mari_pita's review
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Car accident and Child death
Minor: Bullying
book_sense's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I am unsure about how to rate this book. The first hundred pages, though slow, were a solid 3.5 for me. Then the book progressed and it turned to 4 because Holly was interesting to read about. She was funny and sarcastic plus the whole scrooge premise was really interesting. Then came Ethan Winters and slowly my rating fell back to 3 because that dude honestly had no personality. He was a completely unbelievable 17-year-old. Like I understand if he was a complete dick. It would have made sense. But the way he acted with other people and then with Holly simply didn't add up. His character didn't make any sense. Neither did their relationship because everything was so instant. There was no pinning or angst. And the way Ethan fell in love with Holly just proved how out of character that was. By the time we reached the end of the book, I simply wasn't invested in their relationship, neither did I care. The whole speech Holly gave to Ethan, was a big eye-roll moment for me. But then the ending, the twist, and turn really notched the rating back up to 3.5. It was a whole lot of Christmas cliche but the last twenty pages really made me smile. So that's the rating. A 3-3.5. I don't know. The book had so much potential but the execution didn't really work for me.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent and Bullying
brookey8888's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed this! I actually teared up at the end which surprised me. I really liked Holly as a main character with her dry/sarcasm humor. I liked the friendships she formed and her found family. The romance was cute but honestly not a main part which I didn’t mind. I thought this was an interesting retelling because she didn’t get saved, and it goes from there. I did see the ending coming, but I still enjoyed it and like I said I cried. I would recommend this to read during Christmas time.
Reread still really enjoyed it but this year sucks a lot, so I’m not really in the Christmas spirit.
Reread still really enjoyed it but this year sucks a lot, so I’m not really in the Christmas spirit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Bullying, and Cancer
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