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meesha_mo's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I understand that the point was for Mae to change and take charge of her life. But instead actually dealing with her anxiety about change in a real way, it’s just magically gone and she gets everything she wants. Like all those back to the past she could’ve been learning how to deal with change in both the long and short term. Most of the characters were a little one dimensional until almost the end of the book. But it was an interesting concept.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual content
geno's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Sexual content
samanthas_stories's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
4.0
**May contain spoilers**
They have done it again! And if you're asking yourself who "they" are, you must not know that Christina Lauren is the pen name for two kickass best friends who write excellent books together, Christina and Lauren.
In A Holidaze is my second read by Christina Lauren, and I was not disappointed. Having read The Unhoneymooners a few years back, my expectations were high since that book quickly made my top 10 list.
In full transparency, I went into this book blind. I had seen it on Instagram as the holidays started amping up, and knowing I liked the authors, I bought it to read during Christmas. I never even looked at the synopsis.
Considering someone gifted me a copy the same day I bought it from the store, I think it was meant to be that I read it. Which, hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, is ironic considering the story's premise.
In a Holidaze is a Christmas-themed romantic comedy with some magic interspersed. Centered on the point of view of Maelyn, more affectionately known as Mae (or Noodle by long-time family friend Benny), you get a look into Mae navigating a Christmas wish come true. A wish that leads to a do-over of her week at the cabin for her annual holiday festivities with family, friends, and lifelong crush Andrew Hollis.
Any time Mae makes an effort to find the answers to her Christmas wish and is wrong, she ends up significantly injured, waking up back on the plane heading to Utah. It's a very Groundhog's Day-type time loop. One that she fills Benny in on each time she returns to the cabin.
Benny is a middle-aged hippie, smoking one-hitters, who vibes in the attic and is Mae's biggest confidant. Being the only single adult in the cabin out of the large gathering of family friends, Benny becomes a choice pick for venting and brainstorming how to end the time loop. Because regardless of how crazy it may sound coming from Mae that she's traveled back in time, Benny doesn't question her for a second.
Coming to grips with the fact that she needs to go after the things she wants, Mae quickly turns from being scared and apprehensive to having an idgaf attitude. With that, she makes Andrew aware of her feelings for him. Although slow to respond, he reciprocates, making her overjoyed.
But it would hardly be a contemporary romance if there wasn't some bullsh*t to follow after the love interests finally get together, would it? So, after dealing with obstacles and even some heartbreak, Mae finds her answers and is able to get past the holidays and return to reality.
Living in a romantic Christmas bubble and getting closer to her dream man than Mae ever thought possible, the tone of this story is lighthearted and fun. I found myself laughing, smiling, and even a bit giddy as the relationship between Andrew and Mae reminded me a lot of my boyfriend and me.
In a Holidaze was an enjoyable read, which I ate up in a couple of days. I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue between characters, the Christmas elements, and the overall joy this story emitted. However, for me, time-loop aside, things for Mae worked out a little too cleanly and left little to be surprised about. Due to the lack of surprise, I've rated this story 4 out of 5 stars, with a spice rating of 2 out of 5.
Although this is not a perfect rating, this story was very close to one for me. As the holidays have finally come to a close, I highly recommend adding this title to your TBR for Christmas 2024.
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
They have done it again! And if you're asking yourself who "they" are, you must not know that Christina Lauren is the pen name for two kickass best friends who write excellent books together, Christina and Lauren.
In A Holidaze is my second read by Christina Lauren, and I was not disappointed. Having read The Unhoneymooners a few years back, my expectations were high since that book quickly made my top 10 list.
In full transparency, I went into this book blind. I had seen it on Instagram as the holidays started amping up, and knowing I liked the authors, I bought it to read during Christmas. I never even looked at the synopsis.
Considering someone gifted me a copy the same day I bought it from the store, I think it was meant to be that I read it. Which, hint hint, wink wink, nudge nudge, is ironic considering the story's premise.
In a Holidaze is a Christmas-themed romantic comedy with some magic interspersed. Centered on the point of view of Maelyn, more affectionately known as Mae (or Noodle by long-time family friend Benny), you get a look into Mae navigating a Christmas wish come true. A wish that leads to a do-over of her week at the cabin for her annual holiday festivities with family, friends, and lifelong crush Andrew Hollis.
Any time Mae makes an effort to find the answers to her Christmas wish and is wrong, she ends up significantly injured, waking up back on the plane heading to Utah. It's a very Groundhog's Day-type time loop. One that she fills Benny in on each time she returns to the cabin.
Benny is a middle-aged hippie, smoking one-hitters, who vibes in the attic and is Mae's biggest confidant. Being the only single adult in the cabin out of the large gathering of family friends, Benny becomes a choice pick for venting and brainstorming how to end the time loop. Because regardless of how crazy it may sound coming from Mae that she's traveled back in time, Benny doesn't question her for a second.
Coming to grips with the fact that she needs to go after the things she wants, Mae quickly turns from being scared and apprehensive to having an idgaf attitude. With that, she makes Andrew aware of her feelings for him. Although slow to respond, he reciprocates, making her overjoyed.
But it would hardly be a contemporary romance if there wasn't some bullsh*t to follow after the love interests finally get together, would it? So, after dealing with obstacles and even some heartbreak, Mae finds her answers and is able to get past the holidays and return to reality.
Living in a romantic Christmas bubble and getting closer to her dream man than Mae ever thought possible, the tone of this story is lighthearted and fun. I found myself laughing, smiling, and even a bit giddy as the relationship between Andrew and Mae reminded me a lot of my boyfriend and me.
In a Holidaze was an enjoyable read, which I ate up in a couple of days. I thoroughly enjoyed the dialogue between characters, the Christmas elements, and the overall joy this story emitted. However, for me, time-loop aside, things for Mae worked out a little too cleanly and left little to be surprised about. Due to the lack of surprise, I've rated this story 4 out of 5 stars, with a spice rating of 2 out of 5.
Although this is not a perfect rating, this story was very close to one for me. As the holidays have finally come to a close, I highly recommend adding this title to your TBR for Christmas 2024.
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spice: 🌶️🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
musicmagician823's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Car accident
oceanwriter's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Normally with group reads I try really, really hard to find something to convince myself to bump up my rating for a book I didn’t enjoy, but I can’t with this one. To everyone I read this with who enjoyed this, I apologize!
With a Groundhog Day-style plot, Maelyn finds herself reliving her annual Christmas vacation a number of times while she tries to work out her life and find happiness.
I spent the majority of the book trying to figure out what was causing the repeated days. By the time I accepted the fact it was a question that wasn’t going to be answered, I realized that this entire plot point seemed to have been dropped. Between this, one-dimensional characters, and the strangest analogies, this just was not for me from beginning to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Sexual content
Moderate: Death
Minor: Alcohol
llcardenas's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
takarakei's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
When I first started this I didn’t know anything going in and so I was excited to be getting like a Groundhog Day, family vacation home in the balance, childhood friends to lovers. Plus set during the holidays. That was all great and funny at parts, but the third act “break-up” was literally so dumb it ruined the entire book. Jeremy does not deserve Mae, she can do better.
🌶️3/5 (Also the spice was meh)
🌶️3/5 (Also the spice was meh)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Car accident
sunkissed_aidie's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book wasn’t what I was expecting, but it’s not bad just not my new favorite thing.
I did like it though so I’m thinking I might read more from Christina Lauren to see if there’s anything that I like more than this
I did like it though so I’m thinking I might read more from Christina Lauren to see if there’s anything that I like more than this
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
Minor: Gaslighting
cassiealexandra's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
I had a blast reading this book. Maybe it was the time of year, maybe it’s that I had not read something quite so light and funny in a while. Whatever the reason, my immediate gut feeling was to rate this 5 stars. I loved the found family and the idea of friends from college going to a cabin every December 20-26 to spend the holiday together, raising their families together. I liked Maelyn and her journey of figuring out how to do what was best for her life instead of trying to keep the peace with everyone around her, feeling responsible to hold up the world. The Groundhog Day-esque time travel and the lessons Mae learns along the way about herself, her loved ones, and her longtime crush were presented with humor and just the right amount of absurdity.
Reflecting back, though, there are a couple of items that I wish had more information. The car accident that initiated the time travel seemed unnecessary to me. I also was surprised/thought I was missing something when the timeline didn’t do what I expected by the end. I was also mildly irritated by the miscommunication, third-act near breakup, and the love triangle that was not actually a love triangle.
In the end, those things push my gut feeling of 5 stars down a bit, but I don’t regret a second of this lighthearted festive read. I want a cabin and a tradition like this with my best friends now. Please. Who wants to loan me the cash? (Should have gotten in “early” with Spotify like Benny did in this book).
The bottom line: This is a fun, Christmas-y story with a bit of magic and time travel, a loving and funny found-family, and of course, romance.
— NOTES —
Genres: romantic comedy
POV: 1st-person, singular
Content: moderate language, car accident, divorce (side-character plot in past)
Romance: considerable steam in chapter 18, open door scenes in chapters 19, 23, and epilogue
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 5
Enjoyment: 5
Craft: 3
My Gut Feeling: 5
Total Stars: 4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
moack_5's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book has a slow start but a steamy, heartfelt ending. Halfway through the book I truly wasn’t sure which brother Mae would end up choosing. The end did seem to be a bit of a drop off from the main story. I wish they would have brought the accident full circle to conclude the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content