Saturday, October 10, 2020

Book Review: "In a Holidaze" by Christina Lauren

Christina Lauren's newest book, In a Holidaze, is like someone said, "Let's take the movie Groundhog Day, but make it Christmasy."

Every year, old friends and their families gather at a cabin in Utah over Christmas. It’s a tradition that has endured for a number of years, through divorces and childbirths, and now some of the children are actual adults. But the tradition is coming to an end after this year, and while the friends promise to recreate it somewhere else, everyone knows things will be different.

No one is sadder than Maelyn. She’s having a tough time right now—she hates her job, she’s moved back in with her parents, and the night before they leave Utah she makes a colossal error in judgment. And gets caught by the one person she was trying to hide it from. As her family drives away from the cabin, she thinks, “Please, show me what will make me happy.”

The next thing she knows, there’s the sound of screeching tires, breaking glass, and...she wakes up on the plane to Utah days earlier. She can’t figure out why she’s suddenly forced to keep repeating her time in Utah until she realizes she has to fight for the things—and the person—that make her happy.

This was definitely a cute book with a fun concept that has become more common in fiction lately. I love the fun sense of romance that Christina Lauren brings to their books, as well as the emotions that occur when the path to romance doesn’t go smoothly. (And does it ever?)

I thought In a Holidaze was a quick, enjoyable read. Having read a number of books where characters find themselves in different lives this year, I’m a little weary of the time it takes for them to get accustomed to where they are—the shock, the reacclimation, etc.—and that happened here, too.

In the end, though, I still felt all warm and fuzzy and got choked up, so that’s all I need from a rom-com! If you've never read a Christina Lauren book, they have so many great ones to choose from. My favorites include Josh and Hazel's Guide to Not Dating, Love and Other Words, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and Autoboyography.

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