Review: Christina Lauren's IN A HOLIDAZE.

I love how the authors Christina Lauren surprise us from book to book—from the contemplative, heart wrenching Love and Other Words to the face-sweating heat of Beautiful Bastard.

In the case of their newest release In a Holidaze, I was once again impressed by their versatility but unfortunately didn’t fall for the love story.

After an inebriated make-out session with a friend who just happens to be the brother of the man she’s had unrequited feelings for for years, Maelyn Jones asks the universe to “show me what will make me happy.”

The universe decides to make her relive her Christmas vacation, the one her family does every year with her parents’s college friends & their kids, including Theo, the aforementioned friend she kissed, & Andrew, his brother & the man she’s harbored romantic feelings for.

The question becomes: what does Mae’s happy life look like? & who is front & center in it?

Though this romance shares a basic premise with the movie Groundhog Day it feels fresh & entertaining in Christina Lauren’s hands, peppered with approachable wry & sometimes crass humor.

Mae’s a likeable heroine—she goes on a fun evolution from someone who, in her words, tries to be so careful to someone who isn’t afraid to upset the balance a bit.

Where the book falls short for me is with the brothers, both of whom come off as rather one-note for me. The brother her heart ends up truly desiring feels too perfect; I couldn’t get a sense of his flaws or that Mae could see any, & that veered a little too close to putting-him-on-a-pedestal-adoration for me.

After a sustained period of not warming to him, I couldn’t fully relax into their romance, a sensation that was made more unsettling by the unpredictability of the time travel plot itself.

With that being said, I like this book: it’s sweet, sexy, and funny. The premise is great & the writing is warm & cozy. The romance just doesn’t rock my (holiday) socks off.

3.5⭐️. In a Holidaze is available now. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.