ashleyj_reads's Reviews (370)

I found this one to be weird and I’m definitely not the target audience. I don’t think the vehicle needed as much attention and back story as it received. Good for the HEA couple, though!

Cute couple, HEA. Good writing and details for plot and relationship building. 



I didn’t love the speed of the relationship, but I know it’s the nature of the novella. 

One of my favorite things about Ali Hazelwood is that every time I read something of hers, I learn a new word.

*miscommunication trope*

This is an adorable little story that takes place over the course of less than 12 hours, with flashbacks to fill in the history of the characters.

We're all waiting for a handsome, successful, adorable man to be obsessed with us. Jamie got hers :)

My number one Christmastime romance! 

Two chapters in, I was...uncomfortable...with the cheeseyness. A little while later, I felt I had predicted the tropes and the plot and seriously considered DNFing, but since this was a book club read I wanted to try a little longer. And then, I fell in love with the characters, and the plot became not-so-predictable.

I laughed, out loud and loudly, several times throughout this story. It's hard to get an outward reaction out of me through a book, so *chef's kiss.* 

These characters took some lessons - the communication is BEAUTIFUL. We know how to speak our minds and hearts to the closest people around us in a romance novel!? Shooketh I was.

Then there's the breaking the fourth wall, acknowledging the tropes, or lack of, and the sassy narrator!  

 Not as captivating as "What Moves the Dead," but still a decent read. I do enjoy nature as an antagonist and, in a strange manner, bringing people together. 

Narrator wasn't working for me; her voice maid the already obnoxious MC even more annoying. I'm sad about this, because I usually love Cass.

𝙁𝙔𝙄 I don’t buy into cancel culture. However, I did consider current events when wanting to read this book. I did decide to source this book ethically: I borrowed the digital version via library app.

Four stars only because I want to know more about the Hempstocks. I understand why we’re not told more, but that’s not the point here. I’m very curious and one star’s worth of upset about it.

This is well-written: seamless timeline changes, and action to thought/dialogue pieces. The not magic is beautifully created and experienced by character and reader. 

What a wild, fascinating, and mind boggling experience for a child!! It’s no wonder he doesn’t know where home is as an adult.