Hallmark

All I Want For Christmas // Book Review

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Synopsis
“This sweet and magical romance about a girl who has just one wish–someone to kiss under the mistletoe–is the perfect holiday escape!”

In the book, our main character, Bailey, is a teenager girl, that only wants one thing for Christmas – a boyfriend. She is consumed with having a Holiday romance, but I think she has watched far too many Hallmark movies. She did admit to loving those movies. Don’t get me wrong, as a teenager, I too was eagerly hoping for a boyfriend. But Bailey came off desperate and boy-crazy. Also, I want to make one thing clear. I too love Hallmark movies, despite how cheesy they tend to be.

Bailey tries hard to come off as a holiday addict, but not being in a relationship made her more of a ‘Holiday Grinch’. Listen, being single isn’t the end of the world. Bailey acted as though a holiday romance would magically make the season better. Truthfully, relationships are hard work, and during the holidays, you should focus on making memories with the ones you love.

In the first chapter, not only are we introduced to Jacob Marley (yep that’s his real name). Can you get any more cliché? After meeting Jacob, and Bailey being outright rude to him, I could already tell where the story was going to go. Sure, Bailey was starting to feel something for Jacob, but she kept making him out to be someone he wasn’t. If I were Jacob, I would have never even given her the time of day.

I thought that this was an enemies-to-lovers YA contemporary, but then Bailey meets Charlie. He is a charming British boy, which does make him more appealing than Jacob. Why are accents so attractive? Nevertheless, I was very bothered by the fact that Bailey was suddenly all about Charlie – way too quickly. She barely knew him, but already thought he was her boyfriend. Honestly, Bailey came off as immature, vain, and argumentative. And, all readers know that disliking the MC makes for a less than enjoyable reading experience.

“I’ve watched more than my fair share of Hallmark Christmas movies, and even though I’m not a big-city lawyer who has moved back to my hometown to save the family business or a world-weary writer who falls in love with a recently widowed baker, I still believe in the power of Christmas Magic.”

Frankly, a lot of the time I felt that the plot was going nowhere. I didn’t even know what was going to happen throughout a vast majority of the book. However, the book is under 250 pages, so it is a very quick read. I finished it in two days, yet I didn’t find the story to be particularly interesting.

As for the ending, I was blown away with how ridiculous it was. I could see what was going to happen before it did and I was still floored. The fact that the author went this route was comical. One small spoiler about the ending – think ‘The Bishop’s Wife’ meets ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’.

Overall, I don’t regret reading this book. but feel that it was a waste of time. Maybe it is meant for a younger audience, since I could see tweens and young teenagers liking the story. The writing style wasn’t terrible, but as I said before it was a little juvenile. I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you want to read something that will make you roll your eyes.

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Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

The Holiday Swap // Book Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

Synopsis
“A feel-good, holiday-themed romantic comedy about identical twins who switch lives in the days leading up to Christmas–perfect for fans of Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze and Josie Silver’s One Day in December.”

Mark my words – this will be a Hallmark Christmas movie one day. I have seen many Hallmark, movies and this book follows the exact same format. Small town, unexpected romance, and the rest is history. Don’t get me wrong, I am in no way complaining about the predictable plot. In fact, I found the book quiet enjoyable.

In the book, we follow two twin sisters – workaholic Charlie, and shy Cas. The sisters decide to trade places after an accident leaves Charlie unable to do her job as a food competition judge. I found the sisters to be likable, but I don’t think there was enough character development. Honestly, we learned more about Cas than Charlie, but still not enough to get super attached to the character.

As I mentioned, Charlie is a host and judge on a Food Network type competition show. She is competing as well – against her co-host, for a permanent position on the Network. There is talk about being a female in the TV food industry, and how we females aren’t taken seriously. Sometimes we are excepted to stand still and look pretty. I found this subject matter a nice addition to the book, but the competition itself didn’t play a big plot in the story.

Upon switching with Cas, Charlie must return home to her family bakery in her quaint mountain hometown. Why does it’s always have to be a small town? And, a bakery or bookshop. Anyways, I found that Charlie didn’t take her position as Cas very serious. While on the other hand Cas was doing everything she could to help Charlie keep her job.

As for the romance aspect, the love interests were very obvious. You could tell from early on how the romances were going to play out. There was some instant love at play, which I don’t generally care for, but that is typical in a Hallmark movie type of story. Both the love interests were nice characters, but I found myself liking Charlie’s love interest, Jake, more.

“Time heals all things. If time fails, try cake.”

The sisters kept wondering if the guys liked them for them or the role they were playing. They would go back and forth on whether or not to come clean, which was slightly annoying. It’s not like the guys could blow up their plan. Honestly, the switch idea as a whole was a bit immature. However, I found lying to someone while also getting close to them to be even more immature.

By the end of the book, you could see that Cas and Charlie had grown as people. Although, I do think the author put more thought into Cas’ character growth. Still, the twins ended up forming a strong sister bond that wasn’t really there before. Most of all, the story shows that it is never too late to change your life in a way that makes you truly happy.

Overall, I found the book to be a cute and cliché read, which is usually how I feel about any TV romance movie. This book is certainly not for everyone, because there really isn’t much depth to the story. You jump right into the plot and you can basically figure out how the book is going to play out right way.

Yet, I enjoyed not only the storyline, but the easy writing style as well. My only major con is that the book isn’t very Christmasey. You’d think a holiday book would have thrown in a little more of the holidays. Give me Christmas overload! Nevertheless, I did loved that there was a time jump epilogue. In the comments, let me know your thoughts on this book. Don’t forget to hit the follow button before you go.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Road To Christmas // Movie Review

- Bunny Leave a comment

Title: Road To Christmas
Network: Hallmark
Released: 2018


Los Angeles television producer Maggie Baker unwittingly falls for Danny Wise, the son and former producer of his mother’s popular annual Christmas special Julia Wise Lifestyle. When Maggie’s secret plan to reunite Danny and his two brothers with Julia during the live broadcast in Vermont goes awry, Maggie is reminded that above all, it is the love for family and friends that makes the merriest of Christmas.
Source: Hallmark.com


Let’s face it, most Hallmark movies have some cheesy and predictability factors. But, this one was a sweet Christmas movie, where the romance takes a backseat. This movie feature is a workaholic character, like many Hallmark movies do, that never makes time for romance but discovers that you can always make time for the things that are important, especially love. I enjoyed the character tremendously, and thought that all the actors had great chemistry.

Most of the time, we get workaholics that are cold and uptight. But this movie takes a new approach to the stereotype, which was refreshing. She loved her job and was willing to skip Christmas with her family for work. Still, she loved the holiday, and missed her loved ones dearly. It was nice that her love interest wasn’t some unfeeling jerk coming to take over her job. He was a genuine guy, doing a favor for his mom and trying to show that Christmas traditions are important.

I will say that as the producer of the Christmas special who has been working at the company for five years, they should have had a little more faith in her ability to put on a good show. On the flip side, I understand that most of us trust our families opinions more than other people. I loved the plot of reuniting the brother to surprise their mom, live on TV. It was a wholesome idea that showed how spending the holiday with family is all that matters. I did find the fact that they were known as the “Three Wise Men” a little silly and too on-the-nose Christmas for me.

I thought the brothers interacted well together, and you could get a feel of their different personalities. Even though the movie was only an hour and a half long, the love story wasn’t rushed. They fell for each other naturally, despite their contrasting personalities. The plot was fun and creative, while still being a typical Hallmark movie. I don’t think this movie is super original, but it is one I would watch again.

If you would like to send me an inquiry about reviewing a book or product, please email me at narges.errandi@gmail.com. Please keep in mind that all my reviews are 100% honest.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny

Hallmark & More // Update

- Bunny Leave a comment

Hi Friends,
As you all know that books are a big part of my life. However, I am a shameless Hallmark movie lover. I thought it would be fun to incorporate that into my blog. I want to start reviewing Hallmark movies for you all. I will be reviewing old and new movies from the network just as I do books.

I know this seems random, but I think it would be a fun addition to my blog. I could review Netflix and Lifetime original movies as well. I understand that this wont be something everyone will enjoy, but it could be pretty fun. I would love to know your thoughts, and some Hallmark movie recommendations.

In July, Hallmark does Christmas in July, which means a lot of Christmas movie reviews coming your way. But don’t worry I will still be keeping up with my book content as well. I think that this added content will be a lot of fun and I’m excited for it.

Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny