Exhilarating & Charming! Every single second of this story was just so incredibly fun, witty and sexy, it was exhilarating to read. Hands done the best holiday story I have ever read, and one I will be going back, to read again and again. Lauren Layne is definitely the Queen of Romantic Comedy.
Kelly Byrne is happy being a third grade teacher, at Emory Academy, a private prep school that is filled with rich and famous families. She is a upbeat, quirky, funny, twenty seven year old single woman, with a superstitious, nature. She believes in fate expressing itself through the magic eight ball, and uses it often, as well as using tea leaves, tarot cards, horoscopes, and she is also very familiar with, and believes in people having the gift of sight. So when a stranger at the train station, tells her that she has already met, the love of her life, and he will come back to her before Xmas, she is anxious to get the ball rolling. And who better to help her but her best friend.
Mark Blakey has been best friends with Kelly, since they met their senior year of high school, ten years ago. They are as close as a guy and girl can be without hooking up and they are opposites in many ways. But although these two are opposites, they share a lot, like a dog, a back yard and most week ends together. But Mark definitely doesn’t believe in fate, fortune or luck, so when Kelly tries to enlist his help, for her to reconnect with each one of her Ex’s to find out which one is the one, he doesn’t want to have anything to do with it.
But as Kelly sends out mistletoe sprigs to every business in town, to help her entice kisses from her Ex’s as she sets up date after date. Will the kiss of the love of her life, or the magic eight ball help her realize what is right in front of her? Will she realize that just maybe she has been in love with this person for awhile? You don’t want to miss this story! Because cutting down Xmas trees, snowball fights and shoveling snow has never been so Charming, Sexy and exhilarating! Goosebumps, Shivers and Swooning Galore! Loved this!!
I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy of this book.

I have read all of Lauren Laynes books and this one is a little different because it's not dual POV only Kelly Byrne's the heroine. Having said that I still loved this book and couldn't put it down.

This story is about Kelly Byrne who is quirky. She believes in signs, fortune tellers, magic 8'balls and horoscopes. She is also a third grade teacher who loves Christmas. She lives during the week in an Apartment in Manhattan and on the weekends in Haven at the house her grandmother left to her. Her best friend Mark lives in her backyard and they share her dog named Rigby.

The book starts off at the last day of school before Christmas break. Kelly is leaving Manhattan via train when a woman calls to her then tells her she has the " sees" and tell hers that the love of her life she has let go, but he will come back to her before Christmas. So Kelly automatically assumes that her the love is an Ex that she let go. As soon as she gets to Haven she rushes home then rushes to Marks house to see Rigby. However she walks in on Mark and his current girlfriend liplocked. Marks girlfriend leaves and Kelly excitedly tells him about what the woman at the train station told her. Mark is the exact opposite of Kelly. He doesnt believe in any of the stuff Kelly does and he is tall, dark and yum. Where Kelly believes she is short, average looking and "curvy". Despite their physical and personality differences they have been best friends for 10 years.

As Mark listens to Kellys story he goes Akon with it until she tells him she plans on making a list of all her Exes and contacts them. At that point Mark totally shuts down and all but calls her and her plan stupid. As Kelly starts meeting her Exes, Mark keeps showing with a grumpy/growly attitude. Kelly is confused bc Mark isn't bubbly but he doesn't usually bite her head off.

This book is pretty funny and sweet. Kelly gets herself into some situations with her Exes and Mark is there to help her. Mark also shows his sweet side to Kelly. I loved this book and can't wait for another LL book to come out.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

With LL you know you're getting a fun sexy book with awesome characters. When I requested from Netgalley I never bothered to read the blurb, I had every confidence I would enjoy it. I did! Kelly comes back to the house she inherited for the holidays and just wants to hang out with her neighbor/best friend of ten years/co parent of their dog Rigby. Kelly believes in horoscopes, tea leaves, the stars, fate, you name it and she will buy it. Someone put an idea in her head and Kelly needs to reconnect with her exes, after consulting a Magic 8 ball. Her best friend Mark, uber sexy chef and restaurant owner, has tried to support Kelly. You might think it's predictable, you'd be right, but the way to crazy town is quite funny. Love Actually is my all time romantic Christmas movie and I love that LL put a heavy emphasis on the move, even my favorite scene.

3.5 Love Right There... Are You Seeing It Stars
* * *1/2 Spoiler Free
Lauren Layne shares with the readers... This is the story she has wanted to write for a long time. Well, Fa La La, it is the time for her to use all of her cute, heart and sexy teases with the play on the Christmas Season. We get lots of close calls with past ex's for our gal...In all of this journey, she has her best friend chiding her, teasing her and always supporting her along the way.

Did I happen to mention her Best Friend Forever, Her One and Only Constant since College, The One Who has Always Been There No Matter What...is a Guy...

Yeah... a handsome, built, smart and just plain cool guy...

So our gal has this thing about Signs...Uses the Magic Eight Ball to make or confirm decisions...and close to the Christmas Holiday, she sees a Mystic Lady while waiting for the Subway Train...The woman tells her the True Love she is seeking... she already has known... and she needs to check them all out again as she will find him by Christmas...

All of this sounds too close to how she thinks as the mysterious lady used our gal's own phrases causing her to believe she must go on this Quest....

This is a sweet story of looking and not seeing what is in front of you... of being afraid to risk something you care about... and have one of two things happen...Having a relationship become even better and be the most wonderful...or losing the relationship all together.

Enjoy this tale and think of Lauren Layne's happiness in you doing so, Fa La La

Will post at Romance Reviews Today soon: http://romrevtoday.com/

AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS – Lauren Layne
Loveswept (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1524-79653-2
November 2017
Contemporary Romance Novella

Haven, New York – Present Day

During the week, schoolteacher Kelly Byrne works in New York City at a private school, and on the weekends, she returns home to Haven and a tiny house that is in the backyard of her best friend Mark Blakely’s property. It’s the start of the Christmas break, and Kelly is headed home for a couple of weeks when she encounters a mysterious woman who declares that Kelly will reunite with a man from her past before Christmas, and that he is the “one she’ll marry.” While shocked at the message, since she hasn’t dated anyone for a while, she decides to check out her old boyfriends to see if one of them will fit the bill. Kelly asks Mark for help, which he does so grudgingly. But as it grows closer to Christmas, with no ex giving her the right vibes, Kelly discovers an attraction to Mark she’s never noticed before.

Kelly is on a mission to reconnect with an ex who could possibly be the one she’ll marry because a sage old woman told her so. She makes a list and starts working on them once she’s back in Haven. Her parents are on an anniversary cruise, and Kelly’s Christmas plans were to spend the day with Mark and his parents, but she hopes finding Mr. Right will change her plans in AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS. She’s been best friends with Mark since they were children, and she can tell him just about anything. They live next door to one another and even share a dog. She confesses her “ex search” to him, which has him scoffing. But it doesn’t stop Kelly from proceeding with her plan.

In AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS, the tale follows Kelly in the days before Christmas as she meets—then crosses off—the men on her list. Mark shakes his head and tells her she’s crazy, but she persists. Yet, Mark always ends up finding out about her dates, and they squabble. This bickering leads to a realization by Kelly that she cares for Mark…more than she realizes. They make love and Kelly wonders if she should call off her search for her true love and concentrate on pursuing a romantic relationship with Mark. But is she not really looking at the whole picture? Could the man from her past who is her one and only mentioned by the old woman be right in front of her?

A deliciously sexy tale that is fun and captivating, AN EX FOR CHRISTMAS will be a hit for readers who enjoy best friends to lovers romances. Here’s hoping Kelly and Mark find a happily-ever-after together.

Patti Fischer

Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors. Going into her books, I know she is going to introduce me to a couple with whom I want to be friends - people I wish I knew in real life.

And now she combines that with a frisky Christmas friends-to-lovers romance that will have you looking for mistletoe everywhere you go.

A resolute believer in signs, Kelly conducts her life based in no small part on what her myriad of Magic 8 balls tells her to do. When a woman at a subway station tells her that she will find her true love before Christmas and that he's someone from her past, Kelly immediately assumes the dude is an ex. As she heads home, she writes up a list of those exes, determined to track down her true love.

The first guy she runs into is her lifetime best friend Mark. It's clear that there is more to the two of them than just friends, even if Kelly can't see that. Layren Layne shows you from the start that Kelly need no look further than her back yard, but that's not the kind of girl Kelly is. She is someone who needs to learn from her mistakes, even if she breaks your heart while doing so.

Since this is a Lauren Layne romance, you can expect some deliciously hot sexy times. And since it's also a holiday romance, you can expect Christmas charm wherever you go. I loved watching Kelly slowly realize what she has overlooked, and I absolutely loved how Mark tried to show her the truth. My only wish is that he'd been a little bit more developed. There just wasn't enough Mark, which isn't a complain so much as a compliment. He's a great guy.

An Ex for Christmas is a fast-paced, fun, holiday romance that will warm you up - in more ways than one.

An Ex for Christmas was a delight to read, I’ve always enjoyed Lauren Layne’s books in the past, but this book just had that extra special something, maybe it was the Christmas theme, or amazing friendship between Mark and Kelly that bought about a flurry of butterflies in my stomach, I just had the best time reading this book. Our MC Kelly, is a believer in fate, horoscopes matching up and is known for asking her magic 8 ball all types of questions, so when catching the train one day and a random lady tells her that she’s already met her true love, she makes it mission to track him down before Christmas. Why would Kelly listen to a random lady you ask, well she also happened to make a passing comment on Kelly’s parent’s 30th anniversary cruise, which not any random person would know about. Kelly of course took this lady’s random comment to mean that her true love was one of her ex’s. It was so much fun watching Kelly compile her list of ex’s and trying to track them down and see if they would pass her mistletoe test that she had come up with.

I try not to re-read the summary of a book before I pick it up, I guess I always want an element of surprise? And I’m glad that this was exactly the case with An Ex for Christmas, as I’d naturally assumed that there was the chance that Kelly would find the one in her list, that maybe they had missed their chance long ago, but now was the time to be together, so when sparks started flying with Mark, I was absolutely delighted! The perfect guy was basically in front of her all along! I was a bit worried though, that as Mark and Kelly had been best friends for so long, that may be them taking things to the next level, could ruin the friendship that they had, but with the casual build up, I knew for sure that I wanted something more to happen between them, forget the risks and what ifs. Also, Mark was such an amazing guy! (definitely a contender for my top ten fictional crushes of the year), he always had Kelly’s best interests at heart, even though she didn’t realise it at times, he was charming, one heck of a cook, had that growly thing going on, that had me weak in the knees and was hot! I know Kelly wanted to complete what she had started with her list, but things started getting heated between her and Mark and I wanted to shout forget the bloody list, open your eyes and look at the fine specimen of a man that you have standing in front of you! This minor issue aside, I still adored Kelly’s character, she was such a bubbly character, she was funny and like any other person, had her doubts that she had to deal with, she really was a person that I could relate to in so many ways.

With the reading slump, I was in An Ex for Christmas was exactly what I needed and so much more, I kind of wished that I had saved it for Christmas, with the Christmas setting it had going, but I know I’ll just have to read it again, during my Christmas break! An Ex for Christmas, was one of my favourite reads by Layne so far, I’m glad that I picked it up, because it truly had everything going for it; a beautiful friendship with the potential to emerge into a fantastic relationship, many laugh out loud moments and vivacious characters and swoony scenes that you’ll want to read over and over again, this is one book readers definitely don’t want to miss out on!

Lauren Layne is one of my favorite authors in the whole world. Her novels are fun, swoony and full of feels. I absolutely loved An Ex for Christmas! It was such a sweet and sassy Christmas novel that just completely won me over. I knew the minute I read the blurb I needed to read it as it had a "What's your Number?" (Chris Evans/Anna Faris) feel to it. There was a unique spin with Kelly's obsession with signs and horoscopes, etc. but I absolutely loved it. I loved Mark as I felt he was such a steadfastly loyal and growly bestfriend. I was completely smitten with him. I also thought Kelly was the perfect sassy girl with a huge heart. I could not get enough!

Kelly Byrne is ready to find her forever love. After kissing a few frogs she has decided to keep looking for the one. But what happens when a chance meeting with a mysterious woman alerts her to the fact that she already met the one and it's up for her to reconnect with him in time for Christmas. Armed with a to-do list to reconnect with her exes, she doesn't know what to with the one constant in her life, bestfriend and neighbor Mark Blakely, who has always been her rock. Will Kelly find her forever love with an ex or will she see what's been in front of her face the entire time?

All in all, I really enjoyed this story! I thought it was filled with heart, sass and sizzle. Mark and Kelly had great chemistry and really were so sweet together. As always, I look forward to the next book by this amazing author! Bravo! 4 stars!

I would like to thank NetGalley and the Publisher for an advanced copy of this title for an honest review. ~Ratula

When Lauren Layne charms, she sure does charm. An Ex for Christmas is just the perfect romantic book to spend a cold winter night with, especially if you’re in need of a “lift-me-up”. It’s delightful, and just oozes joy from every page. No doubt, lovers of all things holidays and romance will devour this magical read.

On her way back home from work one evening before the holidays, Kelly meets a psychic who tells her that she’s already met the love of her life. Being the romantic and superstitious girl that she is, Kelly is convinced that one of her exes is her true love, so she goes on a mission trying to reconnect with all of them by Christmas. Watching her on the sidelines? Her best friend, Mark, who has always been there for her! I adored the setup for this book. It was so warm and lovely, and Lauren Layne does a beautiful job with it. It could easily have gotten tangled as Kelly goes through her list, all the while ignoring the man right in front of her, but LL writes her character in a way that makes her relatable. Her goals are well-intended being the romantic at hear, and she’s not out to hurt anyone. She’s obviously very stubborn, but I had to admire her determination. She’s a sweet girl, with a funny side who had me laughing at her shenanigans.

Mark is just the perfect guy for her, but of course it takes her forever to realize it! I was enamored by him from the very beginning. He’s a chef (the way to my heart – swoon!), slightly grumpy, and a hottie! He’s everything that I love in a LL hero with his sweet and supportive nature – give me all the good hot guys! I especially loved how he was constantly there for Kelly. It’s obvious that he’s 100% hopelessly in love with her, and has been for quite a while, but he’s so guarded with his feelings around her. The romance in An Ex for Christmas was too adorable for words. In between her mission, Kelly starts to realize that she just might have feelings for Mark, that he reciprocates. They dance around each other for a while, but they can’t ignore chemistry forever. The romance had me sighing in happiness, and my cold heart melting multiple times. The Christmassy elements made the book even more perfect for me. It amped up all the romantic elements, in my opinion.

An Ex For Christmas is a love letter to all those who love romance and Christmas. Do yourself a favor, grab a hot chocolate and curl up with this book under a warm fuzzy blanket. For a few hours, you’ll be in romance heaven. 😉

Loved it!! It's no secret that I'm a huge Lauren Layne fan and this book is full of all the reason why. A super fun romance with lots of snark, high energy characters and a sharp fresh storyline. Kelly with all her superstitions and quirky ways was just hilarious. Then there's Mark. Patient, kind, swoon worthy Mark just biding his time as Kelly goes through her list of exes looking for her one true love since the psychic told her she had already met him. It seems likes he's been waiting forever for Kelly to see what is right in front of her. Will she finally get it or will he lose her forever?

Definitely a book you want on your reading list. I highly recommend it.

An Ex For Christmas scared me a bit. I'm not a holiday book reader. I tend to stay away from them. BUT its and LL book and I've read the last 15 books she's published. I wasn't about to break my stride. So, hence the me being scared part. Here is what I knew...

The writing would be on point - Check.
The characters would be real and entertaining - double check.
The storyline would be fun and unique - check

I was just worried about the whole holiday thing. I'm the one who does NOT like chirstmas music before Thanksgiving.

But you know what? Kelly was just so perfectly obsessed with Christmas that I loved it. LOVED IT. And the fact that her BFF Mark was not, made it even better. I don't think this book could have been any better. I loved it. I didn't want it to end. Mark was amazing. Kelly was haliarious and I really enjoyed the set up of the book. I wanted to get Mark's POV sooo badly, but I was so happy with the way the book ended.

An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne is an interesting story set around Christmas time. We find Kelly Byrne going home for Christmas having sent her parents on a cruise ( a present from her) and convincing them that she would be fine celebrating Christmas on her own. She's not really going to be alone, she has Mark Blakely her best friend and his family to celebrate the season. As she's leaving the city to go home for the holidays, she runs into an old woman who tells she will find her true love if she just looks at someone she already knows. Now the fun begins as she thinks the person is one of here ex lovers and makes plans to contact before Christmas so she can have love for Christmas day. Arriving home she tells her best friend what has happened and what she plans to do not realizing that it's really her best friend she should be looking at and the best laid plans often go astray (with a little help). Still clueless Kelly continues on with her plan until her BFF, terribly hurt, hits back with the truth. The story is light hearted and is an easy read. I enjoyed the interaction of the two best friends and the interesting fixation that Kelly has that drives Mark crazy and the fact that they share a dog named Rigby.

An Ex for Christmas was my first Christmas novel this year and I LOVED it!!!!

Do you like hallmark Christmas movies? If yes, this book is for you!!

Do you like friends to lovers trope? You are at the right spot.

Not only does Lauren Layne bring her trademark wit, she also wrote two amazing characters that started out as best friends but became eventually so much more.

Best Friends

Do you believe that platonic friendships between men and women are possible?

I wonder if platonic friendships are not in fact built on sexual attraction or at least repressed attraction on one or more sides of the equation.

In the case of Kelly and Mark, it looked on the outside as if they had it all figured out. They had been best friends for years, ever since they were seniors in high school. Nowadays they shared a backyard as well as a dog. It sounded like they had it all perfectly thought through until Kelly decided that finding the ONE right before Christmas was the thing to do.

Dating hilarity ensued….

There is often a reason why former relationships end. But after Kelly was told that she already met her ONE she decided to go on a mission to find the one that got away. LOL. Of course that never works out the way it’s planned. With each date Kelly went on, Mark got a little more annoyed and aggravated and Kelly on the other hand got a little more frustrated and anxious that Christmas was coming up and she still hadn’t found the ONE.

The ONE

Mark would have been my ONE too.

He was a chef, not much of a talker, hot as hell, but unfortunately was friend-zoned from the very beginning. I truly felt for him. He was a dream guy. He indulged all of Kelly’s craziness, was there whenever she needed him, and he knew her inside and out. And most of all he loved her.

But it wouldn’t have been a Christmas hallmark kind of novel without some sort of conflict. The physic gave Kelly an idea and Kelly ran with it. With or without Mark’s support. All he could do was watch and hope for his chance to finally come.

The End

An Ex for Christmas was exactly what I hoped for. It was light hearted, featuring a wonderfully charismatic couple, with lots of sparkling and fun dialogues and a plot that was entertaining until the very end.

Two festive thumps up!!

Love the storyline and the flow of the book. Couldn't put it down . Looking for ward to reading more from this author.

When a psychic tells superstitious Kelly Byrne that her true love is someone she's already met, Kelly is determined to figure out who it is before Christmas. Going home for the holidays provides Kelly with the perfect opportunity to connect with her old loves, much to her best friend, Mark's disapproval.

Mark has waited for Kelly for ten years through one terrible relationship after another, but time has never been on their side when it comes to him telling her how he feels. This Christmas season, as Kelly is searching for "the one", Mark is determined to either tell Kelly how he feels or to move on. Will they both be able to get their act together before Christmas morning.

An Ex for Christmas was pretty much the perfect holiday read. It did a great job of encompassing the magical feeling of the holidays as well as making sure to add in all the trimmings of the holiday season essentials (buying a tree, decorating, snow, etc) - hearkening back to the classics such as A Christmas Carol and newer classics like Love, Actually - without feeling too overwhelming or jam-packed.

For the most part, I loved Kelly's quirky dedication to the superstitious, but I did feel like, towards the end especially, she relied on it too much. I'm sure some could argue that she used it as a comfort mechanism as it was something she could rely upon without having to give over her heart completely but I really was just ready for her to step outside of what she believed and started to see other possibilities.

It was really obvious that Mark was in love with Kelly so I'm a little skeptical about how she couldn't have figured it out sooner within their ten year friendship, but I did feel like Lauren Layne showed the layers of their friendship very well. Within the relatively short read, the foundation for Mark and Kelly's relationship was solidly built.

Besides a very few minor qualms, An Ex for Christmas hit all the right spots for me. It was a light, and often hilarious read. When I wasn't outright laughing I could be found reading with a huge grin on my face. I think this is the perfect read going into the holiday season. Just the type to cuddle up on a cold night with a blanket and something hot to drink.

The fatalistic Kelly and her equally pragmatic BFF, Mark, will regale readers with their story of fate, ex-lovers, mistletoe and happy ever afters. Who knew the magic 8 ball could potentially run your love life?

In An Ex for Christmas, Lauren Layne gives us a great pair of BFFs in the persons of Kelly and Mark. Since high school they have been thick as thieves, close as any siblings and accepting of each others quirks. But Kelly takes the cake when she clearly has gone batty trying to find the love of her life in the next two weeks of the Christmas holiday since that crazy lady on the subway told her so. Mark has always been there for her, supportive, attractive and definitely if she was thinking of him in a romantic way, out of her reach. But when he vehemently says no to her latest scheme, she feels surprised. Until she realizes, that what was right in front of her could be the one she was looking for all along.

I enjoyed reading An Ex for Christmas and I definitely hated Kelly for the duration it took for her to realize what she was doing wrong. Don't get me wrong, this is a heartfelt romance, great in every way and drives home the element of not trusting a magic 8 ball to dictate your love life. And Kelly's action played it beautifully. She seemed callous and not at all cognizant of Mark's feelings but then you start getting the idea that she has been suppressing it for the longest time because she doesn't want to lose him. An Ex for Christmas is a page turner because HEAs are a definite must for a holiday romance!

An Ex for Christmas by Lauren Layne ... (Love Unexpectedly) ... A wonderful story of best friends to lovers... Kelly and Mark have be best friends for 10 years... Their houses in their hometown share backyards and they also share a fur baby Rigby... She believes in fate him not so much...this story has all the feels ...so many laughs and a few tears... It should be a Hallmark Christmas movie...I am so glad that I got to preview this on NetGalley...I really enjoyed this book.

Kelly and Mark have been best friends for years and even share a fur baby, but they have never crossed that line. Kelly’s a big believer in the Magic 8 ball and unofficial psychic predictions much to Mark’s disgust. When Kelly is told she has already met her true love, she starts trying to locate her former boyfriends instead of looking closer to home. Mark has let Kelly explore her options but he’s ready to take their relationship to the next level. I loved this book, and really enjoyed the characters. They kept me laughing and wanting them to work things out at every turn.

I am a big fan of the authors. This is a stand alone book and her contribution to a Christmas in NY romance. I really loved it and I especially loved the heroine Kelly and her bestie Mark. It is a fantastic holiday romance, 2nd chance at love story and a best friends turning to lovers storyline.

While I LOVED this book there are some things I want to caution you about. One is that it is written in Kelly's view point only. Mark gets one chapter near the end where we hear from him, but thats his only voice in the story. 2nd there are LOTS and LOTS of exes and not just on Kelly's side but also Mark's and a sorta love triangle.

The story was super cute, and Kelly is this adorable, perky woman. She goes home for the holidays but before she can a woman she believes can see the future tells her that she has already met her one true love.

And that starts her holiday quest of figuring out which ex is her true love. Meanwhile she asks her bestie, Mark to help. The story was very sweet, very light reading with a lot of cute people as we go along with Kelly as she reconnects with her former lovers.