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    The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story
    The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story
    The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story
    Ebook277 pages4 hours

    The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story

    By Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

    3/5

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    About this ebook

    Who's bearing gifts this Christmas? Three hot, single guys!

    Christy de la Cruz has it all: a great career as an interior designer for the stylish homes of New Mexico, marriage to a tall and handsome man, and a great family—especially her cousin Maggie. But as the holidays approach, she's down to two out of three—that handsome husband has walked out the door. Christy is so not up for dating . . . until Maggie takes Christy on as the ultimate romantic project. Just like the wise men in the nativity story, Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar arrive bearing gifts and displaying their best stuff. One's a pretty boy, one's a rugged cowboy, and one's an animal lover. Which one will win Christy's heart?

    Everyone Loves Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez's Novels!

    "Intoxicating."—New York Post

    "Exhilarating."—Jennifer Crusie

    "Must-haves."—Latina magazine

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateNov 9, 2010
    ISBN9781429950190
    The Three Kings: A Christmas Dating Story
    Author

    Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

    Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez is an award-winning print and broadcast journalist and a former staff writer for both the Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe. With more than one million books in print in eleven languages, she was included on Time magazine’s list of "25 Most Influential Hispanics," and was a Latina magazine Woman of the Year as well as an Entertainment Weekly Breakout Literary Star. She is the author of many novels, including Playing with Boys and The Husband Habit. Alisa divides her time between New Mexico and Los Angeles.

    Read more from Alisa Valdes Rodriguez

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    Reviews for The Three Kings

    3/5

    9 ratings9 reviews

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    • 2/5
      I wasn't crazy about the author's "Dirty Girls on Top" so probably should not have requested this. Interior designer Christy de la Cruz seemed to have it all, until her husband left her for another man. Her feisty cousin Maggie introduced her to handsome cousins Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. There may have been more parallels with the Christmas tale that went by me. These characters weren't particularly likable, and I never felt at home in the Santa Fe setting.
    • 2/5
      This book is good, but not wonderful. It's a little contrived but you really can appreciate how difficult it is to get back out there and keep dating. Worth grabbing from the library but maybe not a keeper.
    • 4/5
      Christy de la Cruz is a successful designer who escaped her lower class roots but she lives a shallow life and is still in love with her ex-husband who left her because he suddenly decided he is gay. She prays to the Virgin to send her three hot men, and her prayers are answered in the form of the Reyes cousins: Balthazar; Melchior; and Caspar. Her street-smart cousin Maggie creates a contest between the cousins that each must take Christy on three dates and then she will decide which of them is the winner. Christy starts out shallow and self-absorbed, but grows throughout the story as she learns the value of her family and her roots. Even though she is shallow, I liked Christy because of her rapid-fire wit and sarcasm. The author does a fine job at moving the story along at a fast pace, and Christy's inner monologues and one liners are always funny and smart. My only complaint about the story is that the ending felt rushed - Christy never went on the third date with two of the cousins, and there were some loose ends left untied. I was especially curious to find out who won the bet among Christy's family members about her dating experiences. Overall, The Three Kings is an intelligent, funny and warm novel and chick-lit readers will not be disappointed.
    • 2/5
      This was an OK book. It was rather predictable and somewhat inconsistent. I think any reader could figure out who she was going to end up with. The whole premise of the book was for her to date 3 cousins, 3 times each. She only went out with monkey guy twice. She went out with agent guy four times (twice on the last day). I just wasn't really into this book.
    • 4/5
      The Three Kings by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez was really an interesting read. By the description I thought it was going to be a light and fluffy romance novel but it was actually pretty light on the romance. My overall thoughts on the book were quite positive but I have a few minor issues which I’ll get to in a moment. Christy is a very successful interior designer. She makes a lot of money and has been able to “escape” the barrio and live a very different life than her Mexican American family. I grew up -and still live- in an area with a huge Mexican population. I recognized many of the stereotypes laughed about in the book because I do see them on a daily basis. Christy makes sure that nobody thinks she is Mexican. She is Mexican American. I never thought about the difference before. Christy is recently divorced so of course her family wants her to get married again. Her wonderful cousin, Maggie, invites three men to one of her family dinners. The three Reyes cousins, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar all agree to take Christy on a series of dates at the end of which she’ll decide which she wants to continue to see. They all open her eyes to who she has become and where she came from. She learns important lessons from all three men and ultimately is a better person by the end. I learned some of the lessons along with Christy and I love that part of the book. I love her realizations about her family and her background. My only complaint is that I felt some parts were missing. Somehow I missed her third date with Melchior which I assume didn’t happen but there was no mention of her cancelling. I felt that parts of the story was disjointed. Overall, I do recommend the story. It’s really quite sweet.
    • 4/5
      This book is a fun, fast read. It has a lot of heart but isn't overly sappy. The ending was a bit abrupt for my taste but I'm not sure that it really needed more because the main part of the story felt complete. The best part Three Kings, for me, was how developed the characters were. A lot of chick-lit style books skimp on character development but this was good. I will be looking into other books by this author, her style is crisp and addictive.
    • 4/5
      I finished this in a day! It's the story of Christy, a flawed but sympathetic protagonist, who is still coming to terms with her Mexican background and the way it sometimes clashes with living in America. She is single after the dissolution of her marriage, and her cousin fixes her up with three good-looking cousins. She has to go on three dates with each one before making a decision. Behind the seeming frivolity of the plot was a lot of insight about human interaction, culture and class differences. I enjoyed this book.
    • 2/5
      The Three Kings, a Christmas Dating Story, by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, begins like any other romantic "chick lit" novel - the jilted heroine is identified, she is given a lovely yet slightly crass cohort, men are thrown into her path for confusion, laughs, lust, and eventual love. There is romance in this book but in the end it is more of a story where the main character falls in love with her own family and heritage. Note - she isn't rediscovering this love. She really seems to have no regard for her past or family at all and it isn't until well into the book that she starts to show much decency at all. That was the main problem I had reading this book - Christy de la Cruz was a really shallow, rude, and unlikable character. Her cousin would tell her to be herself but there wasn't much evidence that she had ever been more that what she was in the beginning of the book. I had a hard time believing that at least two of the men she went out with would ever want to go out with her again. There were a few moments where I wanted to put the book down and have nothing more to do with hers myself. I've read other books by Valdez-Rodriguez and liked them very much so I was a little surprised how little I liked this one. I must say though that I am really glad I finished the book - because in the end, rather than finding who she originally was, I think the main character discovered a whole, new better way to be and that was nice.
    • 1/5
      I was very excited about having the opportunity to read this book, mainly for the anticipated humor and the holiday setting, but my expectations fell flat. I have read many notable "Hispanic" writers and Valdes-Rodriquez seems uncomfortable in her native skin. The story has the loose plot of finding a husband, after losing her first husband to the gay society. The story oozes sarcasm about men, rich people, New Mexico, and the Hispanic people and their customs. The whole book generated a sense of negativity and bitterness. I did find the smatterings of customs and stereotypes amusing and informative. The book disappointed me.

    Book preview

    The Three Kings - Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez

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