When you read a whole lot of romance, like I do, it’s so much fun when you find one that stands out - this one breaks the mold! Imagine the movie Groundhog’s Day with a great romance (and hotter hero)....
here’s what I loved:
🎄The family of longtime friends. You will want in on this Christmas tradition. Loved every single one of the supporting characters. CLo are masters of love-able supporting characters. You will want an Uncle Benny in your life.
🎄 Andrew - A damn dream- thoughtful, fun loving. Mae - a realistic heroine, figuring out life, love and surviving inevitable change.
🎄Peppermint Kiss references! I stick up on these delicious bites of goodness. Don’t you love when a main character is into something you are??
🎄 Classic CLo fade time black steam - I could go for more, but it’s always satisfying.

In A Holidaze is Christina Lauren's (The Unhoneymooners, The Honey-Don't List) latest hit novel. Set in idyllic Park City, Utah, Maelyn Jones spends every Christmas with her family and their life-long friends. Unfortunately for Maelyn, each of her Christmases are spent in unrequited romantic love with Andrew, the guy she's grown up with and brother of her best friend. The book begins where it technically should have ended - December 26th, until a collision happens and Mae finds herself touching down in Park City to start the holiday all over again. She must find out how to get out of this crazy twist of fate and, in the process, find herself.

This book 100% kept me on my toes - just when I thought I had the Romantic Comedy genre totally figured out! Yes, this book used a time loop trope - however, just like Mae, I was never really sure where this plot twist was leading! It was very exciting - and whenever Mae made any bold decision, I kept finding myself whispering "Please don't.have her repeat this! I like this reality!" All to say, I sped read this in one day because I absolutely couldn't put it down! Well done!

If you enjoy: any Hallmark Holiday movie, nerdy references to LOTR and Star Wars, The Family Stone, 50 First Dates, or Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist - you'll love this one! Happy Holiday Reading Season!

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED In a Holidaze! I'm not big into Christmas or holiday movies, so it's actually quite strange that I requested this book, but I've long heard great things about the authors and decided it was high time I found out what they're about. I'm so glad that I did.

This was a super sweet story full of great characters. I absolutely adored getting the chance to see Maelyn and Andrew's relationship develop, even though I was constantly in fear that something would happen to reset the timeline.

I strongly recommend this read if you're looking for something to make you smile!

As per normal Christmas tradition, Maelyn visits her family friend cabin with the rest of her close friends and family in a beautiful small town of Utah. After an annoying mishap, Maelyn feels down on her luck and sends a wish up to the universe when the script gets flipped and she wakes up back on the plane headed to the cabin a la Groundhog Day.

This was such a cute holiday rom-com that I simply couldn’t get enough of. I normally roll my eyes at the Groundhog Day scenario but this was cute and not at all overdone. I laughed out loud multiple times at the one-liners that Maelyn’s character has and I just loved the family dynamic in the story. It also helped that it was set in a snowy small town at the holidays; it made my little heart so warm. I will say that I feel like the Groundhog Day scenario felt unresolved for me personally and the one “love interest” (but not really) felt a tad unresolved too. That’s just me being nit picky though. Otherwise, I highly recommend for a cute holiday romantic read that isn’t too heavy on the sexy times.

Thank you to Netgalley, Gallery Books and the Author Christina Lauren for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I love a Romantic Christmas read and this one did not disappoint.
All the characters in this book so go together and the traditions that they have are so wonderful even though the story takes a small turn but not as a detriment. All in all a heartwarming feel good read.
I will definitely be checking out this Author's other works.

I really needed Christmas early...this story did not disappoint!
This story is witty, funny, and super cute...it's the classic Christina Lauren that we all love and look forward to reading.
Mae finds herself in a sort of ground hogs day...its ups and downs and somehow she needs to break this hilarious yet frustrating experience.
This story is super cute and I recommend y'all read it!

I haven’t been this in love with a Christina Lauren book in a long time. In a Holidaze is the perfect holiday romance story and had everything I could have wanted and more: family, Christmas magic, romance, angst, childhood friends-to-lovers, mistletoe kisses. This book gave me all the warm and fuzzy feelings!

In a Holidaze differs from other CLo (and most contemporary romance) books in that it asks readers to suspend belief regarding the time travel aspect. The Groundhog Day-esque plotline is excellently utilized, in my opinion, and the best way to enjoy the book is to just go with it and accept the holiday magic at work.

This has to be one of my favorite books by this amazing writing duo. CLo write what they do best: playful banter, a charming romance, the classic childhood friends-to-lovers trope, and a cozy setting. The setting was one of the best aspects of the book and an instant mood booster. I wanted nothing more than to be with these characters in a cabin in the snowy woods during the Christmas holidays, with those I love most.

I don’t want to spoil too much about the romance, but I will say that it was beautifully written and absolutely melted my heart. My two favorite Christina Lauren books are also childhood-to-lover stories so I’m beginning to believe that this is where they really excel with their romances. The romantic lead is such a wonderful dream boat and I’m really hoping for some holiday magic for myself this year and for a real-life version of him to appear (I’m speaking this into existence!!).

My one and only issue was the ending, which I found to be…unexpected. I wouldn’t necessary label it as bad, it just wasn’t really where I thought the direction of the ending of the book would take us. It clearly didn’t effect my enjoyment of the book, however.

I read this book in about three hours so that should really say something about how much I loved it. In a Holidaze is the perfect heartwarming, romantic story for the holidays. Pick this up and let yourself believe in holiday magic and love.

When I read a Christmas book I want to smile, laugh, and feel all of the Christmas joy. In A Holidaze gave me that, and so much more! I absolutely LOVED this Christmas tale. I read it in a day because it just made me feel GOOD.
🎄
Mae is stuck in a Groundhog Day holiday vacation that keeps re-setting. Through each trip back in time, she must change the trajectory of events and figure out how to stop the cycle. Add in a cast of likable characters, a picturesque cabin setting, and a swoon worthy love interest and you’ve got a wonderful Christmas read! This one is pure happiness and brimming with holiday cheer. If you like Christmas books- don’t miss this one!! It quickly became one of my faves. My thanks to @gallerybooks for the advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

Christina Lauren always writes such fun loving romances! This was like Groundhog Day but at Christmas. As Mae relives days over and over again trying to find what will make her happy.
I feel like the other reviews have really summed this book up well and I don't have a lot to contribute. This was a fun, cozy read and I loved traveling with Mae through time to find where she belonged.

Engaging characters and a unique time travel twist elevate this holiday romance.

It’s sobering to realize you’re the same age as the parents in a book, even if the older generation still seems youthful. Six college friends gather with their partners and children every year for Christmas in a mountain cabin. Maelyn loves their traditions and her extended “family.” She also loves one of her mom’s best friend’s sons, but not the one they’ve jokingly tried to partner her with for years. On the last day of the trip, Maelyn is broken-hearted at how this year’s vacation ended, but is stunned to wake up on the plane and discover she will relive it.

This Groundhog Day-esque experience continues until she gets it right, subtly rewriting the plot to get the happy ending everyone wants. Maelyn and her friend, Benny, steal this novel, as does the irresistible Andrew. In a year where travel is impossible or at least unlikely, escaping virtually to a mountain cabin in snowy Colorado was a great diversion. #InAHolidaze #NetGalley

The book follows our main character Mae as she visits with family friends at their usual Christmas cabin. Here we find out that she is crushing on her long-time family friend Andrew. After a disappointing holiday, Mae leaves the cabin and makes a wish to find what makes her happy. The next thing she remembers, she is in a car accident and wakes back up on the plane a week back at the beginning of vacation. No one has already experienced the week at the cabin except for her. Mae soon realizes that she will be continually sent back in time until she finds the happiness she desires.

This book is a quick read and a fun holiday theme.

If you read no other Christmasy, holiday book, read this gem. I don't always like this author's offerings but this one rings all the Christmas romance bells. It is a delightful take on the “reliving a day” trope, although in this instance it is Mae trying to relive the week. She flounders around for a bit, but with the help of “Uncle” Benny she manages. Our delight of a hero, Andrew, is what everyone wishes for in a boyfriend. The encounters are steamy until they are flammable. The cabin and the side characters are wonderful. A total Holiday treat.

4.5 stars for In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren! Ugh! You already know we are huge fans of CLo's work and will read anything they put out but this book was just over-the-top adorable, and makes you wanna grab a cup of hot cocoa and fuzzy socks and read by the fire ASAP.

The story follows our main character Mae as she lives through her typical Christmas at her family cabin, crushing on her long-time family friend Andrew. When the holiday ends, Mae leaves the cabin and makes a wish to find what makes her happy. The next thing she knows, she is in a car accident and wakes up back on the plane a week earlier in time, where no one knows she has already lived this holiday except for her. How many times will Mae be sent back in time before she finally figures out what decisions she needs to make to find happiness? You'll have to pick up In a Holidaze to find out!

If you're looking for a magical, cozy read this book is totally it! The Groundhog's Day movie vibes are just an added bonus. Pick up In a Holidaze, on sale TODAY!

Thank you to Gallery Books, Christina Lauren and Netgalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Groundhog day, but at Christmas...

Maelyn is stuck in a time loop. Suspend your disbelief. Its like Groundhog Day (which I had to look up since it was before my time) and meets Christmas cabin / airplane.
I thought it was enjoyable. Its like a much happier, less alien-y, Christmas version of Edge of Tomorrow.
Can she break the time loop?
Rinse and repeat.

3.5 stars. In a Holidaze doesn't necessarily rank among my favorite Christina Lauren books, but it absolutely was a fast and addictive read like their other stories. After taking a few pages to sort out the long list of characters thrown at you and to get into the concept of Mae's time-bending experience, the book becomes very hard to put down. The Groundhog Day-like concept was a unique approach, and the Christmas themed focus was also fun. Part of my reservations about the book were the relative immaturity of the leads given their ages. Though supposedly in their mid- to late-20's, they acted more like they were in high school or early college years. This made their actions and motivations feel off to me throughout the book, like Mae's career and semi-existential crisis at 26 years old (though the line about Mae envisioning the end of an era being a gradual process as opposed to sprinting head first into a brick wall resonated a lot given everything this year).

Overall, I liked this book for its escapism and Christina Lauren's usual engaging writing style, even if it didn't quite check all the boxes I was hoping for.

Thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for providing an ARC for review!

In a Holidaze

When the annual family holiday trip to the mountains takes an unexpected turn, Maelyn Jones is devastated. Not only has she engaged in a snog fest with the wrong brother, but the cabin where her family has vacationed all her life, with her parent’s college friends and families, is going to be sold and she’ll never have a chance at a do over with the right brother.

Only she does. Again and again. Maelyn gets thrown back in time and had to play out the entire vacation from the beginning, and only she knows what happened the first time.

This is a delightful holiday novel, just right for a season too busy for serious books. The characters are the well drafted people who inhabit all our families, whether biological or chosen and they act accordingly. On top of that, it’s hilarious. It’s a perfect book for 2020, because who wouldn’t want some “do overs?”

I received an ARC of In a Holidaze from NetGalley. It’s release date is October 6, 2020.

Get your hands on a copy of In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren RIGHT NOW! This is probably one of my favorite books I have read in a long time. Any book that can totally sweep me out of pandemic life and into a new reality is a must read. I started this book on Sunday night and finished the rest on Monday evening. I could not put it down.

On a snowy evening at the end of a Christmas vacation in Park City, UT Maelyn Jones asks the question "Please. Show me what will make me happy." And that sets off a series of events where she lives over the vacation multiple times. In a Holidaze is engrossing and tender and everything I look for in a Christmas book. It's a cliché, but I laughed and cried, and was with these characters every step of the way. The cabin and this family were brought to life for me and absolutely delightful. And Andrew is the perfect cinnamon roll hero. If you have seen the movie The Family Stone, it very much reminded me of that. And that is one of my all time favorite movies. Add this one right to the top of your Christmas TBR!

This was fine! I didn't enjoy the premise as much as I should have, in fact I found myself getting impatient with it, and just wanted the authors to focus on the main two characters more instead of the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimeyness. I also wasn't as enamored with the idea of the cabin and the found family as the authors clearly were (and Mae was at the beginning of the story), which is weird since I usually love found family stories. I actually think I would have enjoyed this more if it would have been a straight through Christmas love story without the time travel, and who am I for typing that??

I did really like the whole idea behind letting the past and traditions go, letting them evolve, that doing things just because you always have is stagnation, and it's okay to let things change.

I left this ARC way too long, and rushed through it a bit because I wanted to get to it by pub day, so I might have enjoyed it more had I read it over a more normal span of time. But for some reason I thought it was coming out in December and the Oct. 6 release date snuck up on me.

[3.5 stars]

It's a holiday Twinkie--light, sweet, not that filling--so if you're already a fan of Hallmark Christmas marathons , you'll love this book. There's a Groundhog Day premise that could've run a day or two longer, but then the reader would've grown frustrated and felt total misery alongside Mae. As an older woman, it was easy for me to see 26-year old Mae's struggle and try and fight an eye roll; I had to remember that I was that 26-year old once myself.

It's clear that she has some big decisions to make about how her life has been going, and to take a chance on what--and who--she really wants. I could understand her fears of ruining things with Andrew if she had just gone for him from the get-go, and then everything with the family would've been awkward. Theo's actions were a little more confusing and just felt like a plot device.

Uncle Benny, who buys her time-travel story from the get-go, was amusing. There's something to be said for traditions and the need for them to adapt it over time. (Having married into a BIG family, we've had to do this over the decades.) And as per usual for this kind of book, a HEA.

HJ Recommends

In In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren, The aging but still beautiful cabin Maelyn Jones and her family visit every year for Christmas in Park City, Utah, is her happy place. The snow, the festive decorations, and getting to catch up with her parents’ friends who have become her extended family is something Maelyn looks forward to all year. But this season everything is different. She’s become mired in the lack of direction her life is taking and is ready for…something. And after making a few blunders during their week in Utah, she wishes for a way to find what makes her happy on their drive back to the airport.

A freak car accident later and Maelyn wakes up on the same plane, in the same seat she sat in six days ago. Somehow she’s on her way to Park City with her parents and brother again, like nothing ever happened. Freaking out inside, Maelyn confides in family friend Benny that she’s lived this week before once they arrive at the cabin. His calming presence is a boost to her flagging spirit, wondering why she’s been given a do-over. But she’s not going to waste it. Maelyn has a plan to win the love of her life, save the cabin from being sold, and add their own touches to the traditions they’ve carried out her whole life. All while making herself and her family and friends happy. Not a small feat, but Maelyn knows she’ll never get this chance again.

His breath comes out warm against my neck, voice shaking: “It never occurred to me that you might be mine.”
My Christmas reading list got a huge boost with Christina Lauren’s latest standalone: In a Holidaze. Filled with a comical, offbeat ensemble cast, a warm & toasty holiday feel, romance that was sweet perfection, and the laughs I crave from this duo, I just wanted to wrap myself up in this novel and live with these characters a bit longer.

A CLo holiday book!!! Yay! And like the book synopsis says, this truly was a blend of Love Actually and Groundhog Day in the most entertaining of ways. I love the characters CLo creates in any of their books, but there was something even a bit more whimsical and quirky with the group we had all together under one roof for Christmas at the cabin. They had such a terrific, rich history that it added more layers to an already interesting premise. Their lives were so twined up around each other that it both made things easier–everyone knew the traditions they followed and where their place was in it–and more difficult–feelings could easily be hurt and there was no wiggle room to do what they wanted to do.

It was Maelyn who was stuck in the Groundhog Day-like time loop. And my heart went out to her. The frustration she felt, the joy, sorrow, hope, and all of the love she had for these people who were her safe place…CLo did an incredible job describing it all in a way that was wholly relatable and immersive. Honestly, I think Maelyn is one of my favorite heroines they’ve created. In her mid to late twenties, she was, well, not happy with the direction her life was taking. Add to that her lack of a love life and the unrequited crush she had for one of the guys she grew up with, and Maelyn was stuck. It was when she figured out what she truly wanted in life and how it could not only help her but add something to everyone else’s lives that things went in a positive direction. And what a breathtakingly, lovely series of events it was after that.

A novel that is guaranteed to give you all the feels and even add a touch of magic to your life, In a Holidaze turned tradition on its ear for a motley group of friends and family, showing them that love and friendship can overcome anything.