I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas (Half Moon Hollow #2.7)
Molly Harper
Published: November 17, 2014 (Pocket Star)
Purchase: Amazon
Review source: provided by publisher in exchange for and honest review
Reviewed by: Jannelle
Rating (out of 5): 4 stars
Note: While review will be spoiler free, it does make reference to previous books in the series.
Gigi is visiting her newly turned vampire sister Iris during her holiday break from college. This is the first time Gigi has been back home to Half Moon Hollow since her sister decided to become a vampire and Iris is worried about Gigi’s safety—concerned about her control as a new vampire in the presence of her human little sister.
Gigi, however, isn’t just dealing with a vampire sister. She is also worried about her failing relationship to her high school sweetheart, the possibility of working a summer internship that she knows Iris will not approve of, and visits from a hauntingly gorgeous vampire who disappears as quickly as he appears (which is in your face, you don’t see him coming kind of quick). Oh, and she has to buy Christmas presents.
I enjoyed Gigi’s character in the previous installments in the Half Moon Hollow series, but experiencing her point of view in I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas made me appreciate and simply like her more. She’s not the young and inexperienced girl I once thought of her as. And it was also interesting to see what she did with all of the overwhelming changes happening around her.
I also loved seeing how the other characters in Half Moon Hollow are getting along together—Jane and Gabriel, Dick Cheney and Andrea and Tess and Sam (to name a few). Because Gigi is the main character in this installment, we get a sneak peak into the undead married life of Cal and Iris and it’s all too sweet to see Cal’s fatherly influence on Gigi.
My only con? The abrupt ending. I know Harper is setting us up for the third installment—but I wanted more of her hilarious and unique prose in the world of Half Moon Hollow. I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas left me on a royal cliff-hanger, wishing the third installment would magically appear in front of me. Okay, I’m being a bit melodramatic, but seriously, the ending of this novel left us with so much promise and loose ends that it kind of felt like what should have been the beginning of the next novel instead of the ending to a novella.
Abrupt ending aside, I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas is a great visit back in to the Half Moon Hollow world I have come to love. Visiting old characters Molly Harper has touched upon in previous novels and novellas of the series and continuing to create another unique storyline with a known yet unfamiliar Hollows character.
If you’re a fan of the Half Moon Hollows series, you cannot miss I’m Dreaming of an Undead Christmas.
Sexual Content: Kissing
I listened to this book last year on audio. I just love Harper and Ronconi together for all their PNR series. I’ve yet to try the contemporary romances, but maybe one day.
I thought this was a great novella. It’s true that I don’t think it’s a coincidence that this novella was re-released as an ebook and Molly Harper’s next Half Moon Hollow novel is coming out in March (?) and features Gigi as the main narrator. Well played getting readers all geared up and ending this on a cliffhanger almost forcing us to read the new release 🙂
I just love Molly Harper’s writing style. Like you, I wish the ending had not been so abrupt, but I am excited to see more of Gigi in the next Half-Moon Hollow book. If you’ve never tried an audio version of a Harper book, I highly recommend it. Amanda Ronconi hits it out of the park every time.
I listened to this one last year when it was a freebie at audible.com. I love Molly Harper! I’m excited that her next book in the Half Moon Hallow series is a full length book about Gigi. I’ll have to relisten to this one before.