My first holiday-themed review of this holiday season is here! “Christmas Cupid” by Ilsa Madden-Mills (holiday novella) is out now.
What is Christmas Cupid about?
Dear Sneaky Santa,
I’d like to have a word about your sense of humor. Was it really necessary to stick me, a professional hockey player nursing an injury and avoiding the media, in an isolated cabin with a bratty, boot-designing princess who seems to have made it her mission to despise me? I mean, come on, what did I ever do to you?
And let’s talk about our first encounter. Was it your intention for her to barge in on me while I was enjoying a soak in the tub? It wasn’t exactly my finest moment, and I’m sure she didn’t appreciate the view of my massive body floundering around as I tried to grab a towel.
Now, I’m stuck with her, thanks to a mutual acquaintance, in the middle of a snow blizzard, navigating through bear attacks, sketchy neighbors, and whole lot of tension. I had plans, Santa, plans to escape to Cabo and forget about the world, not to be trapped with a woman who thinks I’m unworthy of her time just because she can’t stand hockey players.
Oh, and speaking of our delightful Iris, she’s stingier with her food than Scrooge was with his pennies! I’m not asking for a feast, but a guy’s got to eat! And could you possibly turn her yippy dog into a reindeer or something? It would certainly add to the Christmas spirit and save my eardrums.
I’m trying to rediscover the meaning of Christmas, and you throw me into this chaos? Is this some kind of test, or are you just having a jolly laugh up there in the North Pole?
So here’s my Christmas wish, Santa: sprinkle a bit of your magic and either get me out of here or be a Cupid and ignite a fiery, undeniable passion between us, because right now, this scenario is frostier than a snowman.
Slapshotting Through the Snow, Kyler Blanchette
Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Review:
If you’re looking for a fun, sweet Christmas-themed novella, you’ve found it! As a forced proximity brother’s best friend hockey romance (slightly enemies to lovers, but not completely), this novella hit some of my favorite tropes — plus, it’s holiday themed, which is right around the corner!
Neither Iris nor Kyler were thrilled about being snowed in at the cabin together when they each thought they’d be having a relaxing weekend to themselves, but they handled that disappointment in very different ways. While I totally understood why Iris was so frustrated with the situation, I thought she was pretty mean to Kyler because of it, and unnecessarily so — he was stuck in the same predicament as her, he didn’t orchestrate it. Although the reasoning behind her not so jolly feelings towards him is explained, it kind of felt surface level.
I guess there’s the ‘only one bed’ trope, but with a couch in the living room, it’s not exactly the same. That being said, there’s one scene where Iris walks into the living room and takes something from Kyler that he was using, and it kind of turned me off from her as a character. (I know that’s vague, I’m trying really hard to make this review spoiler free!) Kyler calls her a bratty princess a lot, and he’s not wrong. She does still have depth as a character of course, there were just some moments I didn’t love.
I did read an advanced version of the book, so while I will say there were a few tiny inconsistencies I thought that I read, they may not be present in the final version.
Underneath all of the bravado, Kyler was a really sweet and caring person, and once Iris let go of all of her frustrations, she was too. I loved the addition of her little bulldog, Rob/Puck, and how he was weaved in throughout the story, especially how Iris would try to voice whatever she thought he was trying to communicate to her.
I believe this is a complete standalone, but I would love to see a story centered around Will, Kyler’s teammate/best friend and Iris’s brother. Even though there aren’t a ton of side characters, given the fact that they’re snowed in for the majority of the story, there are definitely interesting enough characters with the hockey teammates (and Iris, Kyler, and Puck) to round out a story for Will.
As an adult romance, I recommend it for 18+ due to some of the steamy content, but as always, don’t let me tell you what to do!
Although this wasn’t my favorite Ilsa story I’ve ever read, I really appreciate Ilsa and Grey’s Promotions allowing me to read an early copy — the book is available to read now!
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buried in a bookshelf 