Solid Hallmarkie Christmas Romance. For the millions – AND MILLIONS! 😉 – of the Hallmark Christmas Movie fans… here is Hannah Mary McKinnon writing under a pen name giving you *exactly* the kind of story you love so much… with a *touch* of spice to boot. The pure-as-fresh-snow clean/ sweet crowd may not like certain scenes, but overall this book is exactly what it was designed to be and not one thing more – which is exactly what a book should be, to at least some schools of thought. Ultimately this book is going to come down to just how much you like that particular vibe. If you’re one of the types that can’t WAIT until Hallmark starts playing all Christmas movies, all the time, you’re going to love this book. If you’re one of the ones that sees the Hallmark Movie Channel and immediately flips to… literally *anything* else, even a channel dedicated to nothing more than paint drying videos… maybe this book isn’t for you. 😉 This isn’t necessarily a short read at roughly 350 pages, but it also isn’t a slog fest that you’re going to fight to get through (assuming you like these types of tales) either. A nice change of pace from McKinnon’s much more serious women’s fiction books under her actual name (which are also great, and something maybe the anti-Hallmark readers should consider instead :D), and I look forward to McKinnon continuing to write both types of books. Very much recommended.
This review of The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy was originally written on September 28, 2023.