I DO like the authors’ writing style - cute personal details included so the reader can really picture things. However, as much as I have enjoyed other books they have written, this one was seriously lacking. It was lacking in plot, believability, and did I say plot? Disappointing.

This was a great read for the holiday season, and the authors definitely delivered on the cute romance with lots of holiday cheer thrown in. I read it quickly & got sucked in to the story right away. I will say though ... I was really looking forward to this book, and while I did really enjoy the story, the time travel part threw me a little bit. I'm glad that it was really only featured for the first half of the book, but I did find it odd that it was basically just wrapped up & not talked about again ... like it's just totally normal now! But overall, the book was super cute & I loved all of their characters & their intertwined relationships.

Love it . Took me a while to get to read this book, but I loved it. I loved the story in general, the characters were great. Maelyn and Andrew where just lovely to see what would happen next . I think the whole time concept was wonderful and It made me feel old when the Maelyn didn’t know the movie Groundhog Day. Differently a wonderful book to read over and over again.

A cute story that is perfect for the holidays. While the idea behind the book is a little cliché, the authors kept the book interesting with the twists.

This may sound cliché, but Christina Lauren is always hits my reading heart right in the feelz!

In a Holidaze turned out to be an unexpected delight. I know there are hundreds of reviews that detail the storyline, but you will enjoy Mae's journey so much more if you experience it along with her and all the people in her life she holds dear.

Keep some Kleenex handy. You've been warned ;)

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion.

Fans of Hallmark movies and similar romantic stories will find In a Holidaze a fun story that includes romance, comedy, miscommunication, and family drama. Mae and her family spend Christmas together every year with her parents' best friends and their kids. Through the years, the four children have grown into young adults, and their feelings for one another have evolved as well, as Mae developed a major crush on one of the brothers but never told him. This omission is the basis of the book, as Mae gets into a weird scenario where she relives a few days over and over, until she figures out what she needs to do to put her life on track.

I liked the book not only for the whimsy and the romance, but because it forced the main characters to evaluate their choices, With time to reflect and at times, redo, Mae, her family, and her friends are able to prioritize their choices to aspire to what they want and is best for them. A quick yet worthwhile read. This was my first time reading Christina Lauren, so I have since gone back and started reading some of their earlier work too.

(A copy was provided by NetGalley and an objective review was written)

A fun, festive, feel-good story. Christina Lauren have written there most heartwarming story yet, this one has some serious Hallmark vibes. A sparkling holiday read filled with tradition, family, snow, and Candy Cane Kisses. Mae has spent every Christmas she can remember at a cabin in Utah surrounded by friends and family. Unfortunately this might be their last year at the cabin, not only that Mae has made a huge mistake. A mistake she is not sure she can come back from. On The way to the airport all Mae can think is, what would it take to make me happy? And then... BAM!

   Loved being bundled up in the warmth of this story! Mae was a Sweet character who I wanted good things for. Love interest Andrew was pretty much perfect, almost too perfect. The Romance was clever and sweet, but I think what I enjoyed most about this book was the setting, the family dynamics, and the traditions. Game nights, scavenger hunts, snowball fights, snow creature building, sledding, hot chocolate and more. this was the perfect Holly Jolly Christmas story with an interesting time loop bow on top.

*** Big thank you to Gallery Books for my gifted copy of this book. All opinions are my own. ***

Another great read from Christina Lauren! This one didn’t snatch my attention right away like some other CL books, but I’m glad I stuck to it. The story was cute even though it was repetitive, and gave you that cozy holiday feeling as you were reading. Thank you, NetGalley for the ARC!

***ARC Provided by the Author***

This was like Love Actually meets Groundhog Day. And it was delightful.

Mae and Andrew have been friends for years, and it's their friendship that sort of becomes the central focus of this story, even though it's also only a part of the story.

It's hard to review this one, as it's not about the story, or the plot, or the characters, but how it makes you feel. And, it's impossible to convey in a review that tells you how this one will make you feel, as that is the real strength of the story.

I enjoyed and recommend this title.

This book is sweet and perfect for the holiday season. I enjoyed the relatable characters and the usual author vibe of joy. I appreciated being warped into a story that reminded me of my Hallmark movie favorites. The time loop was a fascinating twist to it and made the book more enjoyable. The supporting characters shine, the structure of the book made me feel absorbed in holiday happiness, and its overall aura.

CLo books are a hit or a miss for me, but this delightful Christmas time loop story was a definite hit! With a bit of Groundhogs Day-esque time loop and a lifelong crush in the mix, I adored this book. I also found the story of a lifelong crush turning into something more to be a charming challenge to the usual trope. So often we see the heroine move away from her longtime crush to be with a new love, which is perfectly fine, but this change was a nice one I enjoyed!

Ughhhh. I'm so mad at myself. Today is December 29 and I *thought* I'd already written and posted a review about Christina Lauren's In A Holidaze many many weeks ago and it turns out...I didn't. I chalk this up to being in the crazy times of COVID teaching. GAHHHH.  Anyway, please don't let this less than specific review deter you from grabbing this novel. This novel is a stand out in their most recent publications because it's just so different. It has all the warmth and humor that is typical of their novels but it's also got this Groundhog's Day vibe that made it so very different than anything I've read of theirs, or anyone, in a while. It was interesting to see the adjustments Mae made each time her week/day restarted and how she ended it. I enjoyed the premise--a multifamily gathering, the magic of the holidays, the magic of her plight, and her long suffering love story. 

In a Holidaze is a delightful holiday escape.

I love Christina Lauren's books--the authors do love and angst so well! This novel is like the movie Groundhog Day but set at Christmas. Our main character repeats the same day over and over until she gets it right. It's cute, funny and charming!

A light, feel-good Groundhog's Day Christmas romance that didn't quite hit the mark. 

Christina and Lauren still bring their great banter and fun writing style to this book, however, despite the interesting Groundhog's day premise, this book missed the feels train it was aiming for. 

Maelyn is a mid-20's woman living back at home after leaving her design job in LA to help take care of her sick mom. Now that her mom is better, but she is feeling uncertain about her direction in life. Enter Andrew, the oldest son of her parents' very close group of friends who spend each Christmas together. Maelyn has loved Andrew as long as she can remember and Andrew just thinks of her as a family friend. 

On the first night there, Maelyn gets drunk and makes out with Andrew's younger brother. She wakes the next morning immediately regretting it, and double whammy, the Christmas cabin is being sold and it is the last Christmas they will all spend together in it. 

On the car ride to the airport Maelyn makes a wish and WHAM the car is hit and everything goes black. When she wakes up she's back on the airplane on the way to Christmas break. Each day she makes less and less "mistakes" until she finally learns her lesson. 

This book should have delivered quite a huge punch of squee-inducing Christmas magic, but the romance didn't come through. Andrew didn't admit to some life-long crush as well, he only "noticed' our fair heroine when she started giving zero fucks about anything because she thought the day was just going to repeat. And while the idea that she is 'finally being who she is inside' does work in some cases, in this story, it didn't really work. Maelyn wasn't a great character. She was supposed to be in her mid-twenties but acted like a teenager for most of the book, confiding and whining to Benji her parent's friend, and her sudo-Uncle.  

Andrew and Maelyn had a few really sweet and romantic moments, I loved them laying under the Christmas tree together while everyone else puttered around. But their romance felt really juvenile despite them both being well into their 20s. I wanted more depth, more sexual tension, and more out of the story. Benji was a great side character, but the other adults were underutilized, and Andrew's brother came off as a tool. 

As with all Christmas stories, this one wraps itself up in a neat little bow at the end, but it wasn't as satisfying as I was hoping for.

3.5 stars. this was a super cheese-y but cute Christmas romance. I loved Mae, the holiday vibes, and the Groundhog Day-ness of it. even though Mae and Andrew had known each other their whole lives, their relationship did feel a bit insta-lovey. the repeating the same day thing was also given up so quickly and barely spoken about again.

Another cute romance from the duo Christina Lauren.  A modern version of the Groundhog Day movie.  Mae keeps reliving the week of Christmas until she gets things right.

This was such a cute and fun book especially around Christmas. I loved the time travel aspect. The whole cabin crew sounds like so much fun. It was easy to get immersed in the story. Christina Lauren are great writers and it’s always a fun time reading their stories.

This was such a cozy holiday read!

Christina Lauren always writes some of the best characters, and this was no exception. The groundhog day trope got old after a while, but it was such an easy read that I didn’t mind. A classic holiday read for sure!

“Loving you is all the proof I needed that love can last decades. Maybe even a lifetime, who knows.”


The most read book of Christmas 2020 perhaps? I thankfully went into this one expecting it to fall on the mediocre spectrum of ChLo books and I was correct to make that decision. She cute, but she is also plot-driven, not super developed, and also pretty surface level?

However harsh that may sound, I actually enjoyed it! It takes place in Park City, Utah which is not too far from where I currently live and is a place I've visited. The cozy cabin vibes for a book set the week of Christmas is the perfect aesthetic, and the romance (once it kicked in) was super sweet with the perfect amount of steam to match the quick paced novel! I loved that the love triangle angle was slight, but enough to make it feel realistic. The large cast of characters was super fun and the antics of her (view spoiler) was so much fun, as opposed to other stories where they just go to bed and wake up in the new loop.

Groundhog Day vibes are pretty formulaic, and therefore predictable, so this is really just a read to have a few hours of escapism. The characters don't have a lot of development outside of the main two or three, and the relationship at the end is so very Utah. (view spoiler). We love a friends to lovers though, and it's exactly what you get ☺️

IN A HOLIDAZE • Christina Lauren • ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.  I am going to keep this review short and simple.

Simply put, there is a reason why this book is so popular!  It is an adorable friends-to-lovers story that will get you in the holiday spirit.  It may not be everyone’s cup of tea — there’s a bit of time traveling, some notable plot holes, and it certainly isn’t Christina Lauren’s best work, but overall it is a light-hearted read I would recommend.

TL;DR: Christina Lauren has done it again.  In a Holidaze is exactly the type of read you'll want to snuggle up with in front of the Christmas tree/fire place.