Santa Cutie
A complementary new couple confronts their past traumas and decides what Christmas really means in the winsome romance novel Santa Cutie.
In Jenny Alexandra’s steamy romance novel Santa Cutie, a Christmas-obsessed woman and a holiday-hating man find common ground in the midst of some merry mayhem.
More than anything, Melody loves Christmas. After escaping a cult that forbade holiday celebrations, going all out with Christmas is Melody’s act of defiance and healing. But when Melody volunteers to spread holiday cheer by playing Mrs. Claus at an assisted-living facility, she is paired with Eben, a self-proclaimed Christmas hater. Soon, sparks fly between the unlikely duo. To find happiness, though, they have to confront their past traumas and decide what Christmas really means.
Melody is an entertaining narrator, though her explicit sexual fantasies of Eben consume too much space. The dual symbolism of Melody’s Christmas traditions adds heartfelt nuance to the story, though. On the one hand, her many Christmas trees and bright, festive decor represent the hope of the season, contrasting with the bleak, cheerless past she left behind. Yet the glittering lights also illuminate the reality of her pain, which she tries hard to suppress. Melody grieves the family she lost when she left her cult, and her aching underlies her valiant attempts at cheeriness. “I am alone. Always alone,” she reflects in one moving scene as she dreams of standing amid a sea of blinding Christmas lights, searching for a Santa who never comes.
Eben too faces demons from his past; he hates Christmas as the day which destroyed his family. However, unlike Melody, his characterization is idealized. Indeed, there are near-endless descriptions of his physical perfection, “defined pectorals” and all.
Toward the story’s end, Eben narrates, adding dimension to his characterization—and expanding Melody’s. Indeed, Melody and Eben soften each other’s rough edges. Their dichotomies result in depth, and the book’s handling of its estrangement and forgiveness themes is thorough. Still, it is lighthearted on the whole, its plot swept along in a blur of holiday havoc. However, the budding emotional intimacy between Eben and Melody takes a back seat to graphic scenes of their myriad sexual encounters, and their enemies-to-lovers storyline is rushed beyond these couplings.
The lively supporting cast oozes holiday cheer. The mischievous residents of the assisted living facility share hilarious commentary on Melody and Eben’s relationship and get up to plenty of their own antics, like flashing the audience during a seniors’ talent show. The book also uses the setting to explore the challenges of aging, both for the elderly and for their families. In particular, caring for his mother, who has dementia, brings out a winsome soft side in Eben. And Melody’s fun-loving best friends Ally and Teddy are sources of support and acceptance, even as they deal with their own relationship hurdles.
Christmas chaos prompts love and healing in the erotic romance novel Santa Cutie. A sweet, unexpected family reunion rounds out the story, whose realistic ending leaves some relationships still strained; some questions about the future remain unanswered, even as the characters forge healthy new holiday traditions.
Reviewed by
Vivian Turnbull
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
