This book is no longer on my kindle. I will look for it at the library. Happy reading. Unfortunately I never read it

Is this series meant as something else or am I missing something? This doesn't feel like a holiday romance? It feels more like a meet cute that a bunch of authors tried to mix together but missed the mark.
I enjoyed the one more that a few of the others I have read but it still didn't feel fantastic to me.

This is book number 5 in the Rainbow Cove Christmas series. Overall, this series has been pretty disappointing and, alas, this book didn’t buck the trend.

His Christmas Escape is the story of Nico and Jade, both in their early 20s and both trying to deal with parental issues. Nico’s stepfather has just finished a stint in gaol, is living on handouts supplemented by criminal activity, and is generally taking advantage of Nico to such an extent that Nico’s life has become pretty unbearable. Jade, meanwhile, has religious nutters for parents who believe she’s headed off to hell because she’s admitted to being bisexual.

I know Husk had good intentions and was trying to encourage acceptance and diversity etc by including the bisexual character but I’m not sure if it worked 100%. Perhaps it felt a little too forced. (It might be because I just finished reading the Vorkosigan Saga and Lois McMaster Bujold includes diversity in such a flawless manner that any other author’s attempts were always going to seem clunky at the moment.)

There were a few great ideas in the book but Husk never really executed her ideas exactly right for my liking. (For example, the use of photos instead of text should have been the centre of the whole book, in my opinion, and instead it was just a tacked-on idea.)

The leads lacked chemistry. I really wasn’t particularly worried one way or another whether they got together in the end. I assume this wasn’t Husk’s intention… And I’m not sure if either resolution with their parents gave any thoughtful or helpful suggestions for anyone in a similar situation IRL.

I also felt bored by a lot of the book’s scenes. It really felt like I was reading real conversations from a couple in their early 20s at times (which I guess is good when it comes to realism). However, their convo was not worth the hassle of eavesdropping; nothing exciting going on.

As for the Christmas theme… It’s only the same Christmas dinner which has appeared in all the other books and that’s about it.

Again, like the others in the series, it would have been a much better read if the book only had a few more tweaks. 2 ½ out of 5

This sexy young adult romance set mostly on the NSW coast is all about finding the courage to step away from the familiar and learn to value yourself. Twenty two year old Nico de Luca has been supporting his mother, layabout step-father and two step sisters since he was sixteen. He works as a kitchen hand and while he hates it he can’t see any other future for himself. Jade Russell grew up in a strictly religious family and has been backpacking and studying law online after being kicked out of home by her parents when she announced she was bisexual.
I was a bit mediocre about this story at first. It seemed as though it was just a pair of young adults looking for a good time and not a whole lot else, but as I got to know Jade and Nico I grew to like and admire them both. I liked the way Jade opened Nico up to possibilities in his life that he’d never considered before. She drew him out and you could see his resolve growing stronger as the story progressed. This is much more Nico’s story than Jade’s. She seemed to be a secondary character supporting his journey and I found that refreshing. While probably not my sort of book this has still been an enjoyable read and one that will definitely appeal to younger audiences.

3 stars — This one just didn’t come together like I expected. It wasn’t a bad book per se, but it was definitely missing some magic.

I’m not sure I really fell in love with either character. Nico and Jade are both so…uncertain and wishy-washy with relationships, there just wasn’t a lot that drew me in and had me connecting with them. They both felt younger than they were…and normally I’m not one to say that, because I know that often early 20s characters aren’t always mature and whatnot. But this was a life thing in some ways. On the other hand, I think their emotional growths were stunted by family circumstances, so it’s not unrealistic necessarily.

The thing that truly had me meh was their chemistry. They felt awkward together, and not the good kind of awkward, but the do they even have chemistry kind of awkward. Something about their romance just felt forced instead of natural. It was like all the connecting they were doing was happening off page, and so it ended up feeling like 2 separate stories mashed together in some ways.

I appreciated that Nico wanted to protect his family, but it was hard to watch them take advantage and manipulate him like that. I loved that he finally let his dad be in his corner, and he got out of his own way. In that way Jade was really great for him, because she showed him that there were options out there for him.

I loved that Jade was bisexual, and my heart ached for the different things she had to deal with wrt that (parental abandonment, fear of people thinking it’s a “phase”). I appreciated how hard she was working to balance wanting to travel, and wanting to get her degree. I found her reluctance to put herself out there with Nico to be slightly more frustrating.

So yeah. Maybe even 2.5 stars, but it was an easy read, and my gut said 3 so I’m sticking with it. It was just missing some magic for me.

His Christmas Escape is the fifth book in the Rainbow Cove Christmas series by Shona Husk. It's easily read as a standalone.

I wanted to love this book, but something was missing for me.

The beginning is good. From the start, the problems with Nico's stepfather are front and center. My heart hurt for Nico immediately. But when he meets the lovely Jade while she's playing an Elf, everything's about to change.

After that, it all went downhill for me. It was okay, but I just didn't connect to the characters and I felt I needed a lot more development. More emotion. Honestly, it lost me with them falling into bed.

Well written romance with a good plot. I always enjoy a good Christmas story. I received an advance ebook from the publisher. This is my unbiased review.