romance

The Nightmare before Kissmas by Sara Raasch

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5 out of 5 Candy Canes and Jack O’ Lanterns

Holy Christmas, Batman! I really enjoyed this one, and I read it to begin December, so it was PRIME Christmas storytelling-with a twist! Nicolas (Coal) and his brother, Kristopher, are the sons of Santa (or who we know as Santa, his name is never really given in the book). Coal, the oldest, is a bit of a troublemaker and we start the book with a major disaster that he created in an attempt to “help”, that came after the big break up between he and one of the Princesses of Easter. He’s known as a bit of a prankster, so it’s not seen as being helpful, just as him being himself and a screwup. Kris comes to find him in a bar and they get a phone call from dad, and just before Coal decides to go home, he ends up in the alley way and there is a hot guy back there – and things happen. But the guy disappears. Once Coal returns to his holiday, Christmas, there is a big PR stunt to get his image back by marrying him off to his best friend Iris (the other daughter of Easter)-who coincidentally is his brother’s crush. However, Halloween gets wind of this and objects, by sending their son, Hex Hallow, to Christmas to vie for Iris’s hand in marriage. The problem? Hex is the Alley Guy. Hijinks and conspiracies ensue.

I really enjoyed the idea that the Holidays are different realms with leaders, but that the people there are…people? Like Coal, Kris, Iris and Hex all go to universities in the real world (Yale, Cambridge, UNAM) and have actually studies and such. But they also have these realms of their respective holidays that has their own hierarchy, no dissimilar to royalty. I think the combination was super fun. I also loved that there was no Bi-erasure – Coal is bi. He likes women, he likes men, full stop-and it’s not seen as “other”, it just…is. Hex was so unexpected. After the alley scene, I totally expected him to be this badass, tough dude but he is a COMPLETE MARSHMALLOW OMG SOMEONE WRAP HIM UP! He was so sweet and so duty minded, but he was so afraid to show how he really felt about Coal at first. Iris is such a BAMF, she is so awesome. I need a story about her, honestly. She was such an amazing friend, but you could tell she absolutely needed someone in her corner. It would be cool to see what the fallout of the failed engagement between her sister and Coal affected Easter. Santa?? He can eat a bag of dicks. He was so awful. To an extent, I could see why he was doing what he did, but OMG he was such a terrible father to the boys in their later years. He definitely only used them for leverage instead of as his sons who were going to inherit Christmas. It was crazy.

I really did enjoy this. I actually met the author at a signing event for a different book entirely (not even in this series) and didn’t even realize it was her…and I owned this book already and hadn’t read it. I didn’t realize just how much I had missed out on! She is AMAZING and funny and so creative!!! I can’t wait to dive into more of her work!

First December read in the bag!

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Ok, so the first of my December reads is complete, and let me tell you…I hated it. I’m so sad too. Anyways, the review:

Title: Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

Rating: 2 stars

I had very high hopes for this. I wanted to like it. I had some good times in it! Really, I did. But OMG did I hate the FMC. Avery Fox is an up and coming pop star – who makes a SERIOUS faux pas with her music video, where she basically mocks Native American (or Indian, as they say in the book) culture, though she is Indian herself (Muscogee). Honestly, calling them Indians made me cringe, since many of my university colleagues have taught me to stray away from that, but the author is herself of the Chickasaw Nation and so I will defer to her own words as I go into this review. Anyways, her momager (think Kris Kardashian but like…meaner?) sends her to the reservation to be with her grandmother, Lottie…who she has NEVER met. Remember, this is a POP STAR who knows NOTHING about her heritage…being thrown into an environment where she ALREADY OFFENDED PEOPLE. Her mother made me so angry.
Enter Lucas Iron Eyes, ranch hand on Lottie’s Red Fox Ranch, where they board and keep some horses. Who already has preconceived notions about Avery and is so awful to her when they meet (though, not for lack of reasons).
Honestly, this whole book made me so frustrated because Avery would go from being a 20-something character to a spoiled 16 year old in like 2 sentences. I sincerely could not remember just how old she was throughout the book. Lucas, while he had some redemption in the end, was NOT someone I expected Avery to fall in love with (seriously? In one month??) but I definitely could see them as friends. I don’t think those two had a LICK of chemistry. Also, his parents suck too.
For those who are like “OMG ThE CeLlAr ScEnE”-again, there was NO CHEMISTRY, it was so wooden…I was cringing the whole time. I’ve seen way better spice scenes.
I dunno, this was just a whole lot of let down to me. I even didn’t really like Lottie. Like Avery was just dumped into this place where she knows absolutely nothing and Lottie does nothing to even help? What was the point of even agreeing to take her if you weren’t even going to try to make a relationship? Like I just…I didn’t like this book.

Apparently, the author also made a video for the song that Avery sings…so here is the link to the video if you care to watch it. I was just so underwhelmed by this. I wanted to like it SO BAD. Maybe I’m just jaded because of Stephen Graham Jones and Buffalo Hunter Hunter? IDK. This just wasn’t it for me.

On to the next! Probably some novellas, to kick start the holidays!

Rounding out November – readying for Christmas!

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Oh man! I read like 12 novellas between Black Flame and the two I’m posting today, so that was fun! I have about 6 library books I want to get through before December starts…I think I want to be in FULL FESTIVE BOOK READING by then!

But until then, here are two books I’ve read!

First up: The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre by Philip Fricassi

Stars: 10/10, no notes!

Amazing suspense, likable characters. Ride is the ultimate Final Girl, Badass. The kind of old person I strive to be one day. She was strong, independent but aware of her own faults. The older residents of the community were just as great. Having all the friends trying to figure out what was happening then going down like flies was crazy. I was actually getting genuinely mad about how they were dying and how the cops were just completely useless!! And Tatum! He was such a sweetheart. 🥹 This was such a great book. The twists and turns and just the creepiness of it all? Amazing. There were some supernatural elements too, but I enjoyed it overall. Would absolutely recommend to folks. Like seriously. Who would have thought a retirement home would be so exciting?!?

Second book: Playing Flirty by Shameez Patel

Stars: 5/5

Oh goodness me! I was coming off a small reading slump but this was the perfect book! I adored Rose (this is the second book in a row with the FMC being Rose) and I LOVED William. I especially loved that he went by that and not Will or Bill or anything else. William. I loved it. I knew right away that he liked Rose, and I figured out that he was her Gandalf early on but their chemistry, to me, was off the charts. I also loved that we got a little more on the side characters, like Neema and Shaun, and even a little of Lincoln and Claire. This was just such a feel good book. Even with her creeper boss and Patrick. He was…annoying and I was mad at him SO MUCH in this book! I even considered that he was cheating but nope, he really was just married to his work . I also appreciated the tease of spicy, it was definitely closed door spice but it was enough to know that they liked each other and fit well with each other. Rose’s parents were HILARIOUS and I loved them haha. Typical free spirited folks, though that trope of free parents and straight laced FMC gets a little old. Either way, this was a fun, quick read.

Well ok, that’s that for now! I will try and get a couple more in before the end of November, but in case I don’t, have a bountiful Harvest Day or Thanksgiving, whichever you celebrate!

Two, that’s right, TWO book reviews!

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Whew! I’m on a roll! I have not one, but TWO book reviews here! I’m part of the Probably Smut monthly book club (don’t @ me!) and I am finally all caught up and ready for September’s book! In the meantime, my reviews for both Shadowed Obsession (July) and The Bad Boy Rule (August) are here!

Shadowed Obsession – 2 stars

The nice thing about the PS book club is that we get GORGOUS special edition covers! This was no exception! The colors were *chefs kiss* Perfect! However, the inside of the book, the meat, if you will…left some to be desired. There were many a grammatical and editing mistakes that really take you out the book once you see them. Things like quotation marks not being completed, a whole PAGE being copy/pasted…it was just kind of a mess? The story line could have been stronger too, like the premise was great, but overall? Eh.

*sigh* I REALLY wanted to like this. The smut was smutting and the MC’s had some depth to themselves. But their actual chemistry went from “stalker/stalkee” to “domestic bliss” once the mask came off-literally. Not to mention times when italics were used and then just not turned off. At some point, the emphasis on the Spanish words was annoying. It’s just dialogue like any other, yet it’s italicized. Every. Single. Time. As a non-native Spanish speaker but a Chicana, this was probably the most irritating. In her effort to make the character not othered, she othered his language the whole book.

Unfortunately, those items made the book slightly unbearable and while I finished it, I really only did because the redeeming parts were alright. (See my Goodreads review here)

The Bad Boy Rule – 4 stars

Whew! That was…hot. Like fire! I think I spent more time tabbing all the dirty talk than paying attention to the plot!

Lennon is a socialite, someone who’s parents are the who’s who of New Orleans. She is incredibly privileged and knows it. She is also rebelling against her parents…the blinders are off after a series of events, including forcing her to quit ice skating, her one escape, forces her to acknowledge that her parents are grooming her to be a trophy wife, nothing more.

Saint is a hockey player who grew up on the wrong side of the tracks. His adolescent years spent in a trailer with his mother and his abusive and alcoholic father, Saint is well aware that he could end up like his dad and is trying everything in his power not to be. So he gives himself a new persona, “The Playboy” and has sex with basically any girl but with one rule: no getting attached.

Our MC’s meet at…the skating rink. Because of COURSE they do. Of COURSE they have the same time slot by mistake! Lennon, in her effort to rebel, asks Saint to be her fake boyfriend, unknowing that Saint has his own reasons why he says yes. They begin to see that neither is what they seem.

Seriously, this was so good. The tension and the banter between Saint and Lennon was so good. There wasn’t TOO MUCH of the pet names, which can really make or break a book. The only issue this time? A couple of plot holes that really made me question my own sanity, and a couple of grammatical and editing errors. So because of those, this went from a 5 star to a 4. (To see this and other reviews, check out my Goodreads profile here)

Ok, that’s all folks! I am hoping to get to 100 books by the end of the year…I’m currently standing at 67! Can I do it?! YES I CAN!