Kathryn Freeman

I have so much I dislike about this book.

It moves so quickly through each problem, there could have been fewer problems and each one is dealt with slowly, but no. Off the top of my head, here are the problems they encounter: MMC has a stalker, stalker has been caught but there might be a separate person trying to kill MMC and nobody believes FMC when she says so, someone is trying to kill MMC, FMC's niece is kidnapped in exchange for MMC, MMC is shot, MMC and FMC might be angry at each other or blames each other. Anyway, all that to say, there were so many unnecessary plot points. It could have been simpler and had more time dedicated to developing characters or relationships.

The MC's trauma felt so plotted. When I read [b:The Thief|34414113|The Thief (Queen's Thief series, Book 1)|Megan Whalen Turner|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496152697l/34414113._SX50_.jpg|1069505] I got to the end of the book and went Whoa, that's what was going on?? That makes sense, but I didn't see it. And it turns out, what I (and most of the readers) thought was a huge plot twist, the author thought everyone knew and would see it coming, and so the narrator is a kind of unreliable narrator, but written very naturally. Things that someone would actually mention, nothing unnecessarily vague. BUT Up Close and Personal felt like Kathryn Freeman planned the trauma and then the plot and then wrote all conversations to avoid spoiling the big trauma reveal. And I hate that so much. It makes all the conversations feel so stilted.

Why were there so many flat or very briefly mentioned characters?? Like, couldn't some of them have been consolidated?? Did there need to be twins in the MMC's family? Couldn't he just have one lousy sibling? Did the FMC's sister need to feature into it? She could have been dead, or in a longer term rehab and never come into it. Like, it just felt like too many unnecessary characters.

And now my least favorite thing in this book. The MMC is creepy. I mean, in the very very first scene, a woman he doesn't know spills her champagne on him and is like Oh no, let me help you out, blah blah blah. And then. He starts flirting and immediately starts making sexual comments. And she's like nah and turns him down, and he DOESN'T STOP. And he keeps flirting, he doesn't stop, even when she's his bodyguard or when she says no. The only time he stops is when he's mad at her. Like, if he had turned out to be a crazy creep that actually set up all this stuff to make her his bodyguard and then kidnap her or something, not only would I not have been very surprised, I would have enjoyed the book more.… (meer)

A Little Christmas Faith by Kathyn Freeman is a 2017 Choc-lit publication.

Faith’s dream of owning and operating a hotel has come true. It’s Christmas and the hotel is now open for business decorated to maximize the holiday spirit… and she’s gotten her first guests- never mind that they are her own parents.

Enter Adam- her first authentic guest- a big lumberjack of a man who wants nothing more than to ignore Christmas…

Unfortunately, he’s come to the wrong place to escape the holidays….

I don’t mind a bit of the sunshine/grumpy trope, just so long as either side is not too heavy handed- and in this case it was mostly balanced, with Adam coming on a bit too strong on occasion, but nothing too over the top.

I had a bit of a wrong impression going into this one, though. I was expecting something a little lighter and cleaner- like Hallmark Movie clean- but there was some heaviness here I wasn’t anticipating, with a smattering of language and sexual content.

I also struggled with the messaging concerning Faith’s teenage niece, Chloe. Having a boyfriend is not a measure of one’s self-worth, and a great teaching moment here was missed. I know this is not a story one should over analyze, but it was a niggle that would stop worrying me.

The subject matter that comes later in the book is quite emotional and because the details came so deep into the story the heaviness overshadowed the sudden reverse back to lighthearted holiday events and perhaps put a damper on the warm and fuzzies I was longing for.

Overall, I wanted to love this one. I think I’ve read this author before, some time back, and enjoyed her work, but this one didn’t work for me as well, unfortunately.

2 stars… (meer)

Anna who recently was dumped by her boss and now living back with her cop father find a dream job in Italy, but there's a catch -- she has to be part of a couple. She proposes a fake relationship to Jake, her father's neighbor who was fired as a firefighter after going to jail for punching Anna's ex boyfriend, Miles. Their plan works and soon Anna and Jake find themselves as caretakers for a mansion on Lake Como. As they have to fake their relationship for guests and locals in town, that relationship starts to shift for both Anna and Jake. Their relationship and jobs are put to the test when Miles comes to offer Anna a job and the town and mansion owners find out about Jake's past and the truth about the "fake" (now real) relationship. This book was an easy read and the first I'd read by Kathryn Freeman. Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.… (meer)