I really love Catherine Walsh's writing, especially when she writes holiday books. Ugh, they're always so cozy, and I fall in love with the characters so quickly. They always have such fun, wholesome, funny energy; it's always a great time. I was craving some short Christmas stories, and this one delivered. I love that we follow the same family. Around from her previous books, it was a joy. Definitely recommend for the holiday season; it’s on the shorter side and It’s just sweet.

I really loved the first half. I love that we jump right into the story. I find that a lot of the time a story can drag in the beginning with the buildup, but Jasmine Guillory did it so well. I love the vibes of this book. It gave me those winter Bridgerton vibes mixed with Princess Diaries and a little bit of a Jane Austen feel. This was so wholesome and fun. I love our MMC and FMC; they are such delights to follow around. I enjoyed being in their heads, like they loved each other so much. I loved the setting; the UK during Christmas time just feels so festive. My only gripe with the book was a little bit past the halfway point it started to drag. I just feel like it could’ve been shortened, but overall technically it is a short. I think just personally it felt like it was dragging. I definitely recommend you pick this up if you’re looking for that nostalgic 2000s movie vibe like The Princess Diaries or something like that. It really just gave that to me with a spin.

I struggle rating this one. I neither loved it nor hated it. I just felt it was really quick, which it is it's a novella, so you only have a short amount of time to convey this romance and sadly in that short amount of time, I didn't connect to the romantic aspect between them. I did love them as individuals. I think a full-length novel would've been great. It was just way too insta-love for me when it came to, like, the spice scenes; it felt kind of awkward because it was like you're kind of a third party witnessing two strangers hook up. Lol. I think the neighbor trope is cute, and parts of their interactions are very sweet. I just needed a bit more to be invested, which, to be fair, is a hard ask in a novella. I do love Alexis Daria’s commitment to the whole Christmas thing with all the language she used through the story. I loved that.

I just had a really fun time. It was a bit of a slower start for me, but I really ended up loving them together. I love how they interacted; I was grinning and having butterflies the whole time. I do feel like it finished so abruptly, which I knew coming into a novella, obviously, but I feel like Ali's past novellas that I’ve read so far ended and felt finished. Of course, I would love more of the story, but this one in particular ended a bit too prematurely, I felt. Although I wouldn’t really change up the story, that's my only critique; overall, I enjoyed it. Their dynamic was great, and he was so so down bad for her and so was she I loved it. The snowy stuck in a cabin atmosphere was a great cozy add in, for the winter time and the spice was pretty great as always. I definitely had a fun time.