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emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
So, this book has already utterly nailed what it set out to do. Yet on top of all that, it had so much unexpected depth. Miriam and Noelle are both working through some really difficult and traumatic experiences. The fact that they grew as individuals, not only together, brought so much to this book and made it more than a Christmassy romance, but without in any way reducing the lighthearted, relaxing, Chrissmasy and romantic atmosphere. I also loved the show of womanhood! Women and their bonds with one another are front and centre. It reminded me of all the good stuff women point out about being a woman under that TikTok sound "How I love being a woman!" There was just so much softness and devotion, but in no way did it ignore the difficult parts of relationships.
So it's safe to say that I loved this book to its core! I am absolutely stoked this is going to be a series and I will be able to see other characters' love stories!
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Ableism, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: loss of a loved one, family estrangement, financial abuse Minor: self-injury, divorce, climate changespaghettireads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Minor: Medical content and Alcohol
suzyreadsbooks's review against another edition
3.5
I enjoyed this & read it really quickly. a Hallmark-style sapphic romance about a Jewish Christmas tree farm. Very cute vibes, I want to go to Carrigan’s!! It does have explorations of grief, abuse, alcoholism, etc. so may not be as light as it initially appears. I plan to continue in this series.
some cons for me:
-weird pacing (like we would spend all this time building up to an event and then the event itself would be brushed past)
-cartoonish villains
-decided on like 1-2 issues for each character and really zeroed in on them for the entire book, which makes things repetitive and also feels untrue to life. the explorations of Miriam’s hiding away after parental abuse and her having to push to play an active role in her own life were good, but Noelle’s past was dealt with in more vague ways.
-ok this is silly but I don’t think the author did a good job describing Miriam’s art to make it seem compelling??? And the explorations of her social media fame didn’t really make sense, I don’t think that idea was fully formed
-closed door (boo)
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
decklededgess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book....oof I did not expect it to cut so deep. I was expecting a silly little novel about Jewish characters running a Christmas farm. I get drop kicked in the chest by character grief, roundhoused by all of them having ptsd, clocked in the head by conversations about alcoholism and addition, and then absolutely knocked out by this found family working to heal each other and build their legacy from what a loved one left them.
Emotional devastation doesn't cover it.
Noelle, Miriam, and even Hannah are all onions, as chapter by chapter their characters are slowly deconstructed and you see what their ridiculous behaviour actually stems from. This book is so tender with all three of them. These girls act like absolute buffoons sometimes but there is intention and backstory behind their decision making or lack thereof, and there is clear and pointed effort to show that they choose to grow and heal themselves and they build and rebuild their relationships with each other.
Noelle and Miriam have such an honest relationship. They're screaming at each other in the beginning but their growth lies in the fact that they're so ready to acknowledge fault and try. I wasn't sold on them in the beginning but the book made me eat my words.
Not to mention, even the greater cast of secondary characters were incredibly compelling. Like I want all of them to have their individual books. That's how real all of these people felt.
The small town setting is also so cute. The community that is built around Cass and the way that everyone comes together to celebrate and grieve is painful and healing all at once. I also loved the seamless marriage of Christmas(specifically that) and Jewish traditions. The situational irony is used to the max of it abilities to show off that there is no disharmony when the intention is to make connections and celebrate togetherness.
Such a lovely story! Can't wait for the next book about two very specific characters hehehehhe
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Grief, Gaslighting, and Alcohol