A review by thereadingwren
My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories by Stephanie Perkins
3.0
3/5
Individual story ratings below, but overall I’m not super impressed with this collection. Most of the stories were uninteresting, boring, or too cliched. But there were a few gems that made up for some of the boring.
Midnights - Rainbow Rowell
3/5
Kind of predictable (something I predict all these stories will be). I did really appreciate the friendship of the two characters and the endless list of allergies one character had - it was great reading. The love story however was boring and cliched. This is the second Rainbow Rowell I’ve read and I think I just don’t particularly enjoy her writing, there’s something very basic about it.
The Lady and The Fox - Kelly Link
3.5/5
It took me a bit to get into this one (the lengthy detailed descriptions of clothing was overdone), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters and the through the ages look at them. And while the love story was insta-love and cliched I wasn’t that mad at it because the story behind it was interesting. Also a good introduction to Kelly Link’s style.
Angels In The Snow - Matt de la Peña
3/5
I really liked Shy as a character and this story would have gotten a 4 because of him if it didn’t involve cheating and dubious consent. Romance just isn’t for me sometimes, I’d have preferred to learn all about Shy and his family.
Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me - Jenny Han
5/5
Oh this was so damn good! Santa’s adopted daughter from Seoul, how awesome. Natalie was a great character and her life is really interesting!
It’s A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown - Stephanie Perkins
3.5/5
I was really unsure about this, I wasn’t super interested in North (he was too cocky and bordering on that rude-flirting that I hate) but the ending definitely made up for that. It was just so sweet!
Your temporary Santa - David Levithan
5/5
Oh wow, that hurts. That hurts a lot but in such a lovely way. I like that this wasn’t really about the romance, it was about family and grief and belonging. It was beautiful. I don’t want more, I don’t want less, it was simply enough.
Krampuslauf - Holly Black
5/5
This was so damn cool!!! I love the ‘evil’ version of a Holiday story with the Krampus. The description of the creature was awesome and I wish there were Krampus celebrations in my town. Very awesome story that isn’t about love.
What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? - Gayle Forman
2.5/5
It was so very eh, that’s the best way to describe it. I’m also not a fan of sarcastic banter as flirting. It all felt a little too instant to me.
Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus - Myra McEntire
0.5/5
Good gods no. This was awful (for me). Religious stuff is not for me at all. Neither is the bad boy falls for the good girl trope. The only reason I read it is because I don’t like DNF’ing.
Welcome To Christmas, CA - Kiersten White
5/5
This is exactly what I want from a Christmas story. It’s utterly sweet and full of community and a dash of magic. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Star of Bethlehem - Ally Carter
3/5
This read like many fan fictions I’ve read before, which isn’t a bad thing. But I think I’m past that point in my reading where I don’t want to read about lying and kind of fake relationships.
The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer - Laini Taylor
1.5/5
I skimmed this so much, it was really boring and I didn’t care for it. I was interested in the Dreamer but that didn’t make up for the rest of it.
Individual story ratings below, but overall I’m not super impressed with this collection. Most of the stories were uninteresting, boring, or too cliched. But there were a few gems that made up for some of the boring.
Midnights - Rainbow Rowell
3/5
Kind of predictable (something I predict all these stories will be). I did really appreciate the friendship of the two characters and the endless list of allergies one character had - it was great reading. The love story however was boring and cliched. This is the second Rainbow Rowell I’ve read and I think I just don’t particularly enjoy her writing, there’s something very basic about it.
The Lady and The Fox - Kelly Link
3.5/5
It took me a bit to get into this one (the lengthy detailed descriptions of clothing was overdone), but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I liked the characters and the through the ages look at them. And while the love story was insta-love and cliched I wasn’t that mad at it because the story behind it was interesting. Also a good introduction to Kelly Link’s style.
Angels In The Snow - Matt de la Peña
3/5
I really liked Shy as a character and this story would have gotten a 4 because of him if it didn’t involve cheating and dubious consent. Romance just isn’t for me sometimes, I’d have preferred to learn all about Shy and his family.
Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me - Jenny Han
5/5
Oh this was so damn good! Santa’s adopted daughter from Seoul, how awesome. Natalie was a great character and her life is really interesting!
It’s A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown - Stephanie Perkins
3.5/5
I was really unsure about this, I wasn’t super interested in North (he was too cocky and bordering on that rude-flirting that I hate) but the ending definitely made up for that. It was just so sweet!
Your temporary Santa - David Levithan
5/5
Oh wow, that hurts. That hurts a lot but in such a lovely way. I like that this wasn’t really about the romance, it was about family and grief and belonging. It was beautiful. I don’t want more, I don’t want less, it was simply enough.
Krampuslauf - Holly Black
5/5
This was so damn cool!!! I love the ‘evil’ version of a Holiday story with the Krampus. The description of the creature was awesome and I wish there were Krampus celebrations in my town. Very awesome story that isn’t about love.
What The Hell Have You Done, Sophie Roth? - Gayle Forman
2.5/5
It was so very eh, that’s the best way to describe it. I’m also not a fan of sarcastic banter as flirting. It all felt a little too instant to me.
Beer Buckets and Baby Jesus - Myra McEntire
0.5/5
Good gods no. This was awful (for me). Religious stuff is not for me at all. Neither is the bad boy falls for the good girl trope. The only reason I read it is because I don’t like DNF’ing.
Welcome To Christmas, CA - Kiersten White
5/5
This is exactly what I want from a Christmas story. It’s utterly sweet and full of community and a dash of magic. It’s absolutely beautiful.
Star of Bethlehem - Ally Carter
3/5
This read like many fan fictions I’ve read before, which isn’t a bad thing. But I think I’m past that point in my reading where I don’t want to read about lying and kind of fake relationships.
The Girl Who Woke The Dreamer - Laini Taylor
1.5/5
I skimmed this so much, it was really boring and I didn’t care for it. I was interested in the Dreamer but that didn’t make up for the rest of it.