I didn't realize this was an insta-love story. I probably would have skipped it if I knew. This short story was ok. I loved the cover more then the book.

When I think of romance, I think of books just like this one, that gives all the feels and satisfies every romance junkies' heart. This is a perfect book to snuggle up with on any day.

The cover is beautiful and 100% the reason I chose to read this book. I’m not actually familiar with the author’s other work so I can’t really compare. It sounded like it was going to be good based on the description but the execution was rather off the mark. Not much of a fan of insta-love but if it’s done well I can get past it. It was just ok for me.

New to me author L. C. Son's story is ELECTRIC AND MESMERIZING!! Lux and Winter's journey is captivating with twists and turns that will keep you intrigued and entertained. Loved it!! #OneWintersKiss #NetGalley

So this is bad, like teen fanfic bad, no offense to fanfic people, and I've never actually read fanfic, but I imagine it to be like this. I don't even care about the instalove. The instalove isn't what makes this bad. The plot isn't even really bad. I mean, it isn't good, but I actually finished it. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to finish it after I read the first page of the prologue because the writing is fucking abysmal. It didn't take me long to stop bookmarking all the parts with cringey shit to quote, because it was like almost every page. At any rate, here are some gems:

“Tightening my already closed eyes, I dare not open them for fear once I see the glow of his sun-spun eyes deepen into my own, I’ll be completely lost to his lure.” Interesting sentence structure. I'm also intrigued at this deepening glow.

"Oh, Elysian, Win, if only you understood what you've done. I wanted to do this the easy, less painful way but now you've forced my hand. And now..." Let me introduce you to the comma.

"Despite the blazing fire from the oversized hearth fireplace" The hearth is part of the fireplace. There is no hearth fireplace. That's like saying the... chassis car? the um paw dog? It's a part of the fireplace. It's also a standalone word that could mean fireplace. So it's also like saying the fireplace fireplace.

'"My lords!" A loud shout from outside the terrace doors, yanks us back to the moment' Let us not get started on the amount of exclamation points in this book (there are 3 in this 11 on this page alone) and simply focus on the loud shout.

"I could care less how the spillage is likely making a dark trail of mascara run down to my chin." LADIES AND GENTS, SHE COULD CARE LESS.

"Now let us raise our glasses high in thankfulness of the return of the beloved [so-and-so's] return!" A yes the return of the beloved person's return.
To everything, return, return, return.
There is a season, return, return, return.
And a time to every purpose.
Under heaven.

What is with these people and the panting? So much panting.

"There is no where I'd rather be." No where.

There is also a lot of Lux inhaling her wholly. Do people do that? Do you just get right up in the crotch and just take a big deep breath because crotch is such a good smell? Does anyone do this? Even a spanking clean crotch has an innate crotchiness that I personally am not terribly interested in huffing. I am reminded of goat cheese, though I imagine far more people like goat cheese than they do crotch huffing. It just has this inescapable goatiness that I really hate. At any rate, this author is not the only one guilty of inserting excessive crotch huffing. People, stop it. No one wants to smell the musk. Or is it just me?

"Massaging up and down, he grunted, as I needed both of my hands to accommodate his erection." Right.

And.. Luxor Decanter? I cannot get the vision of a tacky Vegas-style Egyptian booze carafe out of my mind.

"Her life is now my life. Her body mine as mine is now hers. Between us there is only co-mission." Is this supposed to be like instead of submission? I don't think that's a word. "My devotion to her is just as submissive as I'll ever ask of her." Like I kind of get what you're trying to say, but ugh.

There is mention of lot of boners throughout, but they don't actually fuck until the end because VIRGIN IMPORTANCE. The sexy bits are really flowery and purple, though there is a bit in there which alludes to a dog knot if you're into that.

I'll leave you with this deep bit of depth:
"I am her protector. Her guardian. I protect what I love because I love to protect. And I protect what is mine."

This was an enjoyable read, and I really loved Winter and Lux. The elements of this story were very intriguing from the paranormal aspect to a gathering of humans and paranormal factions in an act to be civil to the threat revealed in light of a forbidden romance occuring between a human and a werewolf hybrid. There is also a wonderful Christmas vibe within this story that I really loved seeing included.

The romance between Winter and Lux was written so well, and I really liked how there was a forbidden element to it with them being of different factions. Even with it being an insta-love type of romance it still came together really well. Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this book.

The overall idea of this story seemed like it was going to be so good and yet I found myself, from the start, having issues with descriptives (like the use of food to describe skin/hair/lips) as well as the lore.
The descriptions early in the book, and the beautiful wording, had me thinking this was a paranormal book set in a historic fantasy setting a la GoT or The Witcher. When the character's started mentioning semesters of college and water bottles, I felt thrown out of the story, as I saw the setting much differently going in.

From the start Winter's hesitation to form a relationship with Kharon Nyx was him being much older than her and her not being attracted to him due to his age. She never mentioned any feelings of him being cruel/rude/etc. Due to her never having any negative feelings, aside from not wanting to be with him, it seemed weird that Lux meets him and instantly is like "he's not human/there's something off about him." I feel it would have been better for Winter to have mentioned something like "I never could quite pinpoint why but there was something about Kharon that didn't feel right/had me nervous/scared me." Although humans wouldn't be able to pick up on as much as a supernatural being, I feel humans still have enough intuition to know when someone isn't great even if they can't figure out why.

I really wanted to enjoy this story but too many things ruined my ability to stay immersed in the story.

I loved the cover of this book and how the story started! The prologue is so steamy and a bit intriguing. However, the first half of the book was too slow to follow because of the lack of tension in the world and between the characters. By the time I am in the second half of the book, I was already bored and not that amused with the book anymore.

If your looking for a sweet insta romance with a hint of werewolves and vampires than this is the book for you.

I really enjoyed the different twist on the werewolve love story as well as being a supernatural being.

With Winter and Lux's connection I was hoping that their bedroom encounters would have been a little bit more passionate/ spicy.
As for the villan of the story, once the punch line was delivered he sort of disappeared, while I know we got a glimpse of him at the end I felt he was a bit neglected.

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review

This book wasn't for me and I almost didn't finish it but I wanted to give it a chance.

This is an insta-love BIPOC paranormal book, which is one of the reasons I love the book. The cover is gorgeous and it immediately grabbed my attention.

Winter is a 25 y/o virgin and this is something I constantly had to remind myself throughout the story because she it seemed like she was 17 for the entirety of the book. I mean, don't even get me started on what she continuously called her "passionate pixie." I about died laughing but points to the author for most creative names I have ever seen. Winter is independent and is in line to take over the family business but she continuously spoke about her fairy tale happy ever after, which added to her seeming younger than she actually was.

I was also a bit confused by the timeline. They seemed to speak as if they lived in the past but cell phones and the internet exist.

I liked that Lux was possessive but when first introduced he seemed to be a grumpy, brooding male. As soon as he met Winter he just turned into this love sick puppy.

The book wasn't terrible and I loved how Winter was provided the opportunity to explore her own aspirations despite having found her "prince charming." A lot of times, the female lead finds the love of her life, they get married, have kids, and the story ends. This book provided a different perspective.

I really wanted to be all in on this. I mean set in Nova Scotia, Werewolves, Vampires, Elite Families, etc, etc, etc. All things that would spell a wonderful good time...
If you like insta-love this is going to be right up your alley!

Things I really liked about the book:
Although its insta-love, the fact that the main character was fighting to be independent of all attractions, you just love to see it.
Both Lux and Winter were very strong in their love and that nothing was going to come between them.

Things that took me out of the story a little:
I spent a majority of the time trying to figure out when this was set. Because they're dialogue would have you believe that we are in the 1890's, but modern day references to Sweet Caroline and phones and :"spilling tea" were having me confused. Now I get that these are supposed to be legacy families, and they probably tend to run a little behind on a few things, but besides the pop culture references, the use of the work cockamamy threw me for one. (Is this nit-picking? yes).

Otherwise I'm sure it's a delightful read, I just found that even at the 50% mark that I was struggling to get through it. I know now that insta-love isn't my bag, and I'm ok with that.

DNF at 20%.

I’ll be honest, I picked this one up because it’s a gorgeous Black woman on the cover of a paranormal romance…yes please.

Unfortunately, this one didn’t work for me. While I do enjoy Instalove story lines, I’m not a fan of the aggressive male claiming/be possessive over virgin women.

The writing felt clunky, and I just want sold on this instant attraction between Lux and Winter, especially since Winter literally was running from a marriage proposal before stumbling into Lux’s arms.

The story may get better from here, but this is a no from me.

“From the first touch of his lips upon my skin as his tongue laps the ravine of my neck to the moment he crushes his mouth to mine, I am lost.”

★★★★/5
🌶🌶/5

Blurb:
This Christmas get lost in the grandeur of Elysian Manor. It's Elysian Manor's turn to host the Supernatural Regency for their annual cotillion. The one time of year where a faction of human nobles, vampires, wolves and more collide to share in one common goal, civility. But that goal of civility will be tested when the forbidden love of a dutiful daughter and a hybrid wolf reveals a new and dangerous threat.

Review:
This book had me hooked at the beginning of the prologue and it kept my attention the entire time! This book is an insta-love so the story moves fast! If I could sum up the relationship between hybrid Lux and mortal Winter, it would be sexual tension. From their first encounter in the lumberyard, they oozed sexual tension and instant love. Lux was the first man that ever made Winter want to throw caution to the wind and mount her first “horse”! And I was here for all her bad decisions because you could tell from the moment Lux laid eyes on Winter, he would put the world at her feet just to see her smile. Their love story plays out with many twists and turns and oh sh*t moments, but they make it through in the end!

Winter:
Smart, witty, and takes nothing from anyone, yea that’s Winter all right. If you love a strong female lead, you’ve found the right book. I love the fact that she is strong willed all while maintaining her feminine soft side and remaining a hopeless romantic. All throughout the book, Winter stayed true to her heart and didn’t waver on making her dreams come true in her romantic life as well as her hopes and dreams outside of any man.


Lux:
Baaaaaaaaby!!!!! Lux is my new boyfriend/baby daddy!! The way this man can take control of your body and make you feel safe and loved in the process is beautiful. He is possessive, jealous, caring, and insatiable. The fact that he’s a hybrid, half vampire and werewolf, doesn’t make it any better. His inner wolf makes him an instant hot head over his mate, and he will stop at nothing to make Winter his.

Tropes:
- Supernatural
- Insta-love
- Age Gap

***Received ARC for honest review***

A big thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for letting me read this book. Sadly it contains instant love which is something I don’t really care for. The bright, hard working heroine is doing all she can to replace her late brother in her parents eyes but honestly her parents, particularly her father here display bizarre behaviour and actually treat her like a recalcitrant child ! I just didn’t get that they could give her so much responsibility and yet just want to ride roughshod over her when it suited them.
This brings me to the crux of the story and the big, bad who oddly just seemed to fade into the background after the final confrontation. I did like that Lux is prepared to face untold horrors in order to win Winter but actually would have liked more descriptions of what he actually faced. I think that’s probably why I am not rating this higher because as much as it’s an interesting book I feel at times certain things could have been made more vivid in the readers mind. This is a romance and technically starts as it means to go on but unfortunately wasn’t the perfect choice for me.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

I enjoyed this book! I especially loved the black characters and the unique story line. My only critique is that it wasn’t clear what time period the story was set in and sometimes the character’s dialogue style seemed inconstant. For example, there would be be pop cultural references but then how the characters spoke seemed to match a different time period. A lot happened in only one day and it would have been nice to see Winter’s and Lux’s love grow and evolve over time but the fast pace romance kept me reading and wanting to know what’s next!

This is sweet insta-love romance and it’s an enjoyable read.

But….

Why is there always a but?

I’m a picky reader. Let me just put that out there first. Anyway I liked this the problem was I really wanted to like it more.

I feel mean saying this it just felt more like a draft than the finished article. I know it’s a short story but some of the characters felt a little flat and Lord Elysian’s behaviour seemed positively bizarre at times.
I just felt it needed tightening up. More padding in places, just a little TLC.

I voluntarily read a review copy kindly provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved it so much, I'm pulling all of my holiday decor out because the book put me in the Christmas mood!

What I liked most: a well done insta-romance. I am not a normal fan of insta-romance, but I think the holiday setting provides the right backdrop for it. It was clear from the first time Lux and Winter met that they were instantly attracted to each other. One thing I know in the insta-romance trope, is that the couple have to be strongly attracted to one first and then find a way to work through the rest. This is what the author does so well here. It wasn't just lust, but a primal attraction and I loved it!

I also enjoyed the family connection. Both Winter and Lux had strong familial relationships and their influences were heavy in this book. The sense of family during the holiday season makes this quick read even more enjoyable. I LOVED Ross and Abigail as side characters...BUT I NEED to know what happens between Kharon and Rae. The author needs to get us their story ASAP!

The fantasy element was also well done. I liked the play on Greek mythology with Kharon. Yeah--I caught that. I would like to know more about the ominous changelings though. But since I've read this author before, I know their nefarious meddling will be fully realized soon.

What I didn't like--ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! Like really. I'm not going to nit pick over slight grammar issues because I know indie authors like Son are giving their all just to bring this story to life. And really, there weren't many at all.

All in all I loved this book and the set up to Regency Academy (yep, I caught that too). I wish we could get more Winter and Lux's love story, but I think Son wrapped it up nicely!