Jinxy's Reviews > Three Nights before Christmas
Three Nights before Christmas (Wild Montana Nights, #3)
by
by
Boring *SPOILERS*
Where to start with this... I guess I’ll point out that this is part of a series but is a complete stand alone novel. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series but had no problems comprehending this one.
Things I liked:
I liked that the author gave a realistic view (or at least realistic in romance book terms) of a woman just out on parole. That’s it. That’s literally the only thing I didn’t find issue with in the book. That said... it was actually well done and the sole reason for the 2 stars. The set up of this book has a newly paroled woman falling in love with the officer that arrested her. There is such a power imbalance in the relationship when she gets out that I think the author handled really well. When someone is paroled, it’s crazy to think of all the privileges they lose, including the right to say no to searches and such. The fact this author put this up front and was open about it (as in the MCs communicated) was what kept this from being a gross book where the guy with all the power takes advantage of the woman who feels she doesn’t have any rights to say no due to him being an officer. When they do finally take the step to being intimate, there is clear consent on both sides without coercion (as in he didn’t lather her up into a lustful state and then demand she say yes).
Things I didn’t like:
-The romance. Partly due to the above mentioned set up, which, don’t get me wrong, needed to happen that way, the story lost a lot of the chemistry and romance. There wasn’t steam and spontaneity or any tension. When I talk about tension I, of course, mean sexual tension. There was definitely tension of the angry variety in the beginning because of their pasts. Where other books would have this but still have this translate into sexual “hate” tension with touches or glances or internal thoughts, this book didn’t do that. It went from hate and not thinking about each other sexually to we’re having sex and now we love each other. There was no build up and this caused a disconnect between the characters and a disconnect between the reader and their relationship.
-Stilted writing. Author kept having Lacey, the heroine, talking in metaphors like she was some sage guru or something. Interactions between characters felt forced and again I felt no connection between any of the characters. Some funny moments but not enough to carry the book.
-Boring. Literally nothing interesting happens. (view spoiler)
-Not enough interactions with others. Lacey interacted with her brother, her lawyer, and the hero and that’s basically it. It would have been interesting to see how the town was accepting her back or not, whether old friends were willing to hang out again, etc. This could have added dimension and emotion but was a missed opportunity.
-Lacking emotion. Initially the book did an okay job of detailing how the heroine was feeling with her release but then it stopped being shown and the author started to just tell the readers that this is how a person felt. This caused even further disconnect between the reader and the characters. I didn’t end up caring about any of them. The book became a list of events instead of an emotional experience of interactions.
Blah book. Don’t bother reading.
Where to start with this... I guess I’ll point out that this is part of a series but is a complete stand alone novel. I haven’t read any of the other books in the series but had no problems comprehending this one.
Things I liked:
I liked that the author gave a realistic view (or at least realistic in romance book terms) of a woman just out on parole. That’s it. That’s literally the only thing I didn’t find issue with in the book. That said... it was actually well done and the sole reason for the 2 stars. The set up of this book has a newly paroled woman falling in love with the officer that arrested her. There is such a power imbalance in the relationship when she gets out that I think the author handled really well. When someone is paroled, it’s crazy to think of all the privileges they lose, including the right to say no to searches and such. The fact this author put this up front and was open about it (as in the MCs communicated) was what kept this from being a gross book where the guy with all the power takes advantage of the woman who feels she doesn’t have any rights to say no due to him being an officer. When they do finally take the step to being intimate, there is clear consent on both sides without coercion (as in he didn’t lather her up into a lustful state and then demand she say yes).
Things I didn’t like:
-The romance. Partly due to the above mentioned set up, which, don’t get me wrong, needed to happen that way, the story lost a lot of the chemistry and romance. There wasn’t steam and spontaneity or any tension. When I talk about tension I, of course, mean sexual tension. There was definitely tension of the angry variety in the beginning because of their pasts. Where other books would have this but still have this translate into sexual “hate” tension with touches or glances or internal thoughts, this book didn’t do that. It went from hate and not thinking about each other sexually to we’re having sex and now we love each other. There was no build up and this caused a disconnect between the characters and a disconnect between the reader and their relationship.
-Stilted writing. Author kept having Lacey, the heroine, talking in metaphors like she was some sage guru or something. Interactions between characters felt forced and again I felt no connection between any of the characters. Some funny moments but not enough to carry the book.
-Boring. Literally nothing interesting happens. (view spoiler)
-Not enough interactions with others. Lacey interacted with her brother, her lawyer, and the hero and that’s basically it. It would have been interesting to see how the town was accepting her back or not, whether old friends were willing to hang out again, etc. This could have added dimension and emotion but was a missed opportunity.
-Lacking emotion. Initially the book did an okay job of detailing how the heroine was feeling with her release but then it stopped being shown and the author started to just tell the readers that this is how a person felt. This caused even further disconnect between the reader and the characters. I didn’t end up caring about any of them. The book became a list of events instead of an emotional experience of interactions.
Blah book. Don’t bother reading.
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Three Nights before Christmas.
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Reading Progress
January 2, 2020
– Shelved