*I was given an ARC of This Christmas in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Boldstroke Books and Georgia Beers for my copy of the book*
Synopsis:
It’s Christmastime and everyone is in the holiday spirit at no-kill animal shelter Junebug Farms.
When Junebug sponsors the annual Christmas parade to raise money and awareness for their shelter, the staff have a the king and queen of the parade will spend the holidays filming adorable Christmas vignettes to bring in donations and find forever homes for lovable pups before Santa comes.
What they don’t know is that Mia Sorenson, volunteer dog walker and superior matchmaker, is about to rig the voting so that her granddaughter, Samantha, and Sam’s friend Keegan, win queen and queen of the parade. Sam and Keegan have been dancing around each other for years, and if Mia doesn’t do something, they might never realize they’re meant to be together. But can Sam and Keegan ever forget the Big Embarrassing Thing that makes romance a nope?
It’ll be all paws on deck to bring them a miracle and make this Christmas one to remember.
Review:
Well, what a pleasant read This Christmas was. I’ll be honest and say the cover is what drew me to this book. You put dogs on a cover and I am there. Thankfully, I wasn’t scorned by such a beautiful cover and this book was a highly entertaining read.
I read the entirety of This Christmas in one sitting without putting the book down. For something to grab my attention like this is pretty usual at the moment, so that speaks volumes for how much I enjoyed this. Also, it was fairly short which is also a win in my eyes. Nothing felt too rushed and the shorter length made a lot of sense. I think if the events dragged on too long or the author tried to put in more, it would have gotten too repetitive.
I loved absolutely every dog mentioned in this book. Although as a whippet owner, I was very sad there wasn’t a single mention of a sighthound. Everything was a lab mix or a staffy, which is fine because I adore staffies (and all dog breeds).
The banter between Sammy and Keegan was great and you could tell they still liked each other from the get-go. It’s funny that Jules (the woman Keegan is dating to begin with) was written as a huge red flag (she doesn’t like animals), meaning you want Sammy and Keegan to get together even more. The way the author describes Jules is quite comedic as well, you can tell that the author really didn’t want you to like her.
The shelter sounded like such a lovely place and while it is sad that animals do end up at these places sometimes, Junebug was written like a 5 star hotel for dogs, cats, pigs and more. I’d volunteer there in a heartbeat.
Christmas events and the day itself were sprinkled throughout This Christmas so the festive vibes were definitely there. My favourite event was the dog biscuit making. I love the idea of a bakery that only makes treats for animals, so cute.
I’d highly recommend checking out This Christmas if you’re looking for a cute but short read for the festive season.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: This Christmas by Georgia Beers […]