Reviews with content warning for Car accident - In a Holidaze

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

62 reviews

lauren_shilling's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was so much fun for me! I wasn't sure what to expect, because I'd read two of Christina Lauren's other books in the past, and one is an all time favorite while I really didn't love the other. Because of that, I really didn't know how this book would turn out for me. However, I am happy to report that I really did enjoy this book! I thought it was enjoyable and really cute. It wasn't too deep, but there was still a lot of emotion behind it, which was perfect for what I was looking for. I think I would describe this book as being Groundhog Day meets The Summer I Turned Pretty but an adult Christmas story. Of course, the love triangle isn't super important in this story and is only used sometimes for tension, but it is kind of there and it is between the main character and two brothers. It also features the main character trying to save the cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday, which also reminded me of TSITP. My main issue with this book is with Theo, the second brother. I felt like he acted really immaturely at a lot of times, and I found it hard to feel sympathy for him in the story. I would start to feel for him but then he would say something immature or completely out of bounds and that made it hard to like him in any capacity. It was also then just explained away as being his personality and that he needs time to cool off when something upsets him, and yeah, that's fair, but also he should grow up and learn to communicate that he needs space instead of snapping at people and saying things that really are not fair to anyone else involved. That might be nit-picky of me to complain about, but it is a bit of a pet peeve of mine, so it bothered me more than it might bother other people. I also feel like the main set up of the book, the main character being stuck in some kind of time loop where she keeps reliving the same holiday over and over, wasn't really that big of a part in the book. It really only happened a couple times, and it wasn't long until it didn't really feel like a major threat or possibility anymore. I don't know, I just felt like it would be more prevalent to the story, and it really wasn't. Besides those two things though, I don't really have any complaints. It was a fun holiday romance that I would definitely recommend. It was also a quick read, and overall very enjoyable the entire time! I loved the characters (minus Theo, as I said earlier) and the chosen family in this story. It felt really genuine, and I loved reading about all the different family dynamics.

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jenniee_reads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This one took me a while to read and I don’t really know what to say about it. I feel like it was very slow to begin with but then also felt really rushed. I almost wish there was more time travel because I liked the time travel element. I feel like Mae got brought back in time a few times relatively quickly in the first half of the book, but then it just completely stopped. I loved all of the characters for the most part (everyone needs a Benny) and some conversations between Andrew and Mae had me giggling. I think I just wish there was more to the plot. I know it’s a romcom, and it was very hallmark-y, but I feel like the plot was not there. Would I read it again? No, but it’s still a decent read for December and Christmas time. Overall, just alright.

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siobhanward's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

While I gave this book points for having a surprise time travel element to it, I did have to deduct others for using a time travel trope in lieu of actual plot or character development. The premise of a character going back in time to re-do a time period until she gets it "right" is fun, but I'm not sure it fit into a holiday romance. I wish that there had been more time to develop the characters and the setting. It's repeated over and over again that Mae, Theo and Andrew have this important shared history, but it all happens before the book starts, so the romance feels like insta-love.

There were also so many side characters that I couldn't keep track of who was who, but it didn't really matter because only a couple actually mattered. The adults' stories of college honestly seemed so interesting and I almost would have preferred to read about that - how did they end up so close that they all celebrated Christmas together every single year no matter what? (Though in the first few pages I thought they were all living in a commune and that was an even better story, so...).

Anyway, as a holiday romance, this was decent, but there was so much potential and it just kind of fell flat at times. Still a fun read and would be perfect for that period between Christmas and New Years where your brain isn't really working anyway.

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