate predictable plots but as you said what you see is what you get with this one. I like the point you raised about the protagonist being a bombshell with a brain instead of the plain jane. It IS so overused now, you’re right. The whole 50 Shades thing started this new trend of the under-dog girl who the finest most desirable men cannot be without all of a sudden. Boringggg. I might download this one onto my Kindle for later in the year. I always have something of this genre on hand for when the mood strikes me!
Thank you so much for the thoughtful comment, Amy, it’s always a pleasure to have you here:) I have the exact same feeling about chick lit. Sometimes it’s just the perfect escape you need, and it takes my mind off things. Christmas and Summer holidays (hint: beach) are normally the times when I am more tempted to read this type of stuff.
Haha yes! It’s the perfect genre for half reading/half people-watching at the beach!
From your description it looks like a very easy book to read, perfect to take on a train or, cause summer is approaching, at the beach, even if the action takes place in winter. I think that bad books are pretty much the ones that you will read when you are bored and you just want to escape for a bit from reality, and just need a cheesy story to dive into. 🙂
Ohhh yes beach is my favorite place to read chick lit!! And I completely agree, even when you know the book is bad, it’s simply entertaining haha.
I’ve never heard about this book before. Your book review is great! Happy endings are the best!
They are 🙂 Nothing wrong with day dreaming a bit sometimes
It definitely is a predictable read but I think that predictable reads make for the best guilty pleasures. Especially when you are travelling.
Definitely. Sometimes all I want is a happy ending:)
Never heard of this book before but it does sound good from the review you have written. Do they have an e-book as well? I don’t really get time to read now after becoming a mum but I think I should get this one.
Fatima | http://www.blogsbyfa.com
Hi Fatima, yes, even though it was not my favorite book, it’s still a nice and fun read, you can get the kindle version 🙂 At least on Amazon UK it’s still available.
I liked your honesty in writing this review. I haven’t read the book but it seems like you did your best to give an unbiased review. I especially liked “You are so different from my ex, you actually like dogs?” So what?” 🙂
Thank you so much, I always do my best to give my honest opinion with all due respect to the authors of course. Haha I am glad you liked that bit 🙂
Usually I can get past cliches if the story is interesting enough. I think I would probably enjoy reading this closer to Christmas time.
I have read this a little while ago, closer to Christmas actually, so yes, I would probably recommend the same:)
I am more into romantic fiction yet its been long i havent grab myself a novel to read.
Well, reading your review certainly gives me the chills and excitment of a digging into novels. Thanks for bringing back my lost love 🙂
I am a bit of a book addict as you can see haha, but I do have phases. I am, at this moment, going through an extremely slow reading phase, but well, life does get busy sometimes. I hope you find some time to relax and read a bit, even if it’s just one page per day 🙂
I am always looking for a new book to read. I have heard of this book and have read Sarah Morgan books before- love them.
This is the first time I have read a book of her. It does the fit the mood you’d expect.
Seems like such a great book and reading your review in May felt so great because I really like Christmas! <3
Haha I love Christmas too, I don’t know why because I am not even religious. I think it’s the spirit.
And the whole family getting together ahhh such a great time!
I, too, enjoy light hearted books every now and then with predictable plots. Sometimes it’s nice to hear about things working out for people because lately there are too many bad things in the world. Thanks for the review, I think I’ll add this to my list!
I completely agree. Sometimes all I want is to escape from reality and go to dream world 🙂 I hope you enjoy it
What a great review I definitely need to get this, I’m not usually a Christmas type
I’ve been reading the Anita Blake book series and as the series progress it get more and more heavy so I’m fed looking for something light to read
I sometimes look for light reads and this will definitely fall under that category. Although predictable I guess you are right that sometimes we just need a book that will help us unwind and not think too much about complicated plots. Haven’t read any book from Sarah Morgan yet so maybe I can make this my first book from her.
I’m drawn to crime thrillers myself but I also like to read light books like this to lighten my reading mood. Reading one crime after another can get quite dark.
I’m travelling for long hours this coming Christmas holiday, and I think this might be a good company along the road. I’m curious about this story line.