Good morning, friends!
One last Christmas story for July. Where has this month gone? I've already chosen our end-of-summer reads for August.
This small-town Christmas romance is full of festive surprises and unexpected moments of joy! When Amanda, the determined owner of a cafe in the struggling town of Snow Falls, discovers her long-time rival Eric is closing down his bookstore, she is determined to revive the town’s charm with a big Christmas festival fundraiser.
Despite their initial reluctance, Amanda and Eric are forced to co-organize the event. As Amanda and Eric clash over festival plans, their walls come down, and they realize they share a common goal.
In a world that can be
tough and unpredictable, this sweet romance will remind you of the power of
love and leave you with a heart full of hope.
There was a lead-in to the blurb throwing in extra keywords and if you read similar authors then you will love this book.
The cover really set the scene and I loved the small town feel.
First off, when I read a blurb I don't want to know anything except what about this particular story makes me want to keep reading. What I've shared above is what I want to know. Who the characters are, their conflicts and a hint at how they might make their story work.
While the author does create a beautiful, wintery Christmas setting, there are a couple of problems. The point of view mixes and mingles in very little fashion, often times even throwing in an omniscent point of view. For a story to flow smoothly, a reader doesn't want to be jarred around. You can have multiple points of view (though I don't recommend omniscent being one of them) but the transition from one character to the next should not leave me wondering what character I'm supposed to be in. The author started out fine but the further I got into the story, the more I had the feeling of being told a story, not pulled in to be a part of it.
The mayor's character really irritated me. While I'm sure she is under great pressure to save the flailing town of Snowfall, that did not give her the right to be nasty to Amanda. I got the impression she was modeled after the mayor in The Good Witch, though that character was hauty, not mean. Couple that with Eric throwing Amanda to the wolf to take the heat for weather none of them had any control over just rubbed me the wrong way.
Christmas Cafe Complications is Book 2 of a 17-book collaboration.
I'm giving Christmas Cafe Complilcations...
.8
All my best!
~ Angela
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