Ughhhh. I'm so mad at myself. Today is December 29 and I *thought* I'd already written and posted a review about Christina Lauren's In A Holidaze many many weeks ago and it turns out...I didn't. I chalk this up to being in the crazy times of COVID teaching. GAHHHH. Anyway, please don't let this less than specific review deter you from grabbing this novel. This novel is a stand out in their most recent publications because it's just so different. It has all the warmth and humor that is typical of their novels but it's also got this Groundhog's Day vibe that made it so very different than anything I've read of theirs, or anyone, in a while. It was interesting to see the adjustments Mae made each time her week/day restarted and how she ended it. I enjoyed the premise--a multifamily gathering, the magic of the holidays, the magic of her plight, and her long suffering love story.
One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.
But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.
The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.
Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
It's been a while since I've tried to categorize my favorites but I'm feeling brave and thought I'd give it a go. If you click on the book cover, it'll take you to Amazon where you can read reviews and/or purchase the novel. If you go to our REVIEWS page, you'll find our review.
FAVORITE YA novels:
Ginger Scott is always a favorite--she just nails the YA experience--and Emma Lord was a new to me writer and I just fell in love with her characters. Both novels in this Emma Scott series are excellent but the one below, is one that'll take you on a ride.
FAVORITE Literary Fiction (with a love story):
Tiffanie DeBartolo is one of my ALL TIME FAVORITE writers and now I know I am also enamored with Rebecca Serle and Alice Archer.
FAVORITE duets or series:
Jewel E. Ann was a new to me + highly recommended author and her Transcend Series was epic; Kate Stewart had me on the edge of my seat with the Ravenhood Series; Laurelin Paige killed it in the Slay Series; Sierra Simone killed ME with her prose and storytelling (as per usual) in the Thornchapel Series; Alexa Martin has the best romcom football series that hits so real I die from happiness whenever the latest book in the Playbook Series pops up on my Kindle; and Kennedy Ryan can slay me, heal me, and give me something to think about and All The King's Men has continued that trend.
FAVORITE flying under the radar novel:
Snowed In by Navessa Allen was one of my favorites by a new to me author.
FAVORITE novels that I COULD NOT GET ENOUGH OF:
Rich Boy by Kylie Scott just grabbed my attention in its pure sense of no way would this ever happen and Karina Halle's The Forbidden Man had an age gap that I really appreciated and Staci Hart's Star Bright was imaginative and unexpected. All three of these novels were impossible to put down and unforgettable.
FAVORITE historical romances:
Pretty much anything by Kerrigan Byrne but here's the most recent one I read and loved, All Scot and Bothered + an anthology that'll introduce you to other writers, Duke I'd Like to F:
FAVORITE Psychological fiction:
Alessandra Torre writes novels that I consume in an unhealthy fashion ...and I'm okay with it. Every Last Secret is her most recent novel that I read in one sitting.
....and that concludes this year's FAVORITES. There were lots of contenders but I really tried to narrow it down to the novels that were truly unforgettable.
"A love story with teeth and claws. I dare you not to fall in love with Cillian Fitzpatrick." - USA Today bestselling author, Parker S. Huntington
The Villain, an all-new twisted modern day Greek tragedy from USA Today and #1 Amazon bestselling author L.J. Shen is available now!
OUR REVIEW:
Shel: The Villain is one of those novels that practically reads itself. I opened the first page out of a desire to lose myself in a fictional world and I don't think I moved from my spot for hours. I was completely enthralled with the story of Persephone and Cillian--our next couple in the Boston Belles series. Court: SAME GIRL< SAME! I think that happens to me every time I open an LJ Shen book though, so I was very excited to read this!
Shel: This couple was just as exasperating and fun to read as I hoped they would be. Cillian was the most perfectly delicious jerk--exactly as I remembered from Hunter and Sailor's novel. Reading his transformation from icy prick to the perfect fit for Persephone was at times infuriating, at times completely satisfying, and at all times absorbing. Getting to the bottom of who he really was/is was 100% worth the wait. Meanwhile, Persephone was adorable and principled and fantastically stubborn and her heart was just so huge. She was the partner Kill needed and the balance and steadiness and steely backbone she continued to show just really made me adore her. Court: THANK GOODNESS we have both of their point of view! I really enjoyed reading from Cillian's point of view, and realllllly enjoyed the insight into his friends with their poker games and we get their conversations and thoughts, and just how all of the friends continually have each other's back. No matter what. I cannot wait to see who falls next, and how, but I am definitely enjoying this ride!
Shel: While I suspect that not all of the other heroines in this series will be as much of a steel magnolia as Persephone, and I'll love the fire and sass that the others will bring, I really appreciate how much of a fairy tale princess she seemed to be. Taking a step back, this whole novel seems like a really modern fairy tale--a villain and a down on her luck princess strike up a deal, drama ensues, and then we all live happily ever after. Court: Absolutely. It was a lot of fun, definitely escapist with how much of a you know what he is for a good bit there (sorry, I'm not normally so light on what I'm thinking, but I'm tired and not really feeling editing for the Zon tonight...!)
Shel: So.Much.Fun. Court: Yes. The writing is really great, and I love when Hunter says it'll be fun watching him get his heart stolen by this girl, and boy, what a wild and lovely ride it was. I read this so fast. It makes me so happy, even though at times I wished I could slow down and savor it a little more. But, I am happy to report I could not, and I hope you can't put it down either!
Shel: Loved it!
Cruel. Coldblooded. Hades in a Brioni suit. Cillian Fitzpatrick has been dubbed every wicked thing on planet earth. To the media, he is The Villain. To me, he is the man who (reluctantly) saved my life. Now I need him to do me another, small solid. Bail me out of the mess my husband got me into. What’s a hundred grand to one of the wealthiest men in America, anyway? Only Cillian doesn’t hand out free favors. The price for the money, it turns out, is my freedom. Now I’m the eldest Fitzpatrick brother’s little toy. To play, to mold, to break. Too bad Cillian forgot one, tiny detail. Persephone wasn’t only the goddess of spring; she was also the queen of death. He thinks I’ll buckle under the weight of his mind games. He is about to find out the most lethal poison is also the sweetest.
Download your copy today or read FREE in Kindle Unlimited! Amazon: https://amzn.to/3lWU0pT Amazon Worldwide: http://mybook.to/TheVillain Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/3757c81 Audible: http://adbl.co/3npfKvW
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Excerpt
I leaned against the doorframe, hands tucked in my front pockets, and observed. It took her three minutes to notice me. Another two to lift her jaw off the floor, straighten her spine, and turn scarlet. Our eyes met across the room, and that nagging murmur in my chest happened again.
Get that checked. If you drop dead from a heart attack at forty, you’ll have no one else to blame. She winced, looking like I physically slapped her.
“Mr. Fitzpatrick.”
“Miss Penrose.”
“Veitch,” she corrected, just to spite me.
“Not for long,” I noted dryly. “A word?”
“I know many. My favorite one right now is—leave.”
“You want to hear me out.” I cracked my knuckles. “Now say goodbye to your little friends.”
She looked back and forth between the kids and me, then turned and murmured something to the teacher next to her, and hurried my way, dunking her head down. “What are you doing here?”
She closed the door behind her, whisper-shouting.
I’ve been asking myself the same question since bailing on Keith and his snooze-fest speech. What the hell was I doing here?
About L.J. Shen L.J. Shen is a USA Today, Washington Post and Amazon #1 best-selling author of contemporary, New Adult and YA romance. Her books have been sold to twenty different countries.
She lives in California with her husband, son, cat and eccentric fashion choices, and enjoys good wine, bad reality TV shows and catching sun rays with her lazy cat.
Connect with L.J. Shen Facebook: http://bit.ly/2OhSvp1 Twitter: http://bit.ly/36ELHZc Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2oMbFsu Instagram: http://bit.ly/2AIOiTo Stay up to date with L.J. Shen by signing up for her mailing list: http://bit.ly/36MnmAQ Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/
This is my first novel by Emily Henry. I've kinda watched her progress through various social media channels from afar and when I had a chance to read one of her novels, I grabbed it.
The short version of this review is that ultimately I enjoyed it.
Longer version?
It took me a while to warm to it. I think my main problem was the cover and blurb made this seem like a really light fun read. There are aspects that are humorous but I'm not sure I'd call this a light romance. It seems more apt to say that this novel is light on comedy and heavy on delving into emotions and backstory and really looking at two writers' process when the words are flowing and there's a deadline. And there's nothing wrong with that, it just wasn't what I expected.
Once I settled into the novel, I enjoyed the back and forth between Gus and January. I enjoyed the intermingling of their writing research and their love story. Admittedly, sometimes I felt it went a little long in certain areas and Gus kinda seemed like the cliched emo guy in a romance, but I still felt satisfied by the end.
I think if I hadn't gone into this novel wanting a light read, I wouldn't have felt so disconnected from it from the start--I'm glad that I stuck with it because I definitely would like to check out more from Emily Henry.
A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.
They're polar opposites.
In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they're living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer's block.
Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She'll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he'll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.
You Were There Too was a novel that I stopped and started over the course of several months--I think it took me so long because I knew it was going to hurt at some point...and it did, at several points. To be quite honest, there were points when I wanted to throw in the towel on this novel and this couple, they were in some ways so frustratingly real that I felt too much about their lives and yet there was that hint of being fictional that kept me wanting to read to see how it was all going to be resolved.
I realize I'm not selling this as hard as it deserves--it's well written and packs an emotional punch. For a reader who likes realistic-ish romance, a touch of something magical, and an emotional release, this novel is a prime choice.
SYNOPSIS: Mia Graydon's life looks picket-fence perfect; she has the house, her loving husband, and dreams of starting a family. But she has other dreams too—unexplained, recurring ones starring the same man. Still, she doesn’t think much of it, until a relocation to small-town Pennsylvania brings her face to face with the stranger she has been dreaming about for years. And this man harbors a jaw-dropping secret of his own—he's been dreaming of her too.
Determined to understand, Mia and this not-so-stranger search for answers. But when diving into their pasts begins to unravel her life in the present, Mia emerges with a single question—what if?
