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angieinbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I'm a complete sucker for a cheesy holiday romance movie--or at least I used to be until I started to really curate my romances a couple of years ago, i.e. if it isn't queer, I probably won't watch it. As you can imagine, the number of holiday romance movies I could watch basically went to zero. And, yes, now there are a handful of movies I can watch, but there's still a long way to go. Thankfully, I have found my outlet in books.
Elle Spencer has been fairly hit and miss for me, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from The Holiday Treatment but this hit all the right notes for what I needed it to be: a funny, completely predictable, Christmas romance where the leads have great chemistry.
The first half of the book is definitely the standout. From the moment they see each other in Hawaii, I was hooked. Elle Spencer writes comedy very well, but I was impressed with their banter. It was fun and light and sexy and it worked. We're in Holly's head the entire book (limited 3rd person POV), so I was trying to figure out, along with Holly, what Meredith was thinking/where Meredith stood in regards to Holly. It made me feel a little insecure, but I was actually impressed with how well they communicated (for the most part--this definitely breaks down a few places in the novel). So any insecurity I felt was generally short-lived.
Like many BSB novels, I feel like this could have been longer. Seriously, does BSB start charging authors by the page if their novels go over 230 pages? Spencer spends 50% of the novel sort of setting everything up between Holly and Meredith in their Hawaii bubble, and it's absolutely delicious, but the rest of the novel happens very quickly and covers a lot time that we don't get much insight into. And I think we needed some of that insight to make sense of the decisions Meredith makes (and it doesn't help we don't get any insight into her mind). But this wasn't a huge impediment to my overall enjoyment.
The secondary characters--mostly Holly's neighbors, who are also her best friends--are a lot of fun and provide some genuine laughs, and I loved them, even if they're all a bit too eccentric for me to find them completely believable. I do think we spent a little too much time with them, but they serve as a "found family" for Holly and it's nice that she has people who really do love and support her.
Okay, so the ending happens very quickly and it definitely left a lot of questions unanswered. But isn't that true of all these types of romances? I can't fault it for executing exactly what I wanted to see.
I'm giving this 4.5 stars, but I think this is my Christmas go-to for a feel good holiday romcom from this point forward. So I'm rounding it up for that reason alone.
Elle Spencer has been fairly hit and miss for me, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect from The Holiday Treatment but this hit all the right notes for what I needed it to be: a funny, completely predictable, Christmas romance where the leads have great chemistry.
The first half of the book is definitely the standout. From the moment they see each other in Hawaii, I was hooked. Elle Spencer writes comedy very well, but I was impressed with their banter. It was fun and light and sexy and it worked. We're in Holly's head the entire book (limited 3rd person POV), so I was trying to figure out, along with Holly, what Meredith was thinking/where Meredith stood in regards to Holly. It made me feel a little insecure, but I was actually impressed with how well they communicated (for the most part--this definitely breaks down a few places in the novel). So any insecurity I felt was generally short-lived.
Like many BSB novels, I feel like this could have been longer. Seriously, does BSB start charging authors by the page if their novels go over 230 pages? Spencer spends 50% of the novel sort of setting everything up between Holly and Meredith in their Hawaii bubble, and it's absolutely delicious, but the rest of the novel happens very quickly and covers a lot time that we don't get much insight into. And I think we needed some of that insight to make sense of the decisions Meredith makes (and it doesn't help we don't get any insight into her mind). But this wasn't a huge impediment to my overall enjoyment.
The secondary characters--mostly Holly's neighbors, who are also her best friends--are a lot of fun and provide some genuine laughs, and I loved them, even if they're all a bit too eccentric for me to find them completely believable. I do think we spent a little too much time with them, but they serve as a "found family" for Holly and it's nice that she has people who really do love and support her.
Okay, so the ending happens very quickly and it definitely left a lot of questions unanswered. But isn't that true of all these types of romances? I can't fault it for executing exactly what I wanted to see.
I'm giving this 4.5 stars, but I think this is my Christmas go-to for a feel good holiday romcom from this point forward. So I'm rounding it up for that reason alone.
hhushaw's review against another edition
4.0
An honest review thanks to NetGalley. I really liked this book, but anything by Elle Spencer I am destined to love. Holly is such a likeable character and watching her fight and continuing working for a holiday romance with a gay lead was amazing. Obviously the conflict between the two love interests was a bit irritating, everything with her all of a sudden becoming Holly's boss with no warning threw me for a loop. The characters journey and the feel good atmosphere from this book makes it a great Christmas romance.
00leah00's review against another edition
4.0
Solid 4 Stars
I love that a book about cheesy rom-coms was a big cheesy rom-com. I absolutely adored this vacation turned work place romance.
“The Holiday Treatment” by Elle Spencer is exactly what a Christmas romance should be. It was hilarious and sweet with an amazing chemistry between the two main characters.
Holly, a writer for Wifetime Network, has a work crush on Meredith, who is an executive, but Meredith doesn’t know Holly exists. When Holly takes her Christmas vacation in Hawaii, she is surprised to find Meredith at baggage claim and even more surprised when she later sees her in the elevator at her hotel. Man, what a coincidence. Meredith and Holly have a short and very hot vacation romance and make plans to see one another when they return to LA. However, an unexpected promotion for Meredith once they return means she’s no longer able to date Holly because of company policy. They decide to be friends as they have to work together. This does not work out very well for either of them.
I loved Holly so much, which is good because it’s told from her third person point of view. She was so awkward and funny when around someone she was attracted to and it caused her to put her foot in her mouth several times. She’s one of those characters who has no filter and rambles a lot. Any time she’s in Meredith’s vicinity she seems to not have much control over whatever comes out of her mouth. While she’s mostly mortified about it, Meredith finds her charming.
Meredith seems a bit serious and a cool, suit wearing executive when she’s first introduced. However, she’s really rather sweet and funny in her downtime. I think her personality meshed well with Holly’s and it was fun to watch the flirty banter between them (once Holly was able to be cool.)
Be prepared to a very wacky cast of characters here. Holly’s neighbors and friends all have very loud and outrageous personalities. They bicker and are full of sass and one up each other constantly. They’re hilarious but can be a little over the top sometimes.
I’m not giving it the full five stars because I had a couple of issues with the story. Once they get together and start dating for real, we’re told more than shown how the relationship is going. I wanted to see more of them together before the requisite breakup. I think I would have a had a deeper connection to the split and it would’ve had a bigger payoff in the end. I still liked it; I just could’ve liked it more. There were a couple of other minor things but they didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
I really loved this overall and it will definitely be re-read during the holidays for the foreseeable future.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
I love that a book about cheesy rom-coms was a big cheesy rom-com. I absolutely adored this vacation turned work place romance.
“The Holiday Treatment” by Elle Spencer is exactly what a Christmas romance should be. It was hilarious and sweet with an amazing chemistry between the two main characters.
Holly, a writer for Wifetime Network, has a work crush on Meredith, who is an executive, but Meredith doesn’t know Holly exists. When Holly takes her Christmas vacation in Hawaii, she is surprised to find Meredith at baggage claim and even more surprised when she later sees her in the elevator at her hotel. Man, what a coincidence. Meredith and Holly have a short and very hot vacation romance and make plans to see one another when they return to LA. However, an unexpected promotion for Meredith once they return means she’s no longer able to date Holly because of company policy. They decide to be friends as they have to work together. This does not work out very well for either of them.
I loved Holly so much, which is good because it’s told from her third person point of view. She was so awkward and funny when around someone she was attracted to and it caused her to put her foot in her mouth several times. She’s one of those characters who has no filter and rambles a lot. Any time she’s in Meredith’s vicinity she seems to not have much control over whatever comes out of her mouth. While she’s mostly mortified about it, Meredith finds her charming.
Meredith seems a bit serious and a cool, suit wearing executive when she’s first introduced. However, she’s really rather sweet and funny in her downtime. I think her personality meshed well with Holly’s and it was fun to watch the flirty banter between them (once Holly was able to be cool.)
Be prepared to a very wacky cast of characters here. Holly’s neighbors and friends all have very loud and outrageous personalities. They bicker and are full of sass and one up each other constantly. They’re hilarious but can be a little over the top sometimes.
I’m not giving it the full five stars because I had a couple of issues with the story. Once they get together and start dating for real, we’re told more than shown how the relationship is going. I wanted to see more of them together before the requisite breakup. I think I would have a had a deeper connection to the split and it would’ve had a bigger payoff in the end. I still liked it; I just could’ve liked it more. There were a couple of other minor things but they didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
I really loved this overall and it will definitely be re-read during the holidays for the foreseeable future.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books in exchange for an honest review.
ogwen's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book and I will probably re-read it every year at Christmas. I won’t recap the plot here, others have already done that, but I had a smile on my face through most of it (except for the obligatory romance novel rough patch), and laughed out loud several times. This one is pure sugar and I didn't mind a bit.
Elle Spencer writes wonderful stories with snappy dialog and satisfactory endings. The Holiday Treatment is no different. Highly recommend!
Elle Spencer writes wonderful stories with snappy dialog and satisfactory endings. The Holiday Treatment is no different. Highly recommend!
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
4.0
really enjoyed this but the world is very white! (white lesbians are “diversity and inclusion” and the name for holly’s movie is a pun from a beyoncé song even though i’d bet a million dollars the people in the movie are white)
marianara's review against another edition
3.0
sometimes you need an “unabashedly gay, impossibly happy, covered in snow and mistletoe” christmas read in april
lighthearted gays falling in love with no extensively angsty coming out subplot and a nauseating happy ending??? everything i ever wanted
lighthearted gays falling in love with no extensively angsty coming out subplot and a nauseating happy ending??? everything i ever wanted
pandon's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed most of this book. The main characters were likeable but I didn’t care for most of the secondary characters and really didn’t care for Meredith’s sister.
I would liked to have heard more of Meredith’s voice, her point of view. I would liked to have seen Meredith’s family meet Holly, especially Chelsea. And I would have liked to see what happened between Gwen and Brian.
I would liked to have heard more of Meredith’s voice, her point of view. I would liked to have seen Meredith’s family meet Holly, especially Chelsea. And I would have liked to see what happened between Gwen and Brian.
barbrokatrin's review
5.0
Elle Spencer never disappoint
I have always loved Elle Spencer and this book did not disappoint. Spencer has a way of making me laugh at all the funny banter between friends, I know I spent the first 50 pages grinning like an idiot and actually laughing out loud. She made me cry at the sad moments, she also made me cry with happy tears. I loved the story so much. It was funny, sad, sweet, adorable and with steamy sex scenes.
The ending was a bit cliche, but for once I did not mind it.
I have always loved Elle Spencer and this book did not disappoint. Spencer has a way of making me laugh at all the funny banter between friends, I know I spent the first 50 pages grinning like an idiot and actually laughing out loud. She made me cry at the sad moments, she also made me cry with happy tears. I loved the story so much. It was funny, sad, sweet, adorable and with steamy sex scenes.
The ending was a bit cliche, but for once I did not mind it.
patricia71's review against another edition
It didn’t connect with me. I tried, but to much forced humor.