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jasmyn9's review
3.0
THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE
This one lead you on a bit of a goose chase for you main characters at first. I didn't know if I was supposed to be rooting for the bride-to-be to work things out with the groom, or if the maid of honor was going to find someone special with the bride's brother. Well, I got a little bit of both before the end. Now this isn't two romances - this is definitely the story of Lacey and Ean. Their romance is very sweet and seeing it next to the bride's "romance" makes it seem even better.
The Christmas Cottage is a place of legend - everyone that spends the night there has a happy marriage. Well, when Lacey and Ean are forced to stay there because of a snow storm things start to happen - but this causes trouble with the bride-to-be, Ava. There are a lot of dynamics in this story, and it was by far my favorite of the two.
EVER AFTER
Yay! Here we go with Ava's story - the bride from The Christmas Cottage. She doesn't take well to starting over, and turns into a bit of a whiner. She's a little resentful that Lacey "stole" her magic in The Christmas Cottage, and at times her mood swings and fantastical beliefs got a little grating.
I was very excited to see her find her true love though. They made a great match - balancing each other out in a beautiful way.
These two stories are best read together. They are a great pair to read for Christmas.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
This one lead you on a bit of a goose chase for you main characters at first. I didn't know if I was supposed to be rooting for the bride-to-be to work things out with the groom, or if the maid of honor was going to find someone special with the bride's brother. Well, I got a little bit of both before the end. Now this isn't two romances - this is definitely the story of Lacey and Ean. Their romance is very sweet and seeing it next to the bride's "romance" makes it seem even better.
The Christmas Cottage is a place of legend - everyone that spends the night there has a happy marriage. Well, when Lacey and Ean are forced to stay there because of a snow storm things start to happen - but this causes trouble with the bride-to-be, Ava. There are a lot of dynamics in this story, and it was by far my favorite of the two.
EVER AFTER
Yay! Here we go with Ava's story - the bride from The Christmas Cottage. She doesn't take well to starting over, and turns into a bit of a whiner. She's a little resentful that Lacey "stole" her magic in The Christmas Cottage, and at times her mood swings and fantastical beliefs got a little grating.
I was very excited to see her find her true love though. They made a great match - balancing each other out in a beautiful way.
These two stories are best read together. They are a great pair to read for Christmas.
*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
taisie22's review
4.0
Lacey is maid of honor for her best friend, Ava. Part of her duties is to prepare a family cottage for the wedding night and true love will ensue for the couple. Problem is that she has to do this with the best man and Ava's brother, Ean, a man she's been in love with since the age of fourteen.
This is a sweet romantic story, perfect for the holidays. Ava is kind of a nightmare, but Lacey and Ean are a cute couple and make up for Ava's antics. Nice quick read.
This is a sweet romantic story, perfect for the holidays. Ava is kind of a nightmare, but Lacey and Ean are a cute couple and make up for Ava's antics. Nice quick read.
jaimereadsromance's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
The Christmas Cottage
This story was simple and sweet.
I love the whole "in love with my best friends older brother" plotline. Lacey and Ean were a great couple and I really enjoyed the part of the story where they were stuck in the cabin. I didn't enjoy Ava and her random outbursts, but in a strange way I understood them. Overall it was a cute story with little to no angst and a HEA and I don't regret reading it.
Ever After
I definitely feel like Ava redeemed herself this time around but ONLY after driving me crazy for 90% of this story (and the previous one). If you don't like insta-love stories then you will not like this one.
Overall, both of these stories were okay as long as you aren't looking for stories will deep/meaningful storylines. If you don't mind insta-love and closed-door sex then you might enjoy these stories.
I don't regret reading them but I probably wouldn't bother reading them again.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
The Christmas Cottage
This story was simple and sweet.
I love the whole "in love with my best friends older brother" plotline. Lacey and Ean were a great couple and I really enjoyed the part of the story where they were stuck in the cabin. I didn't enjoy Ava and her random outbursts, but in a strange way I understood them. Overall it was a cute story with little to no angst and a HEA and I don't regret reading it.
Ever After
I definitely feel like Ava redeemed herself this time around but ONLY after driving me crazy for 90% of this story (and the previous one). If you don't like insta-love stories then you will not like this one.
Overall, both of these stories were okay as long as you aren't looking for stories will deep/meaningful storylines. If you don't mind insta-love and closed-door sex then you might enjoy these stories.
I don't regret reading them but I probably wouldn't bother reading them again.
*I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
ssejig's review
3.0
Three stars, two stars for the first and second story respectively. Rounded up for the good communication and pragmatism of 3/4 of the characters. Good god, I wanted to take Ava by both ears and just shake her until the stupid fell out. Would I have finished this book if it weren't an ARC? Maybe. But you better believe there was a LOT of skimming going on.
The Christmas Cottage
Lacey Quinn is ready to help her friend, Ava Callahan, do anything. Even get married to the wrong man. Even when Ava turns into a Bridezilla. Even when Lacey's long-time crush, Ava's brother, comes back into town... wait, what? Yes, it's been a long time, but Lacey was never more humiliated than when she threw herself at Ean and he threw her back.
But Ean has never forgotten that girl. And he's impressed with the woman she's become. Once they've spent the night in the enchanted family cabin (which, admittedly, neither actually believes in), it's destined to be true love forever.
Ever After
This story was just painful. So painful. I didn't see a copyright date from earlier than 2013 which makes it that... much.. more... painful.
Ava's a twit. Quite frankly, not someone I'd want to ever meet. She was so self-involved, I was surprised she had time to notice how hard Brian McCabe was chasing her.
The Christmas Cottage
Lacey Quinn is ready to help her friend, Ava Callahan, do anything. Even get married to the wrong man. Even when Ava turns into a Bridezilla. Even when Lacey's long-time crush, Ava's brother, comes back into town... wait, what? Yes, it's been a long time, but Lacey was never more humiliated than when she threw herself at Ean and he threw her back.
But Ean has never forgotten that girl. And he's impressed with the woman she's become. Once they've spent the night in the enchanted family cabin (which, admittedly, neither actually believes in), it's destined to be true love forever.
Ever After
This story was just painful. So painful. I didn't see a copyright date from earlier than 2013 which makes it that... much.. more... painful.
Ava's a twit. Quite frankly, not someone I'd want to ever meet. She was so self-involved, I was surprised she had time to notice how hard Brian McCabe was chasing her.
bitchburgerbibliophile's review
4.0
I received this book through my Lit-Cube subscription box. This was a very cute Christmas read!
booksuperpower's review
2.0
The Christmas Cottage/ Ever After by Samantha Chase is a 2015 Sourcebooks Casablanca publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a two book collection of Christmas/ Holiday themed contemporary romances by Samantha Chase.
First up is “The Christmas Cottage.” Ava and Mason are getting married and Lacey is the maid of honor. One of her many duties is to decorate the family cottage where Ava will spend her wedding night. It's a tradition in her family with the legend being that whoever spends the night in the cottage will enjoy everlasting love. Ava is nearly obsessed with this cottage because she is having some doubts about her upcoming marriage.
Despite her reservations, Lacey agrees to prepare the cottage for Ava and Mason.
Ava knows she will have to face Ean, Ava's brother, eventually, because of the wedding, which is going to be a little awkward for Lacey. She hasn't seen Ean since she was fourteen years old and made an embarrassing pass at him, which he handled badly. To her utter dismay, Ean shows up at the cottage unexpectedly, during a snowstorm and naturally, they wind up stranded there for the night. Will the cottage prove to be magical after all?
I really like Samantha Chase, and read many of her novels, but this one was not very good. There is just no nice way to say it. First of all, I was very disappointed by the ending because of a pet peeve of mine, which I can't mention here without giving away a major plot twist. I don't find it romantic at all, don't think it's fair to the couple in question, and it's merely symbolic, since the I's weren't dotted and the T's weren't crossed. Ava was the most irritating, immature, and annoying character I have come across in a long time, but she does at least have one moment of sanity and I applauded her maturity in that one moment, but her timing was terrible, showing she is incredibly self absorbed. However, Ava's story continues in...
Ever After
So, by now you have guessed Ava didn't marry Mason after all. But, she isn't left out in the cold, because she really does need a happy ending after all she went through. ( And put us through in the first book) Ava's personality didn't improve much in this story , and if it's possible, she was a little more annoying. She is STILL fixated on that bleeping cottage, and nearly ruins a good relationship because of it. Brian was okay sometimes, but at other times, I got just as frustrated with him as I did with Ava. Thankfully, they had a little intervention and Ava finally got what she was dreaming of all along. Thank goodness!
Again, I really DO like this author, and I know what she is capable of, which makes this one more disappointing, as a result, because this could have been a really awesome collection. Naturally, I will continue to read her books, however, I can't really recommend this one as there are just way too many holiday stories out there with more humor, more chemistry, and more depth.
2 stars
This is a two book collection of Christmas/ Holiday themed contemporary romances by Samantha Chase.
First up is “The Christmas Cottage.” Ava and Mason are getting married and Lacey is the maid of honor. One of her many duties is to decorate the family cottage where Ava will spend her wedding night. It's a tradition in her family with the legend being that whoever spends the night in the cottage will enjoy everlasting love. Ava is nearly obsessed with this cottage because she is having some doubts about her upcoming marriage.
Despite her reservations, Lacey agrees to prepare the cottage for Ava and Mason.
Ava knows she will have to face Ean, Ava's brother, eventually, because of the wedding, which is going to be a little awkward for Lacey. She hasn't seen Ean since she was fourteen years old and made an embarrassing pass at him, which he handled badly. To her utter dismay, Ean shows up at the cottage unexpectedly, during a snowstorm and naturally, they wind up stranded there for the night. Will the cottage prove to be magical after all?
I really like Samantha Chase, and read many of her novels, but this one was not very good. There is just no nice way to say it. First of all, I was very disappointed by the ending because of a pet peeve of mine, which I can't mention here without giving away a major plot twist. I don't find it romantic at all, don't think it's fair to the couple in question, and it's merely symbolic, since the I's weren't dotted and the T's weren't crossed. Ava was the most irritating, immature, and annoying character I have come across in a long time, but she does at least have one moment of sanity and I applauded her maturity in that one moment, but her timing was terrible, showing she is incredibly self absorbed. However, Ava's story continues in...
Ever After
So, by now you have guessed Ava didn't marry Mason after all. But, she isn't left out in the cold, because she really does need a happy ending after all she went through. ( And put us through in the first book) Ava's personality didn't improve much in this story , and if it's possible, she was a little more annoying. She is STILL fixated on that bleeping cottage, and nearly ruins a good relationship because of it. Brian was okay sometimes, but at other times, I got just as frustrated with him as I did with Ava. Thankfully, they had a little intervention and Ava finally got what she was dreaming of all along. Thank goodness!
Again, I really DO like this author, and I know what she is capable of, which makes this one more disappointing, as a result, because this could have been a really awesome collection. Naturally, I will continue to read her books, however, I can't really recommend this one as there are just way too many holiday stories out there with more humor, more chemistry, and more depth.
2 stars