Hi there! Today I’m excited to share a review for a contemporary holiday romance from Christina Lauren. IN A HOLIDAZE mixes “Groundhog Day” schitck with a new adult romance for a very confused young woman.

About the book:
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 Review:
Maelyn Jones loves nothing more than spending Christmas with an extended family of her parents’ dearest friends in a bursting-at-the-seams cabin in Utah. It has been a tradition for her whole life, and brings a plethora of memories, including those surrounding her deep and unrequited love for Andrew, the eldest son of the cabin owners: her mom’s college roommate and her husband. These people are her family to a degree, and when Mae gets drunk at the end of their stay she makes out with Theo, Andrew’s philandering younger brother–who treats her like crap the morning after. And after THAT she learns the cabin is being sold and she’ll never spend Christmas with these folks again. It’s upsetting–even more so than her parents’ divorce several years ago.

While heading for the airport, deeply disappointed Mae makes a wish to find “what will make her happy”. Then fate steps into her path. She’s next conscious on the airplane en route to Utah, a week ahead of the nightmare trip she’d just endured. Armed with the knowledge she’d just gained, Mae tries to make sense of this second chance. Only, she keeps messing up and getting sent back to the airplane to restart the pathway to her happiness.

She finally decides to confide in Benny, one of the original parent-pals, who is a usual co-conspirator. Benny aids Mae in her quest to not be shipped off to the plane, and also to find her happiness. It turns out that Mae is deeply unsatisfied with the state of her life, and she decides to do EVERYTHING differently, like even confessing her longstanding crush on Andrew. It seems to be working, because Andrew is pretty much the best kind of guy, but even he struggles to understand Mae’s predicament. She’s terrified that she’s going to finally get what she so desperately wants, but have it ripped away in a flash of tragedy and return to the danged airplane.

If you like Groundhog Day, and holiday romances, this book is likely going to be a hit for you. Poor Mae has so many fits and starts, and her relationships with these folks are all so strong and yet tenuous. She offends Theo, who has a weird fixation that THEY were supposed to get together, since they are the same age, while Andrew gets mad that there might have been a reality where Mae chose Theo…first. The angst and drama are all so timely placed, I was turning the pages late into the night to get to the HEA, which totally happens, even if Mae hadn’t figured out how entirely her life needed to change if she was going to find her true happiness. I also liked that she needed the help of others to make the happiness of their entire crew grow by leaps. I really enjoyed it, even though it’s pretty low on the steam factor for New Adult romance.

Interested? You can find IN A HOLIDAZE on Goodreads, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. I received a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

About the Author:
Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/besties/soulmates/brain-twins Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced sixteen New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)

You can find Christina and Lauren on their website, and twitter: Christina or Lauren,.

Thanks for popping in, and keep reading my friends!