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A review by elleyotter
In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren
5.0
Rating: 4.5 stars
This boooook!!! OK, I started reading this because a friend was like "shut up, you have to go read this." Then I started it and really wasn't into the first couple of chapters. And then I was like "HEY, is this, like, Groundhog Day meets Happy Death Day at Christmas? I am not sure how I feel about this..." And then I just kept reading and HOLY COW, am I glad I did. By about chapter 9 I was DMing my friend things like "!!!" and wordless squealing, and THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD, shup and go read it.
OK, now that I got that out of my system... *clears throat* In A Holidaze is written in the first person present tense from Mae's point of view. I do prefer a romance that switches off between leads, but I suppose if one of them is a time-traveling Groundhog Day type person that doesn't make a TON of sense...
I really like Mae (Maelyn? Maisie? Mayhem? She has so many nicknames!) and liked getting to see her person journey and growth throughout this book. This is the part where I want to say some stuff but I CAN'T because it would be SPOILERS and I try not to include those in my reviews... Suffice it to say she learns a lot about being authentic and living her life without filters and for herself instead of to accommodate others. This is a lesson I really needed a timely reminder about as well, so I really felt connected with Mae. Her long-standing crush on Andrew and their interactions across the various timelines (after the first one, anyway) are SO GREAT, and there was one point where I emitted this high-pitched squeal of glee that had my spouse asking me if I was okay.
This book did NOT keep me up way past my bedtime, but only because I refused to put it down at all until I'd finished the whole thing. (Have you ever tried making enchiladas with a book in your hand? Not easy.) I laughed out loud, I ugly-cried, my heart went pitter-pat. This is just such a great book. It did take me a while to get into it - the original timeline story is not great (which is likely why Mae ends up pleading with the universe) and there are SO MANY side characters it was really confusing at first. The ending also wrapped up just a bit too quickly for me, but I still closed the book grinning like an idiot so what do I know. Stick with it through the first couple of rocky chapters, because the pay-off is SO WORTH IT.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
This boooook!!! OK, I started reading this because a friend was like "shut up, you have to go read this." Then I started it and really wasn't into the first couple of chapters. And then I was like "HEY, is this, like, Groundhog Day meets Happy Death Day at Christmas? I am not sure how I feel about this..." And then I just kept reading and HOLY COW, am I glad I did. By about chapter 9 I was DMing my friend things like "!!!" and wordless squealing, and THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD, shup and go read it.
OK, now that I got that out of my system... *clears throat* In A Holidaze is written in the first person present tense from Mae's point of view. I do prefer a romance that switches off between leads, but I suppose if one of them is a time-traveling Groundhog Day type person that doesn't make a TON of sense...
I really like Mae (Maelyn? Maisie? Mayhem? She has so many nicknames!) and liked getting to see her person journey and growth throughout this book. This is the part where I want to say some stuff but I CAN'T because it would be SPOILERS and I try not to include those in my reviews... Suffice it to say she learns a lot about being authentic and living her life without filters and for herself instead of to accommodate others. This is a lesson I really needed a timely reminder about as well, so I really felt connected with Mae. Her long-standing crush on Andrew and their interactions across the various timelines (after the first one, anyway) are SO GREAT, and there was one point where I emitted this high-pitched squeal of glee that had my spouse asking me if I was okay.
This book did NOT keep me up way past my bedtime, but only because I refused to put it down at all until I'd finished the whole thing. (Have you ever tried making enchiladas with a book in your hand? Not easy.) I laughed out loud, I ugly-cried, my heart went pitter-pat. This is just such a great book. It did take me a while to get into it - the original timeline story is not great (which is likely why Mae ends up pleading with the universe) and there are SO MANY side characters it was really confusing at first. The ending also wrapped up just a bit too quickly for me, but I still closed the book grinning like an idiot so what do I know. Stick with it through the first couple of rocky chapters, because the pay-off is SO WORTH IT.
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter