An Affair Before Christmas

The structure of the tale definitely needs work. In fact, I would say the novel suffers from “too many characters” syndrome. An affliction I totally share as a writer (it happens when you love all your characters and can't decide to focus on!), so I sympathise! I'm far more interested in the side characters Duke of Villiers (who is dying from a sword wound) and Charlotte. The main characters, whose stories I found a tad implausible and boring, felt like a distraction!

Fortunately, Villiers gets his own story in the a future novel. What is it about rogues, eh?

(Review originally posted here at The Book Barbies.)

In all honesty, I picked up this book purely because I knew the Christmas feature was coming up, and I needed to read more Christmas books for it. I was not particularly drawn in by the summary, but I love Eloisa James, so I went ahead and started it. Little did I know what awaited me!

I love reviewing audiobooks. Since I listen to them while doing something (usually driving) during which I can't write, I leave voice messages for myself with my long, rambly, often incoherent thoughts of flailage or anger. Listening to those before I write my review is freaking hilarious. One day I'll transcribe myself or upload it (except not because then you would probably be frightened away by the crazy).

Let me tell you, this book? Caused me to leave some insane comments. At one point, I swear, I was talking like Lorelai Gilmore on speed. I loved so much about this story! Probably my favorite thing is how it flips so many historical romance norms. For instance, the book starts with the couple in love. How often does that happen? However, they were both young and rash, and you know that they really should not have gotten married at that point in their lives. Obviously, the marriage does not work the way either party planned, and the real story starts 4 years after the wedding.

The problem lies in the fact that while 4 years have passed, neither Poppy or Fletch have really developed. They are both still young, and they are stuck trying to fill these roles they do not really know how to fill. They are both still a little immature, and Poppy, especially, is very naïve. Thus, they are unhappy and resentful. Perhaps this does not make for the most likable characters for the first half or more of the book, but I like it because it is real. I could really see that happening for a couple of the time period, and I wanted desperately to know how they were going to solve it.

During the story, I loved watching each of the characters grow individually before they were truly able to address their relationship. Poppy especially had a lot of self-discovery to achieve and a backbone to grow. This book read almost like a new adult novel, but a historical one, and I really liked that about it.

One other thing I loved about the book was how the main story and the side stories intertwined. It reminded me how much I absolutely adore Elijah and Jemma (especially Elijah ♥), as well as how I need to give the book about Villiers another try. I actually got extremely invested in all three(ish) side plots, and I thought James achieved a really great balance between the main and side stories. They were there enough to be intriguing, but mostly, they were not there enough to take away from the main story.

Overall, An Affair Before Christmas is a great read. If you are looking for a realistic, beautiful romance with side characters who are sure to make you want to read the rest of the books in the series, I would absolutely recommend it.