First sentence: ‘Could there be a better present for the woman who has everything?’ I’m smiling across at Merwyn in the front seat and, as I take in the words Cockle Shell Castle carved into the monumental gateposts, I’m so excited I’m finding it hard to breathe. Then I ease my car through the gateway and onto the winding approach, and as we round a bend and the pale walls and castellated towers come into view, washed in moonlight, I can’t help letting out a gasp.
Premise/plot: Ivy Starforth, our heroine, has been hired by her friend's sister to "kit out" the holiday rental--a castle in Cornwall. But there's been a slight mix-up. The rental is not the one fabulously pictured online, it's bare and decidedly un-Christmasy. And it comes with a grumpy landlord, Bill Markham. Can she fix up the rental before her super-picky-not-at-all-likeable employer arrives with ALL of her children and family?!
My thoughts: I had a hard time getting into this one. Do people really hire out other people to photograph every single moment of their holidays and post it on social media for them?!?!?! I suppose some of the super-elite might hire out a professional to decorate their own home, but a rental home?! Why introduce dozens of characters of this crazy-eccentric-quirky-dysfunctional family (not a single one likeable) when the main focus is obviously going to be on a romance between Ivy and Bill?!
Speaking of the romance, why do they have to happen to know each other previously. Why couldn't it be a super-predictable romance with a stranger? At least if it was a stranger, there wouldn't be the repetitive Will/Bill thing going on where she remembers their past vacation encounter and wonders why he is now calling himself Bill instead of Will. Seriously annoying.
This one is full of characters I just didn't care about at all, not even a little. And it's crude. I wouldn't classify it as smut-smut, just crudely written. I definitely would NOT recommend it to those who prefer/seek out clean fiction. The language alone--no matter the actual subject matter--would classify it as NOT clean.
© 2019 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
3 comments:
Thank you for your honest review, Becky! Merry Christmas!!
Too bad this one wasn't better. How disappointing.
Wow! Look at all the Christmas books you were able to pound out. I wish I could read that fast. Happy holiday season! Too bad you didn't enjoy this one.
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