Sadly, this was not a favourite of mine. The concept started of interesting, but then quickly lost its charm for me.
I'm a huge fan of Christina Lauren, so this won't deter me from future releases however maybe just not a Holidaze kinda reader.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for my complimentary eARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Please excuse my tardiness in posting my review. My TBR list is continuously growing and I keep finding so many amazing books being requested + added to my pile! I have so much gratitude for this copy that has been shared with me.

Intelligent, emotive and character-driven will appeal to readers who love Made for TV Christmas movies but wished they packed a bit more of a substantial punch.

I could not finish this book - the storyline was dull and the main character seemed childish. I usually love CL books but this one wasn’t for me.

If you're looking for holiday fluff, this is it.

After sad news of a childhood tradition coming to an end and an awkward wrench thrown into one of her closest friendships, Mae sends a plea into the universe asking to be shown what makes her happy.

When her family is caught in a terrifying car crash, she finds herself on the plane six days before, starting her holidays all over again.

I enjoyed the story for what it was - a groundhog day-esque time loop romance. The time loop is never really explained and only happens for the first third of the book, where Mae dies tragically three or four times, which loops her back to the start. However, she does get to see a bigger picture of her family (and her found family) as she moves through the days, and I did find that it helped to develop their characters and hers.

That being said, the characters were not heavily developed. Outside of the main three or four characters, we barely get a glimpse of everyone else, which I think was a missed opportunity. And while the romance was cute and fluffy (there was a bit of steam there mixed with humour), I was luke warm about it as a whole.

Again, it was a cute story and I had a good time reading it - I did find myself grinning at jokes and moments and I was curious to see what happened. But, it didn't blow my mind and there were a lot of gaps in the time looping, in the relationship (that epilogue. Y'all.), and in the character development. All in all, would recommend if you're looking for a fun holiday read!

TW: car accident, various "death" scenes (not graphic, just implied).

Plot: 3/5
Characters: 4/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Pacing: 2/5
Overall: 3/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.74/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Gallery Books via Simon and Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review.

This was an ok read. I love Christina Lauren books but this one fell just a little short for me. I will still read everything they right though as this is the only one I didn’t fully connect with

3.5 stars!

This was a cute little perfect escape of a book! The premise was fun, interesting , and I would definitely consider it a light read. In my opinion, the story started off strong - about the first 1/3 of the book - and I was turning the pages quite quickly, because Mae, our main character, was stuck in a crazy time warp situation. This made me eager to know what was going to happen and how many times she was going to ‘start over’. But as the book went on, I found that the storyline became stagnant, and it lacked in some areas. I felt it was important that Mae being in a type of Groundhog Day situation was a huge part of the story… but oddly enough it was never brought up again. I craved more depth, perhaps maybe a little more drama, and closure… but didn’t get it.

Overall, it’s was a quick read for the holidays, as it was filled with family, Christmas cheer, a dash of magic and some lessons learned…. But if you’re looking for a deep, holiday romance (maybe even a rom-com) story, I don’t think this is going to be it!

This was such a unique holiday romance! The story almost reminded me of a combination/hybrid of the movies Christmas Vacation, A Christmas Carol, Groundhog Day, and About Time. With that being said, it was a hybrid made from all of the best parts of those movies to create one amazing holiday romantic comedy.

This novel has everything in it. There was a wholesome heartwarming aspect of tradition and having family and friends together. There was incredible humour that was necessary in order for the story not to have solely a serious tone. Oh, and the romance....how I loved this romance.

Surprisingly, for me this novel came across as very unpredictable. I had no idea where the story would go based on the main plot and there definitely was potential for a few different endings (one of which I'm very happy didn't occur or I think I would've been traumatized).

This was such a charming and atmospheric read for the winter season. It's a uniquely different story but has the classic elements of a holiday tale that everyone loves.

***I received an e-ARC of this book from Simon & Schuster Canada and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review***

I've read mixed reviews for this one, but it hit the cozy holiday spot for me! With Christina and Lauren's classic mix of romance and comedy, this one also had a major cozy feel throughout! This is definitely one that needs to be on everyones "hallmark-ish Christmas books" list! The only thing you will be missing is the cheesiness, which is fine with me!

I absolutely loved this book. Christina Lauren has hit it out of the park again. I love the story and the characters. I was hooked right from the beginning. I would recommend this book to anymore. Great holiday read.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Simon& Schuster Canada and Christina Lauren. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own.***

This story was the perfect holiday read for anyone who loves the movie Groundhog Day, which I definitely do. There was tons of holiday cheer and laughs, heartfelt characters and nostalgia, and a tiny bit of heartache. Mae has been in love with Andrew for years. After making a wish for the universe to show her what would make her happy, she ends up reliving her family’s annual Christmas trip repeatedly. Mae hopes that if she can just figure out what she is doing wrong, she can have everything she wants, including Andrew. I adored Mae. I adored Mae and Andrew together. I loved all the bits of Christmas tucked in, the romance, the bumps in the road…the possibility. I liked that it was messy and imperfect. I loved all the real emotion, including the confusion and heartbreak because, woven together, it made the whole story—which admittedly is a stretch. Hello time travel—feel magical and real.

OMG! Loved this book! It was the perfect Holiday read! I loved the story of the childhood friends who because of a matter of circumstances become to lean into their love for one another. I bought this book to add to my collection as I love these authors so much. The holiday vacation home they go back to reminded me of my family cabin as I was growing up. I could picture the dust, the collection of artifacts from a childhood well lived. It was like being a fly on the wall on this family and romantic relationship. Although the "groundhog" got a little bit much toward the end- it didnt matter because of my love for the characters.

Cute, holiday read! Christina Lauren books never disappoint - this was another light read, especially around the holidays!

In a Holidaze was a perfect holiday read! I love Christina Lauren for easy, fun, romantic stories and this one was no different. I really enjoyed the family aspect and winter cabin feel. The only thing I didn't particularly enjoy was the time travel aspect. I just don't feel like it added anything to the story and was never really explained. Other than that, this was a super fun, wintery read and I enjoyed it a lot!

DNF @21%
2020; Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster Canada

Christine Lauren's (author duo) novels are a hit or miss with me. Contemporary romances and rom-coms are, in general, a hit or miss with me. The humour, characters (main and secondary), chemistry and story all have to work balance. I tend to turn to romances in between mysteries and heavier reads. I was excited for a holiday read from Lauren, but unfortunately I just couldn't get into the story. I found my mind wandering away, and I would have to keep rewinding. After 21%, I decided to call it. I think I am going to back off from Christina Lauren for awhile and come back to them another time.

***I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.***

This book was a delight to read! It was the perfect holiday read and it gave me all the best butterflies. The concept was so addicting and creative and I am standing by the fact that groundhog day books/movies are some of the best out there.

The characters in this novel were also so incredibly loveable and fun.

It made me look forward to having my own children one day and creating similar great memories with them like in this book!

If you haven't picked this book up already I really recommend that you do! You don't have to read it during Christmas but I definitely recommend it because it gives you all the cozy feelings that come with Christmas time.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I also purchased a finished copy of this book, and that is the copy that I read for this review.

In a Holidaze is a friends-to-lovers, Groundhog Day-inspired holiday romance novel. While it was a little bit weird to read this book in February, it was cute, and it reminded me how much I love a story with a good happily ever after.

This might come as a shock, but my favourite thing about this book was the book’s found family aspect. Every year, Mae’s family, and Andrew’s family, as well as Aaron’s family, and Benny get together at the cabin for the holiday season. Mae’s parents, Andrew’s parents, Aaron, and Benny were all friends in University and getting together at the cabin became a tradition. I loved reading about the different holiday traditions like the snow creature contest and the scavenger hunt, and about how this group of family and friends blended together to become a big happy family. Generally speaking, found family is one of my favourite tropes, and I liked how it played into this book.

The other aspect of this book that I liked was the romance. Even though friends-to-lovers isn’t my favourite trope, I still enjoyed reading about Mae and Andrew finally realizing their feelings and doing something about them. I thought they had a lot of cute moments, and as someone who is all about cute moments, this book filled that void in my heart.

One thing that I wasn’t a big fan of was the time travel aspect. As I mentioned before, this book is Groundhog Day inspired, which means that there’s a bit of time travel. I can’t necessarily complain about the time travel that did happen, but I did think that more could have been done with this aspect of the story.

As far as the characters go, I think my favourite character was Benny. Benny is one of the original friends from University, and I thought he was a great character. He’s laid back, he’s dealt with Mae her entire life, and she trusts him enough to confide in him about all of the strange time travel stuff that’s going on. As far as the other characters go, they weren’t anything special. Mae and Andrew both had their moments that made me like them, but they weren’t very memorable.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but it wasn’t anything special. It was cute and cliché, which isn’t a bad thing. It had its moments that made me laugh and smile, but it wasn’t overly memorable. If you’re looking for a cute book that will put a smile on your face, I recommend giving this one a try.

Christina Lauren books can be some of the funniest, cutest romcoms and women’s fiction around. And if, like me, you love all those cheesy holiday movies – you know the ones, you’ve watched them – "In A Holidaze" is probably right up your alley. It’s a quick read perfect to get you into the holiday spirit, or keep the holiday spirit going.

Mae is an awesome main character, and that’s what makes the story so compelling. With the way her holidays begin, and then the beginning of her do-overs, we see that she’s at a time in her life where she’s craving change but not sure what that means or how to do it. She’s scared, stuck, and holding onto to things that don’t make her happy anymore. I think a lot of readers can relate to that.

But she’s not the only character that brings life, love, and comedy to the book. Mae’s family and friends present at the cottage for the holidays are distinct, and I came to value most of them and the way they played off of each other. Especially how they interacted with Mae.

The love interest is sweet, cute, and swoonworthy. Don’t you worry about that. The romance is a bit like friends to lovers, which I think can be the sweetest kind of romance to read. I loved seeing Mae try each time to confess her feelings or clear up the drama that caused the time loop in the first place. Together, Mae and the love interest are adorable and I honestly couldn’t get enough of their interactions.

The only thing that truly interrupted the flow for me, and impacted my enjoyment of the book, is the third act conflict that’s common in romcoms. It felt not only forced but also out of character in a way that frustrated me. Normalize no third act conflict, because sometimes this formula is used when it really adds nothing to the story.

If you love all things Christmas, this book needs to be on your TBR. The fantasy twist with the time loop made the story unique even as it catered to readers who love cheesy holiday movies. "In A Holidaze" is, at its heart, a sweet, slow burn romance. But it’s also a holiday story about spending Christmas with your loved ones. You’ll appreciate the way family – and friends who’ve become like family – join together to celebrate the holidays. With the pandemic, it made the story a little bittersweet to read but I loved it just the same.

I feel like I’m a bit late to this one, but here it is anyway. This is a fun, very readable Christmas Rom Com by writing team Christina Lauren. I’m usually not one for rom coms but I have read of few of their books now and have found them light and funny.
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Christmas at the cabin with old family friends is Mae’s favourite time of year – and this year her life is a mess and she is longing for the familiarity of friends and tradition. What she gets, however, is something quite different.
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Groundhog style, Mae relives the holiday after pleading with the universe to show her what will make her happy. Is it getting together with the guy who likes her and everyone expects her to get together with, or is it pursing his brother who she has had a crush on for forever? How important are traditions that people do for the sake of them and not for enjoyment? How important even is place when the cabin turns out to be too much to maintain for the owners?
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The romance is fun, there are some great moments that made me laugh, and even a bit of existential angst getting solved. All in all, a good book that follows a pretty predictable trajectory with some interesting characters.
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Thanks so #netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

3.5 stars out of 5

If you like childhood friends to lovers, Groundhog Day inspired stories, and a splash of the Christmas season, then this is the book for you!

Unfortunately, none of those three things are my favourite.

This novel falls on the sweet and wholesome side of Christina Lauren’s books. While there is some smut, there is a lingering feeling of coziness that you really only get at the holidays.

I was hesitant to pick this up because Christmas really isn’t my thing. Despite the cover and the title, it really could be read at any time of year. There are certainly holiday activities but they don’t overwhelm the plot in any way.

I’ve never been a fan of any media that involves repeating the same day over and over again. I don’t know why but it’s never piqued my interest. While I do think Christina Lauren’s take on it was refreshing, I don’t feel like there was enough. The pacing felt off.

In A Holidaze is charming and exactly the type of book to curl up with during the holiday season. I totally understand why people love it but it just wasn’t for me. Nonetheless, it won’t stop me from reading everything this duo puts out in the future.

As always, Christina Lauren does it again! This book is about Maelyn, an almost 30 accountant, not living her best life. She is working a job she hates, has moved back with her parents and has been in love with Andrew her whole adult life but has never had to courage to act on it. When she is provided a chance to re-do a Christmas she regrets, she has nothing to loose and leaves it all on the table. This is such a cute concept that I could totally see it in a movie.