I am of the opinion that “The Most Wonderful Time of The Year” also requires a wonderful holiday book. What better way to celebrate than with an Elf King in a winter wonderland?
I wanted something short and sweet to end the holiday season, and Christmas With The Elf King fit that bill perfectly. Will it meet my expectations of holiday coziness and romance? Read on to find out!
Plot Summary
18 year old Noelle is an immensely talented human baker, living with her mother and younger sister in a cozy village and slinging out the best baked goods around. Every year, the neighboring Elf kingdom visits a few weeks prior to Christmas to take 3 mortals back to their land: 2 craft masters, and 1 maiden. Despite Noelle’s best efforts to not be a pick me, the Elf King finds his way to Noelle’s bakery and obviously demands that she come back with him to his realm – oh, and bring the cinnamon rolls, too!
After a lot of groveling about her predicament, Noelle learns the hard way that the Elven Kingdom is suffering from a consuming blight – something she herself has a new understanding for. Together with the slowly thawing elf king, Noelle embarks on a wintry and sweet-filled journey to red the land of its curse, and maybe even win over the broody. blonde haired elf king.
Quality of Writing
Rating: 3/5
While there were no grammatical or spelling errors through Christmas With The Elf King, I do think that the editing could be tightened up. The author is clearly very fond of words like “retinue” and phrases like “toe curling”, which would be fine if they weren’t featured so heavily. I also have some issues with how the ending was wrapped up, but more on that later.
Plot Development
Rating: 4/5
Christmas With The Elf King delivered a very well-paced plot that did not feel overly rushed or painfully slow. I really liked the buildup to the main adventure of the two main characters, which also felt like an appropriately exciting culmination. Once again, I do have some issues with the ending of this book, so I am taking a point off for that alone.
Characters
Rating: 3/5
Although this is a squeaky clean romance, I found myself really enjoying the tension between Noelle and Elden, the elf king. I won’t go so far as to say there was much character development, as Noelle felt more like a naive teenager and Elden a grumpy 50 year old.
Christmas With The Elf King also had a slew of side characters that I ended up loving, with each one feeling nicely fleshed out and not at all hollow. I loved the interactions between Noelle and all of the side characters, and I think that’s where most of the warmth and coziness of this book shines best.
Ease of Reading
Rating: 4/5
Given the shorter page length, Christmas With The Elf King was a very easy read. If you are looking for cozy good vibes, this book will deliver easily, as there is very little world building to slog through and the plot clips at a good pace. Again with the ending, I felt that the last few pages ended up being pretty bizarre, which I’ll finally touch on next.
Ending
Rating: 2.5/5
Regarding the resolution of the main adventure shared between the main characters, I loved where it landed. The main objective felt completed, and Noelle and Elden were able to share a sweet moment together that felt final. This part did not feel quick or rushed and wrapped the plot up with a nice bow. Truthfully, the book could’ve ended there, but alas, it did not.
Unfortunately, the final few pages post adventure of Christmas With The Elf King completely fell apart for me. Elden ends up doing a complete 180 personality change after the pair predictably profess their love for each other, and he turns into a cliched sappy mess right at the end. I understand that the author wanted to give a sense of finality to the romance, but I feel like this could’ve been easily achieved with an epilogue months later, instead of jamming some love bombing right at the end like trying to fit into some old pants you outgrew.
Would I Recommend This Book
Albeit a little cliche and over the top at time, Christmas With The Elf King is a super cozy “here for the vibes” read that fit in perfectly as my holiday read. I felt like I was being given a warm hug, and wish I had the foresight to have baked myself some cookies to go with my read.
Overall Rating
Book Rating: 3/5
Spice Rating: 1/5
Overall, Christmas With The Elf King was a light and fun read with endearing characters and an interesting story line. Despite my criticisms of the editing quality and the final few pages of the book, I had a good time with this little number and would gladly consider for my yearly holiday rotation.
Curious about how I rate my reads? Check out my Rating System Blog Post for more!
Let’s Talk
During the winter holiday season, do you like to read winter/holiday themed books, or stick with your usual reads?
Reading Stack
Previous Book: Cloak of The Vampire
Current Book: A Promise of Peridot
Future Book: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
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