Christmas Deadline

I received an advance copy of, Christmas Deadline, by Pam Binder. This is a cute story. I liked the characters, Holly and Noel, so cute. Writers who collaborate to write a book together. Will this be a Christmas to remember for Holly?

I love holiday romance season! Pam Binder did a great job of infusing the holiday spirit into Christmas Deadline - from the names, the idyllic setting, decorating the house and of course the ornaments. The Christmas aspects of this story were spot on. For me the romance fell flat, in many ways their romance was zero-sixty, in others it seemed to drag. I didn’t feel that spark and chemistry between Noel and Holly, so the story ended up dragging in the end for me.

Christmas Deadline by Pam Binder
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc
Genre: Romance | Women's Fiction
Release Date: November 4, 2020

Christmas Deadline is a nice holiday romance by Pam Binder.

The story is sweet with a great infusion of Christmas traditions. I enjoyed the book, but it moved a little slow for my liking.

This would be a nice book to read under the glow of the Christmas tree.

I'm so grateful to Pam Binder, The Wild Rose Press, Inc, and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this ARC ebook in exchange for my honest review.

Pam Binder's Christmas Deadline checks out the boxes for several familiar, comforting plotlines, Two authors with writer's block collaborate on a romance while struggling to save a family estate brought to financial ruin by the excesses of a gambling relative. It's Christmas time, so we can expect everyone to find their Christmas spirit and start playing together well in the end.

So far, so good. I was expecting to like this book more than I eventually did. For the most part I liked the writing style but some of the dialogue sounds a bit stilted, more like monologues. I found it a little hard to connect with the romance since it is assumed that they're already great friends through emails at the start of the book, but it doesn't really come across since it's more of a tell than a show. I would have liked to see the couple interacting more. When they have some intimacy they retreat immediately, and it's not really clear what the attraction is between them. There are a couple of love scenes that seem more impractical than hot or romantic to me.

A good book could overcome emotionally distant characters but there are some things that just feel wrong to me. I could forgive misquoting Bridget Jones' Diary and claiming that Pride and Prejudice is set in the Victorian period but a major part of the story is based on a huge gaping plothole that was more difficult to overlook. (You may stop reading now if you're worried about spoilers.)

Noel's father is in debt and put the contents of the manor as collateral for the loan. The person who loaned money to him stipulated in his will that the loan must be paid back exactly one year after his death, either in land or cash. Now Noel must come up with a large amount of money or lose his home. So they're trying to auction off some Christmas decorations with historical value. When the auction falls through his father tells him he'd better sell the lands.

But. But. Several buts. I am not an authority on British law but in my jurisdiction this plot would make no sense at all, legally speaking. First of all, if the father put art and furniture as collateral for the debt and they agreed on some repayment terms, the person who loaned him the money can't just change those terms in his will and demand something else. Secondly, it's Noel's father's debt and Noel never signed anything so why is everyone expecting Noel to repay the loan? Since when do the children stand to lose the homes that they own if their parents fail to pay a debt that the children had nothing to do with taking? The father is still alive and the debt is all his. Thirdly, how much is this debt? If they expect to collect enough money by selling off some Christmas decorations, how does it make sense to give up an entire estate to repay it? There are people of lawyerly bent in the story and I was expecting someone to point these things out but nobody ever did.

I read an ARC that I got from Netgalley and these are my honest opinions.


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4.5 stars

This book is perfect for writers. The two main characters are both writers forced together by their publishers to write a book together. They have very similar life situations where they are dealing with aging parents and the book is a bit of a great thing for them. The only problem is… they are stuck on the ending. Holly is forced to go to England to meet with Noel in person and hope that by seeing each other in the flesh the muse will start to flow.

There is a lot of writing analogies in this and it is easy to see how they apply to the current storyline between the two writers. I thought the characters were great and the whole situation really resonated with me since I find myself in similar situations currently. I did think end was a bit cut off and I think I would have liked a bit more in the epilogue. But overall, it was a great read. Definitely one I would recommend.

Loved so much about it. If you like romance or cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed.

I received this as an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) in return for an honest review. I thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read this title.

3-1/2 STARS

This is unlike any other Contemporary Romance I have read because it has this very quirky vibe of being a Historic Romance, but is also modern. The pacing and how the story unfolds is has a sweet vintage feel while still being set in current times. I loved that balance!

Noel is a Mystery writer in England. Holly is a Romance author in America. Their publisher has them co-write a book together over the course of a year via email, blending their genres. Now, the deadline looms and these two meet up in England to finish the manuscript.

The thing this book needed, IMO, was more time spent on their year-long correspondence since it is often referenced as the basis of their relationship. The reader is repeatedly told that they have this amazing and deep connection because of this meaningful correspondence, but we get almost no glimpse at what made it meaningful. A few of those email exchanges included at the beginning of this book could have really elevated this love story.

This is a very sweet holiday romance about two authors finding their happily ever after.

It’s a fun Christmas story.
Holly Is a romance author and decides to breakup with her boyfriend. She has a loving family. Noel is a thriller author and his family has some issues, who also has an ex-girlfriend that gets involved in the story. They both come together to co-write a book. Both have financial problems.

Romance novelist Holly Lane is in a pickle. Her publisher has teamed her with British mystery author Noel Atterberry. They’ve worked hard on it remotely thus far but are struggling to come up with an ending. She wants a romantic one and he disagrees. If she can’t finish this book and send it off to their editor by the deadline, she’ll need to return the advance money. She can’t afford to do that as she’s just discovered her parents’ financial issues. She and Noel agree to have her come to his English manor so they can work together. When they meet at the airport, sparks fly. He’s everything she longs for when she’s writing a hero but this is reality, not a romance novel. As they explore their attraction, the writing seems to flow. Can they come together to write a happy ending for themselves as well as their fictional couple before the Christmas Deadline?

Christmas Deadline is an original feel-good romance I loved from start to finish. The concept of two authors falling in love while writing together in a drafty British manor appeals to me on so many levels. The hero/heroine are bestselling authors who are strong in their fields but need a push to make their writing even better. In the beginning, it seems like they are opposites but as they get to know one another, they discover they are more alike. The romance between Holly and Noel is a bumpy road but I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. I kept rooting for them to get together. I found myself reading late into the night and when I finished, I hugged myself. Such a sweet ending. If you’re looking for a fun contemporary romance taking place during December, pick up Christmas Deadline. This is a yearly read for me now during the holidays. Highly recommend!

My Rating: 5+ stars

A cute Christmas story about two authors who pair up to write a book together. Holly and Noel can't agree on whether to have a thrilling or romantic ending and I waited the entire book to figure out what it would be! In this story, Holly and Noel corresponded for a year before meeting, but I wish we could have read more about that storyline! Instead, I had to trust that their chemistry had built up over the last year and exploded when they met.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book wasn't what I expected, but in a wonderful way. I loved seeing Holly and Noel work through their novel together, a sort of meta approach to a book haha. Mistletoe Manor was also a fantastic setting, and I wouldn't say no another book set there. This moved along nicely- it had a lot of heart, a lot of fun, but didn't feel like it dragged at any point. (I would love for authors to have a slightly shorter book than pad it out.) A perfectly fun holiday romance!

Thank you to NetGalley and The Wild Rose Press Inc for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
I thought the premise of this book was fantastic and I couldn’t wait to read it. However, there was a series of unfortunate events that lead to this being a bit of a disappointing read for me. The first is that I actually live just a few miles from Derby in England, and I hate to disillusion anyone, but we’re not overflowing in Lords, Ladies and country estates around these parts. There is one big stately home (Kedleston Hall) which is situated just outside Derby City, but other than that you need to head up to the very north of Derbyshire to find the likes of Chatsworth and the very affluent areas. Down near Derby it’s mainly old mining and farming towns, so I was having to suspend my dis-belief from the get go. The second concern was the incident of describing Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice as Victorian. I should probably accept not everyone is a complete Jane Austen nut like me but it’s a pet peeve of mine that she gets referred to as Victorian when she died in 1817 and the Victorian period began in 1837. I know, let it go right? But there’s the last thing that the lead male character is called Noel. I had a great uncle Noel, who was a lovely teddy bear of a man, but sexy male romantic lead, he was not(to me at least). And this is no fault of the author, but I’m not sure I can ever get on board with a romantic lead called Noel. As I say., there was just too much working against me here and I failed to really connect with the characters or the story.
I appreciate the opportunity to read this but unfortunately it just didn’t live up to my expectations, although there were some sweet and funny moments and I didn’t hate the book. 2.5 stars.

Another cute holiday romance. Its always different reading stories that take place in England since I've never even been, but I just go with it. I wish there was more of the background story and how Holly and Noel got to know each other. Nothing spectacular but a quick, cute christmas read I'd recommend to romance lovers. Thank you!

Holly is working with another author. They both write different kinds of books, she writes the romances while he likes to make things blow up. Once Holly goes across the pond to finish the book with him, romance ensues. But not without trouble.
I enjoyed this quick read.

Read in November 2020
Along with the blurb, which sounded really good, there’s also Noel’s problems which includes a big money problem, an entire estate falling apart around him, and a possible marriage to someone not Holly, and add in a historical romance through a found family journal, that’s a lot of story. Throw in the on again/off again romantic feelings between Holly and Noel which made me roll my eyes a lot! It was more of an okay read for me.

Christmas Deadline is a romantic and fun story with characters that are believable.
Holly Lane is a romance writer who was a co-writing a novel with mystery and action writer Noel Atterberry. The two, who live in two different countries, cannot agree on an ending for their story. As the deadline approaches and publishers get pushy, Holly decides to go to England and stay at Noel’s ancestral manor during the holiday season. Once they meet in person, you can feel the chemistry jump off the pages. The couple fight the feeling, but then begin to flirt and then realize their passion and friendship for each other. Sadly, the obstacles of distance, financial crisis, and a possible arranged marriage get in the way of the couples chance. Can they decide on a happy ending for both themselves and their characters?
Christmas Deadline is sweet and spicy, but not tacky. The book was a great read, and difficult to put down. A fun read for Christmas, but really any time of the year.
(I was given an e-book copy of this book by the publisher. Thank you The Wild Rose Press, Inc.! The review is mine)
#ChristmasDeadline
#Netgalley
#TheWildRosePress
#PamBinder

When two authors co-write a novel and are faced with a pending deadline that is blocked, they decide to meet in England to work together. Holly has been drawn to Noel since they met a year ago through emails. Both lead characters are kind and thoughtful. The supportive characters add Christmas spice to this sweet and heartwarming romance!

Thought the characters were great . I did think end was a bit cut off and I think I would have liked a bit more in the epilogue. But overall, it was a great read. Definitely one I would recommend.

Loved so much about it. If you like romance or cozy mysteries, definitely check this one out. You won’t be disappointed. My only criticism was the Christmas in this novel, it wasn't very Christmassy.

This was a cute holiday romcom about two authors--Holly, a romance author, and Noel, who writes action thrillers--who are paired together to write finish a novel or give back their generous advance by the holiday deadline. The two have been emailing for months and have a strong connection, but when Holly crosses the pond and meets Noel in person at Mistletoe Manor, one look and sparks fly. Holly's Christmas spirit is intoxicating and exactly what Noel needs to save the manor, which is in financial trouble due to his father's gambling problem. This book was a great read for the holidays and had me all warm and fuzzy inside.

A cute, festive and entertaining Christmas story that made me smile and root for the characters.
Good character and plot development, it kept me hooked.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I was given a copy of this book for my honest review.

This was a cute read, if you are looking for a book to get you into the holiday spirit. The traditions are adorable and fun, but the romance just is rushed. It's not a slow burn, which I am always up for, but just rushed.

Stars 4/5. Making this short and succinct.

Characters: 7. They were pretty great. A bit stereotypical, but occasionally surprising. Cliche. Cute.

Atmosphere: 7. Wintery. 10/10 cosy and cliche British.

Writing: 7. Simple, clear, enjoyable.

Plot: 8. -2 due to the ending being so quick and there was an annoying resolution. Sex doesn't solve all.

Intrigue: 8. was so excited for this, slightly disappointing.

Logic: 8. No complaints. Very cliche.

WARNINGS: mention and suggestion of mature content.

RECOMMEND: for 16+ who love authors, romance and british snowy winters.

Fairly predictable but still enjoyable. It was an easy read, and the side characters were interesting. I feel like there were a couple loose ends that should've been tied up but at least the main plot was settled.

Cozy, easy read. I always enjoy a Christmas story and this one didn't disappoint. The side characters were on point and the romance too.
I wished there was a little more story between the main characters, but I enjoyed overall.
I recommend it to anyone that would like N easy, fast read while drinking some coffee or tea.

Christmas books are my favorite and this one was so cute and adorable... I highly recommend for a holiday read

I love holiday romance season! Pam Binder did a great job of infusing the holiday spirit into Christmas Deadline - from the names, the idyllic setting, decorating the house and of course the ornaments. The Christmas aspects of this story were spot on. For me the romance fell flat, in many ways their romance was zero-sixty, in others it seemed to drag. I didn’t feel that spark and chemistry between Noel and Holly, so the story ended up dragging in the end for me.

I received a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review

I apprecitate the publisher allowing me to read this book. This is a great romance that kept me interested until the end, I can't wait to read more.