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emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- 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
This is first and foremost a Christmassy romance, so I first want to focus my review on how well this book carries that out. In terms of Christmassy-ness, it does so IMMACULATELY. This story is a never-ending mug of Christmas warmth. It completely transported me away from where I read it in a spring heatwave. There are reindeer, iceskating, sleigh rides, Christmas markets, tree decorating, a cosy inn, a cute wintry village, a Christmas tree farm, mouth-watering food, a giant (magical) cat, fireplaces, library nooks... it had it ALL. But Miriam's (one of the two MCs) Jewish identity is never lost amongst this which I also loved - most of the side characters are also Jewish! In terms of romance, this book is divine. Miriam and Noelle had such palpable chemistry, but the way they grew to love each other on a deeper level was perfection. They had so many deep, vulnerable, and confronting conversations and faced so many complex challenges together. You could just SEE how well they worked as a couple, and how much they cared for one another. As a side note, the love GENERALLY depicted in this book is top tier. It positively drips with love and found family. There's parental love, familial love, romantic love (of course), and SO MUCH INCREDIBLE platonic love. Seriously, there's a platonic love quote in this book that brought me to tears because it's the most beautiful thing someone has ever said to another person, ever.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
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 changeqraveline's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
ronan_lesh's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Misogyny, Sexual content, and Antisemitism
ezwolf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I am so happy to say that I really enjoyed this book! Jewish and sapphic are always books I want to give a chance, but I feel like I've been let down in ones that have the combination, this one did not fail though.
I was wary at first because of Hallmark-esque description of it, but soon found out that while it was set at Christmas and the story IS about saving a Christmas tree farm, the book sticks to its Jewish roots (as a caveat I will not that this is Ashkenazi Judasim). I was also interested by the cover art which seemed to imply a plus size half of the queer couple and there's not enough of that either. I was very pleased to find out that Noelle, Miriam's love interest, is in fact a fat butch and it is greatly appreciated by myself and Miriam.
The way that the book is about a Jewish character and her family (and love interest) trying to save a Christmas tree farm, but still manages to have such a great discussion of Judaism and there's never any spoken hate or dislike or Jewish holidays or a preference for Christmas instead, in fact there's even a moment where Miriam talks about being at her limit for Christmas-y things. And the discussion of the fact that Christmas is in fact not secular and no we are not arguing about it!
There's a non-binary rabbi (this is minor, so don't go into it just for that, but it was still worth the note!), good discussions of the spectrum of being queer, positive discussions of recovering from alcoholism and emotional abuse, and also a healthy break up/post-break up relationship! And so many more things I didn't cover that I am very appreciative of from this book.
I am sticking to my four star review, but I also wanted to include some of the minor things that I noted as dislikes but in the end didn't change my love for the book:
1. Some random foot notes at the start of the book and then footnotes are never used again.
2. The references, most of which I had to Google (though the last one I did about January 6th and epiphany was funny in the weirdest way).
4. Some random parenthesis while already in third person POV.
5. The use of "tribes" in reference to Avatar the Last Airbender bending abilities, but then later having a discussion about why white people shouldn't use tribe was a bit of a weird turn around.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
I was wary at first because of Hallmark-esque description of it, but soon found out that while it was set at Christmas and the story IS about saving a Christmas tree farm, the book sticks to its Jewish roots (as a caveat I will not that this is Ashkenazi Judasim). I was also interested by the cover art which seemed to imply a plus size half of the queer couple and there's not enough of that either. I was very pleased to find out that Noelle, Miriam's love interest, is in fact a fat butch and it is greatly appreciated by myself and Miriam.
The way that the book is about a Jewish character and her family (and love interest) trying to save a Christmas tree farm, but still manages to have such a great discussion of Judaism and there's never any spoken hate or dislike or Jewish holidays or a preference for Christmas instead, in fact there's even a moment where Miriam talks about being at her limit for Christmas-y things. And the discussion of the fact that Christmas is in fact not secular and no we are not arguing about it!
There's a non-binary rabbi (this is minor, so don't go into it just for that, but it was still worth the note!), good discussions of the spectrum of being queer, positive discussions of recovering from alcoholism and emotional abuse, and also a healthy break up/post-break up relationship! And so many more things I didn't cover that I am very appreciative of from this book.
I am sticking to my four star review, but I also wanted to include some of the minor things that I noted as dislikes but in the end didn't change my love for the book:
1. Some random foot notes at the start of the book and then footnotes are never used again.
2. The references, most of which I had to Google (though the last one I did about January 6th and epiphany was funny in the weirdest way).
4. Some random parenthesis while already in third person POV.
5. The use of "tribes" in reference to Avatar the Last Airbender bending abilities, but then later having a discussion about why white people shouldn't use tribe was a bit of a weird turn around.
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual content and Toxic relationship