I find myself confused by this author’s books. There are so many things that I like, but at the same time, I’m finding that there are things that I wish were improved to make the good things even better.
First for the good. The author has a talent for making characters that seem real and believable. They’re often pleasant, which makes the reader want to root for them to finally get together.
That’s certainly the case with Dan and Evie. It’s no spoiler to say that their relationship is fated to be, but there are a lot of stumbles along the way.
The story is told in an interesting fashion. We start in the “now” which is Christmas, with Evie and Dan in Las Vegas. As they say, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. But for them, it isn’t that easy.
From there, the plot switches to past Christmases, eventually catching up to the present. Then the author does something unusual and moves the action forward, where “now” actually becomes the future (2022).
This was effective because it made sense in the context of Dan and Evie’s plot arc. It also allowed for a LOT of other stuff to happen in the meantime.
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And in some ways, although I liked the movement forward, it almost seemed like there was too much to fit in. I really enjoyed their story, but once I reached the “now” of the present time, everything else seemed like filler.
Which is weird, because that’s actually where the bulk of the action takes place.
Anyway, there were times that I felt that the author was trying to do too much. Dan had issue after issue – with his dad, his brother, his ex – and it didn’t always seem to fit the overall plot. More that “let’s give Dan more so that the reader will be more sympathetic toward him.”
Evie was sort of the same. Between the sexy mom and the lackluster boyfriends, it all seemed to just pile on. I didn’t feel it was necessary because the plot itself (and the romance) was pretty decent to begin with. It could have been more straightforward.
There were also times that I felt that the author got lazy in the actual writing. Phrases became repetitive, people repeated what others had just said, whole conversations were of the same thing said by different people. It might have been for comedic effect, but it just fell flat for me.
Which is a shame, because as I mentioned, Dan and Evie’s story is charming. And if the telling of it had been more direct with less added drama, I could have enjoyed it even more.
As always, that’s my take on it. Other people may have a different opinion and may like the extra details. There is enough to like in the book for anyone to give it a try for themselves.
Author Bio:
Jo Lovett lives in London with her family. She worked in Corporate Tax before taking a longer-than-expected career break to have more-than-expected children (five). She started writing romantic comedy when she realised that she was regularly begging her oldest son to let her do his English homework but she wasn’t actually that interested in haunted houses or Macbeth.
Jo was runner-up in the Good Housekeeping/ Orion First Novel Competition 2018 and shortlisted for the Comedy Women in Print Award 2019. When she can escape from her laundry mountain and childcare, she enjoys reading, tennis and wine.
