Month: November 2021

Review: The Fall of Babel by Josiah Bancroft

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The Fall of Babel

Josiah Bancroft

The Books of Babel #4

Orbit

F16E0C7A-C0D7-4904-94A7-BE92682558AC

4/5

Another contender for best cover of 2021. It’s awesome.

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Review: Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland by Heidi Swain

On By hobbleitIn books, opinion, reading, Review1 Comment

Snowflakes and Cinnamon Swirls at the Winter Wonderland

Heidi Swain

Wynbridge #6

Simon Schuster UK

416 pages

051E70D8-10B7-4832-AD33-096E24AA3C1A

2/5

And the winner of the book I’ve read this year with the longest title goes to…

Summary: After calling off her engagement, Hayley, the Wynthorpe Hall housekeeper, wants nothing more than to return to her no-strings fun-loving self, avoiding any chance of future heartbreak. Little does she know, Wynbridge’s latest arrival is about to throw her plan entirely off course . . .

Moving into Wynthorpe Hall to escape the town’s gossip, Hayley finds herself immersed in the eccentric Connelly family’s festive activities as they plan to host their first ever Winter Wonderland. But Hayley isn’t the only new resident at the hall. Gabe, a friend of the Connelly’s son Jamie, has also taken up residence, moving into Gatekeeper’s Cottage, and he quickly makes an impression on Wynbridge’s reformed good-girl.

As preparations commence for the biggest event of the season, the pair find themselves drawn ever closer to one another, but unbeknownst to Hayley, Gabe, too, has a reason for turning his back on love, one that seems intent on keeping them apart.

Under the starry winter skies, will Gabe convince Hayley to open her heart again once more? And in doing so, will he convince himself?

Hayley has just got engaged when she finds out her fiancé is a cheating scumbag, but seeing as she’s an irritating character, I couldn’t feel too sorry for her. As she’s leaving her own engagement party, she runs into Gabe, a handsome gent with abs for days. Unfortunately for him, he has more abs than personality. They then spend the rest of the book doing an annoying will they, won’t they dance that bored me to the end.

Yep, it’s another romance book that manages to hit every single romance trope I hate. Irritating main character who everyone seems to love? Check. Bland yet perfect love eye candy love interest? Check. So many obstacles to the main characters getting together that you start to question whether or not they should actually be together? Definitely. It has so much to make me hate it and nothing for me to enjoy.

I disliked this book. I disliked the characters. Hayley got on my last nerve. There was only one thing that I felt sympathy for her in the entire book and that turned out to be a lie so fuck her. Gabe was so dull that even his tragic backstory couldn’t make me feel anything for this charmless Mr. Perfect. The supporting characters were all an irritating bunch of busybodies who kept interfering in Hayley’s love life to the extent I just wanted her to snap and tell them all to fuck off and Swain tried far too hard to make the ex-fiancé unlikable, so you have no choice but to root for Miss annoying and Mr. Perfect. Yawn. If you have to have every character remind the audience just how amazing the main character is despite the fact she does fuck all, then you don’t have a character you can root for. Just making the ex a massive bellend doesn’t mean that I’m going to want the main character happy with someone else. Hayley was so self-involved I desperately wanted her to end up miserable.

The book was an absolute slog to get through. What a waste of my time. The Christmas setting wasn’t even enough to raise my spirits. Bah fucking humbug.