Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Review: Humbugs and Heartstrings by Catherine Ferguson

I liked this story. It's a take on Christmas Carol, which is a favorite of mine.

It's around Christmas, and Bobbie is trying to save up money so her brother can have an operation. But her boss, Carol, is horrible. However, Carol is also her former best friend. In this version of the story, Carol is Scrooge and Bobbie is well, Bob Cratchit. There aren't any actual ghosts, but there is a woman who reads tea leaves, the appearance of a old DVD and some odd electric shortages in place of the spirits.

A man named Charlie is the catalyst who enters their lives. Bobbie meets him first, via email and the phone, and against her better judgment is developing a rather powerful crush on him. She thinks Carol also likes him, until it because clear she is trying so hard to impress him in hopes of some financial backing for her failing business.

The story is more about Bobbie and Carol's friendship than any sort of romance, which was fine with me. But some parts of the friendship didn't seem very realistic. If Carol was such a great friend, why did things fall apart so badly? The story goes back and forth and it's hard to tell what kind of person Carol really is.

Some of the situations were a little ridiculous and unbelievable. Set up a huge Christmas Fair with practically no experience. Huge absurd fights. This is something of a lighthearted story that avoids going into too much depth as to the underlying emotions and causes of their actions and behaviors. As terrible as things may be at one moment, they are as quickly and easily resolved in the next.

Overall an enjoyable, light, quick read focusing on friendship, set around the holidays.

I received a copy of this via NetGalley.


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