A Nantucket Christmas: A Novel Offered by Random House LLC Price: $7.99
Unlikable Characters - Trite and Over-Written, November 2, 2013 Book Description Publication Date: October 29, 2013 Known for her heartwarming observations of family life, New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer showcases her beloved Nantucket’s snowy off-season in this emotionally gratifying and utterly entertaining story. Holidays on this Massachusetts island are nothing short of magical, and the season’s wonderful traditions are much loved by Nicole Somerset, new to Nantucket and recently married to a handsome former attorney. Their home is already full of enticing scents of pine, baking spices, and homemade pie. But the warm, festive mood is soon tempered by Nicole’s chilly stepdaughter, Kennedy, who arrives without a hint of holiday spirit. Determined to keep her stepmother at arm’s length—or, better yet, out of the picture altogether—Kennedy schemes to sabotage Nicole’s holiday preparations. Nicole, however, is not about to let anyone or anything tarnish her first Christmas with her new husband. Nancy Thayer’s wonderful tale reminds us that this is the season of miracles. Before the gifts are unwrapped, surprise visitors appear, and holiday joy comes to all, both naughty and nice. This review is from: A Nantucket Christmas: A Novel (Kindle Edition) A Nantucket Christmas: A Novel I was looking forward to reading this novel. It was short so it would have been a quick read during the busiest time of the year and it was about my favorite time of the year too. However, instead of the good, heartwarming story I expected I got instead a collection of dislikable characters and a dull and uneven story that had very little to d with family values and more to do with pure malice. This story was told using everyone's point of view, even a stray dog. Even Maddox a 3-year-old going on 40 was impossible to warm up to. The fact that this child was only 3 and his thought were that of an adult just sort of freaked me out a bit. Even the dog Snix was annoying, whinny and hard to like. Maddox's mother Kennedy was a pure conniving *itch that was maneuvering to get her father who had remarried for love, back with her uber beautiful and cold as ice mother Katya. The machinations this poor pathetic soul used to do this was just cruel. This was not the type of story I wanted to read to get into the holiday spirit. The fact that this short book ended on a `high' note (childbirth on Christmas Eve during a snowstorm, while the 3 year old has run away) was just hackneyed. Nicole-the stepmother was a character we should have been able to like, but she was too much the martyr to even warm up too. The men in this novel are clueless wimps. None of these character exhibited the least little bit of common sense. Who in their right mind allows a 3 year old to play outside in the winter alone? I don't care what Nantucket is like or how safe it is supposed to be.And that is just one of my complaints. This was a very fast read, chaste and unromantic, although touted as a romance - it is said that the author is (quoting from book description) "Known for her heartwarming observations of family life.", but with this novel I really have to wonder just what kinds of families is it that she is observing for her books. Read at your own risk! *ARC supplied by publisher*