In A Holidaze: Love Actually meets Groundhog Day in this heartwarming holiday romance. . .
£8.70£9.50 (-8%)
‘Pure, irresistible magic from start to finish’ Emily Henry, New York Times bestselling author of Beach Read
Love Actually meets Groundhog Day in this magical holiday romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favourite place in the world – the snowy cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born. Mentally melting down as she drives away for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, everything goes black . . . When Mae gasps awake, she’s back on an airplane, beginning the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop – and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark hilarious hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
Find out why readers LOVE Christina Lauren:
‘A romantic explosion of holiday joy that will have readers drunk on its feel-good vibes quicker than a cup of eggnog’ Entertainment Weekly
‘An absolutely dazzling holiday romance: clever and cozy and deliciously sexy, with a cast of characters and a spirit-of-the-season lesson you won’t soon forget’ Kate Clayborn, author of Love Lettering
‘Witty and downright hilarious . . . a perfect feel-good romantic comedy’ Helen Hoang, author of The Kiss Quotient
‘Pure joy’ Sally Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game
‘What a joyful, warm, touching book! This is the book to read if you want to smile so hard your face hurts’ Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of The Proposal
‘A sexy, hilarious rom-com . . . Perfect for fans of Jasmine Guillory and Sally Thorne’ Booklist
‘Will we ever stop falling in love with Christina Lauren’s fictional men? The answer to this is HECK NO’ Fangirlish
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Additional information
| Publisher | Piatkus (7 Oct. 2021) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 336 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 0349426872 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0349426877 |
| Dimensions | 12.4 x 2.4 x 19.6 cm |
by Cundykj
Read this on my trip to France. Lots of time sat in airports waiting for flights so lots of reading time.
Maelyn Jones and her family spend the Christmas holiday every year with friends of her parents and their children. They have the same traditional activities each year and it never gets old. It’s the kind of Christmas that you wish for and want your kids to be forever in that family love bubble.
Maelyn has been in love with Andrew Hollis since she was 13, but never in a million years did she think he could be hers. Andrew’s brother Theo is the same age as she is and they’ve always been great friends. In a cruel twist Mae gets drunk and she kisses Theo. Andrew sees them and Mae is devastated because she thinks she’s thrown away her chance of love with Andrew.
Then catastrophe hits when Andrew and Theo’s parents announce that they are selling the holiday home. I started to think that this was going to be a very similar plot to Happy Place by Emily Henry, but apart from the holiday house sale, there is nothing similar.
Mae wishes the universe could show her what makes her happy. And so the story unfolds in a time twisting escape from reality way.
I did love the book but I felt like the question of what was real and what really happened were never explained. I have open questions and I don’t like not knowing.
by read_with_charl
Oh, this book had all the ingredients I desire in a Christmas read: Friends to Lovers Romance, sweet and cheesy storyline, humour, a variety of well-developed characters and of course a dash of Christmas spirit throughout.
I was quite apprehensive when I discovered it was going to be a Groundhog Day style read; especially as they are often repetitive and I find myself loosing interesting early on. This however was not the case. Although, the days repeat, at times, the events are different, and the reader is provided with plenty of detail to keep them engaged and connected to the plot.
Unpopular opinion, I was fully invested in Mae and Noah and didn’t really pay much attention to Andrew. Stupid I know, but I just love an Enemies to Lovers trope with a splash of grumpy/sunshine- which at the beginning was where I thought the book was heading. Once I had gotten over the fact that Mae and Andrew were meant to be, I became full invested in their relationship- which I absolutely loved towards the end.
I couldn’t finish this review without mentioning Uncle Benny, he should be your soul reason for reading this book! If you know you know.
by Dini
It has been a long time since I’ve read a CLo book and now I’m wondering why! This book was such a fun and wonderfully festive holiday romance and it served a good dose of feel-good family vibes, a swoony albeit slightly cheesy swoontastic romance, and likeable characters that you can’t help but root for and wish you were friends with, too! If you’re looking for a holiday read to lose yourself in for a little while, I would definitely recommend this one.
Mae was an such a relatable main character. She’s a people pleaser and a peacekeeper—she doesn’t like to rock the boat and tries to be the calm medium in all interactions, but the need to be the level-headed person all the time is also draining and has hindered her more than its helped her in the end. I loved how she evolves though and comes to realise that reaching for the things that make her happy is worth the risk of being bold and speaking up. Once she decides to be honest about her feelings, things progress pretty rapidly in the romance department and I have to admit, although it wasn’t really insta-love, at least on Mae’s part, it took a little while for me to be convinced about Andrew’s feelings. That said, I thought the sexual chemistry between them developed nicely and I thought the way CLo tackled their evolving relationship from friendship love to romantic love was done well. I really loved the easy comfort they had and the ways they really understood each other, which added to that ease! Their romance was so heartfelt, sweet and okay, sometimes super cheesy at times, but that didn’t stop a big grin from decorating my face whenever those moments happened. Even with the requisite drama and romantic break-up angst, theirs is a love that will have your insides glowing with all the warm and fuzzy feelings. ???? This also had fade-to-black sex scenes, so if on-page sex is something you don’t jam with in romances, this one will be fine for you!
Aside from the romance, my favourite part of the book was the family gathering in the cabin. I absolutely adored this mixed family that came together every year for the holidays. Reading about their fun traditions that ranged from simple board games, cocktail hours and tree trimming, to snow sculpting and scavenger hunts through town, made me itch so badly to join in on the fun! There was such a wonderful flow of love and respect within this group and you can tell how much they appreciated, understood and cared for each other. I adored Benny, who was a wonderful sounding board and strong pillar of support for Mae, and I adored all the ways he was there for her through the crazy groundhog day experience—their uncle/niece relationship was so heartwarming! I also liked the weird relationship that Mae had with her brother Miles. He might’ve been a sullen teen addicted to his phone
What I wasn’t so chuffed about was how the whole thing between Mae and Theo was handled. I get that Mae is reacting to something that, in this version of reality, didn’t happen, but Theo was basically a non-entity until close to the end. I felt like the whole “Theo and Mae” set-up was unnecessary since it added nothing but unneeded drama and little tension, not to mention it was resolved so easily that I wasn’t particularly sold on it.
Ultimately though, this was a super-fast read and I had a great time, as I always do, with CLo’s characters and their romances. This is probably one of the most festive holiday romances that I’ve had the pleasure of reading, so if you’re looking for something that’s for sure set during the holidays (and not during the summer lol) then I’d definitely recommend giving this a shot! :