Growing up, I remember being so excited for Christmas that it felt as though December took forever. Like many kids who celebrate the holiday, I counted down each day with a chocolate treat from an Advent calendar. It was a fun tradition that kept the magic alive.
These days, I could really use that Christmas magic. But I don’t want to spend money on an Advent calendar with chocolate that is…kind of mid. Fortunately, TikTok bestowed upon me a video about an Advent book. 24 closed chapters. Each is waiting to be opened on its corresponding day. What Christmas joy is in store?
The book in question.
The book is A Heart for Christmas by Sophie Jomain. The story follows a young girl named April after she has a major, life-saving surgery. After such a traumatic life event, she doesn’t want to put herself in danger again. Even if that means cutting off social connections. But is that any way to live? Maybe falling in love with her best friend’s brother may help her live again.
As a romance lover, I was excited to see how this story would unfold. The concept of a girl given a second chance at life was interesting. Add in the holiday backdrop, and it sounded almost like a Hallmark movie.
So I went in with hope. Hope for a good story that could maybe even get me to shed a tear or two.
A chapter a day until Santa comes to town.
Now, on the surface, the idea of opening a chapter a day seems fun! And there is are parts that I do find quite enjoyable. It’s similar to opening a present each day, which is accompanied by a serotonin boost. But there is a small amount of stress involved in opening the chapters for this Advent book.
I’m not sure if there was an accident in manufacturing or what, but some of the pages were bound together, and I was worried that I’d accidentally rip them in half. It also made the page edges weirdly textured. And for someone who ruffles the pages while reading, this was an unfortunate reality to live in.
Besides the technique requiring care, there was also the unexpected difficulty of actually opening a chapter a day.
Of course, when I was a kid, it was easy to open a little chocolate before going to school. Now that I am 23, I’m too tired and busy to read some days. Chapters kind of just piled up, so I ended up reading five of them on December 12th, making it a little more stressful than it should have been.
Perhaps if I were more interested in the book, I’d have stayed on schedule. Sadly, though, I have qualms with the plot thus far.
The story behind the gimmick (spoiler warning).
A Heart for Christmas follows April, a 19-year-old girl with a heart condition that almost kills her. After receiving a donor heart, she is given a second chance at life. A second chance she is extremely careful with. She decides to visit her father in his chateau in the Alps, a place she hasn’t visited in three years and the place where she had her heart attack.
She is excited for the change of scenery and to actually see her dad. Plus, though she wouldn’t say it to her mom, she can’ wait for a break from constant supervision. Her best friend Eva still has a few school things to wrap up, but she’ll be there soon! However, Eva’s brother Augustin is already here…and he’s changed since April last saw him. Could romance be in the air this winter?
I will admit that you should take my critiques with a grain of salt. Three chapters in, I had a suspicion that the book was a translation. Thank you, Google, for confirming said suspicions. So there are times when the awkwardness of the story stems in part from poor translation. But I have read some poorly translated manhwas that were excellent story-wise, meaning I can’t give too much grace on this front.
Don’t get me wrong. There are some really good elements, particularly the base storyline I mentioned earlier of a girl who has gotten so used to being careful that she forgot how to enjoy life. This is a clear motivation that can and does create great conflict for the protagonist. At one point, April expresses her frustration at her helicopter mother’s overprotectiveness. Conversely, she also grows frustrated at how casually her father and Augustin (love interest) treat what was a very traumatic experience for her.
Other strong plot points include the love interest being her best friend’s brother. It’s a classic romance trope, and it’s especially interesting when the best friend is not okay with the possible romance. Eva continually reiterates how much of a playboy her brother is. Talk about a conflict gold mine. Not to mention, it seems like every guy in town is romantically interested in April! Did anyone order a love square? And there is something interesting in how April describes her heart beating faster around Augustin…
But Mia, this sounds swell. Why aren’t you into this book?
I’m glad you asked, stranger behind the screen. My two main issues with this book are the pacing and its escalations.
There are multiple times when the writing takes a ton of time describing a whole lot of nothing, and then suddenly everything happens in the last page. Like chapters where we spent a lot of time talking about going to the market with Dad and writing out an interaction that ultimately serves nothing to the story. Just to then have a character break up with a partner seemingly out of nowhere. Some things that should have taken more time are glossed over.
One example is April accepting Augustin’s invitation to join his skiing class for kids after years of not skiing. The last time she skied, she had her heart attack. Naturally, the idea of going on the slopes again scares her a little. You would think the author would take the time for her character to confront this huge thing that is tied to her motivation to live again. Nope. We get the reader equivalent of a fade-out and fade-in later during the excursion. This would be fine if April skied all the time, and it wasn’t a character-defining moment. But this plot point should have been a bigger deal.
But wait! There’s more.
Then we have the disgraceful escalations. There are times that, instead of taking the time to naturally progress a plot point, the author just kind of makes things happen, going from 0-100 in the blink of an eye. One example that made me super frustrated took place in the last two pages of chapter 12. Throughout the book, Eva has mentioned disliking her brother for his playboy ways, which is fair. But then, seemingly out of nowhere, we get the lore-drop that he led on a girl, slept with her, and then told her he wasn’t feeling the relationship. This resulted in the girl attempting to take her life! And her parents tried to sue him for assault?!
This felt like a huge escalation. Like, sure, we thought he dated around. Maybe he even tried to ask out another friend of Eva’s. But this was plain crazy.
Where does that leave me so far?
Well, I will persevere and finish the book. But I’m doing so begrudgingly. My brain will continue to scream at me about the small details that diminish the story. But who knows? Maybe the next few chapters will change my mind, and I will end up praising the book. Only one way to find out.
If you’re looking for a hit read to give a loved one, check out 10 Trendy Books to Gift This Holiday Season. If you want to read this book, you can get a copy from Amazon.
Happy Reading!
