Dashing through the snow

On one hand there are no words. On the other, LOTS of words come to mind. None of them are complimentary.

Dumb. Stupid. Ridiculous. Shallow. Trite. Horrible plotting. Eye-rollingly bad. Worst use of Rom-Com Tropes ever.

This author is not a regular read for me. They aren't my cup of tea (never mind I have a large soft spot for Hallmark holiday movies and a few are based on this author's works). But I like holiday theme stories around the holidays. I know, I know. It's post holidays. But I'd forgotten I put this one on hold at the library and then it popped up as available and I thought why not. I really should have read a few other reviews and saved myself the trouble.

I mean seriously, the main characters were named Dash and Ash (well, Ashley...but still). That should have been my first red flag. But other than that it started out with your average, general tropey-ness. Forced by “comical” (I use that term lightly, because despite what the author said, I didn't laugh out loud) circumstances, our romantic heroes are forced to road trip together. Which could be fun. Except it's not. There's a do not fly order (that no one knows about), an abandoned puppy, a biker gang, teenage license plate thieves, a mechanic who thought he was abducted by aliens and the most inept FBI agents ever found on the written page. Argh. Just thinking about the whole stupid FBI plot makes me want to throw something. I've seen soap operas handle FBI plots better than this. It says a lot that I was more irritated by the agents in pursuit than I was by the idiot babbling on about his wife who he left on another planet.

But of course by the last page mistakes have been acknowledged. Job interviews have been missed but feelings have been spoken out loud. And everyone is off to enjoy a happy Christmas dinner with their loved ones. One big, neat, tidy red bow. Easily forgettable, which is probably for the best.