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lurker_stalker's review
4.0
I think I was in the right place mentally for this book because I couldn't stop reading it. I had to force myself to put it down and go to sleep last night.
Don't get me wrong, there were things that rubbed me the wrong way (interactions with Gwen, an all white cast of characters, much too quick and easy of a resolution) but there were many more that made this a great read. I think this will make it as an entry to my "funk reading list."
I loved the humor in this book. Except for the back and forth between Holly and Gwen. It just felt too mean-spirited to be between BFFs. I understand what Spencer was going for - hell, I have friend where our normal conversations are filled with jabs and snarky remarks but theirs seemed to be too much for me to believe.
The apartment complex reminded me a bit of Tales of the City, except more raunchy and funny. Not a bad thing at all.
The chemistry between Meredith and Holly was super charged and I loved every sex scene. A lot. Their time spent in Hawaii was hilarious and I honestly never wanted that part to end.
I really enjoyed [b:30 Dates in 30 Days|51872065|30 Dates in 30 Days|Elle Spencer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560928304l/51872065._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71387058], too, and think Ms. Spencer is quick becoming a go-to author for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the chance to enjoy and chat about this one.
Don't get me wrong, there were things that rubbed me the wrong way (interactions with Gwen, an all white cast of characters, much too quick and easy of a resolution) but there were many more that made this a great read. I think this will make it as an entry to my "funk reading list."
I loved the humor in this book. Except for the back and forth between Holly and Gwen. It just felt too mean-spirited to be between BFFs. I understand what Spencer was going for - hell, I have friend where our normal conversations are filled with jabs and snarky remarks but theirs seemed to be too much for me to believe.
The apartment complex reminded me a bit of Tales of the City, except more raunchy and funny. Not a bad thing at all.
The chemistry between Meredith and Holly was super charged and I loved every sex scene. A lot. Their time spent in Hawaii was hilarious and I honestly never wanted that part to end.
I really enjoyed [b:30 Dates in 30 Days|51872065|30 Dates in 30 Days|Elle Spencer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1560928304l/51872065._SX50_SY75_.jpg|71387058], too, and think Ms. Spencer is quick becoming a go-to author for me.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the chance to enjoy and chat about this one.
bookish_smorgasbord's review against another edition
4.0
If you've ever clamored for queer Hallmark Christmas movies, this holiday romance between Wifetime network writer Holly Hudson (who is notoriously not into Christmas, despite penning popular movies about it) and the holiday division's new executive, Meredith Drake, satisfies. They meet while on vacation, but struggle against their attraction when they return to work.
Wonderfully drawn characters and relationships, full of humor and heart, create the kind of close community atmosphere I enjoy in made-for-tv holiday movies. While some aspects towards the end feel a little rushed, it is, overall, a delightful, affirming addition to Christmas romance world.
#HEA #Christmas #ChristmasRomance #Romance #Holiday #HolidayRomance #ff #QueerRomance #ElleSpencer #TheHolidayTreatment #HallmarkMakeThisAMovie #BoldStrokesBooks
Wonderfully drawn characters and relationships, full of humor and heart, create the kind of close community atmosphere I enjoy in made-for-tv holiday movies. While some aspects towards the end feel a little rushed, it is, overall, a delightful, affirming addition to Christmas romance world.
#HEA #Christmas #ChristmasRomance #Romance #Holiday #HolidayRomance #ff #QueerRomance #ElleSpencer #TheHolidayTreatment #HallmarkMakeThisAMovie #BoldStrokesBooks
aliu6's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars
Holly Hudson has made a name for herself writing screenplays for a successful Christmas romance series at Wifetime. As great as that's been, her dream is to create a gay Christmas movie, but Holly's been told time and time again that the network is just not ready to make that leap. Enter Meredith Drake, a Wifetime executive who happens to be a lesbian—and super attractive. Meredith seems to be Holly's best bet to make her gay movie happen. When circumstances lead Holly and Meredith to the same Hawaiian resort during the holidays, the two women end up doing more than just talk business. Will Holly find the same happy ending as the characters in her movies do, or is that just a fairytale?
cw: homophobia, brief mention of sexual harassment in the workplace
This book was kind of disappointing. The writing was great, but the plot made me shake my head so many times. This gave me unpleasant flashbacks to that Hulu movie, "Happiest Season." Maybe lesbian Christmas romances are just not for me :/
The Characters: Holly is cute and quirky, but she has some low self-esteem. Not the worst thing, I just prefer my MCs to be a bit more confident. I didn't like how Holly kept thinking Meredith was so out of her league. Speaking of Meredith, ugh. She was okay in the first half of the book, but then she treats Holly pretty shittily and barely apologizes. Honestly, thinking back, an earlier interaction with Meredith's snooty sister could have been a red flag. I get that it's a Christmas story and some things are glossed over, but I think Meredith really should have been held accountable for what she did. So anyway, I'm not a fan of her. The side characters were fine for the most part, but I think there were too many of them for me to keep track. Holly has a gang of friends, each quirky in their own ways, and it became a lot.
The Romance: We see Holly crushing on Meredith a lot, but we don't get much from Meredith's perspective. It seemed like Holly was willing to let Meredith get away with anything because she couldn't believe Meredith would ever want someone like her. I didn't buy the falling in love bit, and I didn't really think Holly and Meredith worked well together. See: my dislike of Meredith.
The Plot: It was a little slow. It follows the relationship between Holly and Meredith, as well as Holly's attempts to get her gay movie produced. The beginning dragged out and then the end felt too rushed.
The Writing: This part was solid. There were some funny lines, and everything flowed.
All in all... maybe the main problem of this book can be boiled down to one point - there was too much going on. There wasn't enough focus on Holly and Meredith's relationship, and instead there was a lot of dialogue between Holly and the side characters. Obviously this doesn't have to be a bad thing, but when I don't believe the two MCs should end up together, there needs to be some more time dedicated to showing how they work well. I tend to really enjoy Elle Spencer's books, and I think she is the queen of angst. But this book didn't really have angst, just a plot point thrown in to create conflict, which never got resolved satisfactorily.
Maybe this is one that should be left to the hardcore Christmas fans, but this book was not for me.
*I received an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Holly Hudson has made a name for herself writing screenplays for a successful Christmas romance series at Wifetime. As great as that's been, her dream is to create a gay Christmas movie, but Holly's been told time and time again that the network is just not ready to make that leap. Enter Meredith Drake, a Wifetime executive who happens to be a lesbian—and super attractive. Meredith seems to be Holly's best bet to make her gay movie happen. When circumstances lead Holly and Meredith to the same Hawaiian resort during the holidays, the two women end up doing more than just talk business. Will Holly find the same happy ending as the characters in her movies do, or is that just a fairytale?
cw: homophobia, brief mention of sexual harassment in the workplace
This book was kind of disappointing. The writing was great, but the plot made me shake my head so many times. This gave me unpleasant flashbacks to that Hulu movie, "Happiest Season." Maybe lesbian Christmas romances are just not for me :/
The Characters: Holly is cute and quirky, but she has some low self-esteem. Not the worst thing, I just prefer my MCs to be a bit more confident. I didn't like how Holly kept thinking Meredith was so out of her league. Speaking of Meredith, ugh. She was okay in the first half of the book, but then she treats Holly pretty shittily and barely apologizes. Honestly, thinking back, an earlier interaction with Meredith's snooty sister could have been a red flag. I get that it's a Christmas story and some things are glossed over, but I think Meredith really should have been held accountable for what she did. So anyway, I'm not a fan of her. The side characters were fine for the most part, but I think there were too many of them for me to keep track. Holly has a gang of friends, each quirky in their own ways, and it became a lot.
The Romance: We see Holly crushing on Meredith a lot, but we don't get much from Meredith's perspective. It seemed like Holly was willing to let Meredith get away with anything because she couldn't believe Meredith would ever want someone like her. I didn't buy the falling in love bit, and I didn't really think Holly and Meredith worked well together. See: my dislike of Meredith.
The Plot: It was a little slow. It follows the relationship between Holly and Meredith, as well as Holly's attempts to get her gay movie produced. The beginning dragged out and then the end felt too rushed.
The Writing: This part was solid. There were some funny lines, and everything flowed.
All in all... maybe the main problem of this book can be boiled down to one point - there was too much going on. There wasn't enough focus on Holly and Meredith's relationship, and instead there was a lot of dialogue between Holly and the side characters. Obviously this doesn't have to be a bad thing, but when I don't believe the two MCs should end up together, there needs to be some more time dedicated to showing how they work well. I tend to really enjoy Elle Spencer's books, and I think she is the queen of angst. But this book didn't really have angst, just a plot point thrown in to create conflict, which never got resolved satisfactorily.
Maybe this is one that should be left to the hardcore Christmas fans, but this book was not for me.
*I received an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
jsjarvis71's review against another edition
4.0
This holiday book is one that I will be revisiting every Christmas season for years to come. Elle has taken the spirit of Hallmark Channel movies and incorporated that into a wonderful WLW novel. All of the characters we developed so well, including the main characters, Holly and Meredith. I absolutely loved the humorous nature of Holly and her wit with others around her. She is an adorable character that I grew to love very quickly. Meredith is more of the professional, hard to read type of character. I could see where the angst point was going to come from, but I kept hoping Meredith wasn't going to be involved with it. Unfortunately, she was, but as good HEA stories go, she was able to redeem herself by the end.
I really enjoyed this novel and I think anyone looking for a fun holiday read will enjoy it as well.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
I really enjoyed this novel and I think anyone looking for a fun holiday read will enjoy it as well.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
banrions's review against another edition
2.0
(i'd actually give this like a 2.5, edging sliiiiightly closer to 3 but not enough, unfortunetly).
I wanted to like this more than I did. I listened to the audiobook version, and while I liked the narrator, I wasn’t in love with the story, or the characters. Holly said and did things that made me genuinely yell out loud "girl, please just stop talking" more than once and not in the ‘oh this is so awkward but adorable way’ more in the ‘this is deeply embarrassing way’. The romance just kind of didn’t feel believable to me, which, on top of not really loving the main character, was kind of the biggest downer for me, since the focus was kind of on the romance. I think this is mostly due to basically just showing a one night stand, assuming they’re suddenly in love, and then speeding though the relationship with time cuts that just didn’t let the relationship develop much beyond them clearly having sexual chemistry. And look, I get it, this is meant to be a short and sweet queer holiday romance and those stories all usually kinda surface level anyway, and that’s FINE, it wasn’t bad, it just was a slight letdown. espesically since holly herself made SEVERAL speeches about how queer people need genuine holiday romance stories in the media, i was kinda like.... you dropped your OWN ball, babe.
I wanted to like this more than I did. I listened to the audiobook version, and while I liked the narrator, I wasn’t in love with the story, or the characters. Holly said and did things that made me genuinely yell out loud "girl, please just stop talking" more than once and not in the ‘oh this is so awkward but adorable way’ more in the ‘this is deeply embarrassing way’. The romance just kind of didn’t feel believable to me, which, on top of not really loving the main character, was kind of the biggest downer for me, since the focus was kind of on the romance. I think this is mostly due to basically just showing a one night stand, assuming they’re suddenly in love,
Spoiler
and my god i was also like, holly.... yeah OBVIOUSLY she is not going to just maybe lose her job for a one night stand, you DINGUShsinjulit's review against another edition
4.0
Content warning: homophobia
I finished this book on a perfect day, aka the trailer release day of the sapphic Christmas rom com Happiest Season, where, and I quote the book, “lesbian Twitter” was freaking out about it. You should see my timeline. And I also want to quote Kyle Krieger (soccer player Ali Krieger’s brother) on the Krashlyn wedding, “we get happy endings, too.” I love that speech and will probably be repeatedly quoting it.
Growing up in Christmas Cove, Vermont (not a real place but Christmas Cove, Maine is) and named Holiday, lesbian disaster Holly Hudson (34) cannot be more sick of Christmas. Ironically, she is the writer of Wifetime Network’s very straight Christmas rom com series Evermore. When she visits Hawaii again for the holiday, Holly finds her crush, Wifetime’s development executive Meredith Drake, there as well. As their brief fling ends in Hawaii, what is next for Holly back at work? Can she finally have her gay movie approved while getting her own real-life rom com as well?
Angsty relationships in romance aren’t really my thing, nor are lusty flings, but The Holiday Treatment is so funny, though at times a little over the top, it was totally worth all the angst as well as all the lust I couldn’t quite understand. With the main relationship of Holly and Meredith being more lust-to-love and Meredith’s questionable ethics, I am rather ambivalent about the romance aspect of the book. Also, the story reads like two separate novellas with two story arcs where the first one is the hot fling in Hawaii and the second is about the rest of the relationship.
There were also a few time jumps and occasions where people acted out of character that I had trouble with. However, I do love Holly’s chaotic group of friends/tenants, namely Gwen, Griffin, Ty, and Dez. Especially Gwen and Griffin. Please protect them at all costs. Even though there would never be books about their love lives, I’d read them all if there were.
The Holiday Treatment is well-written and the details connect nicely between chapters. And an awkward disaster lesbian is what we all need in a romance. While I don’t think Meredith deserves Holly, the ending was so on-brand for them both I couldn’t help but be happy for them.
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I finished this book on a perfect day, aka the trailer release day of the sapphic Christmas rom com Happiest Season, where, and I quote the book, “lesbian Twitter” was freaking out about it. You should see my timeline. And I also want to quote Kyle Krieger (soccer player Ali Krieger’s brother) on the Krashlyn wedding, “we get happy endings, too.” I love that speech and will probably be repeatedly quoting it.
Growing up in Christmas Cove, Vermont (not a real place but Christmas Cove, Maine is) and named Holiday, lesbian disaster Holly Hudson (34) cannot be more sick of Christmas. Ironically, she is the writer of Wifetime Network’s very straight Christmas rom com series Evermore. When she visits Hawaii again for the holiday, Holly finds her crush, Wifetime’s development executive Meredith Drake, there as well. As their brief fling ends in Hawaii, what is next for Holly back at work? Can she finally have her gay movie approved while getting her own real-life rom com as well?
“Oh, please. I’ve had to stumble and mumble and bumble my way through every promising date I’ve ever been on.” — Holly
Angsty relationships in romance aren’t really my thing, nor are lusty flings, but The Holiday Treatment is so funny, though at times a little over the top, it was totally worth all the angst as well as all the lust I couldn’t quite understand. With the main relationship of Holly and Meredith being more lust-to-love and Meredith’s questionable ethics, I am rather ambivalent about the romance aspect of the book. Also, the story reads like two separate novellas with two story arcs where the first one is the hot fling in Hawaii and the second is about the rest of the relationship.
There were also a few time jumps and occasions where people acted out of character that I had trouble with. However, I do love Holly’s chaotic group of friends/tenants, namely Gwen, Griffin, Ty, and Dez. Especially Gwen and Griffin. Please protect them at all costs. Even though there would never be books about their love lives, I’d read them all if there were.
The Holiday Treatment is well-written and the details connect nicely between chapters. And an awkward disaster lesbian is what we all need in a romance. While I don’t think Meredith deserves Holly, the ending was so on-brand for them both I couldn’t help but be happy for them.
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
stine_reads's review against another edition
4.0
This book was my first for this author, and boy oh boy, was I not disappointed! Funny, heartwarming, amazing characters - a truly perfect feel-good read.
To be recommended!
To be recommended!
jennabeebs79's review against another edition
5.0
Nobody can weave a witty tale quite like Elle Spencer. This book was awesome! Holly's a screenwriter whose dream is to write a Christmas movie with two LGBTQ main characters, oh and she also hates Christmas. The reader immediately wonders how someone who writes Christmas movies can hate Christmas. We find out that Holly grew up in a small Vermont town called Christmas Cove which she left immediately after high school because she felt like she couldn't be herself.
For years she's spent Christmas in Hawaii instead of going home and when she lands in Hawaii for this year's trip, she "helps" her work crush Meredith Drake (who just so happened to be on her plane) when her suitcase explodes. The two women spend an incredible time together in Hawaii but when they get home, they find out that Meredith has been promoted and is kind of Holly's boss.
Meredith puts the brakes on their relationship and it was really heart wrenching to read how this made Holly feel. Holly's best friends were an excellent group of people that really enhanced the overall tone of this book!
This was a delightful read filled with quirky characters! Thanks, Elle for another fantastic read!
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
For years she's spent Christmas in Hawaii instead of going home and when she lands in Hawaii for this year's trip, she "helps" her work crush Meredith Drake (who just so happened to be on her plane) when her suitcase explodes. The two women spend an incredible time together in Hawaii but when they get home, they find out that Meredith has been promoted and is kind of Holly's boss.
Meredith puts the brakes on their relationship and it was really heart wrenching to read how this made Holly feel. Holly's best friends were an excellent group of people that really enhanced the overall tone of this book!
This was a delightful read filled with quirky characters! Thanks, Elle for another fantastic read!
I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
althea's review against another edition
3.0
DNF at 45%
I've been dying to read something by Elle Spencer for quite a while now, and I was so excited for the Hallmark-esque premise of this book, but sadly I feel the execution was a bit off. I didn't enjoy the main character's voice at all and I think a lot of the tongue-in-cheek jokes were a bit too try hard and instead came off a bit awkward. I might pick this up again next year because it did start off really promising, but for now I have so many other books I want to read than trying to trudge through this one!
Read for the 12 Days of Queermas Readathon!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an e-ARC copy in return for an honest review!
I've been dying to read something by Elle Spencer for quite a while now, and I was so excited for the Hallmark-esque premise of this book, but sadly I feel the execution was a bit off. I didn't enjoy the main character's voice at all and I think a lot of the tongue-in-cheek jokes were a bit too try hard and instead came off a bit awkward. I might pick this up again next year because it did start off really promising, but for now I have so many other books I want to read than trying to trudge through this one!
Read for the 12 Days of Queermas Readathon!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for an e-ARC copy in return for an honest review!
kburns2004's review against another edition
2.0
Tried 3 different times to get into this book. I couldn't get past the second chapter. No idea why, the writing was fine, and the plot seemed to be going down the same as other books I enjoyed. Maybe I will pick up again in the future and give it another go.