Here's the synopsis:
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.
I have to admit I was a bit wary of Lauren's newest novel. The last few of theirs (another reminder: Christina Lauren is a pseudonym for author duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) have been just...fine. Enjoyable but nothing groundbreaking. But In a Holidaze? Exactly what I wanted and needed. It was the type of Christina Lauren I expect and I'm so glad it held up to my (high) expectations.
I know I'm not alone with my tendency to not reread a synopsis before diving into a book. And, to be honest, I don't even think I read what this book was about before requesting it. Christina Lauren AND Christmas? Sign. Me. Up. Therefore, I had forgotten/not known that there was a really fun time loop element to the story. For those who don't like any whiff of fantasy or magic in their stories: fear not. Lauren works the time loop into the plot in such a way that it just...makes sense. You forget, sort of, that Mae has somehow been living the same week over and over and over again and you just roll with the story as she tries to figure out what exactly it is she wants out of life.
While this novel is billed as a rom com, there's also a hefty dose of real life drama that Mae is dealing with. It's less about the romantic Happily Ever After (though that is a part of the story) and more about her feeling settled in her life and doing what makes her happy. She's in her mid-twenties and I remember kind of feeling the same at that age. Hell, I still feel like that sometimes at 33. There was a really powerful scene right at the start of the book, before the first loop, where Mae wants to asks the universe for what she wants but she realizes she actually has no idea what she wants. So, she asks to be shown what will make her happy. Haven't we all wished for that a time or two?
There's a strong Christmas element to the novel. That's not always the case these days with Christmas books but In a Holidaze gets right to what many of us feel is the most important part of the holiday: family and traditions. And that family isn't just your blood relatives. It's your found family, those who are the most important people in your life. The group in this novel get together every Christmas and trim the tree and have snow sculpture competitions, and eat and drink far too much. You can feel the love, and the cheer, and that's what I loved about this story.
In a Holidaze was one of my favourite reads in October. Not only that, but I think all the holiday books I have yet to read will have a tough go ahead of them if they want to beat out Christina Lauren's for the top spot on my holiday reading list this year.
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
I know I'm not alone with my tendency to not reread a synopsis before diving into a book. And, to be honest, I don't even think I read what this book was about before requesting it. Christina Lauren AND Christmas? Sign. Me. Up. Therefore, I had forgotten/not known that there was a really fun time loop element to the story. For those who don't like any whiff of fantasy or magic in their stories: fear not. Lauren works the time loop into the plot in such a way that it just...makes sense. You forget, sort of, that Mae has somehow been living the same week over and over and over again and you just roll with the story as she tries to figure out what exactly it is she wants out of life.
While this novel is billed as a rom com, there's also a hefty dose of real life drama that Mae is dealing with. It's less about the romantic Happily Ever After (though that is a part of the story) and more about her feeling settled in her life and doing what makes her happy. She's in her mid-twenties and I remember kind of feeling the same at that age. Hell, I still feel like that sometimes at 33. There was a really powerful scene right at the start of the book, before the first loop, where Mae wants to asks the universe for what she wants but she realizes she actually has no idea what she wants. So, she asks to be shown what will make her happy. Haven't we all wished for that a time or two?
There's a strong Christmas element to the novel. That's not always the case these days with Christmas books but In a Holidaze gets right to what many of us feel is the most important part of the holiday: family and traditions. And that family isn't just your blood relatives. It's your found family, those who are the most important people in your life. The group in this novel get together every Christmas and trim the tree and have snow sculpture competitions, and eat and drink far too much. You can feel the love, and the cheer, and that's what I loved about this story.
In a Holidaze was one of my favourite reads in October. Not only that, but I think all the holiday books I have yet to read will have a tough go ahead of them if they want to beat out Christina Lauren's for the top spot on my holiday reading list this year.
*An egalley of this novel was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*
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