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My Review:Title: The Twelve Nights of Christmas
Author: Sarah Morgan
Published by: Harlequin Presents
Release Date: November 9, 2010
Format: Paperback
Pages: 192
Genres: Contemporary, Holiday, Romance
Potential Triggers: View Spoiler »
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 HoHoHo Readathon
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon
My rating:
Blurb:His housekeeper, or his Christmas present?
Unexpectedly homeless for the festive season and exhausted from transforming the penthouse of the hotel where she works into a dazzling winter wonderland, chambermaid Evie Anderson secretly sleeps over. Woken by an outrageously sensual kiss, Evie feels her body come alive...until she realizes her seducer is Rio Zaccarelli, her dangerously attractive new boss!
This Christmas, it's imperative that Rio's reputation appear spotless -- but innocently enticing Evie is a temptation he can't resist! Their scorching chemistry leads to twelve nights of endless pleasure. But will it last once the decorations come down?
3.5 stars — Well, huh. I started off this one and could totally see what 2010’s Lenore was attracted to, but I just don’t have patience for that anymore. So I was annoyed by the book, but still couldn’t put it down. I expected it to end very meh. But then, despite the persistent toxic elements, the story actually got better and better. That doesn’t usually happen. So now I have no idea if I’m going to keep this one or not — book world problems.
Basically, Evie had SUPER low self esteem and a terrible (and unbelievable) body image. It’s not that I don’t get that. I totally do. Gosh, I bet half the population of the world falls into this category. But I’ve been trying to change my own brain, so after awhile I just got annoyed with Evie for buying into the bullshit. Especially since, clearly, she was a beautiful woman. She just apparently had a HUGE bottom (her words) at a tall size 12. Excuse me while I roll my eyes. It persisted a bit longer than I would have hoped, which is too bad.
The other toxic element was the hints of toxic masculinity sprinkled here and there. Needing to find a “real man”, or whatever. *sigh* Stop being woke Lenore! You’re ruining your books!
Despite those elements, I ended up getting pulled in by Evie and Rio. I mean, Rio was the usually Harlequin Presents hero, very dominant and arrogant and all that jazz. But then you find out what’s in his past and what he’s fighting for, and he becomes more 3 dimensional than I was expecting.
And Evie! She actually had a lot of fire and sass mixed with compassion. I loved seeing her childlike glee over Christmas.
So yeah. It was very much a Harlequin Presents, but somehow, by the end of it, it was more. I just wish the bad things had been tempered a bit more.
It’s funny how 2010 us liked different things from books. Sorry this one wasn’t as enjoyable in 2021.