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gwenswoons's review
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was ok, I feel like it was nice to finish off the Christmas Notch series but oof did it feel like it went on too long for me. I actually oddly loved these main characters and enjoyed the setting and their backstories and the way the novel deals with grief, but it felt too long and both so ordinary and so exasperating in the conflicts. So much total lack of self-awareness, such consistently bad communication! Maybe I am aging out of this genre or maybe I need to just wait for Annabel Monaghan’s books to satisfy conflict and obstacles that are adult and not just like “well, too bad these people are both way too self-absorbed and not in therapy so the book has to go on for another 200 pages.” Oddly I liked the MCs maybe even more than the other CN books but it just felt endless. I love Julie Murphy’s/Sierra Simone’s sex writing and the returns of lots of familiar characters and story lines, but I guess I’m hoping this (plus the tiny digital bonus they published after it) is the end of the road for this universe, because I am clearly in that terrible completionist mindset for this story world and I NEED TO STOP bc I’m done. Finally, I would like to catalog yet another objection to these random bookends with totally separate characters/love stories — I complained in my last review about this I’m almost sure — I can only hope it means there’s one fewer book coming but jfc you can’t just have a first and last chapter with randos who we know but whose story it is NOT?? What is going on??? Scrolling back up to lower my star rating rn after this rant, thank you very much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
taliaalongi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
claireafterall's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
rachel_purple's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Death of parent
whatcaitreads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
shelvedbygrace's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
avidly_eclectic_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed all the books in the series, but Jingle Bell Mingle has less of the chaotic, fun energy if the first two. Despite liking both main characters and their relationship, I found the stakes to be too low and the pace too slow for what I was wanting and expecting given the rest of the series. Both characters had emotional baggage they were dealing with, but it didn't really feel like this was a sufficient impediment to then being together---I found myself thinking at times that they were each a bit immature. That said, the book does try to accomplish a lot, and I appreciated that Jingle Bell Mingle took on the extended impacts of grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Terminal illness and Car accident
sunshinekmp's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, and Classism
legalplanner's review against another edition
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I'm so sad to see this wrap up because I loved Christmas Notch. It was everything that small towns are, and it was always made more hysterical by the offhand "naughty" things hiding in plain sight.
I loved the first two books and Novella's for their own reasons. But this was fun because it was about the hope channel, but it wasn't about the hope channel. This was about mental health and grief and how grief can absolutely affect the way you consider things in life. Sure, Isaac was the Sad Boy everyone made him out to be in the first two books, but he also wanted to be loved but didn't feel like he deserved that. Even though I think that is silly I get it, and it was worth it to see him realize that he could have dual emotions and multiple loves.
Sunny was such a ray of sunshine even when she was a rain cloud. I enjoyed her discussing how ADHD affected her and how grief played a major part in who she was as a person because she was afraid of messing life up. I think that Sunny was exactly the kind of person that stops people in their tracks and makes people really think about what they're doing.
More than anything I still really love the chapters we get of Teddy. He is a gem, and I love him so much.
I loved the first two books and Novella's for their own reasons. But this was fun because it was about the hope channel, but it wasn't about the hope channel. This was about mental health and grief and how grief can absolutely affect the way you consider things in life. Sure, Isaac was the Sad Boy everyone made him out to be in the first two books, but he also wanted to be loved but didn't feel like he deserved that. Even though I think that is silly I get it, and it was worth it to see him realize that he could have dual emotions and multiple loves.
Sunny was such a ray of sunshine even when she was a rain cloud. I enjoyed her discussing how ADHD affected her and how grief played a major part in who she was as a person because she was afraid of messing life up. I think that Sunny was exactly the kind of person that stops people in their tracks and makes people really think about what they're doing.
More than anything I still really love the chapters we get of Teddy. He is a gem, and I love him so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Death of parent
librarianeno's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book is spicy but I loved every second of it! A romp of a read from start to finish.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Alcohol