These aliens are HORRIBLE communicators. The FMC lashed out at the MMC and didn't explain herself. The MMC made decisions and acted on them without explaining how he arrived at his decisions or what he was feeling. These failures to communicate allowed both characters to make assumptions about how the other feels and caused way more hurt feelings and misery than what was necessary. 

I enjoyed the holiday planning and the budding friendship between Claire and the FMC. The rest of the book was okay. It wasn't my favorite in this series, but it wasn't terrible. The miscommunication trope didn't irritate me as much as usual because it's been established in this series these aliens aren't typically the best at communicating their feelings. This is a solid 3 star read; not fantastic but has some good moments.