bookshelf1792's review
3.75
This could have been really cringey but it worked for the mood I was in. It was very sweet.
girlwithhearteyes's review
4.75
4.75 stars
Nawwwww, I loved this! I can totally see this as a movie: fake dating/engagement, relatable leads with great chemistry, and *multiple* singing scenes. Slightly prickly heroine, nice guy (but imperfect) hero, very organic relationship development. Just the right amount of cheesiness for a holiday themed romance.
Nawwwww, I loved this! I can totally see this as a movie: fake dating/engagement, relatable leads with great chemistry, and *multiple* singing scenes. Slightly prickly heroine, nice guy (but imperfect) hero, very organic relationship development. Just the right amount of cheesiness for a holiday themed romance.
emmelnie's review
4.0
Christmas Bride is a warm blanket of a book; you can wrap yourself up in it and feel comforted. This fifth book in the Convenient Marriages series focuses on a fake engagement between Ruth and Carter that they set up to fend off the matchmaking-minded folks who are driving Carter crazy. Being engaged will give him a respite during the holiday season, and then he and Ruth can “break up” in the new year.
Ruth is an interesting character, and she’s different from most romance heroines in that she’s abrupt, speaks her mind without a filter, and sometimes can seem abrasive. I liked that Adams took on a challenge in creating her. That said, Carter was a bit of the opposite—he’s a perfect guy. He’s rich, he’s smart, he’s good looking, and he’s not full of himself despite those first three adjectives. That made it hard for me to accept why Ruth appealed to him so much. I understood it was in part because she didn’t pander to him, but it didn’t explain why he was the one to accept the fake engagement idea when it was a toss-off, almost jokey suggestion from Ruth.
It was easy to see how Ruth moved from viewing Carter as this untouchable figure on a pedestal to someone with shades and colors and shifting aspects to his character. I wished we’d been given some of Carter’s POV, especially because it was an opportunity to know more of him after he appeared as a secondary figure in earlier books in this series. But Adams has created a light, amusing take on the fake-engagement trope in Christmas Bride, one that made me smile as I read it. In its own way, it’s a respite for readers in these times just as Ruth is Carter’s respite from the dating world!
Ruth is an interesting character, and she’s different from most romance heroines in that she’s abrupt, speaks her mind without a filter, and sometimes can seem abrasive. I liked that Adams took on a challenge in creating her. That said, Carter was a bit of the opposite—he’s a perfect guy. He’s rich, he’s smart, he’s good looking, and he’s not full of himself despite those first three adjectives. That made it hard for me to accept why Ruth appealed to him so much. I understood it was in part because she didn’t pander to him, but it didn’t explain why he was the one to accept the fake engagement idea when it was a toss-off, almost jokey suggestion from Ruth.
It was easy to see how Ruth moved from viewing Carter as this untouchable figure on a pedestal to someone with shades and colors and shifting aspects to his character. I wished we’d been given some of Carter’s POV, especially because it was an opportunity to know more of him after he appeared as a secondary figure in earlier books in this series. But Adams has created a light, amusing take on the fake-engagement trope in Christmas Bride, one that made me smile as I read it. In its own way, it’s a respite for readers in these times just as Ruth is Carter’s respite from the dating world!
robinwalter's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
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