In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren
Alternate cover edition can be found here 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 hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.
No posts yet
Kick off the convo with a theory, question, musing, or update
Your rating:
I purposefully waited to read this book until the holidays. It was worth it for the vibes.
A very sweet book with just the right amount of messiness. I love when characters in their 20s are allowed to have realistic careers and relationships with their families/ long term family friends. And I am such a sucker for time loop movies/ books.
0A Heartfelt Read with a Unique Twist! I didn’t fully grasp the Groundhog Day element in this book, but I still enjoyed it overall! I’m more accustomed to spicier reads from this author, so the sweet and clean tone took me by surprise. However, it turned out to be a refreshing change. The story did a wonderful job exploring how the characters have grown up and are now navigating the complexities of adult life. It was a heartfelt journey, with a unique twist that made it stand out from other romances. If you’re in the mood for a charming and reflective read, this one is a great choice!
0OVERALL: 3 stars. Full of Christmas vibes (in that perfect Hallmark version of wholesome family togetherness and tradition), the premise was interesting but the execution of a successful love triangle was poor. Male main character was cardboard, the whole book a bit too cutesy over emotionally impactful.
This book I think would have just been better all the way around as a movie instead of a book. The visual impact of the time jumping would have been easier to establish and carry through the complete story, and having so many characters wouldn't have been so heavy of an element. Plus it'd have been easier to show/see the relationships between Mae and both brothers, in just a few shots.
I went into this book knowing very little, just that it was a 'Groundhog Day' situation. I read this book over one weekend, and enjoyed the reading experience. It was fast and easy reading for me, and there were a few times when I laughed out loud at a funny line.
I like how the book opens, with Mae feeling stressed and turning to her favorite 'uncle' character for advice, but I also wanted more background on who the characters were, what was happening, and also what was going on in Mae's life in general? I think a couple of explanatory background-building paragraphs woven into the opening pages could have laid a better foundation of the current state of Mae's life. To me it seemed that our main character made a poor decision on Christmas day and then had a rough morning on the 26th, combined with bad news... but it's only revealed later that she's not happy about her living situation, nor her job. What happens on Christmas and the day after seems not big enough to make a big wish to the universe 'to see what makes me happy'?
I understand this book uses the trope of 'childhood friends to lovers' but... I didn't really like it. Because Mae is in love with Andrew, I as the reader didn't get a chance to fall for him. I'm supposed to just see that Mae cares about him and therefore also care for him. I'd much rather have the feelings develop on page, because then they develop for me as well. Andrew seemed kinda bland to me? Not while I was reading so much as immediately after...
Other points:
-The time jumping was interesting but only done a couple of times, and then never explained nor officially resolved at the end? So while a cool idea, in execution it fell flat and then was dropped and not carried through the story.
-Was Benny a creep for that random line saying that he used to play dress up with Mae as a kid? Why is Benny always high? Is this a stereotype of Australians, as someone pointed out to me?
-Theo wasn't a big enough element in this book to warrant the amount of drama he caused. He was grumpy when Mae and Andrew are revealed to be in a new relationship, because... he thought he had a claim on her?? We hadn't seen enough of him to care about him, in my opinion.
-I got weird vibes from Andrew that he was into Mae because of the sneaking around aspect--the secrets and mildly forbidden element. I didn't like those feelings.
-Some of my friends thought there were too many characters in this book, but I thought they really functioned as more of the background and setting, to show how precious Mae's family is to her, and to round out the Hallmark-y levels of Christmas cheer and tradition.
0
