garbage_mcsmutly's reviews
1569 reviews

📝 This was a good read. Decent mix of serious stuff and fun times. There were a lot of jokes and good banter. The backstories and interior lives of both MCs were interesting and were revealed over time. The actual snowed in part of the story doesn't take up all that much of the book, although what happens there is integral to the plot. Most of the book takes place in/around their village, not in the mountain cabin.

🎧 Two POVs, two Irish narrators (accents, yay!). They both did a good job, although it was a little confusing that there was one side character who had an American accent with the female narrator, but still sounded Irish with the male narrator. But that was my only criticism. 

🌶️ 4/5 There wasn't a ton of sex in this book but there was at least one long explicit scene. It was well done. 

🏳️‍🌈✊ This takes place in a village in Ireland, so unsurprisingly there's no real ethnic/racial diversity to speak of. MMC's sister is with a same sex partner. And there's one side character who says she knows she's better off without a partner, but it isn't explicitly stated that she's ace or aro or anything in particular.

Interesting take on the story, although there were a few two many breadcrumbs that gave away the twist before it happened.

🎧 Dual POV, dual narrators

🌶️ 4.25/5 there were a few pretty hot and heavy scenes

Good for a short book. Managed to fit a decent amount of character background & development into a short amount of time. 

I wish there had been something indicating that the dreams of people without kids are just as valid as the dreams of those with kids, because it seemed to value the latter a lot over the former, which was disappointing.

🎧 Full cast with sound effects. The sound effects were good; immersive, not distracting.

🌶️ 1.5/5 closed door

🏳️‍🌈✊ There was plenty of diversity with these characters. The FMC is white and Jewish, and the MMC is Latine. MMC's two best friends are Black (sexuality unknown) and white queer. There are POC and same sex couples in the other contestants and the production teams.

This one went by super fast. I kinda wish it had skipped the actual being in love stuff, since it was hard to buy that after like two days of knowing each other. The first 🌶️ scene was hot though. 

A cute Hanukkah romance. It got a little goofy and over the top at the end but it was a decent enough story. 

🎧 Dual POV but only one narrator (female) 

🌶️ 1/5 There was a vague reference to them having had a good night together but this was totally closed door. Chaste kissing only.

🏳️‍🌈✊ Both MCs are Jewish, as are most of the side characters. FMC has chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) which affects every part of her life. FMC's best friend is gay.

IDK about this one. It was overall not bad but I don't think I'd recommend it. The Grinch tie-ins were hit or miss, and the narrator breaking the 4th wall and getting meta about stuff was a little too try-hard. The

3rd act breakup

was particularly egregious, it seemed so out of the blue and unbelievable. And even though this was a Christmas story, sometimes I feel like it leaned a little too heavily into ✨the magic of Christmas✨.

All that being said, the chemistry between the two MCs was good, the family aspects were sweet, and Cole's healing journey was touching. The spice was decent too.

🎧 I liked the full cast for this audiobook. The narrator character was kind of too much, but that's how he was written, so it made sense that the actor performed it that way.

🌶️ 3.75/5 There were a few spicy scenes and the chemistry was good and the acts themselves were... interesting. Creative? Possibly UTI inducing? Lol but overall they were fun.

🏳️‍🌈✊ As far as I could tell, there's no diverse representation in this book. There is a tertiary gay couple that gets mentioned a couple times, but that's it, and it's never even said explicitly that they're gay/a couple. Everyone else appears to be white, straight, able bodied, neurotypical, etc. etc.

🚫🎄 A short cute unChristmas rom-com. I really liked it, and it was a nice sarcastic break from all the heartfelt Christmas books I've read this month. Neither of the MCs like Christmas, yet they have to work together to put on all the Christmas pageantry for the town. This is my first book by this author and I'd totally read more by her.

🌶️ 3.75/5 There's only one sex scene, but it's a short novella so it would be hard to fit in much more with the way the story was paced. But the one scene was 🥵. There is a mirror involved.

🏳️‍🌈✊
Both MCs are Latine, as are most of the side characters / townspeople. There's not a ton that's calling out the culture explicitly, more like it's just casually woven in throughout the story (lines like "if the chisme gets out..." without coddling the reader by translating chisme). But Noche Buena is featured in one chapter. 
Both characters are fat, and they are represented as, you know, full ass people with thoughts and feelings and desires, who are sexually attractive. The author did a really good job of describing the appeal of, and the sexy ways to interact with, larger bodies.
There's no bigotry to be overcome in this book; people are just living their lives as diverse human beings. A nice cozy holiday(ish) book.

It was cute.