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loverofromance 's review for:

Christmas at the Shelter Inn by RaeAnne Thayne
3.5
adventurous challenging emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated

 My Review: 

Its been quite some time since I have had a opportunity to read an RaeAnne Thayne and I was quite intrigued with this one here. I was curious to see where this author would go with this one here and I did enjoy it for the most part. But I do think this review is a bit of a symptom of the narration ruining the story a bit for me. It doesn't happen, but it did happen. The heroine POV in this one was just done not well at all. She just came off super cold and cynical and calculating and I don't think that was the author's intention. So I just couldn't get on board with the heroine much because of her attitude or how she was represented by the narration. But I did stick with the story, it just wasn't one that I want to keep with so it took some time to get through. I did find the set up intriguing. I loved the dynamic of the heroine coming to visit her family and taking care of her nieces while her sister is on bed rest for her third pregnancy. The hero was delectable though, he is intelligent and kind and so attentive with children. It was so charming to see him interacting with Natalie and her nieces. The atmospheric vibe was on point like it normally is with this author. The romance while in some respects was done well, I just feel like there could have been more swoon moments, it was too few and in between. Felt a bit more like women's fiction at times to be honest. But I was still intrigued by the story and wanted to keep with it. Just wish the heroine and the romance had been a bit more focused on those elements, because this author can write it very well. 

Overall it was a solid story that while had its flaws, was very redeemable and kept me engaged from beginning to end.