This was so cute and such a feel good story, it was a everything I wanted and more. Sometimes you just need a story that makes you feel good and this was definitely it for me.

I had been intrigued by this book when it was first presented to me, since the main character is Jewish and from Chicago. I also enjoy LGBTQ novels, although most of the ones I've read are young adult.

The Holiday Detour is a sweet story. It has an Adventures in Babysitting feel at times. I enjoyed getting to know Dana and Charlie throughout. I liked that there was a holiday feel, but it wasn't overtaking the story itself. The secondary characters were entertaining, especially Nana. Some aspects of the story made me think of when I was first on the dating scene in college. I like that this novel took place in the northwest Chicago suburbs, as I am familiar with that area and was able to easily picture the setting.

Even though the holidays are over, this will definitely bring back the cozy feeling. If you enjoyed The Happiest Season, you'll like this book even more. (And if you didn't enjoy that movie, you'll still enjoy this book because they are completely different stories.)

Movie casting ideas:
Dana: Allison Williams
Charlie: Lauren Patten
Nana: Ellen Burstyn
Mitch: Robbie Fairchild
Caroline: Tristin Mays
Clint: RJ Mitte

3.5 Stars

Dana Gottfried is a 32 year old lesbian Jewish woman who's just given notice at her job--before she could get fired. She's driving from Cleveland to the Chicago suburbs to spend the holiday with her 85 y/o grandma, her only remaining family. Her car breaks down in Indiana, though, and she's picked up by a cute genderqueer person, Charlie whose rusted out truck barely seems roadworthy. Charlie says their family lives in an adjacent suburb to Dana's grandma's and they would be willing to drive her all the way.

Dana is thrilled, especially since she's a bit intrigued with Charlie. It's going kinda well. But Dana is a little neurotic, and she's always second guessing if Charlie is telling the truth. And, they get into scrapes on the journey, like when a jerk gives Charlie guff for using the Ladies' bathroom, or when they are acting as Good Samaritans and the truck gets towed. 

This is a bit of a madcap connection story. Charlie is a decent and kind person, and Dana is attracted, but also wary. She's actually a hot mess, worried about her lonely grandma, her dwindling finances, and now concerned how to get to her childhood home when help is dependent on Charlie's jealous ex-girlfriend. It's a little mish-mash of Planes, Trains and Automobiles meets a rom-com and it's sweet and silly by turns.  Dana runs hot and cold, which makes her less appealing than Charlie, but they do figure out that they are a match. I liked that they did "get" one another, and their futures have enough flexibility to accommodate a new/first relationship.

I liked the story, and I liked that Dana calmed the heck down and stopped talking herself out of any and everything that could possibly be good. Charlie really also came a long way, repairing relationships with friends on their way through this adventure. As a Chicagoan, and a person who's made those drives across I80 and into and out of the Chicago traffic, I could fully sympathize with Dana and Charlie and their experiences.

Omigod - I really enjoyed the heck out of this book.  I had no idea what to expect, but I was absolutely delighted the entire time I was reading it and laughed out loud quite a few times.  This is a sweet, funny book that is definitely a madcap romp as Dana and Charlie desperately try to make it to Dana's grandmother's in Chicago in time for Christmas.  They are on a fast paced road trip with everything that can go wrong - and the build up of the relationship between Dana and Charlie is where everything (eventually) goes right.

Ms. Kolven has a magic touch for blending humour, action and some really memorable characters.  Dana's got to be one of the most adork-able characters I've come across - there's a wonderfully refreshing honesty and realness to her and when she starts overthinking and babbling, it's a riot.  With the character of Charlie, I was particularly impressed. I've read books with nonbinary characters, mostly in secondary roles, but with Charlie, I think I actually "got it" and I think Ms Kolven deftly crafted a character who's confidence and surety in knowing who they are is wonderfully accented by an underlying vulnerability.  I dare you not to fall a little bit in love with these characters - and I double dog dare you to get in a car with them. :)

Overall this was just what I needed - fast paced, funny and just enough aw shucks to make it a heart warming (and hilarious) holiday read. 

.  

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Ms Kolven has a wonderfully dry sense of humour - there's a few one liners delivered that had me grinning like and idiot. Her characters, Dana and Charlie, are absolutely fantastic - Dan

I had high hopes for this one. And I could’ve dealt with the cheesy writing and how obnoxious the protagonist, Dana, was. But it was SO preachy. Every conversation, every introspective thought turned into a lesson. Social justice is my thing but this was ridiculously forced. I don’t often DNF but I couldn’t take it anymore.

The Holiday Detour largely takes place in two days – Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, admittedly two of the most festive days of the year. With that, however, also comes a lot of pressure, a lot of (forced) family interaction, and a lot of traffic. All three of those work to keep Dana from getting to her gran on Christmas Eve – and put her right in the path of Charlie.
Two days – that also means that, no matter how you turn it, you’re dealing with something resembling insta-love here. And I’ve got to be honest: insta-love? Not really my cup of tea. However, that didn’t stop me from rooting for Dana and Charlie. Even as Dana was annoying, stressed, and putting blame where it shouldn’t. Even as either (or both) of these characters jumped to conclusions. And even as I started to wonder – what else could possibly go wrong? Surely, this had to be it? (Spoiler: it never was) (Second spoiler: but all’s well that ends well).
Would I have liked to have seen these characters develop their romance at a more leisurely pace? Yes. Did the story at times (regularly) seem a bit over the top, a bit too much? Also yes. But did any of that stop me from reading The Holiday Detour in one sitting and enjoying it? Of course not!

I went into this book expecting a cute holiday romance. I *kind of* received that, but it happened late into the book.

Instead The Holiday Detour was filled with lack of communication, awkward moments, and uncertainty. To me there was so much potential for the road trip, yet it fell flat. I fully admit that Dana annoyed me. She seemed unappreciative of everything that Charlie was doing to help her get to her Grandma's house. I will say I was happy with the ending of the book. That was the ending I was hoping for. That being said, the lead up to that point was rough.

Thank you NetGalley, and the publisher, for an ARC of The Holiday Detour.

I thoroughly enjoyed Jane Kolven’s debut novel The Holiday Detour. The quirky MC is facing some big life changes, and we get an inside view of her thoughts and feelings as she processes them all. A journey of self knowledge, told in a fun and light-hearted way, I’m looking forward to more by this talented author.

3/5

This was a super quick read, but just seemed very rushed. This wasn’t quite what I was expecting based on the description of the book. It wasn’t bad for a debut author, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

3 star
Im glad this was a debut so the author can only get better. 
The premise was clever....genderqueer gives a ride to young jewish girl.  Great setup for a rom com but it just missed for me.  I didn't like the main character, Dana. She kept saying inappropriate things.  And talk about insta love....in 2 days?
As I said, the author can only get better, and Im sure she will.  Maybe you dont need quite so many oddities and happening in one story.

Review excerpted from my blog post over at Pan/Cis LGBT2SQ+ Romance Reviews (https://pancis.wordpress.com/2020/10/06/the-holiday-detour-by-jane-kolven/)

Overall Rating: 2.0 stars

Library recommendation: Not recommended for public library LGBT2SQ+ collections.

Warning: Hereafter, you chance spoilers. I will try never to reveal major plot points, but to review any book, you must reveal some parts of the story. 

_________________ 


Number of titles I have read by this author: 1

Love story speed: Whirlwind, but not instalove (HFN)

Relationship dynamics: The Unemployed Winter Traveller (h) / The Kind Agricultural Scientist (p = protagonist)

Sexual content: A smidge; on-page, not explicit

Gender Identity: Cis (h) / Non-binary (p)

Sexual Identity: Lesbian (h) / Queer (p)

Triggers: Threatening behaviour from homophobic/transphobic people (no overt violence)

Acceptance Rating: 3 stars

Acceptance Rating Explanation: This is a lot of awkwardness around using the correct pronouns, words, etc. There isn’t a lot of malice from the general populace, but there is a smidge.

Grammar/Editing: This was a fairly clean ARC with only a couple of typos

Review: This short novel takes place on a road trip between Cleveland and Chicago, with a lot of the action taking place once the couple reaches Chicago. If you are looking for a feel-good holiday story, this is not the book for you. The dialogue is generally combative and hypercritical and the novel reads like an instructional manual for cisgender individuals on the do’s and don’ts of conversations with genderqueer folks in different scenarios (e.g. general conversations, in a bathroom, in the bedroom, etc.). I found the majority of this novel to be cringe-worthy and incredibly awkward.

The main characters of this book are Dana and Charlie. Charlie is cocky and rude, and Dana is rash, irrational, and insensitive. It wasn’t until being called out halfway through the book that she even bothered to use Charlie’s preferred pronouns. They mostly yell at each other, misunderstand one another, and then makes eyes at each other. Their relationship is incredibly volatile, which was just not appealing to me, on top of the other issues I have already flagged. Amazingly enough, however, the supporting characters were much more straight forward and even-keel than the main characters. For the most part, they were also far more supportive and correct about using Charlie’s correct pronouns – even the ‘villainous’ ex-girlfriend.

Full disclosure: I received a free advance review copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc. for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

2/5 Stars

I really wanted to like this book. A queer holiday romance sounds like it's made for me, but I had a really hard time with it. The main character, Dana, comes across as incredibly immature throughout the story. She pouts, constantly second-guesses herself, and doesn't seem like she can have a normal, honest conversation with anyone. What really got to me though was the fact that Charlie is CONSTANTLY misgendered. Dana asks Charlie for their preferred pronouns ("They. 'She' is okay. My family all call me 'she.' ) and then constantly referred to Charlie as She throughout. More than that, the author continues to refer to Charlie as 'she.'  Perhaps others won't have as hard of a time with this as I did, and will enjoy this book more, but for me, it really didn't work. I didn't believe the characters, gender identity seemed to be used solely as a plot device, overall not great.

The premise of this debut sounds really intriguing and super cute, and I try really hard to include diversity among my reading, which is why I originally requested this title, as one of the main characters is genderqueer. The plot could have had great potential, but for me, it fell flat because I thought it was rushed and one of the main characters seemed extremely bratty and unlikable. Some of the scenes described were a little uncomfortable, such as the one where they're listening to each other pee?!? The characters were in their 30's but the dialogue between them seemed much more younger, and often times immature. I also felt like these two characters didn't go well together. Something just didn't seem right to me. Charlie deserved better, honestly. 
I would have liked to see more of an adventure, because some of the "roadblocks" in this story felt very unlikely. I also would have liked to see the characters connect on a deeper level as they reached each new obstacle. That just wasn't the case here. 
Overall, this was just an okay, fast read. I can't say that I'd recommend this title, but with that being said, I will look for future books from this author! 

Thank you for allowing me an ARC of this title!

*I was with an ARC of this book via NetGalley.*

This book was an easy read - a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, for me the plot felt rushed, a bit thin, and disconnected at times.  Everything moved so quickly and did not feel realistic.  Some of the traits of the main characters did not seem to align as well.

I did appreciate the acceptance that the book and its characters showed.  And the explanation of things that for many are confusing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for kindly providing me with a digital copy of this book for review.
Well I was fascinated by the premise of this book- a Jewish lesbian takes a road trip at Christmas with a non-binary stranger that she is instantly attracted to. I love seeing stories like this that are that little bit more unusual and give the opportunity for under-represented members of the community to see themselves finally within literature. 
However, while I very much admire what I think the author was trying to achieve, I’m not sure that it has been executed to full effect. I think the very important things the author has to say on gender identity and equality are maybe too big for the framework of this relatively short novel. I think the message has also gotten a little lost amongst some clunky un-natural dialogue and some bizarre plot choices such as a scene where the two main characters are listening to each other urinate in a public bathroom. Not sure there’s much of a place for that in a cosy Christmas read! Each to their own I guess! I was also surprised to learn that the main character was in her early 30’s as I felt she had a much younger voice and level of maturity. 
Overall, I was personally a bit disappointed with this book. I feel the author is definitely someone to watch though as she hones her craft and I’;d be interested to see what other premises she comes up with for her future books. 2.5-3 stars

I really enjoyed reading a book with a genderqueer (non-binary, although never said) main character. I identify as non-binary and read a ton of "f/f" books and deeply want more non-binary representation.

I liked the bits that dealt with Charlie. Unfortunately I didn't really like Dana.

The plot itself was too much too fast. I get that it was a chaotic adventure/misadventure, but it didn't quite work for me. The insta-(almost) love was too fast for m

💕 Review Time 💕

I wanted to love The Holiday Detour, the premise sounded super cute and always want to support romance novels with greater diversity - in this case one of the MCs Charlie is genderqueer 🌈 

But the execution just fell flat. Now I’m not genderqueer so I can’t comment on the accuracy of the representation but it felt like Charlie’s gender was used as a plot point? They were constantly misgendered by the other MC Dana who spent most of the book referring to Charlie as ‘she’. It didn’t sit well with me and made me really dislike Dana.

Even when Charlie’s friends call Dana out on it she makes it into a big deal... It isn’t a big deal and calling someone by their pronouns is a pretty basic thing! Especially for someone you are romantically interested in 💅🏻

I realise some people go by multiple pronouns and genuinely don’t mind what people use but that didn’t seem to be the case for Charlie so I found it weird 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

That aside a lot of random stuff kept happening that felt forced... I didn’t expect nearly the whole book to be the ‘five’ hour car trip 🚗 It just started to feel a bit silly 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

Ultimately this wasn’t the book for me and I can’t give it more than 🌟🌟 

Thanks NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

After quitting her job, Dana just wants to go home and spend time with her grandma but the trip doesn't go to plan. Along comes Charlie who tries, in vain, to save the day.

At times this is a fun, road trip, rom-com. The characters aren't perfect, they are awkward and flawed with room to grow. This book feels like an episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, in the sense that, the lead character does a lot of things wrong but gets it together by the end. The Holiday Detour is an easy read that is both an intsa-love and a slow-burn romance.

[Content warnings: misgendering from main character and minor character, car accident, recalling parental loss]

As someone who is both genderqueer and sapphic, The Holiday Detour is very difficult for me to review. I wanted to love it so badly but I didn’t. I appreciate Kolven writing a sapphic story featuring an f/gq relationship however, so I rounded up my rating. There are too many issues that kept me from fully enjoying the story, but it was nonetheless chaotically entertaining.

On Christmas Eve, Dana Gottfried’s (32, lesbian, Jewish) beloved car breaks down while she is on her way to visit Nana. When animal scientist Charlie Barlow (genderqueer) rescues Dana from the roadside, they embark on a messy holiday adventure where nothing goes right. The only thing that seems right is their attraction to each other.

The story touches upon subjects including sexuality and gender identity. Dana, who identifies as a lesbian, finds herself hopelessly drawn toward Charlie, who is genderqueer. I like this setting, but I do need to point out an extremely problematic sentence of Charlie’s: “maybe you’re not only entirely attracted to cis lesbian women.” Trans lesbians are lesbians. I understand that Charlie wants to talk about genderqueer and/or nonbinary people, but this comment actually excludes transwomen who are lesbians and that is not okay. It is okay, however, for a lesbian to be attracted to someone who does not identify as a woman.

From the very first chapter of The Holiday Detour, we know even from Dana’s first-person perspective that she is not a likable character. She complains too much, fakes too hard, and doesn’t even respect the name of her childhood acquaintance Mitch. I see Mitch going by a new name as a augury of Charlie’s genderqueerness. And was I really surprised that Dana also fails to respect Charlie’s pronouns? Not really. But since Charlie doesn’t seem to mind it much, I am not going to reprimand Dana on her blatant misgendering throughout most of the book. But I feel like misgendering was used as a plot device here, and that makes me very uncomfortable.

Far too often we have perfect main characters in romance because this genre is inherently happy. Yet Dana has to be one of the least appealing leads ever. She is extremely judgey and an awful person in general. I think this is an oddly nice change, because though it is frustrating and sometimes angering to be in her head, it is also refreshing to see someone so imperfect. In Asia, there is a phrase called Princess Syndrome (公主病), which describes a woman who is narcissistic, egocentric, and materialistic (its male counterpart is Prince Syndrome). Dana is exactly that. The closest English word is probably “snobby.” Though I think Charlie deserves someone better despite a lot of lying going on on their end, I like how Kolven made Dana fall for them at their worst. It is the sort of balance in their relationship that I had hoped to see.

I want to clarify another thing that Dana didn’t get right: genderqueer/nonbinary people don’t have to be androgynous or have a mix of feminine and masculine traits. They do not owe anyone androgyny and can appear hyper-feminine or masculine yet still be genderqueer/nonbinary. Also, they can use binary pronouns, and that doesn’t make them any less genderqueer/nonbinary, either.

The Holiday Detour is a rom com filled with disasters that is fun and mostly enjoyable. The whole story spanned five days with the majority in two days—Christmas Eve and Christmas. It began and ended with Dana’s distaste for Christmas songs, a reference to the holiday gone awry.

The premise of this is super cute, a girl trying to get home to her Nana for Christmas and she has a sort of meet cute with a kind person who helps her with her journey. I was excited that one character is lesbian and Jewish and the other is genderqueer, but unfortunately it didn't play out well.

Our main character Dana was rude, bratty, and transphobic. She called Charlie by the wrong pronouns, even after Charlie told her they went by they/them. She freaked out when Charlie used the women's bathroom and tried to force Charlie to talk about uncomfortable topics, even when they clearly didn't want to. Dana never redeemed herself to me and I think Charlie can do much better.

Charlie had a few issues too. They told Dana that they only gave her a ride because they thought Dana was gay. Um, super creepy! They tried to use Dana to make their ex girlfriend jealous and made up extravagant lies to cover it. And they really shouldn't have gotten with Dana after all the crap she pulled.

I can't say there weren't some cute moments and I can see where the author was trying to go with the story. It just didn't work for me unfortunately.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review