Title: We Three Kings
Author: Kristen Bailey
Series: n/a
Much thanks to Kristen Bailey, Dreamscape Select, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a wonderful, heartwarming Christmas novel. I adored Maggie and her IT kings. Maggie was sweet and kind and open-minded, but not meek or a pushover. Just a good person. A great lead character. Some might say she shouldn’t be in lead positions if she can’t make the hard decisions; some might also say she should have handled the situation differently. Both arguments are addressed in the narrative, and I see where they come from; it’s probably wise to keep some distance between you and your subordinates. But their work environment and Maggie’s personality wasn’t going to allow that. I found her struggle very relatable and sympathetic, and I predicted its resolution pretty much from the moment the conflict was introduced.
Frank was probably my least favorite of the three kings, but not because he wasn’t likeable, more that he just didn’t have a very strong personality. Poor guy was the bane of Maggie and Leo’s fledgling relationship, lol. Also I think he’d benefit from an autism assessment. One of my favorite moments was Maggie’s heart-to-heart with his mom.
Jasper was my favorite king. He was hilarious, and I loved his relationship with Miles. Loved that they’d been life-long sweethearts. If I hadn’t been so eager for things between Maggie and Leo to progress, I’d have wanted more time with Jasper. Their sabotage of the hunt (the reindeer onesie!), and the baby foxes…. So. Funny.
As for Leo…. I wasn’t completely satisfied with his character. Well, no, that’s not accurate. As a character he was lovely. Definitely a worthy love interest, very boy next door and sweet and thoughtful, with hidden depths and skills. Impromptu babysitting was another favorite sequence. A man comfortable with children and who knows what to do with a baby? Lock his ass down!
I guess it was his relationship with Maggie that left me wanting. It felt very much like playing red-light-green-light. She’s his boss and isn’t fully aware of how much he likes her—RED LIGHT. She calls him to chat and somehow lets a nip-slip—GREEN LIGHT*. He’s too shy in the aftermath to talk to her and leaves her hanging—RED LIGHT. When they next see each other they flirt and hold hands—GREEN LIGHT. Gemma needs an emergency babysitter—RED LIGHT. They need to shower and he’s supposed to have an empty flat—GREEN LIGHT. Surprise, flat isn’t empty—RED LIGHT.
It continues to go back and forth like that to the point that I don’t believe they ever actually had sex in the book. All that build up with no payoff? Not a good way to write a romance, even a subplot. No one likes a tease. Soooo frustrating. (Toward the end I was distracted and maybe it happened and I missed it. Pretty sure it didn’t but apologies if that’s the case.)
*What happened after the nip-slip, which we learn about later, felt out-of-character to me. She’s just learning how he feels about her and discovering how she feels about him, and neither of them seem to have a bold enough personalty to be that, er, proactive. It bothered me the whole novel. It just didn’t feel right.
Two last small things—First, I wish the flashbacks had been more clearly marked, because I didn’t always realize it was the past at first and got confused. Second, don’t Brits say “Happy Christmas” as opposed to Americans’ “Merry Christmas”? I don’t think “Happy Christmas” was ever said here. I mean, Brits can say “merry” if they want to, I was just confused. It might have been an edit made for the US market.
So it wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty darn good and I wouldn’t be opposed to more of Bailey’s work. *checks library* Damn, they don’t have her books, but I was able to tag them for possible future purchase. Fingers crossed!
If you’re looking for a heartwarming novel full of holiday spirit and which has great characters, give this one a shot.
