A review by lenoreo
His Christmas Pride by Renée Dahlia
2.0
https://celebrityreaders.com/2020/11/30/his-christmas-pride-by-renee-dahlia/
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
2.5 stars — Well, that was disappointing on a few levels…bummer.
First, this is not really a Christmas book, so if you’re looking for a *Christmas* book, this might not fit the bill for you. Essentially the first chapter happens on Christmas day, and that’s the end of anything Christmas.
Second, this is the second book I’ve read in this little series, by different authors, and AGAIN I’ve encountered a couple who has *genuinely* cringey awkward exchanges. Not adorable awkward (although to be fair, there was some adorable awkward too), but the kind of awkward where I don’t understand why they ever talked to each other afterwards. I’m not sure if I was missing something, but other than physical attraction, I didn’t *feel* a whole lot of chemistry between them. They talked about their past chatting on the game, but *I* as a reader didn’t get to see much of that, so it didn’t really help me get excited about them.
I enjoyed the hints of Thai tradition for Sam (though it didn’t take up much space). And there were a few interesting conversations about being bisexual, but everything felt a bit forced.
And on one last side note, I’m not sure if I’m missing a cultural humour or something, but there were occasions where they were talking about domestic violence and emotional abuse where some comments felt borderline insensitive. It might have just been me. It’s not my trigger, but I’m trying to be more sensitive to things, and so I just can’t tell.
I could talk more, but it was just…underwhelming for me. Lots of potential, but the execution just didn’t work for me. Womp womp.
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
2.5 stars — Well, that was disappointing on a few levels…bummer.
First, this is not really a Christmas book, so if you’re looking for a *Christmas* book, this might not fit the bill for you. Essentially the first chapter happens on Christmas day, and that’s the end of anything Christmas.
Second, this is the second book I’ve read in this little series, by different authors, and AGAIN I’ve encountered a couple who has *genuinely* cringey awkward exchanges. Not adorable awkward (although to be fair, there was some adorable awkward too), but the kind of awkward where I don’t understand why they ever talked to each other afterwards. I’m not sure if I was missing something, but other than physical attraction, I didn’t *feel* a whole lot of chemistry between them. They talked about their past chatting on the game, but *I* as a reader didn’t get to see much of that, so it didn’t really help me get excited about them.
I enjoyed the hints of Thai tradition for Sam (though it didn’t take up much space). And there were a few interesting conversations about being bisexual, but everything felt a bit forced.
And on one last side note, I’m not sure if I’m missing a cultural humour or something, but there were occasions where they were talking about domestic violence and emotional abuse where some comments felt borderline insensitive. It might have just been me. It’s not my trigger, but I’m trying to be more sensitive to things, and so I just can’t tell.
I could talk more, but it was just…underwhelming for me. Lots of potential, but the execution just didn’t work for me. Womp womp.