Book Review- Over the Holidays

I just finished Over the Holidays by Sandra Harper.

From the back cover:

The best holiday traditions are meant to be broken.

It's only December 1, and Vanessa Clayton has been dreading Christmas since she spotted tinseled trees at her local mall in September. Thankfully, she and her husband, JT, can't afford to drag their twin boys across the country to New England for the annual celebration at her stuffy sister-in-law Patience's home. Not that Vanessa has prepared a proper Christmas for her family in years, and she has less time than ever since she agreed to consult on the script of a local play. Her older sister, Thea, is no help -- she'd rather make art and flirt with surfers than babysit her nine-year-old nephews. Then Patience drops a holiday stress bomb: Her family will come to California instead.

In between "baking" cinnamon rolls for the school potluck and overbearing Patience testing her patience, Vanessa can't stop thinking about the difficult but charming playwright at work. Meanwhile, Patience's teenage daughter, Libby, obsesses over a college boy she has met by the pool, and Thea searches desperately for the meaning of Christmas -- for her latest installation, of course. As their holiday plans go comically awry, these four women discover the true spirit of the season is hidden in every festive surprise.

When I started this book, I was looking forward to it but unfortunately I was disappointed.  I didn't connect with any of the characters.  I thought everyone was way too dramatic and too concerned with themselves.  The only characters I enjoyed was JT.  He seemed like a real, sweet guy.

  And I thought there was too much going on with everyone and that the individual plots were too rushed.  The feelings between Vanessa and Neil, the playwright, seemed to come out of nowhere.  And there were other side stories and flashbacks to the past that just didn't fit.  I think that if the story had been one main idea, it would have worked better.

I gave this book a rating of 3/5.

*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free by Sarah from Pocket Book Blog Tours for an honest review.