Winter Romance Review! Kimberly reviews The Christmas He Loved Her by Juliana Stone

TITLE: The Christmas He Loved Her
SERIES #: Bad Boys of Crystal Lake #2
CHARACTERS: Raine & Jake
AUTHOR: Juliana Stone
PUBLICATION DATE: 10/01/13
ORDER LINKS: Amazon | B&N

BOOK SYNOPSIS:
All he wants this Christmas is her.

In the small town of Crystal Lake, Christmas is a time for sledding, hot chocolate, and cozying up to the fire with those you love. For Jake Edwards, it’s also time to come home and face his past. He thought there would never be anything harder than losing his brother. Turns out there is: falling in love with his brother’s widow, Raine.

Ever since they were little, Jesse was the Edwards brother who was always there for her, and Jake was the one who knew just how to push her buttons. Raine can’t imagine a life without them, which is why it was doubly decimating when Jake left town after his brother’s sudden death. Now he’s back and she doesn’t know whether to be mad or thrilled. Maybe both. Maybe it will be the perfect chance for both of them to finally find happiness again.

REVIEW:
What a sad story. Raine most certainly is suffering from depression which of course does not make for much of a holiday romance. Jake is suffering from PTSD so the two of them really need more than just each other. The characters seem so angry with each other, with themselves and with the world.

I also had a hard time with Raine being in such a depression yet she feels love for her dead husband’s twin brother? Raine is so self-absorbed that I found her hard to like. She thinks she is the only one suffering. Jake has been with Jesse his entire life but Jake should think Raine’s pain was more important than his own? I like Jake and want him to turn out happy but I can’t imagine he would really be happy with a person like Raine.

I really enjoyed the first book in the series and wanted to read this one so much but it didn’t have the same feel as the first one. I will say the sorrow in this series is so real the reader feels depressed too and that I guess is a sign of a good book. The problem is I just never connected with Raine.

Disclaimer:
I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.