A review by rai_ishardtoplease
The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

“Make a wish for yourself then make it come true, don’t leave the important things up to anyone else, not even fate.”

Reading this felt a little like receiving an intervention from a wise older sister.

It self-identifies as Hallmark-adjacent, so I prepared myself for something characteristically simple, wholesome, and unserious. Which it is. But more than that, it’s also sensitive, tastefully self-deprecating, and above all, supportive. I could almost hear Kelk in my ear saying 

I know families are complicated and adulting is hard and you’re lonely and feel like a fraud… but as long as there’s a tomorrow, we’re not out of chances.

That’s not an easy message to deliver well in just ~350 pages. And even more impressively, Kelk actually managed to drop relevant pop-culture references without triggering my cringe reflex.

(Okay, that’s not entirely true. The Emily in Paris one got me—but still not bad!!)

And if all that’s not incentive enough to add this to your tbr… do it for Manny. The bestest cousin-brother a girl could ask for; who, like everything else in this book, embodied every applicable stereotype whilst simultaneously subverting them.

You a real one, bro🫰