The Holiday Package by Leigh LennonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Having read and enjoyed the first three interconnected standalone novels of Leigh Lennon’s following a family in Spokane – Unfiltered, Unacquainted, and Unwanted – I was interested in reading more of the author’s work. When I found out there was a novella duology following Jake Davis, a character we were introduced to in Unfiltered and then saw a quick glimpse of at the end of Unwanted, I knew I needed to read the two tales.
What I came to expect of Leigh Lennon when reading her other work is an emotional punch, so I was quite surprised when this novella was quite different to her other work. The emotional impact is significantly lowered in this book, and replaced with steam. There is certainly mystery surrounding the characters, and details we are given have an emotional impact, but it is nowhere near the level of the other Leigh Lennon books I have read. Without a doubt, this aims to be a hot little read rather than the emotional powerhouses of the author’s other books.
In truth, I did not enjoy this as much as I have enjoyed my other Leigh Lennon reads. I was enjoyable, but it wasn’t quite what I had been hoping for. Leigh Lennon does emotional well, and a part of me spent the entire book waiting to have my heart ripped out. Instead, I was given steam. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good bit of steam. Hell, I power through more erotica books than I care to admit to. However, I wasn’t as lost to the steamy side of the author’s work as I find myself to be lost to her emotional work. In fact, it wasn’t quite as steamy as I would have liked for it to be – there was a lot of the dirty, but I never felt the tightening of my stomach muscles that I normally do when steamy scenes are hitting me hard.
Due to this, I spent a decent amount of the book hovering between three and three-point-five stars. It was enjoyable, yes, but it wasn’t quite what I had been expecting.
Then that ending came about.
From Leigh Lennon’s other work, I knew to expect something at the end. Plus, all the little hints of mystery throughout left me with plenty of ideas of what was to come. Although I had worked out some of the details, I had not worked out it all. Thus, the ending grabbed me. Everything fell into place, and suddenly the novella hit closer to a four-star rating than it had been up until that point. Thus, I had to give it a four-star rating as it won me over in the end.
Not to mention, it leaves you wanting to jump straight into The Sweetest Package.
Although I would not label The Holiday Package my favourite Leigh Lennon read, I had a lot of fun with it. For fan of Leigh Lennon’s interconnected books, for those who want to find out more about Jake Davis, this is certainly a worthwhile read. It is something slightly different from the author, but fans of her work will enjoy the new layer added to her world.
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