Non-review Rant

Plan to read as many short stories as possible to reach the Goodreads Reading Challenge of 30 books in 2026. Call it gaming the system, but this is what I am doing this year, alright?

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Characters

Ace Bonetti — MMC
Goldie Sunshine Jacobs — FMC

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Recap

She has a crush on him, and he had a crush on her, neither said anything fearing the other would reject. Years and relationships and breakups later, they are home for christmas, confess, no conflict or tension or misunderstanding and an agreement: let’s date. Thank you very much.

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Review

Being a holiday short story, I knew going in, that the focus will be on

1. including a trope (or many): Falling for your brother’s best friend, Friends to lovers, both are finally single, Past secret pining on both sides, Holiday Reunion.

2. xmas rather than romance

3. keeping it short

Which it did, but there was no conflict. Is that allowed in romance? I guess it is but shouldn’t we have seen romantic tension / longing at least? I didn’t feel that except both Ace and Goldie mentioning it to self or to others. 

–rant begins–

How this compares to standard romance story beats

In most traditional romance structures — even low-angst ones — readers usually experience:

• set-up → tension or emotional stakes → shift or obstacle → payoff / confession

Here, the story moves more directly from:

shared history → reunion → confession → decision to date

without a middle section of

• romantic tension,

• escalating emotion,

• or moments of vulnerability.

Instead of relationship development, the emphasis is on:

• familiar tropes,

• Christmas nostalgia,

• and a cosy holiday tone.

This places the story more in the category of feel-good seasonal vignette than a full romantic arc — which some readers enjoy for the warmth and lightness, while others may find it too conflict-free or emotionally flat.

–rant ends–

Too many F-bombs for such a short story. Also, dual POV for such a short work seemed like an overkill.

Notes

64%
“You spent the whole thing on me?” He stared down at the snow globe and didn’t look up at me. “Of course I did.”
Shabana Mukhtar: Plain, but touching. 250 dollars for a gift, blew my mind.

The Final Verdict

Exactly how it was promised to be: home, sweet, holiday romance. Exactly what I was looking for: a short story I can read quickly. Two down, eight to go for this month, twenty-eight for the year.

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