Review: Good For Laughs But Little Else
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 01 11, 2014
I had the sample of this book on my kindle for quite some time and I finally bought it because I've been going on a reading binge lately. Can't get my hands on enough books lately. I'm glad that I read it, because it really is cute and lighthearted. I laughed quite often and kept a grin on my face pretty much the whole time.But I'm seriously disappointed in the price, considering the length. Now, I know I read fairly quickly, but really, even I can't finish most novellas in the hour I take for lunch, which is when I purchased and read this book. For 2.99, I expect it to last longer than my lunch hour, especially considering how many wonderful books I can find that are full length for a dollar more and even some for only .99. Why would I buy this when it offers me so little?Also, I'm disappointed in the amount of errors I found while reading. It's not a serious detractor from the story, but really, an ellipses has three periods, not one. If you're pausing for effect during dialogue, you use an ellipses, which has three, not one. And she does this repeatedly. One period just means that it's the end of a sentence, not a pause. I also found some words that were misspelled, like weak for week and the like.An error or two is fine, we're not perfect and I understand that, but when I'm paying money for something, I expect the author to have at least a pretty good grasp on the language and grammar. I'm tired of commas being in the wrong place, question marks when it should be a period, periods when it should be ellipses. If you don't know your grammar and spelling well, that's when you hire someone to edit it for you. If she did, then she needs to find someone new because who ever did it has a lot to learn.On to the actual story, though. I loved the characters, and I loved how Sean was so good-natured about the whole fiasco, and so willing to go along with everything, and even spurred it on in some parts. I enjoyed listening to each person's point of view and Lily Graison does that well.But because this story was so short, there's very little in the way of true characterization, and there's no real growth between the characters. I found it hard to believe that, even if both had been interested in each other for the last two years like they'd both said, that they would just go ahead and get married.I was also disappointed that we were given such tantalizing hints about Sean's past and why he's usually so grumpy around Christmas, and then were left hanging. We're never given any explanation as to his past, so I felt like that was a frivolous plot point and I hate plot points that go nowhere. It added nothing to the story but extra words, which is sad since this book is so short.  I also found it hard to believe that if Macy had put her foot down, that her mother wouldn't have backed down about the wedding. Some people don't want to get married around the holidays. I certainly don't want to share my anniversary with a holiday. Any mother would have understood had Macy just stood up for herself.Which is also why I was disappointed that their secret was never revealed. While I like the fact that it's a twist, since stories like these usually have the secret come out, I hate that what could have been used for a great growth in character was just left to die like that. Macy should have confessed everything and grown for having learned that lying will always backfire on you. Plus, Macy should have realized that she never should have lied in the first place, because she needed to learn to stand up for herself and let her parents know that she's an adult who has her own choices to make.Plus, I found it hard to believe that the mother would have worried less with Macy moving in with Sean, like Macy lied, since, if I were a mother, I would worry even more, since my daughter is in a different town and now living with someone I'd never even met. And if two years had gone by without me having met that person, I would have not only worried more, but been hurt that my daughter wouldn't have wanted me to meet this person, which is what I would have thought given how long they'd been together and I'd never seen the man.This book could have been wonderful if it had been full length and serious consideration had been given to the characters and their actions. People do things they do for a reason, and if what they do is immature and ultimately selfish, then there needs to be some growth and maturity in the book; otherwise, what's the point? I would have given this two stars, but I ended up with three because, in the end, I did have quite a few laughs, and for a frivolous Christmas story, it was nice. But it was too short and there's so much more that could have been done with it.