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saryfloss12's review against another edition
5.0
Interesting twist on all things Christmas and magic paranormal. I loved it.
icelore's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars, rounded up cause it's Christmas.
I thought this was a GREAT premise for a book, and was excited to read it, but to be honest, it fell a flat for me. I loved the lightheartedness present in the beginning, but it was dulled by the very trite and overplayed "rugged, excessively big/hot alpha guy that gives lopsided grins and smirks." If you know the type, you know what I'm talking about.
This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a fantasy based action/adventure, or a run of the mill romance. The desire to straddle the fence here really ended up just limiting the potential of the book. Besides the very cliché male lead, the main character turned into a hardcore Mary Sue. She's so special and not like the other girls that she literally says, "I was clearly nothing like the rest of my kind." Ohhh, how exciting. So, you have the Mary Sure MC who cannot control herself around the male lead ("I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I’d divulged so much information to him. I blamed his penetrating eyes.") , and you end up with that weird, yet common, thing where an adult women turns into a petulant teenager in her behavior and actions (“And I don’t care!” I folded my arms over my chest and scowled at him. “Melody and I both plan to help whether you like it or not.”).
So, if you're looking for very basically written low slung jeans & smirks (minus the actual smoldering hotness you would normally find that connected to), and whining "I'm special" female leads, this is for you. I would have given it 1 star if the actually unique Christmas fantasy elements hadn't saved it. Unfortunately, I will not be continuing the series.
I thought this was a GREAT premise for a book, and was excited to read it, but to be honest, it fell a flat for me. I loved the lightheartedness present in the beginning, but it was dulled by the very trite and overplayed "rugged, excessively big/hot alpha guy that gives lopsided grins and smirks." If you know the type, you know what I'm talking about.
This book couldn't decide if it wanted to be a fantasy based action/adventure, or a run of the mill romance. The desire to straddle the fence here really ended up just limiting the potential of the book. Besides the very cliché male lead, the main character turned into a hardcore Mary Sue. She's so special and not like the other girls that she literally says, "I was clearly nothing like the rest of my kind." Ohhh, how exciting. So, you have the Mary Sure MC who cannot control herself around the male lead ("I couldn’t for the life of me understand why I’d divulged so much information to him. I blamed his penetrating eyes.") , and you end up with that weird, yet common, thing where an adult women turns into a petulant teenager in her behavior and actions (“And I don’t care!” I folded my arms over my chest and scowled at him. “Melody and I both plan to help whether you like it or not.”).
So, if you're looking for very basically written low slung jeans & smirks (minus the actual smoldering hotness you would normally find that connected to), and whining "I'm special" female leads, this is for you. I would have given it 1 star if the actually unique Christmas fantasy elements hadn't saved it. Unfortunately, I will not be continuing the series.
debyik's review against another edition
4.0
Clio, who is a Claus, has been hiding out in the human world for so long, that’s where she’s comfortable. She has unique powers that others would want to use or steal if they can. One day, a Reindeer Shifter walks into the Bar she works in and after that, she is attacked by Dark Elves, what is going on?
This was a fun, exciting, and unique holiday fantasy book. I feel like part of the book was fun and full of laughs, but then it took a more serious turn and lost some of the humor. Even with that small identity crisis, and ending with you wanting a bit more, I look forward to picking up the next book in the series to see where the story goes.
This was a fun, exciting, and unique holiday fantasy book. I feel like part of the book was fun and full of laughs, but then it took a more serious turn and lost some of the humor. Even with that small identity crisis, and ending with you wanting a bit more, I look forward to picking up the next book in the series to see where the story goes.
sjeckert's review against another edition
4.0
This was a super clever, fun read! I def want to read the rest! There were some writing and grammar issues, but they didn't take away from the story at all. It was well thought out and had some really cool magic. Looking forward to the rest!
sparklingreader's review against another edition
4.0
Not a stand-alone
This is the first book in a trilogy and, though there is some closure, this is definitely not a stand-alone book. You’ll need the other two in order to finish Clio’s story. But, that being said, the story is worth it. Clio is a magical being who lives in a small village in England. Her mother took her from the Northern Realm when she was young, though Clio isn’t sure why. But she does know she has more power than most beings. Unlike them, her power isn’t tied to the Christmas season. Dash is, well, dashing. He’s tall, handsome, and a powerful reindeer shifter. He’s determined to protect Clio even when she doesn’t want him to - and goes against his orders to stay out of trouble. Trouble definitely keeps finding Clio. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to them in the next two books.
This is the first book in a trilogy and, though there is some closure, this is definitely not a stand-alone book. You’ll need the other two in order to finish Clio’s story. But, that being said, the story is worth it. Clio is a magical being who lives in a small village in England. Her mother took her from the Northern Realm when she was young, though Clio isn’t sure why. But she does know she has more power than most beings. Unlike them, her power isn’t tied to the Christmas season. Dash is, well, dashing. He’s tall, handsome, and a powerful reindeer shifter. He’s determined to protect Clio even when she doesn’t want him to - and goes against his orders to stay out of trouble. Trouble definitely keeps finding Clio. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to them in the next two books.
melissadegraffbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I picked this book to break up a long stretch of Christmas romance and really enjoyed it. Fun urban fantasy with lots of Christmas magic!
jenniferbbookdragon's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
j_ro85's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
It got better towards the end. Still a little slow and kinda cheesy. It was obviously gonna be a little cheesy, it’s a Christmas fantasy. But more than I expected.
It got better towards the end. Still a little slow and kinda cheesy. It was obviously gonna be a little cheesy, it’s a Christmas fantasy. But more than I expected.
planreadrepeat's review
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Clio is especially Magic in a land of magical Christmas creatures. Someone is trying to hunt her and a reindeer shifter is trying to rescue her. I found the creatures and their powers super interesting. The story was a little slow and jumped around too much. A solid 3-star rating from me.