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A review by beate251
The Christmas Express by Isla Gordon
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for this ARC.
This novel is about bride Bryn who invites five former friends to her wedding that she hasn't seen in five years, due to some unspecified but spectacular falling out of the entire group.
The wedding will be in Vancouver, Canada but the friends are in the UK so Bryn gets them flights to Toronto, then cabins on a four day sleeper train to Vancouver, so they can use the time to kiss and make up with each other.
I requested this book because the premise of a Christmassy sleeper train chugging through a Canadian winter wonderland sounded irresistible. However, there was not enough to keep me interested as all we got were six people sniping at each other for reasons unknown.
I got no sense of these characters and so I never got to care about or even like them. All I know is that while everybody was holding grudges, some carried torches for others, including Ember who once dated Bryn and wanted to see her again before the wedding.
The reveal about the cause of the big fight should have come at the beginning but came at the end, and I rolled my eyes about how stupid and pointless it seemed.
The story was told in multi POV but some people got a lot more airtime than others. Most characters remained disappointingly underdeveloped as a consequence. It also wasn't very festive - I can think of better ways of celebrating Christmas than being stuck on a train in a snowstorm. I'm sorry but this fell flat for me. At least it was a fast read.
This novel is about bride Bryn who invites five former friends to her wedding that she hasn't seen in five years, due to some unspecified but spectacular falling out of the entire group.
The wedding will be in Vancouver, Canada but the friends are in the UK so Bryn gets them flights to Toronto, then cabins on a four day sleeper train to Vancouver, so they can use the time to kiss and make up with each other.
I requested this book because the premise of a Christmassy sleeper train chugging through a Canadian winter wonderland sounded irresistible. However, there was not enough to keep me interested as all we got were six people sniping at each other for reasons unknown.
I got no sense of these characters and so I never got to care about or even like them. All I know is that while everybody was holding grudges, some carried torches for others, including Ember who once dated Bryn and wanted to see her again before the wedding.
The reveal about the cause of the big fight should have come at the beginning but came at the end, and I rolled my eyes about how stupid and pointless it seemed.
The story was told in multi POV but some people got a lot more airtime than others. Most characters remained disappointingly underdeveloped as a consequence. It also wasn't very festive - I can think of better ways of celebrating Christmas than being stuck on a train in a snowstorm. I'm sorry but this fell flat for me. At least it was a fast read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship