By Christina Lauren
In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren
Released: October 6, 2020
Pages: 307
Publisher: Gallery Books
Overall: 3.5/5
Plot: 3.5/5
Characters: 4/5
Setting & World-building: 4/5
Emotional Investment: 3/5
"It never occurred to me that you might be mine"
Imagine Groundhog's Day, but an entire week, not just a day. This was a feel-good Christmas read. I actually started this the day after Christmas, but it still had its cuddly romance feel. I swooned a little not gonna lie reading ha.
Quick Summary: Maelyn Jones has every Christmas alive in a cabin with her family and their closest friends. It's her safe place so when she finds the cabin might be getting sold, it devastates her. But on the car ride on the way home at the end of the vacation she gets into a car crash and wakes up again on the first day of the vacation. Having to continuously repeat the same week can be tiresome, especially if you don't know why and have to continuously see your 13-year long crush.
This was a very feel good read that quickly passed the time but doesn't require too much brain commitment. Maelyn loves tradition and it allows her to have control over her life. Which is kind of why she is still doing the job she hates and accidentally kisses the brother she is not in love with. But she gets a redo and she messes up a lot. And I mean a lot, Mae is just crazy sometimes. But like when she learns to live in the moment she's happier and it changes the entire vibe of the place (in a good way). So I didn't hate her as a character but she did feel a little dry sometimes. Andrew (the guy she's been pining for) is actually the driest character in the book. His entire personality is about being nice and secretive. He just was a boring love-interest and you know his younger brother Theo (the one she kisses first) and Mae kind of had more of a connection. What did save it though was all the other characters. The relationships between their parents and how they were in college was very entertaining. Their personalities were written much better and basically made the entire book.
The magical realism element of this book was okay. There were some parts where I was like the rules of how this vacation keeps repeating are blurred. It just kind of happens whenever which I thought was annoying. I also hated that she told people about the loop happening. It just confused things a bit too much for me.
I loved the setting. The whole feel of Christmas was definitely there and how it was described made me wish I could feel snow like that, even though I literally live in the snowiest place possible. The cabin sounded absolutely gorgeous and the idea of having a tradition like that made me warm. I also have aunts and uncles who are not actual aunts and uncles with who I would love to do annual trips. It was the family and togetherness of the characters that really made this book special. The romance was alright but the individuality and quirks of side characters were definitely the highlights.
This atmosphere of this entire book honestly felt more Christmasy than actual Christmas day this year. I think everyone should read this book because who doesn't want to feel like everything is alright in the world. Who doesn't want it to feel like Christmas all year round?
Quotes
"He would always be a little bit more, a little bit mine, even if he didn't know it"
"You've never been for me. I' never knew you were an option"
"I've loved you since I knew what love was and I can't undo that"
"Every single point on Earth's surface is the center of someone's universe"
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