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A review by ellornaslibrary
Beatrice's Christmas Blessing by Charity Phillips, Faith-Ann Smith
Did not finish book.
This was a largely underwhelming read. While there were elements I liked about it, there were others that just rubbed me wrong. I felt like while you learned a decent amount about Beatrice there was little learned about the others. And for all her insistence she can't fall in love again, and is fine with a loveless marriage, she starts to have immediate feelings for the first man to smile at her - not even the man she's supposed to marry. We don't learn anything about the man she's supposed to marry or the man she's falling for either aside from he has a mother and sister he cares for which is not much of anything. Ultimately, the story feels rushed to achieve its ultimate goal of seeing her fall in love before the baby comes on that expected day.
I liked Beatrice, and her potential husband and love interest were enjoyable enough, but I wanted to know more - why was her potential husband so closed off? Why just a marriage of convenience? Why did he refuse to acknowledge her pregnant state or show any concern for her well-being there? Why choose a woman who is pregnant in the first place? As for the love interest, there was little about him that didn't feel like he wasn't a cardboard cut-out with the necessary important pieces ticked off to make him acceptable for Beatrice.
And as I sit here, I struggle to even recall their names as they didn't feel like characters in their own right which is a big issue.
I know this was a novella, but I've read others that were far more developed than this one so the length shouldn't be the issue. The characters need to all be their own characters and the story can take its time a little more to let us know them. The writing was enjoyable enough, and I loved the premise, but the execution just fell flat, sadly.
--- story contained a bunch of free other mail order bride stories, however I will not be reading them. I am now aware that this is a book-stuffing tactic which is a no-no. I would not have purchased it if I'd known. Since I could not return my purchase, I've deleted my copy instead.
I liked Beatrice, and her potential husband and love interest were enjoyable enough, but I wanted to know more - why was her potential husband so closed off? Why just a marriage of convenience? Why did he refuse to acknowledge her pregnant state or show any concern for her well-being there? Why choose a woman who is pregnant in the first place? As for the love interest, there was little about him that didn't feel like he wasn't a cardboard cut-out with the necessary important pieces ticked off to make him acceptable for Beatrice.
And as I sit here, I struggle to even recall their names as they didn't feel like characters in their own right which is a big issue.
I know this was a novella, but I've read others that were far more developed than this one so the length shouldn't be the issue. The characters need to all be their own characters and the story can take its time a little more to let us know them. The writing was enjoyable enough, and I loved the premise, but the execution just fell flat, sadly.
--- story contained a bunch of free other mail order bride stories, however I will not be reading them. I am now aware that this is a book-stuffing tactic which is a no-no. I would not have purchased it if I'd known. Since I could not return my purchase, I've deleted my copy instead.