GENRE: #Regency-Christmas-novella
#Standalone
My rating: ★★☆☆☆
I hate to kick things off like this, but honestly, this one just didn’t work for me. It started off kinda cute, but pretty quickly it got annoying and boring.
I’ll give you a quick rundown of the plot, then I’ll explain exactly what rubbed me the wrong way (and what other readers might actually enjoy — just my personal take here).
__ IN A NUTSHELL: Regency England. Serena Talbot has been crushing on her neighbor, Paul, for years, patiently waiting for him to notice her as they grew up.
She’s convinced that this Christmas party is finally the moment Paul will see her for who she is and ask her to spend forever with him.
While waiting for Paul to show up, Serena decides to try out an old superstition. She slips some mistletoe under her pillow, hoping to dream about her future hubby. But instead of dreaming about Paul, it’s Giles Farraday ( her brother’s best friend and Paul’s best bud ) who shows up at the altar in her dream.
When guests start arriving, Serena can’t shake off that weird feeling from her dream, and suddenly she notices Giles in a way she never has before.
Giles, who’s secretly loved Serena for years and knew she only had eyes for Paul, never made a move because he figured it was pointless. But now, with Serena’s gaze on him, he catches a spark of sensual curiosity.
Serena convinces herself she just wants Giles to teach her how to kiss so she’ll be ready when Paul finally kisses her. But Giles’s kisses hit different, and Serena can’t stay away.
1)At first, Serena asks for kissing lessons by Giles (after he had proposed it to her), but then ____ WARNING IT MIGHT BE A SPOILER ___she full-on embraces a situation that lights up all her hormones and can’t wait to get “the full experience,” all while still claiming she wants to marry Paul.____ SPOILER END ___
Right away, I disliked her, she comes off like a careless girl who doesn’t care about the guy she’s kissing or about hurting the boy she says she loves.
I’m not trying to be prudish, but she seems like someone who wouldn’t hesitate to cheat once married. And in a Regency novel, that’s a heroine I’m just not into.
On top of that, Serena felt immature, spoiled, and fickle. There’s honestly no good reason two guys should be fighting over her other than she’s probably pretty.
Since this was a novella ( short enough then ) maybe that’s why the characters felt flat and underdeveloped, but based on what I saw through their actions, I wasn’t impressed.
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2) Now, about the hero: Giles, who’s been loving Serena from afar, vents his frustration by having lots of flings, earning a “libertine” label (fair enough, if the love of your life loves someone else, you’re gonna need an outlet).
What bugs me is that behind his best friend Paul’s back, Giles comes up with the idea to give Serena kissing lessons, even though he knows Paul wants to marry her.
Paul even confided in Giles about planning to propose, and Giles sneaks around acting sly. Is that a friend? Not in my book.
Giles justifies it as “all’s fair in love and war,” but I say fair means competing openly. Sneaking around like that is just cowardly and lazy. Sorry, but there’s no real friendship there !
He could have told Paul he loves Serena too, and they could’ve both tried to win her honestly. Instead, Giles keeps lying behind his friend’s back, especially after realizing Serena’s sexually attracted to him.
That couple, Giles and Serena, just grossed me out. I only finished the book so I’d have the right to review it, but I would’ve quit halfway otherwise.
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3) Also, I was seriously bored reading this.
Up until halfway through, all we got were kisses and descriptions of every tiny gesture and movement. Instead of being sexy and making me feel something, it left me yawning and hoping for something to happen.
I get that lots of readers probably love that kind of slow, sensual detail. Me? I want twists and turns, not a flat plot that tries too hard to be sexy but ends up just repetitive.
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4) Finally, in a decent novel, the rival who loses (and we all know from the start who’s losing, right?!) is usually a jerk who deserves it. But here, Paul is painted as not just handsome and cheerful, but genuinely a good guy.
His only real flaw might be waiting too long to declare his love for Serena, but that’s understandable since Serena was younger and saw him more like a friend or a brother. His real mistake was assuming she’d say yes and that his best friend was really a friend.
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In this story, in my opinion, sexual desire is particularly emphasized, but there is no real substance to the tale.
Overall, it was a letdown for me.
There you have it. My honest, no-holds-barred thoughts.
That said, this is just my personal take. So, no matter what I think, I always say give it a shot yourself (and if you check Goodreads, it’s got tons of 4-star reviews).
It was my first time reading this author, so maybe her other books will work better for me, but this one definitely wasn’t my cup of tea.
Thanks for stopping by and reading my opinion.:-)
Merry Christmas and Merry Reads everybody !!
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