Dear Santa - Debbie Macomber

Dear Santa by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've long wanted to read a Debbie Macomber book. This might not have been a great choice for my first. Or perhaps I'm just not the right reader for her books.

In Dear Santa, Lindy returns home for the holidays after a rough year on both a personal and a career front. After reviewing letters she wrote to Santa as a child, she decides to write another letter to Santa this year. Will this this new letter be answered in the same ways her childhood letters were?

I think that I just wasn't in the mood for the sacchrine sweetness of this book. So I think my rating and review are probably more a refleciton of me at the time and not necessarily the book. However, the book itself had issues with inconsistencies and a lot of redundant information (sometimes even the exact phrasing). The pacing of the story overall was off - weird time jumps and other parts that dragged. Hopefully some of these things were taken care of in a final edit (I was reading an advanced review copy).

I wanted to like Lindy, and maybe I did. She just wasn't as fully developed as I would have liked. None of the characters were, but I at least hoped to have a more complete main character. The romance part was okay. Quick but understandable.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced copy to read and review. All opinions are my own.

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Always, in December - Emily Stone

Always, in December by Emily Stone
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Oh, I so wanted to love this book.

Josie is not a fan of December. However, a chance run-in with a stranger (Max), makes the first holiday season of the book a little more bearable. Could there be more?

I know this was marketed as a Christmas book. I don't think it was very Christmassy aside from the first part is set in December as well as the last part.

I *loved* the first part of this book. I liked the characters, their interactions, the deeper aspects of the story. Unfortunately, the book doesn't continue in this same vein, or even the same tone. Part 2 shifts to Max's perspective. It is much less engaging and more sweary. The book went downhill from there for me, including the ending. There were moments of sparkle but not enough to sustain the rest of the plot, dialogue, and character devolvement for me. I think my hopes were just too high after part 1.

Content: language, closed door romance

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

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