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A review by jennabeebs79
Home for the Holidays by Erin Zak
5.0
Oh! Erin Zak, you never cease to amaze me with your incredible writing skills! With Home for the Holidays, she’s told us the story using both Heidi and Iris’s points of view in alternating chapters. Being privy to both women’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions really enhanced the overall depth of the story for me.
Is it fair for me to say that I love absolutely everything about this book? Because I do! Heidi and Iris’s meet-cute is one of my favorite scenes of all time. Grown women who have both lived very full lives being gripped so hard by the presence of another is swoon-worthy. Iris is unable to form a coherent thought as she gazes at Heidi for the first time, making her cheeks pink and her ears red, which never happens to her. Heidi is just as captivated but is able to make herself function enough to make the best cappuccino Iris has ever tasted. The electricity between them sizzles and the flirting…yeah, the flirting. Dreamy sigh.
The insta-love connection is so believable, I think because Heidi and Iris are so completely blown away by what they feel and they continuously communicate their feelings with one another.
I’ve read this book several times already and each time I read it, I find something else I love. Heidi and Iris also spend a lot of time in this book coming to terms with their pasts in order to move toward a future…together. Heidi’s been closeted forever and the expectations she put on herself didn’t allow for her to really be true to herself. It seems meeting Iris not only allows Heidi to fully accept herself but also allows Iris to come to terms with the fact that her relationship with her mom impacted many of the decisions she’s made over the years. Erin Zak does an amazing job developing and executing these additional plot points which show how important trusting and leaning into vulnerability can be.
I’m a sucker for sapphic holiday tales and Home for the Holidays is a beautiful holiday romance that will leave you breathless. The deep emotions that are woven through the story combined with brilliant character arcs, humor, honesty, and loyalty make this one of the best books I’ve ever read. Coming out is an extremely difficult process and everyone’s journey is different and Home for the Holidays shows the power and freedom that come with being true to yourself when and only when you are ready. Iris and Heidi’s love story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I challenge any nonbelievers of love at first sight, to hold on to that belief after reading this story!
To see my full review, head over to TheLesbianReview
Is it fair for me to say that I love absolutely everything about this book? Because I do! Heidi and Iris’s meet-cute is one of my favorite scenes of all time. Grown women who have both lived very full lives being gripped so hard by the presence of another is swoon-worthy. Iris is unable to form a coherent thought as she gazes at Heidi for the first time, making her cheeks pink and her ears red, which never happens to her. Heidi is just as captivated but is able to make herself function enough to make the best cappuccino Iris has ever tasted. The electricity between them sizzles and the flirting…yeah, the flirting. Dreamy sigh.
The insta-love connection is so believable, I think because Heidi and Iris are so completely blown away by what they feel and they continuously communicate their feelings with one another.
I’ve read this book several times already and each time I read it, I find something else I love. Heidi and Iris also spend a lot of time in this book coming to terms with their pasts in order to move toward a future…together. Heidi’s been closeted forever and the expectations she put on herself didn’t allow for her to really be true to herself. It seems meeting Iris not only allows Heidi to fully accept herself but also allows Iris to come to terms with the fact that her relationship with her mom impacted many of the decisions she’s made over the years. Erin Zak does an amazing job developing and executing these additional plot points which show how important trusting and leaning into vulnerability can be.
I’m a sucker for sapphic holiday tales and Home for the Holidays is a beautiful holiday romance that will leave you breathless. The deep emotions that are woven through the story combined with brilliant character arcs, humor, honesty, and loyalty make this one of the best books I’ve ever read. Coming out is an extremely difficult process and everyone’s journey is different and Home for the Holidays shows the power and freedom that come with being true to yourself when and only when you are ready. Iris and Heidi’s love story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I challenge any nonbelievers of love at first sight, to hold on to that belief after reading this story!
To see my full review, head over to TheLesbianReview