Lauren Layne’s signature charm permeates An Ex for Christmas, and it’s a feel-good, heartwarming love story with a picture-perfect holiday backdrop. Kelly Byrne is a third-grade teacher, adorably superstitious and impassioned about the holidays. She has a chance encounter with a fortuneteller, who ambiguously predicts that one of her exes could be her soul mate, and she sets out to reconnect with her old boyfriends, making a list and checking it twice. As she reunites with the ghosts of relationships past, her steadfast, sexy best friend, Mark Blakely, begins to act differently, as if he has romantic feelings for her. Kelly is rattled by the shift in their relationship and begins to see him in a new light, and she wonders if her destiny is not with a man from her past but rather one from the present. Mark and Kelly’s evolution from best friends to lovers is heart-tugging, and An Ex for Christmas will leave you smiling, sighing and possibly humming your favorite Christmas tunes.

I have been a huge fan of Lauren Layne since reading her Oxford series earlier this year. I have been in the process of devouring everything she has released since then. An Ex for Christmas is such a sweet, adorable novella that gives a fresh twist to the BFFs to Lovers trope. Kelly is a great heroine, who is sweet and a little quirky, but owns that quirkiness entirely. Mark is her BFF who has been in love with her forever, but the timing has never been right. When Kelly has her fortune read and learns she's already met the man of her dreams, hilarity ensues as she tries to figure out who it was before Christmas.

A quick and fun read for Christmas. Kelly is told by a fortune teller that she has known her true love, so she decides to make a list of all her past boyfriends and see if one of them is the one. Her best friend Mark thinks she is crazy, and I must admit I agree with him. She is 27, but still worries about horoscopes, magic 8 balls, and fortune tellers. Seemed a bit immature and silly to this 50 year old, but the story, while predictable, was enjoyable. Would recommend if you want a light fun read with a Christmas theme.

I love this friends-to-lovers story! Lauren Layne really excels in this type of storyline (there's another book of hers with this same trope), as the change in the main characters' relationship was done in a believable way. That they were best friends was also portrayed quite well.

Kelly was so oblivious to Mark's regard for her that it's funny to watch. I have to commend Mark on his patience as he waits for Kelly to wake up to the fact that the man she was looking for is right in front of her! Mark is the silent, quiet, patient type, something not quite seen often in the heroes of books I've read before. He's like the "wind beneath her wings" (I've always wanted to write that!) as he supports her and was always there for her, always looking out for her. (dreamy sigh and more dreamy sighs!)

Another thing that I love is that Kelly is not that skinny heroine always portrayed in books. She's got a bit of weight on her, and as a woman, she might have been a bit concerned about the extra pounds she gained during the holidays (perfectly okay and perfectly normal!), but I love how Mark told her not to sweat it. He wouldn't tolerate any body talk since what she is is perfectly fine to him. Now, wouldn't we love to have more of people like that in our lives? I definitely would!

One thing though: I would've loved to read more from Mark's point of view! We do get a chapter of that toward the end, but I'd love more insights from his end and thought the story might have more depth if we could have his views interspersed with that of Kelly's throughout the story.

There's somewhat of a magical feel to this story, especially with the presence of the woman who told Kelly's fortune, yet it leaves me with this question at the end: Who is that woman?!

I thoroughly enjoyed this story and it will really put you in the mood for the holidays!

I wanted to save this story to read until after Thanksgiving. We had a heat wave that week. The hottest Thanksgiving on record.
I wanted to be in the Christmas/holiday mood. I'm getting there... The weather is cooling down. I have to use the heater in the mornings & no A/C for a couple of weeks now.
Anyway...
Kelly is a school teacher in NYC. She starts her Christmas vacation on Dec 16th (!!!) It's a private school so I guess they get more time off than I ever did.
Kelly goes home to upstate New York for her time off. Her parents are on a holiday cruise for their anniversary. Kelly is alone for the holidays. Her friends are out of town- all except her best friend, Mark. She should be happy about hanging out with Mark. She is, but she isn't. She spends the entire story taking Mark for granted and looking for Mr Right... AND shaking her damn 8 ball for answers to her love life and her future.
She's a teacher. Common sense? Logical? Yes, yes-usually. In my experience, the teachers I've known have been very realistic, intelligent and dependent on facts. My SIL is the only exception-my FIL called her a "flake". It got back to her. I told her, don't worry, it's just an opinion. I couldn't lie & tell her she's not a flake-I agreed with my father in law (LOL)...
Anyway...
I usually give heroines a little leeway. They can't all be kickass & ninjas. There's some shy, soft- spoken, strong on the inside types. I DO want a heroine to know her own mind or work on getting there. Not a superstition driven "flake".
Yeah, Kelly is a FLAKE. Mark needed to stand up and say something a long time before he did.
I usually don't mind an ow or om, if the H & h stand by their man/woman. No cheating.
I had a hard time finishing this one. I love this author's Rom-coms. A really great example is "Walk of Shame". The h in that one, was a little wacky but pretty smart and lovable. I'm glad that I read this book. I want to read every LL book that I can. Sorry, not my favorite. 3 stars for the polished writing.

Like Kelly, I have my own list. It’s a list of what would make a perfect Christmas romance story.

The characters have to be likable, but not too cheesy.
Add a dash of quirk.
The best Christmas music, that includes the old standards as well as recent favorites.
There has to be goodies.
Could we have a dog? Pretty please?
Let it snow!
Throw in laughs, smiles, maybe a few tears.
The obligatory but joyous decorating of the Christmas tree and/or anything else.
Lauren Layne in creating An Ex- For Christmas checked every single box and added a few of her own.

Now, I will be the first to admit that sometimes I can give or take the Hallmark channel Christmas movies. To me, many are cringe-worthy, but every once in a while I’ll watch a gem that I look forward to seeing each year. Funny, the one I have in mind involved a little supernatural in which a woman has the opportunity to go back in time for a second chance with the love of her life.

While An Ex- For Christmas involves a friends-to-lovers trope, it’s still about realizing that the love of your life has always been there and you just needed to have your eyes opened. Or, in this case, to have a fortune teller inform you that you’ve already met him and then do the walk that allows you to recognize him.

I’ve read a lot of Christmas romances over the years. An Ex- For Christmas is one of the best.

Kelly and Mark are great characters. When I started reading, I hadn’t updated myself on the blurb, so after a bit I checked the blurb because I really liked Mark and I hoped that he was the one for Kelly. He’s so patient with her quirks, which I personally liked, because, hey, I am all about the quirks.

I loved the ending with each of them doing a version of the grand gesture.

Get this book. Read it when you want something funny and sweet and romantic and have uninterrupted time just for you.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet, quick, fast paced holiday read. Great characters and plot made it hard to put down

Great friend to lovers holiday romance and perfect for an evening read! I loved that Kelly was clueless to Mark's feelings, not only while she went through her ex list, but even before. They really felt like a couple, even before they crossed the line to lovers. I highly recommend it, especially if you're into Hallmark holiday movies.
4.5 stars
I voluntarily reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. I was not compensated for this review, all conclusions are my own.

The friends to lovers trope is one of my favorites. The hero and the heroine each had their flaws (the constant references to the magic eight ball and psychics was overkill; and if he had feelings for her for years, man up!) Generally, this was a fun and sexy holiday romance with quirky characters and hilarious misadventures.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC from Netgalley.
OOOhhhh Myyyy!!! How absolutely fabulous was "An Ex for Christmas!" It was everything you expect from Lauren Layne. Hunky Hero, Clueless, but hilarious Heroine, Best Friends and witty banter. Oh, I adored this book! I have to say that I have yet to read anything by Lauren Layne that doesn't deliver.
Yes, I'm one of those readers that is totally into the Best Friends to Lovers and this was done beautifully. If you love the Hallmark channel, you're going to love this book even more!!! (Yup, I said it.)
Please, Please, Please keep 'em coming Ms Layne.

This is a great feel good book for the Christmas Season. Kelly meets a woman that has the "sight" and tells her that she has already met her true love. She takes it as it is one of her ex boyfriends and tries to find each one to see if there are any feelings for them. Meanwhile, her best friend, Mark, has been patiently waiting for her to notice him. A great, fun read!!

After getting a cryptic message from a stranger on the train, whom told her that she had already met her one true love, Kelly Byrne sets about going through her exes, but doesn’t realize her one true love is right under her nose! It's her very best friend Mark Blakely *swoon*, now I'm going to leave the rehash of the story there, as I will undoubtable give the whole book away, cause I just love it so much!

I absolutely loved this book! Lauren Layne's stories have the ability to sweep me away, and make me laugh, cry, and just generally fall in love! And every part of this story did that for me. I honestly cannot recommend this book enough, it is the perfect book for Christmas! Well, actually, the perfect book for every day of the year!

I give An Ex for Christmas 5 stars!

Ohhhhh, this was such a swoonworthy book😍
I think I'm right in calling this a Hallmark book... it might not have been the most unique and particular book, but it was the perfect read for a lazy afternoon:)
This book for sure filled my heart with happiness and hope, and I often wore a smile while reading it.

I loved Kelly, the female character. She might have been a little obtuse, especially regarding her relationship with her BFF, but I forgave her because she was too cute! Like, you for sure knows a person who make you smile and say: ohhh, you're such a cute and kind person, let's be friend! Well, that was Kelly for me:) she was a little goofy, but I loved reading about her attempts to find her true love...:)

And for Mark, I felt like he could have tried to make some moves without waiting so long, but ehi, everyone has its own pace! It was so funny to see how he reacted to Kelly's project, the fact that he was always in the middle of her appointments... and when he decided it was time to do something about their relationship, he sure didn't procrastinate!

This books really was made me smile at its cuteness, and all the Christmas decorations and activities made me wish it was already Christmas time!!!

Read it if you want to spend a cozy afternoon by the fire with a book that will make you feel warm inside❤️

A funny and witty story about the type of love that has always been there but sometimes we are too bind to see or too scared to confront.

Kelly was a strange and hilarious character, her whole list idea was probably one of the worse I heard in a while, exes are that for a reason, you might not remember right away but there is always something that caused that relationship to fail and time probably wont fix that.

Yes there are some relationships that seem to have had the "not the right time" factor involved, but those are the minority.

Mark's patience with her was unbelievable. She kept making mistake after mistake, and kept choosing losers over him, I wouldn't have been so lenient with her.

My favourite part of the book was his soul baring moment, he had always been there for her, and he tried time and time and again to get her to notice him, but the timing always seemed wrong, instead he settled for the best friend role, which probably caused him a lifetime of hurt.

The teaching moment of this book would be to never let this things go on for so long, if you love someone GO FOR IT, tell them how you feel. Worst case scenario, they say no and you can move on.

There's only one chance at life, we don't get do overs.

Santa came early this year in the form of Lauren Layne's book An Ex for Christmas. This book is the perfect holiday romance, complete with candy canes, mistletoe, and true love. Layne, as always, can make me laugh and cry. This time she also made me believe in Christmas miracles.

this book was awesome .. funny and romantic ... she was told by a bum that she already met her true love so she hunts down all exes .... must read

I absolutely LOVED reading this story!! Kelly is a single girl in NYC and getting ready to head home for her favorite holiday, Christmas. Kelly is UBER superstitious and when she runs into an older woman who tells her that she has already met her forever and she will again before Christmas. So of course, Kelly has to make a list of all her exes so she can run into "the one" again.

Mark has been Kelly's BFF forever. They've been super close and even help each other out. But Mark is not looking forward to Kelly's half-baked plan to get back in touch with all her exes that broke her heart. Especially when things seem to be a little sensitive between them.

A great read! Lauren Layne has been one of my favorite authors for a long time. I love everything she writes and will definitely buy once I see she has a new book out.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great book. The characters are funny, inviting and the story captures you on the 1st page. Looking forward to reading more from this author. Definitely worth reading and the ending was perfect.....

http://www.scandaliciousbookreviews.com/reviews/review-an-ex-for-christmas-by-lauren-layne/

Elementary school teacher Kelly Byrne loves Christmas and is very superstitious. When this mysterious woman tells her she's already met The One and will be with him come Christmas, this sends Kelly into a tizzy and she immediately spends the next two weeks before Christmas tracking her unmarried exes and checking into those old feels for her old unmarried exes to see if they have been naughty, nice, and , for her---The One.
During those two weeks, she ends up crossing off those exes after she reunites with them and finds during this time she is becoming super attracted to her very best friend , a man she never thought she would have those type of feelings for. Mark Blakely is more than just her BFF- he is her neighbor and one awesome chef. Mark takes this time while Kelly is trying to figure out who her ONE is, to prove to her that he ultimately is her one and make her see that he has always been there and has been in love with her pretty much forever.
The story has its ups and downs and we see Kelly not so focused on herself finally toward the end of the story when she realizes that Mark is her True One and she takes a leap of faith and hopes she can prove she is in love with him and that she does want him in her life forever. It took Kelly getting out of the friend role and seeing Mark in the boyfriend / forever mate role to make her see he is the one for her. But there were some twists in the story and Mark was walking away after Kelly , it seemed, took his love for granted and didn’t open her heart to him. Will Kelly be able to win Mark back? Or is this the end of Kelly and Mark?
I liked this sweet Best friends to lovers story. It was, at times, slow but overall had a sweet story and message. I did like the ending and felt Mark was the perfect book boyfriend.
My Rating: 4.5 stars *****
“I received an advanced copy of this book from the author at no cost to me."