Coconutty Christmas: Holiday in Hawaii - Ann Omasta

Book Title:  Coconutty Christmas:  Holiday in Hawaii
Author:  Ann Omasta
Genre:  Romance, Christmas Story
Main Character:  Kalea
Story Setting:  Hawaii  

Story Summary:  
A Hawaiian local woman named Kalea works the kitchen of a Hawaiian hotel.  A tourist named Russ is attracted to her, and she's conflicted in the fact he is from the Mainland and tourists tend to not last long in Hawaii.  It could be heartbreaking.  A freak storm happens, causing the electricity to go out, so she has to take her kitchen to an open flame to keep the guests fed and entertained.  She ends up explaining to Russ about her good friends Kai and Honi, whom he had a little insecurity with.

Review:  So many reviews like this short story.  I, personally, did not.  I thought it had potential.  It didn't feel authentic and felt like a very unnatural Hawaii.  The only thing Christmas about the story was that they get together at Christmastime.  Otherwise, the story is mainly just a beach scene and trying to figure out what to feed the guests and how to entertain this budding romance with Russ.  The author used such generic "Hawaii" names such as Leilani, Kai, and Honi, and the lingo was so off.  I'd have been more impressed if she chose names like Pi'ilani, Kawika, or Kainoa.  Having lived in Hawaii and being married to a man from Hawaii, I know the accent and lingo, and I couldn't hear it in my mind as I read the story.  

The author could have used the words, "my braddahs Kai and Honi" or instead of saying, "I'll be with my family, would you like to join us" she could have said something along the lines of, "I going stay wit' my ohana, like come?"  The book was so full of ridiculous stereotypes.  Coconuts falling left and right out of trees on the beach, a wahine that looks like a dashboard hula dancer, etc.  First off, yes, coconuts are ubiquitous to Hawaii, but they aren't easy to find fresh out of the tree.  There's one coconut farm in Hawaii.  Groves of coconut palms all over the beach cease to exist in the islands.  So, it just sounds so inauthentic.  I'm surprised she didn't say the pineapples were growing at the beach, too.  Kai wanted to know why she was talking to the "ginger."  In Hawaii, he most likely would have used the word haole. The guy Russ gives her chills, but in Hawaii she would have said, "He gave me chicken skin."  Pidgin is not a cultural stereotype.  It's a dialect and the official language of Hawaii.  If someone isn't from there or hasn't lived there, I can understand why she wrote the story with such a Mainland image of Hawaiian life.  

I mean, the whole story just seemed like cultural stereotypes and it made me cringe.   I was hoping to read about the Hawaiian fir trees, or the surfing Santa, or the Christmas parade going through Honolulu.  Otherwise, it was "ok."  The story line was cute to say the least.  That's all I can say.  Out of 5 stars, I give it 2.  It completely turned me off to short stories.  I'm so disappointed as I wanted to like this story more than I did.

The Christmas Wedding - James Patterson and Richard DiLallo

Book Title: The Christmas Wedding
Author:  James Patterson and Richard DiLallo
Genre:  Christmas Stories, Domestic Fiction
Main Character:  Gaby Summerhill
Story Setting:  New York?  

Story Summary:  
Gaby Summerhill is a 54 year old teacher, a mother of 4 adult children (Emily, Claire, Lizzie, and Seth). She's a widow to Peter, who passed away some years ago. She's also a vlogger and loves to update her family with her life since everyone is so far away.  She has quite a few platonic friendships with single men: Tom, Jacob, and Marty.  They have all proposed to her.  She comes up with this wacky idea that she is getting married on Christmas Day, and vlogs it to her children, forcing them to have to come spend the holidays and Christmas with her.  There's a twist at the end, with her wedding day.  I won't explain.  It needs to be read.  

Review:  I read quite a few reviews on Goodreads.  They referred to Gaby as self-centered, manipulative, and a hypocrite.  I think she was over-zealous, a bit eccentric, fun-loving, kind, and caring.  She's easy to like.  The authors could have fooled me with their writing style.  I would have guessed a female wrote this book, as there was a lot of feminine qualities about it.  I think they did an excellent job in tapping into their feminine side and getting the story to attract female readers.  I recommend this book if you want an easy read.  I finished it rather fast.  

Some of the other reviewers who were James Patterson fans didn't like this style of writing.  They like his criminal suspense books.  This was the first book I read by him, and I thought it was great, making me want to check out his other books that his fans prefer.

Suspect - Michael Robotham

“A cold wind was blowing from the north, and it made the trees rustle like living things.”
 ― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Book Title:  Suspect
Author:  Michael Robotham
Genre:  Psychological Thriller, Mystery
Main Character:  Joe O'Loughlin
Story Setting:  England

Story Summary:  A psychologist, Joe O'Loughlin, has recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease. He has a former patient, Catherine, that was murdered and believes one of his current patients, Bobby, did it.  However, the plot twists, and the head detective believes that Joe did it, because he knows too much and has no alibi.  Joe goes on the hunt to find evidence that Bobby did it.  Meanwhile, he's struggling with his disease, his wife is mad at him, he's mad at his long-time friend, and people are dying all around him.  It's Christmas-time and he's just trying to stay out of jail, find the predator, and trying to get back to his family.

Review:  The book is definitely a page-turner.  I think Michael Robothom is a great writer.  I normally wouldn't read a book like this, but I am now more open to reading his books.  It was action-packed, and almost every page had a new twist.  I'm a new fan.