ARC Review: Irises in the Snow by Isabelle Adler

Blurb:

It’s Christmas, and Justin’s life is fraying at the edges. The family business he took over instead of going to art school is bleeding money, and his boyfriend of seven months cheated on him. Under these circumstances, family gatherings can be rough, but Justin believes he has everything under control. That is, until Elliot, his former best friend (and the first guy to ever break his heart) unexpectedly shows up at the holiday dinner party.

With both of them still nursing the wounds of the past, it might take a real Christmas miracle for Justin and Elliot to learn to appreciate the art of second chances.

Todd's rating:







WOW. That was a *lot* of drama for one story.

- Recent parent deaths.

- Leukemia.

- Breakup due to cheating.

- A loud, judgmental family member.

- Failing business.

- Loss of self-worth and pride.

- Loss of childhood dreams and ambitions.

- Long distance separation.

- Ghosting behavior.

- Loss of first true love.

So yeah, like I said... a LOT.

The story was "fine", but with my attention divided between so many plot points, the feels got a bit muddled for me.


I would've rather the story picked 3, maybe 4, items from the drama list and stuck with those, while pulling more deeply on my heart strings.

Also, while I don't normally require steam in my books, I felt that the single fade-to-black scene here was a missed opportunity to sell me more fully on the depth of the connection between Justin and Elliot.

3 *kitchen-sink* stars.


My ARC copy of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair, unbiased review.

Get the book:

Thanks for visiting our blog and I hope you enjoyed my review!

Buy links are provided as a courtesy and do not constitute an endorsement of or affiliation with this book, author or bookseller listed.