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A review by katemc7
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I find myself laughing out loud, fanning myself and then waiting for the happy ending in ever book that I read by Meghan Quinn, and that was no exception but with the added element of Christmas! I just love how her books make me feel so much. I was BEYOND impressed by how thought out everything in this book was surrounding Christmas- the character names, the shop names, the town. I found myself wondering if a place like this truly exists?? I really loved our MCs and their ARC together and individually. We have Coal Black- yes that is his name- who has been living as a shell of himself since his parents passed away tragically 10 years ago. And then we have Storee who is back in town with her sister to help take care of her aunt. Storee has done everything to stay away from this town after the embarrassment she experienced all those years ago. Coal has done everything to stay including preserving his childhood home because he isn't ready to move on. The other twist to this is that Coal had his feelings hurt BAD by Storee- unintentionally on her part. And now that she is back, it's like he has found his purpose. He is going to enter the Christmas Kringle contest to beat her. That's all this is. But then we watch their chemistry that never really had a chance to blossom before REALLY explode. These two are like fire and gasoline with each other. The banter. The spice. The candy canes! All the while it is supposed to be fake but watching them truly fall and come back to life together was just wonderful to read. It made my heart smile in the best way!
Storee is headed back to the place she has avoided for 10 years. She is going to help her Aunt Cindy. She has been hiding from there because of the embarrassment that happened all those years ago. She finds herself running into her childhood friend Coal who she immediately decides to mess with because he seems like he could use the smile. He is different than she remembers. Almost bitter. But when Storee finds herself voluntold to sign up for the Christmas contest, she finds Coal also signing up. It seems he has some sort of vendetta against her and she can't figure out why. So she plays his game. She plays into this energy between them. And when he acts like she is playing hard to get in order to make her look bad in front of the town she finds herself taking his dare and raising it. And now they are going on a date. And kissing- kissing shouldn't feel this good with your mortal enemy. She decides to figure out what has him all upset and when she does- she is heartbroken at how things could have looked one way when they were another. Now that they are on the other side though there is this energy between them. They want to explore it so decide to act like they are fake dating for the town when they are lowkey seeing each other at night. And playing with candy canes and reindeer. And making Storee feel things she never knew she could feel. They are still competing but it's all in good fun until the last night when all things point to sabotage. Storee HAS to prove to Coal that it wasn't her. She is in this for real- she just hopes he is too she just hopes he will see her side before he gives up on her for good.
Coal has been coasting. He is definitely one of the town introverts. He works and comes home and sees his best friend Max. But that all changes when she comes back. Storee. The girl who left him bleeding out with his grief the last time she saw him. The girl who made it clear how much she hates this town and now she is back. And not only that but she is competing in the town Christmas contest. Well over his dead body because HE is going to win. With his sidekick Max. They are going to do this. He feels more alive than he has in a while because he has a purpose now. And that is to beat Storee. But then things get confusing. They are putting on a show for the town on a fake date when they kiss. And he is FLOORED by the feeling. He has felt it between them but he thought it was hatred. Apparently it's passion. And now that they have cleared the air on what happened all those years ago Coal feels more like himself than he has in a while. They decide to continue to fake date for the town while secretly hanging out after dark. The competition is still happening but now they are kind of playing together. He finds himself wanting more. He finds himself wanting her to stay. So when on the last night of the contest sabotage comes out and it points to Storee- all bets are off. Because he knew he couldn't trust anyone again. But what they had felt so real right??
I loved reading about these two's shenangians. I loved the fake competition. I loved the creativity with the spicy scenes- I see you Meghan! I loved the side characters and am BEYOND ecstatic that Max is getting his own book. I have been racking my brain on who his leading lady will be- have we met her yet?? I can't recommend this one enough if you are looking for a laugh out loud rom-com with a dash of holiday fun.
Storee is headed back to the place she has avoided for 10 years. She is going to help her Aunt Cindy. She has been hiding from there because of the embarrassment that happened all those years ago. She finds herself running into her childhood friend Coal who she immediately decides to mess with because he seems like he could use the smile. He is different than she remembers. Almost bitter. But when Storee finds herself voluntold to sign up for the Christmas contest, she finds Coal also signing up. It seems he has some sort of vendetta against her and she can't figure out why. So she plays his game. She plays into this energy between them. And when he acts like she is playing hard to get in order to make her look bad in front of the town she finds herself taking his dare and raising it. And now they are going on a date. And kissing- kissing shouldn't feel this good with your mortal enemy. She decides to figure out what has him all upset and when she does- she is heartbroken at how things could have looked one way when they were another. Now that they are on the other side though there is this energy between them. They want to explore it so decide to act like they are fake dating for the town when they are lowkey seeing each other at night. And playing with candy canes and reindeer. And making Storee feel things she never knew she could feel. They are still competing but it's all in good fun until the last night when all things point to sabotage. Storee HAS to prove to Coal that it wasn't her. She is in this for real- she just hopes he is too she just hopes he will see her side before he gives up on her for good.
Coal has been coasting. He is definitely one of the town introverts. He works and comes home and sees his best friend Max. But that all changes when she comes back. Storee. The girl who left him bleeding out with his grief the last time she saw him. The girl who made it clear how much she hates this town and now she is back. And not only that but she is competing in the town Christmas contest. Well over his dead body because HE is going to win. With his sidekick Max. They are going to do this. He feels more alive than he has in a while because he has a purpose now. And that is to beat Storee. But then things get confusing. They are putting on a show for the town on a fake date when they kiss. And he is FLOORED by the feeling. He has felt it between them but he thought it was hatred. Apparently it's passion. And now that they have cleared the air on what happened all those years ago Coal feels more like himself than he has in a while. They decide to continue to fake date for the town while secretly hanging out after dark. The competition is still happening but now they are kind of playing together. He finds himself wanting more. He finds himself wanting her to stay. So when on the last night of the contest sabotage comes out and it points to Storee- all bets are off. Because he knew he couldn't trust anyone again. But what they had felt so real right??
I loved reading about these two's shenangians. I loved the fake competition. I loved the creativity with the spicy scenes- I see you Meghan! I loved the side characters and am BEYOND ecstatic that Max is getting his own book. I have been racking my brain on who his leading lady will be- have we met her yet?? I can't recommend this one enough if you are looking for a laugh out loud rom-com with a dash of holiday fun.