I definitely agree with this review on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3089964536?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

This could have been a very cute holiday romance, but the constant fatphobia made me very uncomfortable.

I don’t really know how to write a review for this one. Due to the fact that I liked it but I also didn’t. I thought the main characters were just ok. The story was great. But the amount of fat phobia in this novel was unnecessary in my opinion. There was no fat characters in the novel. But the two main characters always talked about feeling bad about what they were eating. As well as they had to exercise after eating so much. This bothered me a lot more then I thought it would. And has stuck with me since finishing this.

This was a cute short read. Some of Alex's responses to what was happening felt a little unreal, and I found Nicholas to be too unrelentingly twee about Christmas. I would find him very annoying in real life. I found the writing to be good throughout to be good. I liked how Alex and Nicholas communicated once they finally actually communicated. Overall a decent but not totally for me read.

I received an ARC of this one through NetGalley, provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis:
Alex Ross can’t catch a break when it comes to Christmastime. With a long history of bad holiday experiences—like getting rejected under the mistletoe or playing referee to his mother’s divorce—he’s just trying to survive it.

New in town and a stranger to everyone, he plans on ignoring the holiday altogether. That would be easier if his ridiculously cheerful new neighbor would cool it on the Christmas hype. Nicholas is annoying and loud. Worst of all, he’s also impossibly attractive and nice to everyone. It’s getting harder for Alex to deny his interest, especially when Nicholas leaves Christmas cookies at his door and wages a snowball fight against him on the coldest day of the year.

Can Alex open up to him and get into the holiday spirit before he endures another ruined Christmas?

Review:
This one was a lighthearted, good, read for the holiday season. It did take just a little bit for me to get into it but once I was, I was there to stay. There is a Grinch and there is history behind his ways, isn't there always? Our hero is the polar opposite, he loves Christmas and all things that surround the holiday. There was a little bit of off balancing in the story-telling process during the beginning of the book but by the last page, it was easy to ignore, and let the characters of the book find the ending they were destined for.

Riley’s Christmas outing is a wonderful story about two different personalities, sorting out their lives who find a way to meet in the middle. The charming tale ticks all the books in a Hallmark Christmas film treats love and the magic of the holiday season.

The characters are complex and although on the surface, you pretty much know how this is going to end up, it is still a wonderful journey to be on. Nicholas and Alex are well crafted and it is refreshing to not have a M/M romance have sexual exploits every ten pages. We deal more with the character study of these two vastly different individuals. The supporting character of Jade is an excellent addition and although she does provide some levity to the story, she also adds insight and caring to proceeds the story forward.

The plot is well crafted and keeps the reader interested. The overall premise and reasoning behind each of the characters storylines seems real and complex. The use of flashback to totally flush out each of the characters is well handled and gives a deeper understanding.

Overall, this is an excellent Christmas story that ticks all the romance boxes but at the same time gives the reader something to ponder over when dealing with relationships. The characters are tight and likable with all their faults and the reader is given a sense of triumph when it all works out at the end. The social commentary that Alex goes through can be a struggle for some and although deal well enough, the reader is given some thought and reasoning behind this with Jade, being the voice of reasoning sums it all gallantly.

As stated above, it is refreshing to read a M/M romance that goes beyond sex and being about a deeper connection. A refreshing novel that is highly enjoyable.

I'm not the biggest festive reader but this was so sweet and cute, really getting me into the Christmas spirit!

I'll admit I'm not generally a huge fan of holiday stories, but this was definitely one of the better ones. Maybe it's just because I could relate to a character who didn't want anything to do with Christmas nonsense at first. I wasn't really won over by the extreme Christmas love Nicholas had and I didn't really care deeply about the characters. A generally nice read for a holiday story, though.

A really sweet holiday romance. Nicholas and Alex were engaging characters and I enjoyed their feel good Christmas story.

*I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by NetGalley*

Such a sweet Christmas story! Perfect for those looking for something to warm them up during the holidays. It does deal with some tough topics at times but the ending is very rewarding.

A very slow-burning M/M romance heavily steeped in the holiday season. Nicholas and Alex drastically different characters. Alex is determined to find himself (and his way) having had a difficult start in life. Nicholas, through much more self-assured, still is in desperate need of something missing in his life. Will they find it together?

There is a whole of food in this book that might tempt you. If so, you're in luck because many of the recipes in the story are at the end of the book.

I would love a sequel. There are a lot of adventures and life to explore with these young characters.

I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute story but not very exciting or different... just an ok read. The central character was somewhat boring.

"I didn't realize Christmas was a personality trait." he mocked.

This had a sweet premise, but for me, didn't quite deliver. I would have liked more character building and slow build up of the friendship. I'm just not a fan of insta anything.
I will say that Nicholas was pretty cute with his intense love for Christmas.

A short, sweet holiday romance. I wasn't blown away by the writing, and though I thought it was a cute story, it just ends up being decent. There isn't enough here for me, not enough personality in the writing and even in the characters - beyond mostly surface-level quirks and backstories that are never really explored. Enjoyable enough, just not much more.

A sweet and festive story that made me smile and root for the characters.
It's well written and the characters are fleshed out.
It's the first book I read by this author and won't surely be the last.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

I was surprised by this book as I have never read anything about a gay couple but it was an interesting story line and I enjoyed it, even at my age being in my 70's. I would read it again and also a follow up book would be good. I recommend you read this and enjoy a bit of Christmas spirit along with these peoples lives.

I received an arc of this book from NetGalley for an honest review. This was fun m-m Christmas read about a character who loves Christmas and another who could do without it. They live in the same building and keep running into one another. Nice, quick read.

Loved the cover on this book firstly, it’s what drew me in. The book itself was nice a feel good festive read. Perfect for this season but it wasn’t spectacular that I couldn’t put it down. Sadly a lot of these Christmas books are the same

I really liked this book! It features a character so over the top festive and ready for all things Christmas, and another character who is struggling with finding his cheer and is haunted by bad memories and thoughts now that the holidays are rolling around. They made such a nice contrast to each other.

I really loved the way they communicated and how different they were. Communicating through notes and cookies and extra caramels made for such a sweet (get it? sweet?) romantic build-up! I also love that Alex could recognize when he was being over the top negative or when he was in the wrong for thinking or acting the way he did, and how he tried to be better. Way to go! I loved their initial meeting and how they ended up as neighbors, it made for a nice and realistic drive of the romance.

I absolutely recommend this if you’re looking for a Christmas romance that has a little more depth and more struggle to get into the spirit of the season! I read the book in 1 day, it was easy to get into and I really just wanted to know how they would end up together! The ending even had me tearing up a little bit.

J.R.Hart has produced a well written gentle romantic story for all those who believe in the magic of Christmas. Gentle humour mixed with a fair story line makes for an enjoyable read especially at this time of year

Actual rating: 2.5

I mostly thought this was fun, and it definitely had a lot of Christmas spirit. I liked both of the main characters well enough.

Two things took me by surprise though, and they took me out of the story when they kept popping up. I would have really enjoyed the book if it wasn't for these issues.

I'm really done with family members acting like it's no surprise at all when the main character comes out, and saying they already knew. It's so invalidating to tell someone their being gay was obvious, because it takes away from their struggle, like they were never allowed to figure it out on their own terms. I just thought it was especially shitty of Alex's sister to act like he could have come out at any point in time when his mother had been very homophobic, so it's not like he didn't have a good reason to distrust her. All in all, I just didn't feel like this was handled well enough.

Secondly, there was a lot of fatphobia in here, all of which went completely unchallenged. There weren't any fat characters, but there was a lot of internalized stuff where the main characters felt guilty about enjoying food and having a certain amount of food, and they talked about working out specifically to avoid gaining weight, and there was a lot of talk about them "being in shape" and guilt over eating more than usual over the holidays and working out less.

CWs: internalized homophobia, homophobia from family members, fatphobia/food guilt (unchallenged), mentions of depression, sex