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graceangelmama's review against another edition
3.0
Finn is a fantastic book boyfriend, and I loved how he was there for Olive no matter what. It was fake dating goodness, which is my favorite trope. Also, threatening Logan at the big reveal of what the big “secret” was made me love him more and kept this a 3⭐️ book.
But the whole situation with Sarah, Logan, and Olive? I needed Olive to go off on those two jackasses. I don’t GAF if you “fell in love at first sight” you keep your
heidif513's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted so badly to like this book. Ski themed - I’m so here for it! The intro/meet cute hooked me, but sadly it went downhill from there. No pun intended.
I struggled with my rating but I just couldn’t even recommend this book to a friend. The body image issues, the lack of chemistry between the main characters, and don’t even get me started on the sister… it just gave me so much ick.
I am still so confused by things in the plot that weren’t really explained or developed. This book will live rent free in my head, but not in a positive way.
I struggled with my rating but I just couldn’t even recommend this book to a friend. The body image issues, the lack of chemistry between the main characters, and don’t even get me started on the sister… it just gave me so much ick.
I am still so confused by things in the plot that weren’t really explained or developed. This book will live rent free in my head, but not in a positive way.
alyabbs's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
rileyreadsalatte's review against another edition
5.0
This book does the fake dating trope perfectly! I loved seeing the dynamic between Olive and Finn and I loved how he was determined to make her enjoy Christmas. He was so endearing and I really enjoyed seeing Olive slowly open up to him.
rachelfenger's review against another edition
1.0
i wanted to like this but no!!!!
finn was literally such a douchebag??? like the things that would come out of his mouth in this book??? maybe assholes just aren’t my type but i was so grossed out by him. olive had ZERO self confidence and it was all MAGICALLY “fixed” by a chat with her bf on the plane??? olives entire family just forgave sarah??
i predicted it from the second logan cheated on olive with sarah the second they entered the book. come on!!! anyone with two neurons to rub together can figure that out!!!
i was just getting fed up with all these characters. i didn’t like the insta love between olive and finn. they had no like moment where everything changed. it tried to happen when olives mom said he looked at her like she was the only girl in the room but like she already knew that… it was established several times before that she saw the way he looked at her… i know “wake up calls” but like oh my godddd.
everything else in this book just felt icky. best way i can describe my feeling towards this book is in chapter 28, when finn forgot to warn olive about the fireworks and there’s the “BANG” in all caps, a very, very large part of me hoped it was that finn got shot. in fact, my annotation was “i wish he got shot”.
finn was literally such a douchebag??? like the things that would come out of his mouth in this book??? maybe assholes just aren’t my type but i was so grossed out by him. olive had ZERO self confidence and it was all MAGICALLY “fixed” by a chat with her bf on the plane??? olives entire family just forgave sarah??
i predicted it from the second logan cheated on olive with sarah the second they entered the book. come on!!! anyone with two neurons to rub together can figure that out!!!
i was just getting fed up with all these characters. i didn’t like the insta love between olive and finn. they had no like moment where everything changed. it tried to happen when olives mom said he looked at her like she was the only girl in the room but like she already knew that… it was established several times before that she saw the way he looked at her… i know “wake up calls” but like oh my godddd.
everything else in this book just felt icky. best way i can describe my feeling towards this book is in chapter 28, when finn forgot to warn olive about the fireworks and there’s the “BANG” in all caps, a very, very large part of me hoped it was that finn got shot. in fact, my annotation was “i wish he got shot”.
joycelynm's review against another edition
2.0
olive finally makes a trip back home to colorado for christmas after 3 years. she’s dreading the family reunion after going through a traumatic event. on her flight home, she meets finn, a hottie in the seat next to hers. finn offers to be her fake boyfriend for the holidays to help her face her family and to make her love christmas again.
i was really excited about this book after reading the blurb and seeing the cute cover, unfortunately, i was disappointed. i was bored in the beginning 30% of the book. the middle was all cute and fluffy, but the last part was frustrating. i thought olive and finn lacked chemistry because of the insta-love. their relationship was mainly focused on physical attraction and it simply wasn’t convincing. they seemed more like friends rather than lovers to me.
the conflict between olive and her sister was evident from the beginning, so it didn't shock me during the big reveal. i was infuriated and felt sick to my stomach that her family condones her sister’s actions and expects olive to mend the relationship. olive deserves so much better!! i also didn't like that olive was depicted as unattractive just because she was curvy and had brown hair. i just thought her body image issues could have been addressed in a better way. the third-act breakup at the 90% mark was frustrating and unnecessary. olive and finn never talked through the issue and decided to give up on what could have been. because of that, it made me realize how incompatible they are.
though there were some moments i enjoyed, such as the holiday setting and christmassy activities—they were fun and lighthearted. it was unique to have finn as a children’s ski instructor and i thought it was so sweet of him to create the 12 days of christmas for olive. i can see why other people loved this because it's like a hallmark movie as a book. overall, i definitely enjoyed the christmas vibes more than the romance, so this book wasn’t it for me :(
tropes: christmas/winter, fake dating, he falls first, forced proximity, reverse grumpy-sunshine, small town
2 ⭐️
thank you juliana smith and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
i was really excited about this book after reading the blurb and seeing the cute cover, unfortunately, i was disappointed. i was bored in the beginning 30% of the book. the middle was all cute and fluffy, but the last part was frustrating. i thought olive and finn lacked chemistry because of the insta-love. their relationship was mainly focused on physical attraction and it simply wasn’t convincing. they seemed more like friends rather than lovers to me.
the conflict between olive and her sister was evident from the beginning, so it didn't shock me during the big reveal. i was infuriated and felt sick to my stomach that her family condones her sister’s actions and expects olive to mend the relationship. olive deserves so much better!! i also didn't like that olive was depicted as unattractive just because she was curvy and had brown hair. i just thought her body image issues could have been addressed in a better way. the third-act breakup at the 90% mark was frustrating and unnecessary. olive and finn never talked through the issue and decided to give up on what could have been. because of that, it made me realize how incompatible they are.
though there were some moments i enjoyed, such as the holiday setting and christmassy activities—they were fun and lighthearted. it was unique to have finn as a children’s ski instructor and i thought it was so sweet of him to create the 12 days of christmas for olive. i can see why other people loved this because it's like a hallmark movie as a book. overall, i definitely enjoyed the christmas vibes more than the romance, so this book wasn’t it for me :(
tropes: christmas/winter, fake dating, he falls first, forced proximity, reverse grumpy-sunshine, small town
2 ⭐️
thank you juliana smith and netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.
clawdeenwolf_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 stars
An all-round cutesy Christmas romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet throughout the whole book. Finn is my kind of book hottie, straight out of a cheesy romcom.
This put me in the mood for the holidays so bad. From the movie-like meet cute on the plane to the end, I was here for all the predictable scenes and flirting - nice banter by the way. As for the pacing, it was perfectly timed, not too soon as to ruin their chemistry, but not too long as to drag it out unnecessarily.
Olive felt very real and relatable to me. At first I found her a bit plain because it seemed like her personality only revolved around her obsession with becoming this new character, from avoiding her family to changing her physical appearance. However, it's extremely realistic for a person who wants to improve or escape their old self, even if it's not done in the healthiest way possible. Precisely because of this, the character has a very rich backstory.
As for everyone's reaction to the whole reveal situation, the mother spoke with as much sincerity as her role of a mother allowed her. And as sympathetic as she was to Olive about how she didn't have to forgive anyone, I have to draw the line at "they only felt for each other because they are soul mates." Come on, you were doing great up to that point. The same goes for the cheater and the sister. You're literally seeing how uncomfortable and anxious she gets every time something related to that comes up and she keeps asking you to leave her alone. Just do it.
In the end, it was a really enjoyable book although I was quite frustrated by the decisions made and thoughts spoken by some of the characters by the end of the book.
An all-round cutesy Christmas romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet throughout the whole book. Finn is my kind of book hottie, straight out of a cheesy romcom.
This put me in the mood for the holidays so bad. From the movie-like meet cute on the plane to the end, I was here for all the predictable scenes and flirting - nice banter by the way. As for the pacing, it was perfectly timed, not too soon as to ruin their chemistry, but not too long as to drag it out unnecessarily.
Olive felt very real and relatable to me. At first I found her a bit plain because it seemed like her personality only revolved around her obsession with becoming this new character, from avoiding her family to changing her physical appearance. However, it's extremely realistic for a person who wants to improve or escape their old self, even if it's not done in the healthiest way possible. Precisely because of this, the character has a very rich backstory.
Spoiler
The only problem was the insufferable third-act breakup. I understand where he's coming from and that he doesn't want to put her in a position where she has to be looking out for everyone, but it's so unnecessary when they could just talk about it. However, i get that it is legitimate that he needed space and it was an honest reaction even though some might think he needed to be there for Olive. Plus him standing up to the her family... what a king. He did very well.As for everyone's reaction to the whole reveal situation, the mother spoke with as much sincerity as her role of a mother allowed her. And as sympathetic as she was to Olive about how she didn't have to forgive anyone, I have to draw the line at "they only felt for each other because they are soul mates." Come on, you were doing great up to that point. The same goes for the cheater and the sister. You're literally seeing how uncomfortable and anxious she gets every time something related to that comes up and she keeps asking you to leave her alone. Just do it.
In the end, it was a really enjoyable book although I was quite frustrated by the decisions made and thoughts spoken by some of the characters by the end of the book.