In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren Published by Gallery Books on October 6, 2020
Genres: Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 307
Format: eBook
Source: Scribd
Goodreads
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.
My top thoughts:
I absolutely love the groundhog day trope – maybe because who wouldn’t love the chance to relive an important moment in their life and get it just right? The thing is, that’s not what In a Holidaze is really about. It’s not about Maelyn getting everything right, it’s more about her learning to make the right mistakes – the ones that you make when you’re being truthfully yourself. Which made it a pretty beautiful story.
What I liked/didn’t like:
I loved watching Maelyn reliving her Christmas over and over. It was funny and it was heartwarming. I also loved her family – particularly that it’s one of those extended families made up, not of blood relatives, but of family of your choosing. As someone who’s been estranged from most of my family, this family of friends resonated to me and I’d love for Dante to someday be enjoying a similar holiday (not necessarily over and over of course!) but with my friends that are like family to me and love him just the same.
The way things wrapped up was similar to what I expected – it is a contemporary romance after all – but there was little nuggets of surprise along the way that I really enjoyed.
Narrator thoughts:
I did a little bit of it in audio (maybe 5 or 6 chapters) and enjoyed the narration as well.I would recommend the audio if your considering it, though it was a light easy read either way.
I really enjoyed this one and the character growth Mae had.
It was nice to read a romance where the couple didn’t have a tragic backstory. A really fun holiday book!