bookiepanda's review
5.0
COVER I LOVE IT. It's so cute and lovely and Christmas-y. I love that's not with real people. It makes it much more pretty and I want to own it.
PLOT I can say I love everything in this plot. From beginning to end. The backgrounds of the characters, and how they slowly warm up to each other. It's a perfect love story for Christmas (with extra smut) and I'm saying it as a person who hates Christmas love stories.
I love that it's more than just the two guys hooking up. There are some more deep and serious moments surrounding the characters' past and inner world but everything is well kept in a light tone. It's perfect.
CHARACTERS Gideon. I love that he's that shiny, funny, and lovely person on the outside but on the inside, we can see all his insecurities and how lonely he is. Also. Dominant bottom sweetheart? Hell yes! Paul. A typical grumpy neighbor who looks like he doesn't give a shit about anything else than his work and his dog. But he's actually soft and sweet and caring. We can see how much family matters to him even tho he tries to play it cold and emotionless. All muscular, intimidating sub-top? Hell yes! I don't remember who the other characters were lmao. I also love all the flirting and the sexual tension.
OVERALL Grumpy x sunshine has never been my favorite but those characters make it work so perfectly. At first, I was worried about how I'll feel reading about middle-aged men but it's surprisingly better than reading about teenagers.
I love everything about this book. New favorite couple. My babies <3 I want more of them.
PLOT I can say I love everything in this plot. From beginning to end. The backgrounds of the characters, and how they slowly warm up to each other. It's a perfect love story for Christmas (with extra smut) and I'm saying it as a person who hates Christmas love stories.
I love that it's more than just the two guys hooking up. There are some more deep and serious moments surrounding the characters' past and inner world but everything is well kept in a light tone. It's perfect.
CHARACTERS Gideon. I love that he's that shiny, funny, and lovely person on the outside but on the inside, we can see all his insecurities and how lonely he is. Also. Dominant bottom sweetheart? Hell yes! Paul. A typical grumpy neighbor who looks like he doesn't give a shit about anything else than his work and his dog. But he's actually soft and sweet and caring. We can see how much family matters to him even tho he tries to play it cold and emotionless. All muscular, intimidating sub-top? Hell yes! I don't remember who the other characters were lmao. I also love all the flirting and the sexual tension.
OVERALL Grumpy x sunshine has never been my favorite but those characters make it work so perfectly. At first, I was worried about how I'll feel reading about middle-aged men but it's surprisingly better than reading about teenagers.
I love everything about this book. New favorite couple. My babies <3 I want more of them.
emmaskies's review
3.0
Was this good? …Not really. But it was Christmas-y and it was kinda cute so sure, it can have a 3.
dwolfe347's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
endemictoearth's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Audio re-read: The narrator sort of grew on me, but is not my fave. Still love the story, tho.
bibliomania_express's review
5.0
The Geek Who Saved Christmas by Annabeth Albert is an adorable grumpy/sunshine Christmas romance featuring Gideon, a holiday-loving, bowtie wearing guy with a love of spreadsheets, and Paul, his grumpy contractor neighbour who has to make Christmas perfect for his brother's last minute visit.
Gideon and Paul are so adorable together. It was fun watching Paul fall in love with Gideon and Christmas, as they move from lights to decorations to cookies and more. Gideon, for all his enthusiasm, is also a bit of a loner and doesn't think anyone would truly like his bossy self or want to keep him around if he wasn't helpful. While it takes him time to realize it, I loved how present Paul's feelings for Gideon were with every moment and every piece of history they shared.
There's so many cute, special moments of them noticing things about each other and appreciating those things. I also really liked the secondary plot of Paul's brother Brandon's proposal plans and how Albert brings out all the nuances of their relationship, with Gideon having raised Brandon after their parents died. I also really liked Elaine, Brandon's girlfriend, and how healthy and mutually supportive their relationship was.
If you want cute, relatively angst-free Christmas romance with thoughtful characters, an abundance of Christmas decor, and great character development, this is the Christmas book for you.
Rating: 4.5 stars
*I won a free ARC from Annabeth Albert, but all opinions are honest and my own
Gideon and Paul are so adorable together. It was fun watching Paul fall in love with Gideon and Christmas, as they move from lights to decorations to cookies and more. Gideon, for all his enthusiasm, is also a bit of a loner and doesn't think anyone would truly like his bossy self or want to keep him around if he wasn't helpful. While it takes him time to realize it, I loved how present Paul's feelings for Gideon were with every moment and every piece of history they shared.
There's so many cute, special moments of them noticing things about each other and appreciating those things. I also really liked the secondary plot of Paul's brother Brandon's proposal plans and how Albert brings out all the nuances of their relationship, with Gideon having raised Brandon after their parents died. I also really liked Elaine, Brandon's girlfriend, and how healthy and mutually supportive their relationship was.
If you want cute, relatively angst-free Christmas romance with thoughtful characters, an abundance of Christmas decor, and great character development, this is the Christmas book for you.
Rating: 4.5 stars
*I won a free ARC from Annabeth Albert, but all opinions are honest and my own
iamtais's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
intheblackout's review
4.0
And they were roommates neighbours.
The Geek Who Saved Christmas is a fun holiday romance. I loved the community aspect, with houses getting decorated for christmas and the neighbourhood message board that starts each chapter. Real cosy vibes.
This is a grumpy/sunshine romance. However, I wish the grumpy aspect lasted a bit longer. I feel like Paul's wall of grumpiness was dropped a bit too soon. I would've liked more build up to Paul and Gideon's romance.
Besides that, Paul and Gideon are great together; they fit so well. One of my favourite scenes of them, was when they were simply shopping for decorations. Their dynamic just made me smile.
The conflict was meh. It would've been a non-issue if they had just comminicated about it a little.
The Geek Who Saved Christmas is a fun holiday romance. I loved the community aspect, with houses getting decorated for christmas and the neighbourhood message board that starts each chapter. Real cosy vibes.
This is a grumpy/sunshine romance. However, I wish the grumpy aspect lasted a bit longer. I feel like Paul's wall of grumpiness was dropped a bit too soon. I would've liked more build up to Paul and Gideon's romance.
Besides that, Paul and Gideon are great together; they fit so well. One of my favourite scenes of them, was when they were simply shopping for decorations. Their dynamic just made me smile.
The conflict was meh. It would've been a non-issue if they had just comminicated about it a little.
bookscoffeepie's review
5.0
Just plain perfect. Gideon and Paul are a classic grumpy/sunshine pairing - two guys who haven’t dated much (for vastly different reasons) but come together in a kind of classic hallmark-movie style setup that all fits perfectly in the grand scheme. As they prep for the holidays, they work their ways into each other's lives to the extent where the only thing I could think was, “Y’all could have had that many more years together if you had figured this out earlier.” But then, of course, it wouldn’t be a perfect holiday romance.
Cozy, sweet, and even some surprise-tears - the heart-grows-three-times feels snuck up on me in all the best ways. Hallmark could take a lesson from this book when trying to update their holiday romance movie formula. It’s on my list of seasonal re-reads (and I may or may not have already re-read it once or twice).
I received a free copy of this book from the author. This is my honest review.
Cozy, sweet, and even some surprise-tears - the heart-grows-three-times feels snuck up on me in all the best ways. Hallmark could take a lesson from this book when trying to update their holiday romance movie formula. It’s on my list of seasonal re-reads (and I may or may not have already re-read it once or twice).
I received a free copy of this book from the author. This is my honest review.