Holiday Romance Wrap-up 2023

 Frosty Proximity - Liz Alden

This boss/employee romance follows Peter and Kara.  Kara is Peter's personal stylist and the two have an extremely professional relationship - introvert Peter trying to keep his crush for Kara under wraps and Kara thinking Peter is put off by her bubbly personality.  But after a snowstorm leaves her stranded in Switzerland and staying with Peter's family, the two realize they don't want to be strictly professional at all.  This was a shorter read than I was expecting given the premise.  At only 154 pages, there was a lot of aspects to this read that I felt were either glossed over or magically fixed themselves without any effort by the characters.  For an example, if part of Peter's character is that he's an introvert and tends to keep to himself, then I wanted to see that more on page and see him working through it or actively choosing to try and talk with Kara.  But instead we see him immediately thaw toward her pretty much as soon as he sees her with his family and then that part of his personality seems to entirely disappear.  I really loved Peter and Kara as their own characters and thought they worked together pretty well on page but they really only spent 3 days together so my inner insta-love skeptic wasn't entirely sure about the HEA we got.  We get to see Peter's family celebrating Hanukkah and a little of Kara's family celebrating Christmas. There were some really great heartwarming as well as steamy scenes, but I just felt like Alden was trying to pack a little too much into too short of a page count and as a result we lose some of the development or depth to the story and characters that I really wanted.

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

Publication date was October 24, 2023.

From Snowball Fights to Hot Summer Nights - Wren K Morris

This MMF romance is the second in the Misadventures and Mistletoe series and follows Dancer, Trevor, and Candy. Dancer and Trevor have been friendly for months but neither one thinks the other would be interested in anything more.  But when Dancer takes a space in a charity show at a strip club, another dancer - Candy - can see the chemistry between the two men is ready to burst.  She gives them each the push they need to finally become more.  When Dancer and Trevor both want to see more of Candy - in every way they can imagine - the three of them will have a merry time together indeed.  This was such a fun, fluffy read and I really enjoyed it. While the first book in the series follows a different couple and has an HEA, there is a lot of world building/explanation in that first book so I would recommend reading it first. I loved how we get all 3 POVs of our main characters so we can really get in their heads and get to know them a little more quickly. There's fantastic chemistry between all the characters pretty much from the get-go and it is done in a way that highlights their compatibility, not just physical desire. I'd categorize this as zero angst which is exactly what I like in a shorter holiday read.  There are moments of doubt, sure, but they are pretty much instantly addressed in a very straightforward and caring way.  I do wish we had time to see more scenes of the different configurations of couples building their individual relationships more.

His Last Christmas in London - Con Riley

This MM romance is the first in Con Riley's Christmas Collection and follows photographer Ian and food critic Guy. After a disastrous breakup with this boss, Ian is just about out of money and getting ready to leave London.  But when he's needed as a last minute fill-in to take photos of Guy and food, Ian finds himself intrigued at the soft person under the hardened critic exterior.  Guy is almost 20 years older than Ian, and the last time Ian fell for an older man it ended horribly. But as the two spend more time together before Christmas, they realize there might be more to this than just a fling. This ended up being a much more emotional read than I was expecting.  Yes, it had plenty of spicy moments and sizzling chemistry between the two men, but it also had a lot of heart.  Ian and Guy both find themselves emotionally vulnerable at points and both have a great support system.  We only get Ian's POV, however, and I wanted to see Guy's POV so badly, especially once we find out about his past relationship. 

Beastly and Bookish - Catrina Bell

This paranormal romance is part of the Horned Up for the Holidays series and follows childhood friends Rom and Noelle.  Fifteen years ago, Rom and Noelle were best friends but when Rom's family left town without saying goodbye, Noelle figured she'd never see him again.  Now, Rom returns to his childhood home to open a new branch of his family's coffee house chain. He never dreamed Noelle would still be there.  The two pick up right where they left off and when they are snowed in together after an avalanche, they both know there's no going back to just friends. This was such a fun read and I will definitely be reading the other books in the series.  We get a bit of small town charm/antics and Bell also captured the tourist frustrations well.  There are a handful of flashbacks to when Rom and Noelle were younger which really helped fill in the gaps of their childhood friendship and the history between our main characters.  I loved Rom and Noelle as characters so much - especially how Rom was such a softy but could turn on his demon-bargaining skills when needed for business purposes.  The world building was very straightforward and covered the based that we'd need to know for this story. 

Thanks to the author for the ARC.  Publication date was December 4, 2023

Best Friends Don't Kiss - Max Monroe

This friends to lovers romance follows Ava and Luke.  The two met their freshman year of college and have been friends for the last 15 years.  Now, Ava is returning home to Vermont for her sister's wedding and high school reunion and she needs a fake boyfriend.  Luke agrees, and as they practice being in their fake relationship before traveling to Ava's hometown, they both start to realize that they've had feelings for the other for a long time.  This was a really great friends to lovers arc that didn't start out with one friend already in love with the other - as is often the case. I found Ava and Luke to be very well developed characters and their friendship was fantastic.  They really felt like actual friends who cared about each other's lives and goals.  We get to see a good amount of them being just friends before the fake dating aspect kicks in.  Once they do start dating, then the chemistry ramps up from there.  I really liked Ava and Luke as a couple but I wanted a bit more of a gradual romance.  The pacing just felt a bit too rushed for my liking.  I also think having both the wedding and high school reunion was too much for the amount of pages we had and neither of those events felt like they got the on-page time they deserved. 

The Boss Who Stole Christmas - Jana Aston

This boss/employee romance follows Holly and Nick.  They both work at a toy company - Holly as a toy designer and Nick as the owner.  The both seem to dislike the other but business needs come first and the two find themselves on a trip to Germany a few weeks before Christmas.  As they spend more time together and interact outside of the office environment, they find a whole lot of feelings buried under their initial animosity. I would have absolutely loved this as a full length novel.  However, since it was novella length, I found the enemies to lovers arc to be extremely rushed.  There was a good amount of set up and characterization at the beginning, but the middle felt almost non-existent and then suddenly we were at the ending.  Pacing issues aside, I really loved Holly and Nick as characters and the chemistry they had once they got together was fantastic. I wanted to explore the setting in Germany more, but did really enjoy seeing the Christmas Market at least. Overall, this was an okay read but I really think it could have been 5 stars if it was longer and the romance was more developed.

One Night On Christmas Eve - Thea Masen

This short and spicy read follows Sienna on her quest to turn her flirtation into something real by hiding inside a present ... naked. Only instead of her crush coming through the door, it is his brother instead.  This was a fun and steamy read that still had a good amount of heart.  As with most shorter works, we don't get a ton of time to get to know the characters but Masen does a great job of working as many details as possible into the story in a seamless manner.  I also appreciated this is a HFN (happy for now) ending which I find much more believable than an HEA when the story takes place over only one night. We did get enough characterization and chemistry on page that I would like to imagine these character did work out in the end.

Wreck My Plans - Jillian Meadows

This brother's best friend romance follows Lena and Gavin.  They've known each other for years, but after Gavin stopped coming to Lena's family Christmas celebrations a few years ago, they haven't seen each other.  Gavin is back this year and the previously fun and flirty relationship between the two has shifted and the plans they both had for the holiday go out the window so they can have a chance at love.  This was such a great read and I absolutely loved Lena and Gavin.  The banter and spark between the two of them was fantastic and there were points where I wanted to yell at them to "just kiss already!". I did get a bit of  whiplash from the set up because Lena was so angry at Gavin at first and the reader had no idea why at the time. So then I thought it was going to be an enemies to lovers situation but then they talk it out and then are friends again pretty quickly. Also, for a brother's best friend, Gavin sure did seem to spend all his time with Lena instead.  Once Lena and Gavin did get together, they really did feel like they were meant to be together. 

Kissed by the Krampus - L Eveland

This MM monster romance is the first in the Monsters in My Bed series and follows a human named Chris and a krampus named Ollie.  After Ollie rescues Chris from a car wreck, he nurses the human back to health in his cabin.  The two strike up a bond that quickly turns into more. When the government shows up to try and kidnap Ollie and bring him back to their secret monster science lair, Chris must work to save Ollie and the entire human race.  Let's be honest - this has some extreme similarities to Lily Mayne's Monstrous series, specifically book 1 Soul Eater (which I read earlier this year). There are plenty of reviews on Goodreads that list out many of the similarities so you can go check those out if you're interested.  I loved Soul Eater and I while I liked this read, I certainly didn't love it as much.  With being so similar to Soul Eater, it is really hard to not constantly compare the two.  I thought Eveland really did a great job with the relationship between Chris and Ollie in the cabin and the way their relationship developed felt pretty natural. I loved the hurt/comfort dynamic as well as Ollie's interest in mundane human items that he collects while out on his adventures. The worldbuilding and plot outside of the cabin, however, did lose me and felt like it wasn't nearly as well-developed.  

Christmas with the Horned God - Aveda Vice

This second chance romance follows Rowen and Asher.  Rowen is returning to her hometown for the first time in years and when she takes a detour to see the Christmas tree farm she worked at when she was younger she doesn't expect to get stranded, see Asher again, or see the signs warning that something isn't quite right up there on the mountain.  Rowen and Asher left their budding relationship back when they were teens but spending time together at the place where their relationship began brings back plenty of memories. This was a great read and I loved the paranormal elements. Vice does a great job at really building up the complicated relationship between Rowen and Asher and I loved how we get snippets of their time together back in the day.  The tension between the two is palpable and is delicious when it turns from animosity to desire. I appreciated how we got both POVs so we could see how this surprise second chance situation was messing with both of their heads.  This was probably the most emotional read of this round of romances but I thought Vice did a fantastic job of handling these more sensitive topics.  I found myself wanting to see more of the horror elements of what was happening out on the mountain - we were either stuck in the cabin with Rowen or following Asher while they were stuck in their own head.  I was just really intrigued by the paranormal/magical elements and wanted more of them. 

Thanks to the author for the ARC. Publication date was December 22, 2023

Venice Actually - Kelly Reynolds

This acquaintance  to lovers romance is the second in the Holidays in LA series and follows Leighton and Killian. Leighton has been kicked out of her apartment without much notice and is trying to find a new place to live smack in the middle of the holidays.  Luckily, Killian has a spare room to offer her.  The two are friendly, but never really hung out much one on one.  But that didn't stop Killian from developing a major crush on Leighton.  When Leighton's sister tells their parents that Killian is Leighton's fiance, he now has an excuse to get as close to her as he wants.  And it turns out, she might want him to get close and stay there. This was fantastic and had everything I wanted in a holiday romance.  I absolutely loved both Leighton and Killian, but their dynamic together was even better.  They are one of those couples where the fake dating feels real right from the beginning and the whole world knows it except the two of them.  We get some great holiday antics from Leighton's family as well.  Killian has anxiety and Leighton has PCOS so we get to see how they come together to help each other out when the other needs extra support.  We also get to see characters from the first book, which is always a fun time.

Wreck the Halls - Tessa Bailey

This rockstar-adjacent romance follows Melody and Beat - their mothers were a rock duo who had a very messy break up while they were pregnant.  Now, decades later, Melody and Beat are approached with a reality show following them as they try to reunite their mothers for one show on Christmas Eve.  Both Melody and Beat know there isn't much hope for the reunion but Beat needs the money and Melody wants to help so they agree.  I'm not usually a fan of famous people romances unless both MCs are in the industry and fully understand what they are getting into together.  Bailey sets up the connection between Melody and Beat perfectly and they both mention multiple times how they are the only ones who can really understand each other.  The majority of this read takes place as they are filming/live-streaming the reality show and that wasn't a huge draw for me as I'm not a big reality TV person.  However, I did love the behind the scenes details and we get a good number of scenes where it is just Melody ad Beat, no cameras. I did feel like the conflicts between the two of them were repetitive and felt like they were getting resolved the same way each time.  So much so that by the time we get to the final make-up scene, I wasn't sold that the two of them wouldn't have another repeat of the same issue not so far down the road. 

Set the Record Straight - Hannah Bonam-Young

This FF, friends to lovers romance follows Clara and Evan.  The two have been friends since childhood and Evan is gay while Clara is straight. But when Clara's new boss seems to think Clara is queer, the two agree to fake date and attend each other's work holiday parties together.  But when fake feelings begin feeling real, the two friends realize they have something special between the two of them.  This was a wonderful, zero angst romance. I adored Clara and Evan as friends and literally happy squealed once they got together.  This is Clara's bisexual awakening, of sorts, but it felt pretty natural to her character.  I loved the quirky holiday traditions that Clara's family has and seeing just how welcoming and warm they were to the news that the best friends are now romantically involved.  This is a dual POV read, but I found Clara and Evan's voices to be so similar that there were times where I couldn't tell who was speaking.  There is also a bit too much outside tension for my liking for a novella of this length - we have Clara's work event, Evan's ex girlfriend and her holiday party, and Evan's homophobic parents in their hometown.  None of these ended up being particularly stressful or long but there was just a lot packed into not that many pages.  The romance was incredibly well done and the spicy scenes had the perfect balance of heat and emotion.