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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
A wedding gone wrong results in best friends Holly and Ivy swapping holiday plans. Attorney Holly ends up in a cabin, very unlike her typical way to unwind, while Ivy takes a trip to Hawaii.
Along the way they get to know a cast of characters and discover themselves in a different light... a holiday escape read with great changes in scenery.
I enjoyed some of the holiday books that Julia McKay cowrote, and this didn't disappoint!
Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.
Along the way they get to know a cast of characters and discover themselves in a different light... a holiday escape read with great changes in scenery.
I enjoyed some of the holiday books that Julia McKay cowrote, and this didn't disappoint!
Thank you to Netgalley and to Penguin Group Putnam for the ARC.
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a fun, enjoyable holiday romance read!
I loved the dual story-line and the overall concept of the book! The two FMCs were likable, and you rooted for their success. I liked that the storylines were also basically two completely different words - outdoorsy/cabin vibes and then Hawaii.
The beginning brings you in immediately due to the conflict that starts the entire plot, and i enjoyed that!
I regret taking so long to read this, but it’s a good change of pace in holiday romances! Normally they’re all pretty much the same, but this one has a lot of good, creative, original ideas!
I would definitely recommend to my peers! 🎅🏼
I loved the dual story-line and the overall concept of the book! The two FMCs were likable, and you rooted for their success. I liked that the storylines were also basically two completely different words - outdoorsy/cabin vibes and then Hawaii.
The beginning brings you in immediately due to the conflict that starts the entire plot, and i enjoyed that!
I regret taking so long to read this, but it’s a good change of pace in holiday romances! Normally they’re all pretty much the same, but this one has a lot of good, creative, original ideas!
I would definitely recommend to my peers! 🎅🏼
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A Christmas romance with a big focus on friendship too! Loved the two different settings - Kauai and a wintery small town. Double the romance! Swoony and a little steamy.
Two best friends, two Christmas love stories. This was exactly what a holiday RomCom should be- fluffy, entertaining and sweet and all the holiday vibes.
quick synosis-
Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are the ultimate ride-or-die BFFs—so close, they could swap lives and no one would notice. When Holly’s fiancé pulls the plug before their wedding, she’s stuck with a broken heart and a paid-for honeymoon in paradise. Holly convinces Ivy to pull the ultimate switcheroo: Ivy takes the Hawaiian dream vacation Holly can't stomach, while Holly holes up in Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to drown her sorrows in holiday movies.
But Holly's plan to mope in peace hits a snag when the rugged Airbnb host shows up—who also happens to be her old high school rival, now rocking a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s relaxing solo art retreat in Hawaii gets a surprise twist when Holly’s ex-fiancé shows up with his new girlfriend, checking into the honeymoon suite! With no room at the inn and her blood boiling, Ivy finds an unexpected savior in the hotel’s flirty bartender.
Holly and Ivy might just discover the magic of the holidays in ways they never imagined!
Thoughts-
While each of the characters individual romances were both sweet and steamy, the real focus of the book was on their strong friendship in additions to some self rediscovery for both women that I found really refreshing and well written. Both love interests were sexy and adorable in their own way.
I'm a huge holiday romance book buff, therefore I can be picky about holiday books, but this was just the perfect amount of fun and cute. I really felt the author did an exceptional job of executing the story and pacing the dual story lines that neither POV was ever boring. As a matter of fact it kept me itching for the next chapter.
I truly enjoyed this book. it was easy to read- read in less than a day- and think that it will be a great book to read around the holidays.
ADD THIS TO YOUR CHRISTMAS TBR besties!
Thank you NetGalley, Putnam, and Julia Mckay for this ARC in excahnge for my my honest review.
quick synosis-
Holly Beech and Ivy Casey are the ultimate ride-or-die BFFs—so close, they could swap lives and no one would notice. When Holly’s fiancé pulls the plug before their wedding, she’s stuck with a broken heart and a paid-for honeymoon in paradise. Holly convinces Ivy to pull the ultimate switcheroo: Ivy takes the Hawaiian dream vacation Holly can't stomach, while Holly holes up in Ivy’s rented Hudson Valley cabin to drown her sorrows in holiday movies.
But Holly's plan to mope in peace hits a snag when the rugged Airbnb host shows up—who also happens to be her old high school rival, now rocking a major glow-up. Meanwhile, Ivy’s relaxing solo art retreat in Hawaii gets a surprise twist when Holly’s ex-fiancé shows up with his new girlfriend, checking into the honeymoon suite! With no room at the inn and her blood boiling, Ivy finds an unexpected savior in the hotel’s flirty bartender.
Holly and Ivy might just discover the magic of the holidays in ways they never imagined!
Thoughts-
While each of the characters individual romances were both sweet and steamy, the real focus of the book was on their strong friendship in additions to some self rediscovery for both women that I found really refreshing and well written. Both love interests were sexy and adorable in their own way.
I'm a huge holiday romance book buff, therefore I can be picky about holiday books, but this was just the perfect amount of fun and cute. I really felt the author did an exceptional job of executing the story and pacing the dual story lines that neither POV was ever boring. As a matter of fact it kept me itching for the next chapter.
I truly enjoyed this book. it was easy to read- read in less than a day- and think that it will be a great book to read around the holidays.
ADD THIS TO YOUR CHRISTMAS TBR besties!
Thank you NetGalley, Putnam, and Julia Mckay for this ARC in excahnge for my my honest review.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Holly and Ivy are best friends after meeting in college at a holiday party after being introduced by their respective boyfriends. Although their names are festive, they each have less than amazing feelings towards the holidays. Flash forward to years later, Holly's fiance breaks up with her the day before their Holiday wedding that his very rich parents have been planning for. To help cheer Holly up, Ivy offers to swap Christmas vacations with her. Ivy will take Holly's unused Hawaiian honeymoon and Holly will go to the winter cabin Ivy planned on spending time at for an art retreat!
When Ivy arrives in Hawaii she learns that Holly's ex-fiancee is there with the woman he left Holly for. Ivy instead rents a bungalow from a friend of a hot hotel bartender she meets. Ivy and her hot bartender, Oliver spend time together hiking around Hawaii. Ivy doing some pastel landscaping and Oliver taking some photos for his National Geographic articles. When Holly arrives in the middle of nowhere, she has been thrown into an experience she isn't super familiar with. However, Holly is pleasantly surprised to learn that the man whose cabin she's renting is actually someone from high school. Holly is enchanted by the small town life that Aiden is introducing her to and is realizing that she was missing out on a lot with her previous relationship.
This was a cute romance but the ending definitely took away from it. You're only going to get so much when you have two romances that you need to explore in a book and it isn't 400+ pages but I think McKay did a great job at setting up most of the characterization. My main struggles with the ending was how all the solutions to the various problems were kinda shoe-horned into the last final chapters. I wish there was more between the Christmas holiday and the New Year holiday that the reader gets to see on page
Holly and Ivy are best friends after meeting in college at a holiday party after being introduced by their respective boyfriends. Although their names are festive, they each have less than amazing feelings towards the holidays. Flash forward to years later, Holly's fiance breaks up with her the day before their Holiday wedding that his very rich parents have been planning for. To help cheer Holly up, Ivy offers to swap Christmas vacations with her. Ivy will take Holly's unused Hawaiian honeymoon and Holly will go to the winter cabin Ivy planned on spending time at for an art retreat!
When Ivy arrives in Hawaii she learns that Holly's ex-fiancee is there with the woman he left Holly for. Ivy instead rents a bungalow from a friend of a hot hotel bartender she meets. Ivy and her hot bartender, Oliver spend time together hiking around Hawaii. Ivy doing some pastel landscaping and Oliver taking some photos for his National Geographic articles. When Holly arrives in the middle of nowhere, she has been thrown into an experience she isn't super familiar with. However, Holly is pleasantly surprised to learn that the man whose cabin she's renting is actually someone from high school. Holly is enchanted by the small town life that Aiden is introducing her to and is realizing that she was missing out on a lot with her previous relationship.
This was a cute romance but the ending definitely took away from it. You're only going to get so much when you have two romances that you need to explore in a book and it isn't 400+ pages but I think McKay did a great job at setting up most of the characterization. My main struggles with the ending was how all the solutions to the various problems were kinda shoe-horned into the last final chapters. I wish there was more between the Christmas holiday and the New Year holiday that the reader gets to see on page
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
“I’m really grateful… for everything that happened. Even the hard parts.”
A holiday read with settings both in Hawaii and a cozy cabin… I’m in!!
This one was cute and filled with tons of fun holiday vibes! Adorable best friends, Holly and Ivy end up switching vacations after Holly gets jilted by her ex the night before her wedding and can’t bear to take her nonrefundable honeymoon alone. Ivy heads to Hawaii and Holly heads to a cozy cabin in the woods that was originally meant to be Ivy’s artistic retreat but is now available for Holly to use while she mends her broken heart.
Honestly this book was almost like having two separate stories rolled into one and I enjoyed them both equally. I’m rarely a fan of instalove so if there is one fault with this one it is that there is not enough build up to either story and the cheesiness factor is high but overall I found it to be a super sweet holiday read!
If you are a fan of the Hallmark channel during the Christmas season then this one will be right up your alley!!
Thank you Putnam Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
A holiday read with settings both in Hawaii and a cozy cabin… I’m in!!
This one was cute and filled with tons of fun holiday vibes! Adorable best friends, Holly and Ivy end up switching vacations after Holly gets jilted by her ex the night before her wedding and can’t bear to take her nonrefundable honeymoon alone. Ivy heads to Hawaii and Holly heads to a cozy cabin in the woods that was originally meant to be Ivy’s artistic retreat but is now available for Holly to use while she mends her broken heart.
Honestly this book was almost like having two separate stories rolled into one and I enjoyed them both equally. I’m rarely a fan of instalove so if there is one fault with this one it is that there is not enough build up to either story and the cheesiness factor is high but overall I found it to be a super sweet holiday read!
If you are a fan of the Hallmark channel during the Christmas season then this one will be right up your alley!!
Thank you Putnam Books for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love a cute holiday romance and this is no exception. The characters are great, the banter is delightful. I really felt the love and closeness of the two main characers. As with most dual storyline books, I resonated harder with one over the other. I loved Aiden and Holly's story and felt guilty because while I also enjoyed Ivy and Ollie, I spent several of the Hawaii chapters excited to go back to Holly.
(I receved an early copy for review)
(I receved an early copy for review)