Review: River's "Snowfall" is the best Christmas present you can give yourself
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 29, 2013
While the collection is uneven, Rivers' novella is worth every penny -- and then some.  Priceless."Snow Fall" by Mary Ann Rivers (5 stars) is one of the most perfect novellas I have ever read, a story that offers strong and compelling characters, steamy sex and sweetness, and lovely sentences to linger over.  It's a book about love, but just as much, this is a story about seeing and light, about loss and change, about the ways in which who we are shapes what we see and how what we see shapes who we become.Writing Style:  The narrative voice of this novel is pitch perfect, and there is a lyrical, reflective quality to Jenny's voice that reflects the fact her mother is a poet: "All those carols we loved as kids?  Now, they make us cry, because to sing them, to hear them, to pass a flame candle to candle with the lyrics come easy, is to acknowledge everything that has come since childhood.  The darkness and the light."And humor?  Yup, that's covered too.  For example, when Jenny discusses her generous derriere, she says, "It's made its own fabulous place in the world."  Or when she's describing her occupational therapist, Evan, "Nice arms, too, honestly.  I mean, sure they're still ridiculously long, he's nearly a gibbon, but the shoulder part is rounded in this really good sort of way...."Characters:  This is the real strength of this novella.  Rivers' story immerses us in the lives of people who are strong and fragile, not perfect nor noble, but those who are trying to do the right thing, people who share the philosophy that "whatever it is you're doing, you do for love."  Although she is secondary character, Jenny's mother will break your heart.  Supporting her daughter's move from Seattle to Ohio, mom asks about the research position Jenny will be accepting:  "Tell me how it makes you so happy and maybe I won't miss you so much." And Jenny realizes, "I think she shops for me to feel close to me and to try not to worry so much, and I wouldn't want to take that away from her....She's my mom and it's her job to keep bad things from happening to me, and she can't stop this thing from happening so she sends me boxes full of socks and cookies and T-shirts with funny things on them and rolls of quarters for the laundry, and maybe, for a few seconds when she's packing her boxes up she feels like she's stopping a little bit of the bad stuff that's happening to me."Emotional Chemistry: this novella features the longest buildup to a kiss I've ever read, and it is perfectly paced.  The story not only captures the anticipation that is at least as sweet as the fulfillment, but lingers over it and draws it out and on and on and on.  Crazy swoon-worthy.As if all this weren't enough, the novel explores serious themes without any heavy-handed preaching or moralizing.  The theme of accepting oneself and choosing oneself in the midst of love is subtly and beautifully explored:  "...while I just keep introducing myself to him, over and over, as someone angry with her diagnosis, he keeps introducing me to Jenny Wright, Fiercely Intelligent.  Which means he keeps introducing himself to me as a man willing to fail and try again."From pinhole cameras to the failing daylight that accompanies the coming of winter, this story examines the blindnesses that each of us must confront and respond to if we are to live out lives of love.  It's more than a keeper - it's the kind of story you want to press into the hands of all your friends, saying, "Read this!" "After Midnight," by Serena Bell (3.5 stars) is a highly readable novella, with likable characters and a predictable plot arc that is no less satisfying for all of that.  When Nora dances with and kisses a stranger on New Years Eve - only to have him flee the party as a fight ensues -- we can smile at the allusion to this Cinderfella.  Nearly one year later, Nora learns the name of her "Sad-Eyed Guy," and the real romance begins.  Cute and sexy, this is nearly a 4-star book.  The novella format works against the story, however, as things heat up a bit too fast (Nora herself wonders if she's a bit of a stalker).  In "After Midnight," there simply isn't the space to fully develop these characters as much as most readers will wish, nor is there the time the characters need to get to know one another."Play with Me" by Lisa Renee Jones (2 stars).  It's not quite clear how this is a holiday-themed novella; while Thanksgiving is mentioned (Kali Miller, the heroine, wants to avoid spending it with her family), it plays no significant role in this story of a young woman who is hired as temporary assistant to the CEO of a large casino conglomerate.But holiday heat aside (and the book does deliver heat and steam), some readers will find significant problems with the characters and the plot of this novella.  Damion Ward is a CEO who resembles Tony Stark (of Iron Man fame) and who oozes sex appeal from every pore.  He's in need of an administrative assistant and hires Kali Miller after what might be the shortest and oddest interview in history (these two make googly eyes at each other from the start, and so many sparks fly that it's a wonder the casino doesn't burn down ).  The problem, as Kali admits, is that this is a power game, and I find Damion to be repeatedly inappropriate in ways that are sometimes downright creepy (at their first interview, he breathes on her neck, stands too close, grabs her cell phone without asking  so he can input his number, and "his fingers curve intimately" at her waist).  Late that night, he texts then calls her, checking to see if she's awake and if she's still planning to take the job (this should be setting off all kinds of warning bells, but Kali can't stop thinking about his "deliciousness").In addition to the inappropriateness of Damion's actions, he's also inconsistent: hard as nails, competitive and unable to talk about his past most of the time - yet sharing his own fear of failure and making himself exceptionally vulnerable to Kali, who is a virtual stranger, during their first phone conversation.  Her behavior is even odder:  she flip-flops from rhapsodizing over Damion's sexiness to vowing to write a public expose of his business practices - all in the space of less than 24 hours.  She foolishly types a draft of the expose on her computer (this plot line is never picked up again - just one of many loose threads), then confesses to a nearly unbearable attraction to her boss.  She behaves in ways that display an amazing amount of poor judgment, and yet we're asked to believe that she's one of the brightest women Damion has ever met or had the privilege of working with.Repeatedly, the characters moan to one another that they don't even know if they like each other - but oh, how they WANT each other.  In what is perhaps her greatest moment of insight, Kali comments on Damion's "sudden caveman mentality."  The problem is that his caveman behavior isn't sudden - I found Damion's domineering and arrogant demands to have bordered on abusive from the start.Fans of "Fifty Shades" may find this book to their liking, but for those who favor emotional chemistry and well-crafted plot arcs, this novella will be a disappointment .