The Chapmans believe they rule the world and that everything can be bought - love, loyalty, obedience. Everything comes to a head this Christmas, and everyone's true colors are revealed.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free audiobook was provided for an honest review.
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| October 2026; MIRA; 9781488240102 audio (8h 48m), ebook, print; holiday fiction |
For those who might not know, Wade Rouse writes under the pen name Viola Shipman. I didn't know he also wrote under his own name until I started seeing The Bluff everywhere. I love the Christmas books (actually, all the books) he's written under the Viola Shipman name. They are warm and heartfelt, so I was excited to listen to this Christmas audiobook.
Since I didn't get the review copy until after the book came out, I debated holding this book until closer to Christmas. I'm glad I didn't. I think I would have lost any holiday spirit I might have felt.
I don't mind a Scrooge storyline, but I want some warm fuzzies for the holidays. This family is dysfunctional in a cruel and mean way. They are despicable. The novel is described as humorous. I laughed once, and it was towards the end of the book. Gary should have been introduced earlier to provide levity to the early chapters.
Susan also reviewed The Bluff. and she found it "delightful". Perhaps reading it would give a different feel. I listened to the audiobook, and it was a struggle.
I like books that have multiple readers, giving each character their own voice. But this is a large cast of characters - all competing to be the main characters. The story quickly switches POVs, so the listener just starts getting used to one voice when it switches. I wish whenever a character spoke, no matter whose chapter it was, that their narrator would have voiced them. It would have helped identify each character.
Almost all the characters have a C name: Charli and CS (the matriarch and patriarch of the Chapman family), their sons Chris (who is married to Kat - I only know it is spelled with a K instead of a C because of Susan's review, and they have a son named Chip), Cormac, and Chase. Thankfully, they weren't married ot C names. It took quite a while to get everyone straight, but if I stopped in the middle of a chapter, I couldn't remember whose POV I was listening to.
There were some redeemable moments, especially towards the end of the book. It isn't a total Scrooge storyline, as not all the characters change their ways.
The book is well written. The characters feel a little over the top or maybe I just can't imagine people who could really be so cruel and self-absorbed. And I'm not just talking about the Chapmans. I thought Kat's parents would be a foil for Charli and CS. In some ways they are, but Kat's mom is also planning to take her life during the holidays - how selfish and cruel is that?
Maybe because we are seeing so much cruelty and hatred in the world today, but listening to this just left me feeling depressed and discouraged - not what I want to feel when reading Christmas books.
Buy The Bluff at Amazon
Donna Huber is an avid reader and natural encourager. She is the founder of Girl Who Reads and the author of the how-to marketing book Secrets to a Successful Blog Tour.
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