Book Review: Christmas on 4th Street by Susan Mallery

Title: Christmas on 4th Street
Series: Fool’s Gold, Book 12.5
Author: Susan Mallery
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Sensuality Rating: Mild
Source: review copy provided by publisher
Published: September 24, 2013 by Harlequin

There's nowhere better to spend the holidays than with New York Times bestselling author Susan Mallery in the town of Fool's Gold, where love is always waiting to be unwrapped... Noelle Perkins just got a second chance at life, and she intends to make the most of every minute. That's why she ditched a frustrating legal career to open her own store in Fool's Gold, California. The Christmas Attic celebrates everything that's magical about her favorite season. Business is booming, and as a bonus, gorgeous army doctor Gabriel Boylan has offered to help out during the holiday rush.

Gabriel's memories of Christmas past contain more sour grapes than sugar plums, thanks to a drill sergeant father who ran his home like a boot camp. Spending the holidays with his family while he recuperates from injury sounds as appetizing as last year's eggnog. Still, there are some enjoyable distractions in town, including sunny, sexy Noelle...and the red-hot mistletoe kisses they can't stop sharing.

Gabriel didn't think he was made for happily-ever-afters. But when fate hands you a love as sweet and surprising as this, only a fool could refuse....

Why I Read this Book: I’m a Fool’s Gold addict and read every book that comes out.

What I Liked: Noelle is such a sweet character. She left her chaotic career as a lawyer in Los Angeles behind and opened up a Christmas store in Fool’s Gold. And how she ended up in Fool’s Gold was great; she spun around until she got dizzy and stuck a pin in a map of the Unites States. I love that!

Gabriel has devoted his entire adult life serving in the Army as a trauma specialist. He’s seen so much blood and gore and too many lives lost. Because of that, he doesn’t want to fall in love for fear of suffering more loss. Plus, Noelle is the epitome of his fears. So instead of letting things transpire between Noelle and himself, he fights it.

There were some funny moments, like the opening scene. I was actually laughing out loud. And only in Fool’s Gold can you phone in an order for pizza and ice-cream. I wish my local pizza joint stocked ice-cream!

What I Didn’t Like: My biggest gripe, and it’s a BIG one, was that Noelle and Gabriel’s relationship progressed way too quickly. The way the book ends was just too over the top for me. Also Gabriel had the wrong motive when Noelle’s secret gets revealed and it was a big disappointment for me.

Another thing that was hard for me to grasp was Gabriel’s father’s change of character. He did a 180 overnight. It wasn’t realistic and it didn’t fit his character’s storyline.

Once again, the phrase “stroke for stroke” is present during a kissing scene. I know I’m reading a Fool’s Gold book when I see that phrase being used. I have come to expect to see that phrase in each Fool’s Gold book and it doesn’t surprise me when it pops up more than once. And speaking of kissing, that’s pretty much all the reader gets in Christmas on 4th Street. The first love scene was hardly existent. Actually, if I recall correctly, all of the love scenes faded to black, which is unusual for this author and this series.

There was a continuity error in regards to Felicia’s relationship with Gideon. They are engaged yet there was a part where Gideon was referred to as Felicia’s “husband”. The reader knows they’re not yet married because only a few pages later Felicia is referred to as Gideon’s mother’s “future daughter-in-law”. It was an obvious error but at first it had me wondering if the characters had gotten married in between books.

Overall Impression: I am not a fan of relationships moving at a rapid pace, such as that of Noelle and Gabriel’s. I’d rather prefer a more in-depth development when it comes to a romance. Therefore, while Christmas on 4th Street was a cute story all around, it wasn’t exactly to my liking. And even though the books in the Fool’s Gold series are pretty formulaic, I still enjoy reading the series. The storylines are becoming a bit over the top but I’m not ready to give up on this fun town and its residents just yet. I look forward to the next trio of books, as they feature the people from the new PR firm that have come to town.

Side Note: Don’t let the fact that Christmas on 4th Street is book number 12.5 in the series fool you (pun not intended) into thinking this is a novella, because it’s not. Christmas on 4th Street is a full-length novel. I don’t even begin to try to understand the numbering for the books in this series.

Brianna’s Rating:

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Brianna’s reviews for other books in this series:
Chasing Perfect, Book 1
Almost Perfect, Book 2
Only Mine, Book 4
Only Yours, Book 5
Only His, Book 6
Summer Days, Book 7
Summer Nights, Book 8
All Summer Long, Book 9
A Fool’s Gold Christmas, Book 9.5
Halfway There, Book 9.6
Just One Kiss, Book 10
Two of a Kind, Book 11
Three Little Words, Book 12