Christmas Ever After - Jaimie Admans - ★★★★.¼
AUTHOR: Jaimie Admans
SERIES: The Ever After Street, #4
GENRE: Romance-Drama
PUBLICATION DATE: September 2, 2024
RATING: 4.25 stars.
In a Nutshell: A sweet standalone continuation to the Ever After Street series. Christmassy vibes, loveable lead characters, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers. Somewhat slow in tempo and not much conflict, but the emotions in the story trivialise the shortcomings. A heartwarming read for Christmas time.
Plot Preview:
After her career as a ballerina came to an abrupt end, Franca has been running her own nutcracker shop on Christmas Ever After, a festive offshoot of the Ever After Street. However, her shop might now be in danger, thanks to an unexpected competition pitting her against her “pet nemesis” Raff Dardenne and his snow globe shop. As they have been told that only one of their shops can continue on Ever After Street, it is going to be a fierce battle.
When an accident leads to an injury, Franca is forced to accept assistance from the only person capable of helping her out. And it turns out, Raff isn’t really the nemesis kind. Will the two be able to put aside their differences and save both their shops? Or will one of them be forced to say goodbye to their dream vocation?
The story comes to us in Franca’s first-person perspective.
I had always wanted my 1000th NetGalley review to be for a special book, so it thrills me that I achieved this milestone with a Jaimie Admans work. This is my sixth book by Admans, and at this point, I doubt I have anything original left to say about her novels. She continues to be the only romance author whose books I grab without even reading the blurb.
Bookish Yays:
😍 Raff might not be not as charismatic as Admans’ earlier leading men (Her own fault for setting such high standards of book boyfriends!), but he is still adorably perfect except for his hatred of spiders. I love how his arc depicted how the pressure of living up to your family’s expectations can affect you, even if the family is supportive.
😍 Franca is also amazing. Though she acts younger than her 38 years, at least she is not all cutesy and gushy like typical romcom heroines. While she does have her goofy quirks and biases, she isn’t afraid to use her head and her heart simultaneously. I loved her independent spirit that doesn’t stop her from accepting help when needed.
😍 While the blurb makes this appear like an enemies-to-lovers romcom, the ‘enemies’ part of the story hardly lasts for a couple of chapters. (Which was great news for me as I am not a big fan of enemies-to-lovers.) This story is more like enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, and the progression is slow and steady. Loved it!
😍 Wholesome romance that gives all the feels without resorting to steam. Yay for me, might be a Nay for others. To me, clean romances over spicy, slowburn over insta, love over lust, friends over enemies – no exceptions.
😍 Raff and Franca also show the challenges of running a small business in a megacorp-oriented world (though I am not sure if their idea of celebrity nutcrackers can be implemented without copyright violations), of handling high expectations, of acceding to your family’s wishes even when your dreams lie another way. They are two individuals trying to handle past hurt and present uncertainties the best way they can, which makes their arcs believable and relatable.
😍 Several other loveable characters who, even in their limited roles, create a mark. Chief among these are the members of the Dardenne family, especially little Sofia and Grandma Biddy (except for the latter’s insistence on happiness being found only as a couple. Let’s put this down as a quirk of the aged.) I also loved Mrs. Bloom, and would like to see more of her in the rest of this series.
😍 Christmas Ever After is a slightly new venue, as all the earlier books have been on the main Ever After Street. But this little Christmassy offshoot offers a nice location for such a storyline. Plus, several characters and locations from the earlier books make an appearance, making us feel the closeness of the locations and the people.
😍 Loads of lovely Christmassy vibes in this story, right from carol singing to nativity plays to gifts to calorie-loaded lunches. I felt like I already reached December!
😍 While I am no fan of ‘The Nutcracker and the Mouse King’, which serves as the theme for this book, I loved how the story uses both nutcrackers and snow globes as actual plot devices than as background embellishments. I also loved learning the technicalities behind the making of nutcrackers.
😍 The plotline this time is the most understated of the series. There is no OTT drama or forced-in conflicts. The story progresses on natural human actions and reactions, which feels refreshing. There is a great balance between funny scenes and emotional moments.
Bookish Mixed Bags:
🤔 Loads of touchy-feely stuff in the content – touching of arms, brushing of hair, nudges, winks, shoves,… I usually complain a lot about such things, but I am kinda getting used to this as it is a standard feature of almost every Jaimie Admans book (Dear author, every time I read those scenes, I pictured you giving me a sneaky side-eye and a smirk!), and I am even willing to admit that those scenes were super-duper cute in this book. (Has this author finally managed to coerce this Grinch onto the other side of the touchy-feely fence? Time shall tell!)
🤔 Franca is a bit too obsessed with her supposed weight issues. While I appreciate this angle as it is so true to life, I think it could have been used better in the plot, maybe towards some kind of a self-realisation that she is not what her weighing scale says. As the writing was in her first-person perspective, it would have been great to see her verbalising her acceptance of her size and that it didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Regardless, I love the realistic way in which her insecurities about her weight were included in the story. (As a lifelong sufferer of BDD even before I knew the term or that it was a mental health condition, I really connected to Franca’s vulnerability on this aspect.)
Bookish Nays:
😕 This is not a Nay of the book but of the cover art. Only with this fourth book of the Ever After series did it strike me that even though the series has attempted to be somewhat different in its couples’ appearances (a bespectacled MMC in Book One, an MMC with major facial scarring in Book Two, a blue-haired MMC in Book Three, an FMC with mild body dysmorphia due to being slightly overweight in this fourth book), the book covers never reflect this. They always depict a picture-perfect, cookie-cutter-moulded romcom couple. Why? Even if the covers are gorgeous, readers would surely love to see the couple more accurately and might even appreciate the way they stand out.
All in all, Jaimie Admans’ performance streak continues untarnished in my reading list. She has never failed to deliver on semi-magical plots, memorable characters, astounding settings, clean romance, heartfelt emotions, and a HEA. This book retains all the positives of her writing.
Much recommended to readers of clean romances. You cannot go wrong with a Jaimie Admans work when you want something sweet and *touching*. [Pun intended!😜]
For the first time, the author’s note reveals to us the next character that this series will focus on. The character’s unusual name had caught my eye while reading this book, and that, combined with the business she runs, is sure to make the next book an interesting one as well. Eagerly looking forward to it!
My thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books, for a complimentary copy of 'Christmas Ever After' via NetGalley, and for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
The digital version of this book is currently available free to Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
Here are the first three books of the charming ‘Ever After’ Series:
2. An Enchanted Moment on Ever After Street (My favourite so far!)
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Blurb:
A picture-perfect town, a place where dreams come true. Welcome to Ever After Street...
It’s the most wonderful time of the year, but Franca Andrews has never felt more miserable. With business far from bustling, she needs a Christmas miracle to keep her beloved nutcracker shop open... But there’s one man standing in her way - expert snow globe maker Raff Dardenne.
Dardenne Snow Globes have a magical reputation for bringing lovers together, a myth that Raff continues to exploit, much to Franca’s annoyance! But this Christmas their shops are pitted against each other and only one gets to stay on Ever After Street. Franca doesn't know how her handmade nutcrackers are ever going to compete with Raff's magical snow globes, especially at the most magical time of the year!
Franca’s determined to prove Raff’s business is built on lies. But when disaster strikes, and she’s left unable to make anything, she needs help. It’s just very frustrating that the only person offering is her gorgeous, annoying, nemesis himself!
As these two enemies get to know each other, Franca discovers another side to Raff – kind, caring and funny. But unless she can prove that his magical snow globes can’t really match true lovers together, she’s going to lose everything…
But maybe it's not too late for them to put aside their differences and find some Christmas magic of their own?
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Author Jaimie Admans:
Jaimie is a 32-year-old English-sounding Welsh girl with an awkward-to-spell name. She lives in South Wales and enjoys writing, gardening, watching horror movies, and drinking tea, although she’s seriously considering marrying her coffee machine. She loves autumn and winter, and singing songs from musicals despite the fact she’s got the voice of a dying hyena. She hates spiders, hot weather, and cheese & onion crisps. She spends far too much time on Twitter and owns too many pairs of boots.
She will never have time to read all the books she wants to read.
Her new work for Boldwood, The Ever After Street Series, is based on the magical world of fairytales, the first title of which was released in Spring 2023.
Connect with her on:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/be_the_spark
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaimieadmans1/
Newsletter Sign-up: https://bit.ly/JaimieAdmansNews
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Check out this book:
Purchase from: https://mybook.to/christmasaftersocial
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This has been a stop on the #ChristmasEverAfter blog tour conducted by Rachel's Random Resources. (@rararesources) Thanks for stopping by!
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