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readwatchcrochet's reviews
516 reviews
A Bloody Idiot by eveningstruggle
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
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Santa's Coming by Serena Pier
Lots of flirting and a novella that delivers a fun story in a cute little package.
Read this if you’re looking for a flirty, and fast paced romance set at Christmas.
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Perfect combination of plot, spice and festive merriment.
📚 single mum
📚 role playing with Santa
📚 flirty texts
📚 role playing with Santa
📚 flirty texts
📚 novella
📚 dual POV
🌶️🌶️🌶️
|Thoughts|
This will surely fill your Christmas stocking. A fun yet fleshed out festive novella where Santa fulfils Emily’s Christmas wishes.
“Well, Emily, Christmas is all about spreading joy, and sometimes I have to be a little naughty to do so.”
Lots of flirting and a novella that delivers a fun story in a cute little package.
“All I want for Christmas is to be railed by Santa, I think, staring at the broad-shouldered, bearded, unbelievably good-looking man wearing a Santa suit.”
Read this if you’re looking for a flirty, and fast paced romance set at Christmas.
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Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey
medium-paced
3.5
He crochets as a pregame ritual and then gifts to children in hospital.
📚 hockey romance
📚 brothers best friend
📚 forced proximity
📚 one bed
📚 enemies to friends to lovers
📚 forced proximity
📚 one bed
📚 enemies to friends to lovers
📚 dual POV (duet narration)
🌶️🌶️
“Hate is much closer to love than indifference”
|Thoughts|
It’s nice that at least the mmc is mindful of her original horrible living situation, because her brother is completely hopeless.
“How dare you turn up here on Christmas Day under the guise of seeing her. Just to yell at me.”
Found this to be a sweet story and whilst nothing seemed overly memorable, it did have some cute interactions between Olivia & Aaron.
Did take some time to get to the main plot of the story (40%), but once we got there, the forced proximity was great.
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Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
Rival Summer by Jess Bryson
Highlight were scenes when Chandler & Boston were together and actually talking! But then we’d get periods where they’d be ‘too busy’ and not communicate.
Also, didn’t agree with a large gesture of love at the end, maybe would have worked better if these characters were in high school.
Overall, enjoyed my time reading it but felt the first book in the series was a bit stronger.
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Easy enough read, encouraged to read book 1 before picking this up
📚 brothers best friend
📚 baseball player
📚 childhood friends
📚 childhood friends
📚 dual POV
🌶️🌶️
|Thoughts|
This was an easy read and had some moments that I thoroughly enjoyed. However, found aspects of the story and response of some of the characters a little immature, especially considering they’re meant to be in college.
Was also a bit of a shame a large part of the conflict stemmed from miscommunication. However, it does turn around the midway point.
Was also a bit of a shame a large part of the conflict stemmed from miscommunication. However, it does turn around the midway point.
“There was nothing good I could offer her. She was too good for me, and definitely too good for him”
Highlight were scenes when Chandler & Boston were together and actually talking! But then we’d get periods where they’d be ‘too busy’ and not communicate.
"If I had you, Chandler, I'd never let you go.”
Also, didn’t agree with a large gesture of love at the end, maybe would have worked better if these characters were in high school.
Overall, enjoyed my time reading it but felt the first book in the series was a bit stronger.
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Thanks to the publisher and the author for an eARC in exchange for this honest review.
One More Gift by Holly June Smith
adventurous
fast-paced
4.0
If like a bit of extra spice with your holiday romance.
“I want to make this a Christmas she’ll never forget. The possibilities are endless.”
📚 forced proximity
📚 friends to lovers
📚 friends to lovers
📚 MMF
📚 multi POV
📚 forehead kisses
📚 novella (160 pages)
📚 forehead kisses
📚 novella (160 pages)
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
“My restraint is hanging on by a thread. Kissing her is all I’ve been craving for weeks”
|Thoughts|
This was basically straight spice, with the plot mainly revolving around their activities in the bedroom, and the lounge room, and the dining room table…you get the picture?
“We’re snowed in on Christmas Day, my friend. We’ve got nothing but time.”
However, it has enough additional character development that made it readable. It was a fun little pallet cleanser with a touch of festive cheer.
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How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
Loved the duet narration and the addition of a narrator, who sporadically fought with the narrator about how they portrayed events. This was unfortunately supplemented by some miscommunication that just made the romance fall a bit flat.
Christmas Movies Mentioned
medium-paced
3.5
Christmas all year round and a Grinchy neighbour.
📚 friends to enemies to lovers
📚 neighbours
📚 fake dating
📚 grumpy x sunshine
📚 grinch inspired
📚 forehead kisses
📚 fake dating
📚 grumpy x sunshine
📚 grinch inspired
📚 forehead kisses
📚 dual POV
🌶️🌶️🌶️
“Cole hated Christmas, he hated the whole season…last night his mood changed, and now in the season he trusts. All thanks to green body paint and one flamboyant green thrust.”
|Thoughts|
Was just so excited to pick this up and find out what all the hype was about (that candy cane scene). Feel like Quinn’s stories are hit or miss for me and whilst I enjoyed aspects of this story, I just didn’t really feel the chemistry between the FMC (Story) and MMC (Cole).
Very strong on the enemies to lovers aspect that was hyped up and can’t say I was disappointed in the Grinch dance. The town Christmas competition was a highlight, just felt the romance fell flat.
Very strong on the enemies to lovers aspect that was hyped up and can’t say I was disappointed in the Grinch dance. The town Christmas competition was a highlight, just felt the romance fell flat.
“Alls fair in love and jingle jangling, right?”
Loved the duet narration and the addition of a narrator, who sporadically fought with the narrator about how they portrayed events. This was unfortunately supplemented by some miscommunication that just made the romance fall a bit flat.
Christmas Movies Mentioned
- Meet Me In St Louis
- Mean Girls
- Home Alone
- the Year Without a Santa Claus
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Variation by Rebecca Yarros
medium-paced
3.75
Entertaining but potentially forgettable
“His smile melted my common sense, and his touch set me on fire, but it was the way he listened that broke through every wall I’d built”
📚 second chance romance
📚 fake dating
📚 one bed
📚 one bed
📚 dual POV
📚 rescue swimmer x ballerina
📚 cute golden retriever
📚 rescue swimmer x ballerina
📚 cute golden retriever
🌶️🌶️🌶️
|Thoughts|
Whilst I found the initial set up, conflict interesting and focus on ballet intriguing, just felt the story never fully engaged me. Besides a couple of instances (repeated at that), didn’t feel like there was actually a lot happening in the story.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the fake dating and mutual pining aspect. And the mystery and dynamic with Juniper was an interesting element. The overall story fell a bit flat for me and didn’t necessarily buy their connection as it was more ‘telling rather than showing”.
Do wish there was a little more surrounding Junipers storyline.
That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the fake dating and mutual pining aspect. And the mystery and dynamic with Juniper was an interesting element. The overall story fell a bit flat for me and didn’t necessarily buy their connection as it was more ‘telling rather than showing”.
Do wish there was a little more surrounding Junipers storyline.
“Sloppy feet”
“Sloppy parenting”
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If You Give a Grump a Holiday Wishlist by Ann Einerson
Enjoyed the dynamic with her family (and seems her brothers each have a full length standalone in this series, which I’m keen to read).
Added points for the one bed trope and the chemistry between these two is hot. Whilst their ‘love’ does come across a bit too fast for me, at least they partially already know each other before they declare their love for the other.
Christmas Movies Mentioned:
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
Cute cookie cutter festive novella
📚 workplace romance
📚 age gap (24f 32m)
📚Forced proximity
📚 one bed
📚 fake dating
📚 found family
📚 set at Christmas
📚Forced proximity
📚 one bed
📚 fake dating
📚 found family
📚 set at Christmas
📚 dual POV
🌶️🌶️🌶️
“If you give a grump a holiday wishlist, you might be tempted to invite him home for the holidays. And if you invite him home for the holidays, he’ll pretend to be your boyfriend. He’ll want to sleep in the same bed so everyone thinks that you’re a couple, and then he’ll ask you for a kiss under the mistletoe…”
|Thoughts|
This was a fun workplace/ forbidden romance that also mixes in some classic Christmas festivities (watching Christmas movies, ice scarfing, collecting the Christmas tree).
“You deserve a magical kiss under the mistletoe, and I’m the one who’s going to give it to you.”
Enjoyed the dynamic with her family (and seems her brothers each have a full length standalone in this series, which I’m keen to read).
Added points for the one bed trope and the chemistry between these two is hot. Whilst their ‘love’ does come across a bit too fast for me, at least they partially already know each other before they declare their love for the other.
she’s a goddamn vision and has completely consumed my thoughts since we got to Maine. Who am I kidding? She has dominated my thoughts every day for the past three years.
Christmas Movies Mentioned:
- Elf
- Polar Express
- Frosty the Snowman
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas
My trip home to Aspen Grove didn’t turn out how I had planned, but now I know what happens if I give a grump a holiday wish list… He falls in love.
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Love and Other Historical Accidents by PacificRimbaud
slow-paced
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Snow Going Back by Emma Tallon
🚫 clean romance
Thought it was an interesting choice to have an English character but an American narrator. Whilst the story was entertaining, found the listening experience was a bit stilted due to the accents. Enemies to lovers trope is a classic tripe, and found those aspects of the story early on be fun, I didn’t really feel much chemistry between these two.
3.0
After unintentionally accepting a surprise proposal, Emma escapes to the States. Where she finds herself living with the grumpy nephew of the estate she is settling.
📚 enemies to lovers
📚 love triangle
📚 love triangle
📚 small town
📚 dual POV
🚫 clean romance
|Thoughts|
The set up for this story had me hooked. And feel it is a talent to be able to write some truly loathsome characters (namely her mother). And her fiancé who has some fairly antiquated views on marriage and motherhood.
The set up for this story had me hooked. And feel it is a talent to be able to write some truly loathsome characters (namely her mother). And her fiancé who has some fairly antiquated views on marriage and motherhood.
“That wouldn’t be a very stable environment Kate…Children need their mother to be a constant.”
It’s not all about you, Catherine.
Thought it was an interesting choice to have an English character but an American narrator. Whilst the story was entertaining, found the listening experience was a bit stilted due to the accents. Enemies to lovers trope is a classic tripe, and found those aspects of the story early on be fun, I didn’t really feel much chemistry between these two.
“utterly crazy for you in fact. Despite all my best attempts not to be”
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Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.