I don't care for romance, but I do like a Christmas story, so I thought I'd give this a chance. The author has been around a long time and is one of those "book factory" types that has a billion titles published, so I keep thinking there has to be something to that every time I buy a book like this, and every time I find out that it's all... empty.
The main character is a know-it-all. She thinks she knows better than everybody what is best for them. She writes letters for people that are all-out lies, but you could sort of forgive that because they're literally paying her to do that for them, so it isn't like they didn't walk in there with that exact expectation, but it doesn't speak too well of her character that she's willing to do it in the first place. Her sister is a complete bitch and she lets her treat her like garbage.
The author makes her personal opinions very, very obvious in every facet of this book, too. She thinks that if it's cold for a day or two in ONE CITY that means there's no such thing as Global Warming (which is why it's called Climate Change, because people like the author apparently don't understand it well enough), she treats people who don't hold the same feelings about Christmas as she does as something to be converted (damn those heathens!). There are any number of other opinions she peppers the story with that made me wrinkle my nose.
I think one of the reasons I dislike romance novels is how unrealistic they are, and this book really reminded me of that. Almost every romance novel I've read has featured a woman falling for some guy who would otherwise not be a good fit for her, she does something stupid and nearly loses him, they go through some angst, and this happens within, like, a week. It's like a woman walks into a coffee shop, sees a guy who is even mildly easy on the eyes, walks over to him, holds out a hand, and says to him, "Hello, sir. My name is Mary Sue and I have decided this very moment that you and I are soul mates!"
*shakes head*
This wasn't a BAD book, but it was boring. It was a fast read or I'm not sure I could've kept my attention on it long enough to finish it, so I was glad that it was easy to read and also quite short. I'm just not a fan of this fluffy stuff, though. I want something with more substance. If there has to be a romance, I want it to be something more important and with deeper feeling. I want characters that have more complex personalities, motives, and emotional reactions.
Then again, when you pound out 80 books a year you probably do start writing boring, rehashed, frankly colorless fluff with no dimension.
Hey, though, there wasn't a bunch of trashy sex scenes in it, though, like most other romance writers seem to resort to in order to keep their fans coming back for more, so if that's typical of this author, I DO want to applaud her for that much.