I feel like I need to reread this book. I've had such bad brain fog and a hard time concentrating all week.

Review of the reread:

This is another book that I really missed out on. I had this Netgalley ARC months before it was released, and subsequently exploded onto the book community. I think I had been recommended this book more than any other in recent memory, and was very nervous going into this story for that very reason. So many people told me I’d love this. But what if I didn’t? And they said it would be loads better than Margaret’s first novel, An Enchantment of Ravens, but that novel absolutely stole my heart. What if Sorcery of Thorns just didn’t live up to the pressure and expectations that had been placed on it?

I picked this up as my last book in the #stayhomereadingrush and managed to read 92 pages before the clock struck midnight. I was quite enjoying what I was reading, but I had the hardest time concentrating on the words or what they meant arranged in a sentence. I managed to finish the book with a sense that I had just read something great, but I couldn’t remember most of what I had read. I knew to do this book, and myself, justice I’d have to reread it. (I don’t normally get brain fog like this, but corona had really done a number on me emotionally this week).

The reread went excellently. There were so many parts of the story that didn’t completely make sense the first go-round, that were clear as day the second time. Turns out I had ‘read’ entire pages without ingesting a single word from them. That makes it pretty hard to discern who is doing what or why it matters, in my opinion.

Our main character, Elisabeth, had grown up in a magical library. We’re a page or two in and already I’m jealous of her. The books in Elisabeth’s library were all sentient beings, with differing levels of communication and personalities. Some books would sing unsolicited, some would spit wads of ink at passersby, but all the books knew Elisabeth was special, even if she didn’t yet know it herself. I could quite possibly read a whole book just about how the books acted towards each other and other librarians, but I digress.

Then we meet Nathaniel, a sorcerer who uses a demon (Silas) as his conduit for magic. The entire world opens up for Elisabeth when she is forced to leave her library and travel with Nathaniel and Silas to the epicenter of their world.

This book had some really nice representation that I hope becomes a theme among YA books. Nathaniel describes himself as liking both when referring to his sexual orientation, as if it’s not a big deal. Because, you know, who someone likes isn’t a big deal or anyone else’s business, as Elisabeth points out to a gossip one night at a dinner party. I’m pretty sure I fist pumped the air during both of those scenes. There’s also a lot of body acceptance in this novel that I felt was refreshing. One example is Elisabeth herself, who happens to be very tall for a female, but she is never derogatory towards herself, and is never overtly made fun of for her size. Instead it is toted as an advantage during the multiple fight scenes where she kicks absolute butt.

The plot in this novel was very well crafted. While I was reading, I could clearly see all the places where the author had known the ending intimately, and then sprinkled in hints along the way. Hints that never amounted to anything in my brain, however. I was stumped until the very end, even on the second reread since I completely missed the main point the first time.

I really liked the struggles the characters faced as the plot progressed. No, I didn’t love the anxiety I had when Elisabeth or Nathaniel were close to death (MORE THAN ONCE), but I do love how it can be perceived through the reader. Elisabeth grew up in the libraries, being taught that demons and sorcery are evil and have no place near a librarian/warden. The longer Elisabeth spends time with Silas or Nathaniel, the more she begins to question the truth and virility of those sentiments. Yes, Silas has killed countless (literally) individuals, but as the story progresses we see him begin to be affected by Elisabeth, and Elisabeth be affected by him. Nathaniel struggles with his family legacy of necromancy. This is what everyone believes he was born and bred to do, and that he is inherently evil because of it. He even believes this of himself, and doesn’t allow anyone into his life due to his fear that he will be their demise.

Both Elisabeth and Nathaniel struggle to determine what is true for them. Is it the sheltered prejudice from the wardens of years past, or is it a generational curse that seems doomed to repeat itself? While these struggles are tainted with a fantastical viewpoint, they are also incredibly relatable for any reader. Both of these characters go through major transformations of mindset throughout this story, and by the end, it’s like a wight has been lifted off of them.

Reading this book made me think of all the books on my shelves. If they could talk or move, what would they say? Are they sad that some of them have been sitting, covered in a light layer of dust, for years without being read? My little librarian heart can’t think about it too long or I’ll get too sad. I can see why people prefer Sorcery of Thorns over An Enchantment of Ravens. The stories are completely different in so many ways. Both stories have a huge space in my heart: Sorcery of Thorns was so well put together and developed, while An Enchantment of Ravens was so raw and beautiful. I struggle to pick a favorite, so I won’t. I’ll just recommend them both.

HOOOOO boy. Steamy. Full review coming soon...

......

I had previously read Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout, and rather enjoyed myself. So when I saw she had a new series coming out, and the first book was on Netgalley, I pounced to snag a copy. I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read this, but because I did I was able to read it as an audio book from my local library, using Libby.

Somehow between the years of reading Obsidian and Storm and Fury, I forgot that Armentrout was a paranormal romance author. This became abundantly clear about 20% through this book, and I strapped myself in, readying for an emotional roller coaster.

Our main character, Trinity, is not like anyone else. She lives with Wardens, aka living gargoyles who hunt and fight demons, but she’s not a Warden or a human. She’s a secret that must be kept at all cost, her life depends on it. She’s bonded to a Warden who is her protector, but pretty early on it’s clear that things are not working out as they should be. Then she meets Zayne, a Warden from another community.

At this point during the novel I began snooping on Goodreads to get the detes. As it turns out, Storm and Fury is a spin off of another series (Dark Elements). I quickly read the synopsis of those books, deciding whether I wanted/needed to back track and read those before continuing with this one. The original series is set around a love triangle, which is honestly the bane of my existence. I read through enough reviews to piece together any background information I thought might be pertinent, and continued on reading.

As the book continued, the general plot of the Dark Elements series is uncovered in such detail, that it wasn’t necessary for me to have done the extra research myself. I can definitely see how exciting it will be for fans of the Dark Elements series to get to catch up with their favorite characters and see what they’ve been up to. With each new introduction in Storm and Fury, it was like a little jolt of butterflies, knowing this had been such a major player in the previous books.

Armentrout knows how to write a paranormal romance. Hook, line, and sinker. I was in it to win it from the moment Zayne and Trinity started saving each other’s lives, taunting the hell out of each other, and shamelessly flirting themselves hoarse. It was. Hot. I was so into this book I stayed up all hours of the night just trying to see what would happen next, who would make the first move, and what disaster would befall them around each corner.

The one thing I don’t love about Armentrout’s books is how juvenile the dialogue can get. I mean, some of the stuff Trinity says could be heard coming out of a six year old’s mouth, not an eighteen year old who’s about to be naked and on top of an equally naked man two chapters later. The immature dialogue, when it appears, always takes me out of the story and makes me groan in frustration (and not the fun kind). Is she trying to prove her characters are innocent? There are other, better, ways to accomplish that. To take her male characters from saying the word ‘freaking’ to ‘f*ck’ by the end of the novel, is not great character development but a lazy cop-out.

There was an okay balance of romance and action, but at times the pacing felt just a smidge off. Sometimes Trinity would get lost thinking about Zayne, to the point where I was like, okay, something attack her already. But other times I appreciated how Armentrout actually took the time and had the characters actively working on their relationship, instead of just skirting around some of the bigger issues. This relationship, to me, was in no way problematic, which was really nice to see in this genre especially.

I did enjoy the actual plot of this book, besides just the romantic elements. While none of the creatures are novelty or unique to this story, I still considered the action, mystery, and descriptions of the metamorphosis of characters to be well done. It reminded me a lot of one of my favorite series growing up: Sweet by Wendy Higgins.

I think if the dialogue matured in the next book, this would be a no brainer 5 star review from me. But having read Obsidian in 2014, and not seeing much of a difference in her writing style now in 2020, I’m not going to hold my breath. This is a fun book to binge read, and is awesome for escapism. I felt fully immersed in Zayne and Trinity, and was rooting for these two from the moment they met. I was thrilled with how their stories ended in Storm and Fury, and will probably be picking up Rage and Ruin (which is slated to be published June 9th, 2020). What can I say, I’m a glutton for punishment, and this is my kind of torture.

I had to stop crying long enough to make this update. Those last 100 pages. Ugh. I'm a raw and emotional bean rn.

Full review coming soon...

I have been stalling on writing this review for days. I just don’t know where to start. Beach Read was described as a rom-com, but as reviews began circulating, it was clear that this book had more depth than the typical, easy, breezy romantic comedy.

Gus and January write complete opposite genres of fiction, and have been rivals since college. When January is forced to move into her father’s beach house after his death, they are unexpectedly reconnected, and coerced into walking down memory lane together.

I really enjoyed both of these character’s personalities. I thought they had a tangible depth, and that they were part of a realistic love story. Life is complicated, and complex. Gus views things through the lens of childhood trauma, while January is coping with fresh betrayal and the death of her father. I think that’s why I’m having such a hard time writing a review of this book, because both of their lives feel so real to me, and to comment on or criticize someone’s life feels inherently wrong (this is why I stick to fantasy so much).

I liked and believed the chemistry that emanated off of Gus and January. They were hungry for each other, and depriving themselves day after day only made tensions rise. There was a lot of angst and a buildup that made their surrender to each other feel like a long held sigh. As with any good romance, there’s something in the protagonist’s way of true, easy love. January and Gus were no exception. It wasn’t until the last one hundred pages of this novel that the emotional impact finally hit me, and I curled up sobbing while trying to finish this book.

—>There’s a big spoiler (in parenthesis) in the next paragraph.<—
—>Proceed with caution.<—

For some, this book could seem all doom and gloom, and I totally get that. For me, this just felt real. This felt like real life, even though it’s a work of fiction. I was mostly just excited to watch January and Gus writing their novels and falling into lust/love with each other, so when the trajectory changing moment happened I felt prepared and caught off guard all at once. The closure January had been searching for from her father is something my own father has been doing for me my whole life (he just hasn’t kept it a secret (that he’s written me a letter and kept a journal every year of my life)). It was at this point for me, when fiction met reality, that this book transitioned into new territory.

I really liked that this was a book about writing, life, loss, trauma, and love. I think if you’re just looking for a romance to sweep you off your feet, this might not be a perfect fit for you. But as a person who loves books, the writing process, and falling in love I was able to move past anything else plot-wise that may have made this a unpleasurable experience.

I liked this book. But I’m not recovered from it. This book does have a happy ending, which is something I always crave from romance novels, and I was terribly worried that it wouldn’t have a satisfying conclusion.

I don't know what to rate this book. Is it a 4...is it a 5? I just don't know. I'll probably make a decision on a reread, but I do recommend it.

I’ve had this book on my shelves for a while, and had refrained from watching the movie. I knew how iconic the film was, and wanted to make sure I read the book before diving in to the pie drama. Yes, sadly I knew about the pie before reading a single page, but it didn’t stop this book from packing a powerful punch.

This novel follows three main points of view: two black women who work as maids for white families, and one white woman who wants to write a book about black maids’ experiences. I was trepidatious when I realized this novel voiced the perspectives of two black women, but was written by a white woman. With that knowledge in the back of my mind, I decided I still had to give this a chance, and form my own opinions.

The first page was a shock to the system. I am ashamed to admit how ignorant I have chosen to be up until this point in my life. This book begins with a date in the 1960’s. The 1960’s. I couldn’t believe it. That was the year my parents were born. That was the year of the hippies, of peace and love, and long crazy hair.

What I hadn’t realized was that it was also the decade four black students decided to sit in on Woolworth’s lunch counter, Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, and men and women of color were largely treated like dirt by their white ‘neighbors’. Sixty years ago. Not one hundred. Not four hundred. Sixty. I grappled with that fact from page one, and all the way to the end of the book, and until now while writing this review.

This book was beautiful, heartbreaking, haunting, and exploratory. By and large, the plight of the African Americans featured in this fictional world was heartbreaking and demoralizing. I was grateful that the author also included a few moments of hope; gems where white women secretly treated their black maids like family. However, these moments were not enough to negate their public behaviors towards black people in their town or their homes.

I don’t know how to talk about this book without talking about race, inequality, or the sickening injustice of black people in an American town. I think everyone should have to read this book. Skip the movie, which in my opinion had instance after instance of Hollywood white washing the plot. I watched the movie with a friend (via Netflix party: social distancing for the win) the day I finished the book, and was outraged by how much they had changed to make the white women look even slightly better than they had been portrayed in the book.

I honestly don’t know where I’m going with this review. My emotions are clouding my mind and twisting up coherent thoughts.

If you’ve made it this far, here are my concluding thoughts: this book should be required reading, the writing from character to character was incredibly distinct and personalized, the story was embedded with historical references that made this book truly come to life off the page, and while this book did many wonderful things to shed light on the injustices of the time it also created a white character who saved the day.

That would be my only complaint with this book, but perhaps it’s more of a complaint directed at history. Would it have been possible for any of the black characters to save themselves from their lives or their livelihoods? Or was their only way out really dependent on the coattails of a college educated white woman?

This graphic novel was recommended by Brewsandbooks on youtube. Go check out their videos!

Am I becoming a graphic novel stan? Is that what’s been happening slowly over the past two years? I think it’s a genre I can get on board with. I just want to drown in all of the different art styles, the colors, and the unique expressions of plot delivery.

Blackbird Vol I was incredible. Just. Hands in the air. Waving them like I just don’t care. Incredible.

The art was stunning to look at, the colors were vibrant and telling a story all on their own, and the plot twists were hitting me left, right, and center. I definitely should have seen at least one of the major twists coming, but I was so distracted by the art that I got sucker punched in the noggin before I realized I hadn’t stopped staring long enough to actually process the story or think!

Blackbird follows the story of a family as they devolve into chaos. After a massive earthquake family secrets are uncovered, and not everyone makes it out alive. Our main character and her sister grow up closely bonded, but also under tenuous circumstances. Oh, and our main character believes in magic, but everyone calls her crazy any time she brings it up.

This graphic novel does explore some drug and alcohol abuse throughout, so if that content is bothersome or triggering for you, I might skip this series. We follow our main character as she tries to dig herself out of this tormented hole, while falling into the world she was told over and over didn’t exist. Most of our characters in this graphic novel are POC, and badasses. *inserts rock on emoji here*

Our main character goes through quite the character arc on her journey, which made her so much more relatable. Not only is she discovering a world she’s always dreamed about, she’s also discovering who she is and who she wants to become. This is a story about someone who was told they are crazy their entire life, only to find out that they were right, and then given the chance to prove to their ‘haters’ and to themselves, what being right means.

This graphic novel deals with death, grief, lies, mystery, and even rebirth. The magic or the magical world in this novel can symbolize so many different things for so many different people.

Something I’ve learned about graphic novels is that there is a difference between a volume and a book. The copy I have of Blackbird is Vol I, which contains books 1-6.

This was a blast to read, and left me with even more questions than answers. I can’t wait to get my hands on Vol II (which as far as my research has shown me, does not have a release date yet).

This book is one of my backlogged Netgalley ARC’s. So much so, that I was able to pick up a physical copy from my library, and get to see this gorgeous cover up close!

This novel follows a high school student named Chloe, as she lies to her mom for the very first time, goes on a road trip in an attempt to follow her dreams, and gets stuck with her not-at-all-unattractive neighbor and his dog. What got me really excited to read this novel was the fact that Chloe is a dancer, and she is pursuing her passion to go to a performing arts college after high school.

Incoming background information on the blogger you didn’t ask for: I danced for over twenty years. I did styles including tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet, pointe, and hip hop. Dancing was a huge passion of mine, and I thought I was going to dance professionally for the rest of my life. That was until my senior year when I had a career ending injury.

As we soon discover, Chloe also suffered a pretty major injury a year before her story starts. I cannot express how accurate the portrayal of her injury, mindset, and her come back story are in relation to my own experiences. The only difference is that Chloe was able to get back to performing at the level she was at before her injury, and I did not.

It was amazing to read about a dancer who had felt like they were on top of the world, could tackle any role, and then lose all the confidence they’d spent years acquiring. There is a strong sense of imposter syndrome for Chloe, who learns to overcome that with the unexpected help of her neighbor, Eli.

I wasn’t sure how this story was going to evolve. From the synopsis it seemed like we were simply going from point A. to point B. So how did that equate to a two hundred plus page book? I figured out pretty quickly that this road trip would have some major speed bumps along the way.

Despite the seemingly self explanatory plot, this book left a lot for the reader to unpack. Chloe deals with what it felt like to realize she didn’t look like the other dancers in her studio, as her body developed and her skin tone stood in stark contrast to the dancers around her. Chloe and Eli both struggle to see eye to eye with their parents in regards to their futures in the art and performing art world. We saw a character who evolved into herself once she was able to go off to college, and get out from under her parents. And we watched characters as they began to come out of the closet, and the transformation they made over the next few years into confident young men.

I really appreciated that everyone can find a little piece of themselves in this story, and in these characters. It was also the quintessential young adult contemporary novel, rife with innocent rebellion (generally speaking), first love, following your dreams, teenage drama, parental drama, realizing how close college is to becoming your reality, and of course, prom. It would be completely remiss of me not to mention how wonderful Eli’s dog, Gus, is as a character throughout the novel.

I thought the writing style was accessible and descriptive. The best parts for me were when Chloe would describe dancing, or how her anxiety would manifest after the injury. I also appreciated that this story didn’t wrap itself up in a neat little bow at the end. The ending was realistic, but incredibly optimistic as well.

Despite this story, on paper, having everything I love, it didn’t pack the emotional punch I wanted. This was a sweet, slice of life contemporary novel that was a very quick read. I think this book is perfect for teenagers, or anyone who once called themselves a dancer.

This was the second novel by Jasmine Guillory that I've now read, the first being The Wedding Party. I really enjoyed that novel, and was excited to pick up any of Guillory's new titles in this 'series'. While these books do have repeat characters, the focus and who becomes the main character shifts from book to book. In The Wedding Party we were focusing on Maddie and Theo, whereas in Royal Holiday we focused on Maddie's mom, Vivian, and Malcolm.

I really enjoyed The Wedding Party because I thought it was a fresh, own voices romance that really ticked off a lot of boxes in my pursuit of good romantic fiction. Unfortunately, I think Royal Holiday fell a little flat this time around.

The premise of this story was everything I wanted: a vacation in a world where I can't leave my house, a wild romance in a time where I can't even see someone's entire face out in public, and the icing on this cake was that it's all set during the holiday season.

What worked so well for me in Guillory's previous novel was her characters. I really enjoyed Theo and Maddie's personalities, as well as the fact that it was an enemies to lovers motif. I don't want to say it was the age difference between myself and Vivian or Malcolm that added to the disconnect, because I really felt like their personalities were bland in comparison to Theo and Maddie.

The storyline itself was cute and flowed well, but I didn't feel the same sense of urgency or anticipation in this romance. I think some of this stems from the writing in this novel. I didn't enjoy the internal dialogue or descriptive scenes as much this time around, and found myself skimming large portions of the book just to get through it.

I'll have to wait and see if this is in direct correlation to my personal mindset at the time, before concluding that it was the writing itself that was the issue.

This novel was definitely a fluffy romance, with little to no angst or substance. I know a lot of people are looking for books to escape into, or a place where their mind can rest from the torment of the real world, and this honestly isn't a bad place to start.

While it's not my favorite out of the two novels I've read from Guillory, I'd love to give her another chance in the future. This one was just okay for me, but I can't forget just how enamored I was with Maddie and Theo in The Wedding Party.

Thank you Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I requested this book from Netgalley because this year I really wanted to read some holiday romances during the month of December. The premise of a small town in Alaska with a mysterious moose was just the setting to pull me in and keep me interested. Or at least, that was the hope initially.

This novel follows the perspectives of our two main characters, Rick and Lana. Lana’s family are moguls whose fortune is nearly unimaginable (and she’s set to inherit it all), and ever since she could drive she’s been escaping to this small town in Alaska when she needs to mentally bring herself back down to earth. For Rick this town is his home and livelihood, and while it might not be right for everyone (like his ex-wife) it is right for him.

I’ll be honest, what sold me from the plot was this quirky moose, and the hot shot business woman who was tasked with catching it in an attempt to win the town over. Unfortunately, I don’t think Lana was able to win me over, much less the town. Throughout the story Lana continues to remind us why the people of this small town dislike, distrust, and keep their distance from her. While she has her own heroic, yet fleeting, moments which should bring the reader onto her side, I didn’t find myself the least bit persuaded.

Objectively, I can see that this is just my opinion. The character is set up in such a way that it would be easy for the reader to root for her and come to an understanding about who she is and what she wants in life, but for some reason that just fell flat with me. I do think that there are plenty of readers who will meet Lana and adore her.

What this novel does have going for it is the writing. I was really impressed with the introspective moments with each character, and the attention to details when it came to Lana’s background with her family and her job.

Of course, this is a romance so let’s talk about the relationship. I thought this was well done and did enjoy the cute moments Rick and Lana shared, as well as their real and relevant (to them) struggles. This novel ran its course at a low sizzle, and used a lot of fade to black scenes which may not always satisfy the reader’s curiosity. Despite that, the connection between Rick and Lana was believable and fun to watch.

There were a few things that ticked my bookish pet peeves box: the repetitive use of pet names by every character and for every character, Lana’s job which I personally have zero interest in reading about, and her exterior personality. I was also frustrated by the fact that so much of the catalytic events took place in the latter half of the book. The pacing could have been edited in a way that kept me more interested in the middle half of the novel, so that the ending didn’t feel so rushed, cluttered, and lackluster.

The entire novel, starting from the synopsis and the cover blurb, was sprinkled with hints of this mystery moose (spoilers ahead) who does finally make a disappointing appearance literally on one of the last pages. I went in sort of expecting the story to revolve around this moose, and with the way it was mentioned in what felt like every chapter, I really don’t think it got the finale it deserved. Could the moose have saved this book for me? I’m not sure. It definitely wasn’t terrible, and I would recommend this book to light romance enthusiasts. This was just a case of an unlikeable character, who may only be unlikeable to me, myself, and I.

I was provided with an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review of this book.

My merry holiday readathon continues with Christmas at Holiday House. I was a little nervous after my first two books that I wasn’t going to find one that really spoke to me, and pushed all the right Christmas buttons. Maybe holiday books weren’t my jam after all?

Christmas at Holiday House did something right off the bat that I love: we had not just one, but three points of view throughout the story! We followed Abby, Ethan, and Ethan’s sister Lucy as they all navigated through the holiday season, through their past relationships, and towards their new lives.

Abby is a single mom after the traumatic murder of her husband two years prior. While there isn’t any graphic mention of his death, it is brought up more than once in the novel, and contributes to the fears Abby begins to overcome with the help of the Holiday House. Now that she has come out on the other side of crippling grief, she’s able to realize that she needs to start somewhere new with her son, somewhere she won’t be known only as the widow.

Lucy, her college roommate and best friend, called Abby after Lucy’s widowed grandmother fell down the stairs of her home, which just so happens to be the Holiday House in question. What Lucy failed to mention to Abby, who as a nurse volunteered to stay with and care for her grandmother, is that it slipped Lucy’s mind to mention Abby’s arrival to her other family members, namely Ethan. This fun little plot twist set up the entire novel in a way the forced the characters to learn to navigate each other and everything the Holiday House throws at them.

If you’ve read my reviews for any length of time you know I have a few reading pet peeves. There is one universal pet peeve I seem to encounter time and time again in romance. I will never understand why the author thinks we need the same information repeated in every chapter. I’m very fortunate to have a good memory, and do not need a recap of what happened two pages ago before we can move on to the next event. Despite this trend, I did really enjoy this story which was in thanks primarily to the characters, their depth, and the holiday shenanigans they partook in.

During a time where leaving our houses or hosting big gatherings is not only frowned upon, but dangerous for everyone everywhere, Christmas at Holiday House reminded me what it would be like to have a normal (if I was stupidly wealthy and had a thousand friends) Christmas.

Ethan and Abby’s son bonded right away, and Ethan took the pair snow tubing and skiing while I lived vicariously through all of them. There was a gingerbread house contest, Christmas carols, Christmas tree decorating, Christmas shopping, Christmas cooking, you name a festive holiday tradition and it can probably be found within the pages of this novel. And honestly, that’s exactly what I have been looking for.

I think the characters that tied this novel together so sweetly for me were Abby’s son and Ethan and Lucy’s grandmother. There was something so innocent about the way both of these characters interacted with others that made me want to invest more deeply in the story.

While this novel doesn’t get down and dirty, it does have a rather high sizzle factor. The chemistry between Ethan and Abby, as well as Lucy and Jose, jumps off the page.

There were times during this novel when I was having so much fun with the characters that I wanted to rate this book five stars just for the experience. My rating lost a star solely because I skimmed so much of the latter half of the book, dodging inner monologue that continued to consist of mostly recaps of events we’d already read about five or six times. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who wants a lightly steamy romance, and a very Christmas heavy read. It was exactly what I was looking for.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to see this title pop up on Netgalley over the summer. I read an ARC of one of Christina Lauren’s previous novels, The Unhoneymooners, and absolutely adored it. I could not wait to see what this fantastic writing duo would do with a traditional holiday romance with a twist.

I want to start off by saying I wish I had read this book first in my holiday readathon. I’ve even toyed with the idea of going back and amending some of my previous reviews, because this book reminded me just how good Christina Lauren are at their craft.

Any of my complaints from my previous holiday readathon books were null and void in In a Holidaze. There was no repetitive dialogue that refused to advance the plot forward, there aren’t any inherently unlikable characters, and it hit all my Christmas buttons.

If you took out the romance, I think this novel could still stand on its own. That’s how good the overall plot and character development is throughout the story. The romance is an incredible bonus, because Christina Lauren have figured out how to write it in the exact way that I want to read it.

I’ve sort of gushed over this book without giving any context, haven’t I? In a Holidaze is centered around a group of college roommates and friends. This group eventually becomes parents to our main characters, who are now in their middle to late twenties.

Maelyn is the only daughter of this second generation, and has been in love with the oldest boy since she was thirteen. Maelyn is a rule follower, even if the rules manifest into her unhappiness. I won’t go into the circumstances too much, because that was part of the fun of this book, but Maelyn ends up making a wish that she wants to find out what makes her happy. All of a sudden her vacation starts over. And over. And over, until she gets it right.

I do want to put a little, tiny, itty bitty trigger warning on this book. I’m not sure it will affect many readers, but it did hit a small nerve for me personally and I think that’s enough of a reason to mention it to a wider audience. When Maelyn makes a mistake in her new timeline, she begins to beg for the timeline to start over. However, in order for the timeline to restart Maelyn needs to be grievously injured or, we can assume, killed.

As the reader, this came unnervingly close to suicidal ideation. I think Christina Lauren did a fantastic job at swerving away from this a paragraph later, but it was still a triggering moment for me. I think if the story had lingered in this unsettled state for too long it could have been harmful, but the authors did a really great job at easing the tension, and bringing us back into the whimsy and joy of the season.

Let’s get back to the happy place of this novel: the romance. What a sizzle! I thought the book was going to catch on fire! While it started slow and with some trepidation, once the characters figured out what they wanted they took off full speed ahead. I personally loved how steamy moments were at times punctuated with awkward, adorable, family interruptions. It was a great reminder that this story is about family, as well as redefining yourself in (what should be) a safe space to grow.

This was the perfect book to escape into as the holidays approach. You can feel the outpouring of love as well as a healthy dose of family dysfunction, which kept a story about magical time travel grounded. This is the best holiday romance I’ve read so far for my readathon, and I’m honestly not sure anything will be able to top it. I’m already excited to read it again next year.