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alyssajp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Cancer, and Grief
Minor: Pregnancy
dianaschmidty's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book legitimately had me giddy. I didn’t stop smiling for like five minutes after finishing it. I am a huge lover of Hallmark Christmas movies and while there have been a lot of books that I’ve loved because they give me Hallmark vibes, I have to say that this book is truly every single one of my favorite Hallmark Movies rolled up into one book! It has everything! A divorced couple forced to spend Christmas together! They keep messing up their travel plans! They sort of hate (but really still love) each other! There’s some “Christmas in the City” magic going on. PLENTY of great banter! And the trope of one of them taking care of the other!
I loved Tom and Catherine. Their “bad” character traits actually made them very lovable. I also loved how they were opposites in ways like how one of them is vehemently against Ubers while the other is very in favor, but the fact that they each bother to think about something so trivial shows that they really seem to complete each other. I also think that it was adorable how each of them would complain about the “bad” traits while also subtly saying that those negatives were what made them love the other person.
Also, I need to mention how adorable I think it is that Lauren Layne wrote this with her real-life husband, Anthony LeDonne! It made the dual POV feel more realistic!
The only thing I wish were different is that I wish that they had had a little bit more time to be together at the end, but I can get behind them not simply because that’s how all of my favorite Hallmark Movies play out too.
I can see this easily becoming a book I reread every Christmas just like my favorite Christmas movies!
Thank you to NetGalley, Blackstone Publishing, and Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne for providing me access to this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Cancer
Minor: Pregnancy
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