Claus and Effect: A Meh Christmas Treat

Claus and Effect by Piper Rayne

Genres: Romance, Holiday Fiction, Christmas

Pages: 253

Format: eBook

My Rating:🎄🎄

This book was all I had on my reading list during the Christmas season. I picked it based on its catchy name and cute cover, and I thought it was the perfect choice for the holiday season. Yet, I wish I had other Christmas-themed books on my list cause I’ve been struggling to finish reading this one.

Claus and Effect kicks off with Tessa, who lost her bakery as well as the last remaining member of her family, meeting with a psychic who does her a tarot reading and tells Tessa to go to the West Coast in search of her soulmate who is also heading there. And Tessa desperately follows her heart and the universe's words and embarks on this journey.

On board the plane, Tessa's first-class ticket gets mixed up with a guy called Tre, who doesn’t deserve this ticket at all. Tre is a full-of-himself soldier whom Tessa calls “GI Joe”, and eventually, we see them acting childish and hating on each other.

Due to a random mess that goes on the plane and a sudden storm, all flights are suspended, and Tessa and Tre find themselves stuck together on an unexpected cross-country road trip just days before Christmas.

To be fair, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I hoped, and it was all Tre’s fault. He got on my nerves a number of times, he’s a big red flag from the start. He can't get a grip on himself, he's turned on because of the weirdest reasons that make him seem very creepy. And I’m sorry but if a guy is turned on by the scent of a random woman's perfume, he's definitely a pervert, and his handsomeness is never an excuse to normalize such an act.

The way Tre is portrayed as the perfect handsome guy that every woman sugarcoats because of his looks and Tessa as the quirky clumsy girl is too cringeworthy and I absolutely didn't like it.

The ending is so rushed, and the characters are somehow bland and their development throughout the novel missed the mark completely for me.

The only thing I liked about this book was it being light and fluffy; probably cause the plot didn’t have so much to offer. And I gotta admit, I wasn’t expecting so much from the book other than a quick-read to enjoy the Christmas vibes. Unfortunately, Tre was annoying enough to ruin the story for me.

So, if you like enemies-to-lovers romance books with a sprinkle of Christmas spirit and family vibes, I think this book is for you. And if you like men like Tre, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this book without any issues.

But don’t expect so much from the plot. I personally felt like I’ve read similar books before so it's not so an original story. So, all in all, Claus and Effect wasn’t my sweet kind of Christmas treat;  I give it 2 stars out of 5.