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A review by bribreez
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
5⭐️/ 4🌶️
I’m in the HOLIDAY SPIRIT! With Meghan Quinn writing a Christmas book that had The Grinch vibes, a small town, childhood enemies, and a Christmas competition to become the town Kringle, I was very much hooked from the moment I read the first page! This story followed, Storee Taylor and Cole Black as the two of them were once again around each other during the holiday season and the competition to become this year’s new town Kringle. Storee had mixed feelings when it came to Kringletown, but for Cole it was home. With Cole being the town grump, he didn’t have the fondest feelings when it came to the holiday season especially after a tragedy struck his life, but with the news of finding out that Storee entered the competition to compete for town Kringle, Cole wasn’t going to let that happen! With his best friend, Max, Cole was determined to pull out all the stops to win, and along the way he and Storee found themselves stuck in some forced proximity moments especially considering she was his neighbor for the time being while she cared for her Aunt Cindy. With Meghan Quinn’s amazing writing, unique and wild shenanigans written into this story it was very entertaining, laugh out loud, and the kind of story that got me in the Christmas mood right away!
I’m in the HOLIDAY SPIRIT! With Meghan Quinn writing a Christmas book that had The Grinch vibes, a small town, childhood enemies, and a Christmas competition to become the town Kringle, I was very much hooked from the moment I read the first page! This story followed, Storee Taylor and Cole Black as the two of them were once again around each other during the holiday season and the competition to become this year’s new town Kringle. Storee had mixed feelings when it came to Kringletown, but for Cole it was home. With Cole being the town grump, he didn’t have the fondest feelings when it came to the holiday season especially after a tragedy struck his life, but with the news of finding out that Storee entered the competition to compete for town Kringle, Cole wasn’t going to let that happen! With his best friend, Max, Cole was determined to pull out all the stops to win, and along the way he and Storee found themselves stuck in some forced proximity moments especially considering she was his neighbor for the time being while she cared for her Aunt Cindy. With Meghan Quinn’s amazing writing, unique and wild shenanigans written into this story it was very entertaining, laugh out loud, and the kind of story that got me in the Christmas mood right away!
The competition was ON! Both, Storee and Cole were determined to win by any means necessary in order to secure the honor of being Christmas Kringle. Between the competition and coming up with ideas in order to win each round, Storee and Cole got on each other’s nerves and were very much not treating each other in the Holly jolly Christmas spirit. With an enemies to lovers trope included in this story, I was enjoying seeing the two of them go at it each other, and it also made the tension between them build more as the story continued. Storee was only competing in place of her Aunt Cindy, but with securing a win, and seeing the lot of Cole’s losing face, it was clear that Storee got into the spirit of wanting to win it all! Even Cole was determined to win in order to prevent Storee from winning, but even he couldn’t help but enjoy the cheers and appreciation from his fellow townspeople. The Christmas spirit was all around, but with Meghan Quinn’s twist on it, it was hilarious and very entertaining.
In the midst of everything, imagine also fake dating your enemy in order to save face among the townspeople of the small town?! Because, that’s exactly what Cole and Storee did! When Cole’s plan of pretending to be a lovesick man who had harbored a long time crush on Storee (in order to gain sympathy from the townspeople), his plan backfired when Storee agreed to go on a date with him. The date itself was just for appearances and it worked in both Storee and Cole’s favors, but I KNEW deep down inside Cole and Storee enjoyed aspects of their fake date like for instance…THAT KISS UNDER THE MISTLETOE! Not to mention add in the fact that this was also ENEMIES TO LOVERS, Storee and Cole’s dynamic really changed over the course of the story that had me seeing them at each other’s necks trying to beat each other, but also seeing the attraction they felt for one another. If you love enemies to lovers, you’ll definitely enjoy reading how Storee and Cole are in this book!
Most Christmas books I’ve read have not been a fully flushed out book, more so novellas, but once again with Meghan’s writing she created such a lighthearted, humorous romance that also tugged on my heartstrings. Cole was use to being known as the town grump, being secluded, and not participating in the town activities. With the Christmas Kringle competition kicking off, it lit a fire in Cole that he hadn’t had in a very long time, and that was partly due to his competition with Storee. The more the story progressed, the more I got to see just how much was underneath the grumpy exterior of Cole, and how he was actually a man who was still dealing with the past of his parents death, and past with Storee. Seeing Cole open up to Storee about why he was so angry with her, and generally just making her aware of his feelings really helped Storee see that Cole was still that boy he once had feelings for when they were kids. Seeing the softer and lighter side to Cole made me love him more, and want to hug him and console him! Cole may have acted like a Grinch in the past, but there was more to him that made him endearing and lovely to me.
Overall, this was a great Christmas book to read! I cannot recommend this book enough! Truly, this book had me hooked right away, I was invested in Storee and Cole’s story, and I genuinely loved them. The way Meghan Quinn wrote this book had a great mix of lighthearted humor, funny shenanigans, but also heartfelt moments that tugged on my heartstrings. The characters in this book were lovable, unique, and in Meghan Quinn fashion hilarious! The romance was well worth the wait going from enemies to lovers. The spice was perfect for this book, and now I know why everyone was losing their minds over candy canes in this book…I now know what they meant, and will never be able to look at a candy cane the same after reading this book haha. Storee and Cole’s story was all kinds of fun for me to read about from their past together to being around each other as adults now, and their feelings for one another coming back full force. This is the perfect book to read this holiday season, and it’s an addictive read that you won’t want to put down. I loved this story for the way it just sucked me into Storee and Cole’s world, and I felt like I was alongside for the ride the time. Highly recommend and a good well done, Meghan Quinn!