HoHo Honeybun By: Sam Cheever

Dolfe and Blaise the first couple in Sam Cheever’s Honeybun series finally get their follow up story in Christmas read HoHo Honeybun.

Before I get into this review I have a quick little gripe with some of the Christmas reads being put out. A lot of the stories are under the guise as being labeled “Christmas” reads when there is nothing going on in the book about the holiday except that the book takes place on that day. By that I mean this is not the idealize Holiday read its more mystery/suspense then a Christmas story.

Out of all the Honeybun series Dolfe and Blaise were my favorite couple their story had spice and a little more depth than the rest. So when this book HoHo Honeybun came out I quickly one clicked. What could better than a Christmas read with that title and a good mystery? After the first 2 chapters I was sadly mistaken.

The story beings after the two have broken up. Dolfe can’t deal with Blaise party girl ways and her lack of regard for herself. Rightfully so. This girl finds herself in the most bizarre situations and with no thought process whatsoever. Battling a bad break up and on the brink of depression Blaise decides to take a trip with her male “friend.” Finding herself in Miami Beach alone and very much so lonely trouble quickly makes it way to the very young Blaise. Calling out to the only man she knows will help her Dolfe. She makes a plea for help. Being the Alpha male he is Dolfe comes running to the rescue except he has a bunch of hurdles to overcome to save this damsel.

This book started off so strong and then it shifted into the realm of ridiculousness. I understand we all have flight or fight and when adrenaline is pumping we may not make the best decisions. I don’t want to give too much of the story away but Blaise does not make the best decisions when it comes to her safety. She calls Dolfe for help and her vacation companion but then quickly decides she can save herself. I am all for a strong do it for yourself woman except Blaise was not. She witnessed a murder and now the bad guys are after her. Instead of telling someone where she is she makes all these decisions to make herself hidden in plain sight even considers going to the beach to be alone at night. Wait a second. You witnessed a murder, was chased down, and now you want to be on said beach alone again? How is that smart at all? Why not check into a seedy hotel get help and get out of Miami. She mentions that she has connections but doesn’t know how to use them. Well then you don’t have connections! What good is help if it doesn’t help?

I would say this book was more murder/mystery than a romance. The couple was not even together for a good majority of the book. The author does have a good premise for the story. Some of the themes like sex trafficking/sex slavery were handled poorly. It was a little unrealistic. I just wondered at what point did Blaise realized she needed help. One of the scenes she wakes up in a strange place with a strange man who feeds her a farce of a story about them being together but she can’t remember. Ok. But why would you be handcuffed to the bed?

Meanwhile Dolfe is doing his best to find his love and pulling every resource known to man to get to her. Calling out to help from his friend JJ who is very much so eccentric she agrees to help him search for her. JJ has been working on this case for a while but surprisingly so when Dolfe comes on the scene the case quickly unravels and everyone who you thought you could trust you can no longer. I actually liked JJ a bit more then Blaise she at least used her brain. I was more than annoyed that poor JJ was left with the captors and Blaise’s concern was getting back to the hotel to get her things. This story was just so problematic for me because it was so farfetched and on the surface. This book wasn’t all a mess at about 77% it does turn around and things come into perspective. I will say that it ends in a HEA. Unfortunately this wasn’t my cup of tea but I won’t discourage other readers who would like to read this book. Please judge this book for yourself and not based on this one review.