2.75 stars for this Holiday Road trip story. This is a debut novel. I wonder if they published it midsummer so it wouldn't get lost in the onslaught of new and old holiday books?

This is about Dana Gottfried, a Jewish lesbian determined to get to home to see her Grandmother (Nana) for Christmas Eve. Unless I missed it, she doesn’t explain why she didn’t visit during Hanukkah a couple weeks earlier. Dana is driving from Cleveland to Highland Park, Illinois (near Chicago). And as many road trip books go – what can go wrong, does.

Dana’s car breaks down and a good Samaritan, Charlie finds Dana stranded and calls a tow truck for her. Charlie offers to drive Dana to Chicago since she/they were planning on driving the same way. And so begins an epic drive with two strangers. What was supposed to be a 5 hour drive turns into an adventure of more car problems, accidents, ex’s, standstill holiday traffic, and insta-love. This book was just OK but not good enough to put on my annual reread Christmas book list. Yeah. Instead of watching Hallmark Christmas movie marathons, I re-read my favorite Christmas romances and along with new holiday books that I hope will make the cut.

Either my expectations were too high or something just didn’t translate well from the description to the actual writing. The events in the description “But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love” does all occur, but I thought it was going to be more adventurous than it turned out to be. I found it to be almost boring where I just stopped caring about the different roadblocks. It also didn’t help that the journey was a lot shorter than I expected as they reach their initial destination well before the book ends. I went into reading under the impression that the destination would be during the conclusion and the two MCs would connect along the way as they face each new obstacle.

This book contains a lot of diversity and it was a huge selling point as it’s not included in many books (especially holiday romance novels). First, we have Dana who is a Jewish lesbian. She just quit her job in Cleveland and we find her on her way to her grandmother’s in a suburb of Chicago for the Christmas holidays. When her car unexpectedly breaks down she is picked up by a genderqueer (does not identify as male or female) pig farmer named Charlie. Dana has an instant attraction to Charlie and accepts the offer for a ride as Charlie will be travelling to a nearby destination (Deerfield which is another suburb of Chicago). Although Dana is extremely insistent about being there for Christmas with her nana, it’s never fully explored as to the reasons why and that made the tension of the journey very confusing to me. I couldn’t understand the urgency that Dana was supposed to be feeling if she doesn’t celebrate Christmas. I honestly had no clue if it was something special that her and her nana shared or if there was significance by spending that one day together.

Charlie’s story of being genderqueer outshone the romantic novel that I thought I was going to read. It was a very positive part of the story and I loved every second for finding out more about Charlie, but it just wasn’t what I was expecting. Their challenges with things that other people take for granted, using the bathroom you identify with, the pronouns people call you, etc. were a brilliant addition to the story as it’s something that not everyone will be familiar with. That being said, Charlie just seemed too perfect with no negative emotions about anything as every time Dana and Charlie disagreed they just seemed to automatically forgive everything Dana did. Typically when you’ve known someone less than a day, you don’t give them 100% forgiveness without at least taking some time to come to a consensus. Even though they were together for the majority of the book, the connection just wasn’t there to make it feel like they were together (it’s like the feeling of being lonely even though you’re surrounded by people – the romantic situations were there, but there wasn’t a lot of loving feelings felt).

As this is an insta-love book, you don’t get a lot of will they-won’t they like a lot of other novels in this genre. However, if you are going to include it, then it should happen in a more believable and organic fashion. Unfortunately, this novel missed the mark. It tried a little, but overall it just seemed forced and the two characters didn’t really mesh well together. Every time they either spoke or interacted, it just wasn’t convincing that this would be a lasting couple (sure they might be attracted to one another, but there was no real substance to the relationship). Overall, it was a decent story, but it just wasn’t one that I would read again.

The Holiday Detour had me with its opening scene and it didn’t let go until it’s very end. Jane Kolven knows the importance of a hook and uses it most effectively. One is immediately engaged in this charming romance and motivated to keep turning pages late into the night. Her entertaining storytelling is filled with energy and smiles throughout. At its conclusion, readers will most certainly be searching for Kolven’s next book. Fortunately, readers won’t have to wait too long; her next book, the Queen Has a Cold, is slated for early next year.

For me, Kolven’s holiday homecoming was like a shape-shifting of John Candy’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles into a Meg Ryan rom-com. This adventure of misadventure has so many “John Candy moments,” one can not help but giggle throughout. Dana Gottfried is the feisty and adorable heroine of this cross-country Christmas adventure. Though she’s prone to flaking out, readers are sympathetic to her troubles and antics. They like her and can relate to her. She has this Meg Ryan-ness about her that is just sooo appealing.

Charlie is the other main character in this heart warm romance. Charlie is a nonbinary trying to live their life in the most honest and authentic way they know. When they spot Dana stranded along the road, they turn around to offer help, proving they are the perfect empathetic hero. Charlie is kind, thoughtful, patient and generous. They are also quite taken with Dana. Offering Dana a ride to Chicago turns out to be more than a simple road trip; it turns out to be a journey of a lifetime.

Kolven is a talented writer, no doubt; The Holiday Detour is a compelling and entertaining romance, for sure. This book showcases her ability to use dialog effectively and masterfully. She can create tension and drive the plot forward in the most amusing and engrossing ways with her use of dialog. The witty banter between Dana and Charlie is so delightful and charming; readers will laugh out loud at their lively conversations.

The most remarkable thing about Kolven, though, is her ability to connect with readers through her creative word choice and descriptions. She shows, rather than tells. She can take the most mundane and ordinary thing, like eating a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and make it refreshing and thought provoking. Readers “see it” and “feel it” by her beautiful use of language and word building.

I would encourage anyone who loves fun, quirky romances to read The Holiday Detour. It’s a highly entertaining and completely satisfying read. Jane Kolven is a writer that knows how to bring substance to a feel-good romantic comedy.

This could have been a really cute LGBT holiday romance but unfortunately, the writing completely ruined it for me.

I wanted to love this book. I mean, how could I not? A lesbian jewish character trying to go home to her grandmother for Christmas and a genderqueer character who was kind enough to help Dana when her car broke down. What's not to love, right? Well... plenty. First, the dialogues. They were so bad and Dana kept being a brat. She said things like "Your car looks so stupid," or "I don't know if I'm allowed to touch your boobs!" that made me cringe. No offense but it was so immature at times I had to check if the author was a teenager. And yes, this is a debut novel but I still have expectations from debuts. I'm hoping the author's style will grow with time and experience.

Let's not forget that Dana didn't use the right pronouns for most of the book until someone told her how rude she was being even though Charlie had told her when they met that they preferred they/theirs. The bathroom scene also made me really uncomfortable and when Dana told Charlie they should have used the men's bathroom, that didn't sit well with me.

Overall, I didn't like the writing and Dana. Charlie was kind and deserved better. If you're looking for a queer holiday romance story, this is not the one.

(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)

All Dana wants to do is get home to her Nana for the holidays. The universe seems to have another plan in mind. Dana is a Jewish Lesbian that has recently quit her job and is broke. She is on her way home to be with her Nana for the holidays when her car breaks down and even worse, midway into the conversation with roadside assistance, her phone battery dies. Leaving her with no other options, she makes the treck in search of a gas station when Charlie swoops in for the rescue. Charlie works with pigs, doesn't identify as make or female, and is up to their eyeballs in debt, but is able to offer Dana more than she even realizes. The roadtrip turns into a disaster as anything and everything seems to go wrong from a car accident, losing Charlie's, truck, and even crazy ex drama. All Dana wanted to do was to get home to her Nana. Is this trip home going to end up as a bust? Or is the universe really trying to tell her something?
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fairly easy read that offered some laughter, as well as romance and even dappled in some serious matters. The characters in my opinion were well developed to the point I almost felt as though I knew them.
Thank you @Netgalley and @JaneKolven for the opportunity to read and review this book. An ARC was given for an honest review. I rate this book ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Tw: misgendering

For such a short book, the protagonist’s rambling makes it feel really long. There is a lot of “telling” that’s totally irrelevant, like details about Dana’s high school classmates from 10 years ago. Even the relevant exposition, like her parents’s deaths in a car crash, manages to be bland.

I do like Charlie, who rescues Dana when she’s stranded on the interstate. Charlie seems like a cool person and I wish I’d gotten to know them better, but again, the Dana monologues in her head a lot and I just couldn’t connect emotionally to either character.

Maybe the truest characterization of the story is Dana unintentionally misgendering Charlie for half the book; Charlie introduces themself as “they/them but doesn’t mind she/her,” and Dana doesn’t pick up on the subtext that’s Charlie is resigned to being shoehorned into the binary by strangers. Thankfully, Dana starts correcting herself after another character educates her.

Overall not a bad book, exactly. Just kind of meh.

Dana is driving from Cleveland to Chicago to visit her grandmother for the Christmas holidays although they are Jewish, when her car breaks down in the middle of a snowy highway. Charlie, a scientist who studies pigs, on their way to visit their parents in Chicago, comes to Dana's rescue and offers to drive her. The two meet all sorts of obstacles on the drive and along the way and find themselves growing closer as they share in their adventure and chat about their lives. Will Dana ever make it to Chicago? And what will her future look like? After spending just a few days with Charlie she can hardly imagine a life without them.

I really adored this book. It was wacky and fun and adorable. If you're looking for a slow burn/down to earth book this isn't the book for you. If you let yourself escape into this wonderful snowy and festive and unexpected world, then I'm sure you'll enjoy it! The characters in this book were just so wonderful - warm and unique and hilarious. I laughed out loud so many times in this book - the dialogue was witty and the situations Dana and Charlie got into were ridiculous. This whole book takes place over only a few days - and most of the book actually takes place over several hours. It's fast paced but the pacing and the plot really worked for me, the author really delved into the characters and so it felt like weeks or months passed in the span of hours. I really liked the chemistry between Dana and Charlie and although the events in the book move quickly, their relationship progressed slowly in the short amount of time.

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

I was really excited for this road trip romance featuring a Jewish lesbian and her genderqueer knight in shining armor who picks her up from the side of the road when her car breaks down. But, alas, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.

Even after I finished the book, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not. Was it?? There were scenes that were bizarrely written with over-sized reactions and odd conversations, and I'm not sure if that was the author writing humor. In fact, the way the author wrote dialogue was some of the weakest parts of the book for me. It just didn't flow in a natural way.

There were some serious moments, which I enjoyed, and some nice diversity, but they were overshadowed by the insta-love and the improbable situations that the characters found themselves in. The romance didn't gel or evolve naturally. It all felt very forced and very phony. The whole book felt very surface level and it never came together.

I realize that this book is a debut, so I'm hopeful the author can find her voice a bit more in her subsequent books. This one was not a win.

*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*

I really enjoyed this book! I don't really like to read about Christmas in August but it's not really that much important in the book. Import is the journey both characters are on and it's really nice to read about! I also enjoyed to learn more about gender fluidity cause it's somethting hard to grasp if you don't have any experience or know someone. So all in all very well done and thank you!

The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven // ⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Thank you to @netgalley and @boldstrokesbooks for the eARC! The Holiday Tour is out 9/15 ✨
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“Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.”
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The Holiday Detour was a cute story about finding love on a holiday road trip that had seemingly gone terribly awry. Everything that could possibly go wrong on Dana’s journey home did, and it’s a miracle she even made it home to see her grandmother. That miracle came in the name of Charlie, Dana’s genderfluid love interest who picks Dana up on the side of the road and offers to help her get home. This story was a sweet little holiday romp that was just the kind of light story I needed to read during bar prep. However, while characters were fun and I loved their interactions, sometimes the rapid twists and turns of the plot were a bit too wild to be grounded in reality. I also prefer my holiday stories to be a bit more Hallmarky and hit all the holiday tropes, and sometimes I had to remind myself that this was even set in December. On the positive side, I love reading any kind of lgbtq+ romance story, and The Holiday Detour nicely explored issues of gender conformity and acceptance. In the end, while this wasn’t a favorite, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and I recommend it to anybody looking for a fun lgbtq+ holiday romance. ❄️🤍
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What’s your favorite holiday themed book? 🎄

I'm not really sure about this book. It was a bit daft and had all the traits of a cheesy Christmas film. The story is set around a few days and I feel like too much was tried to squeeze into the story line.

The characters don't seem to have a romantic spark. But the author touch's the subject of Pronouns discrimination and family acceptance.
The story is about Dana, who's decided quit her job around Christmas time and go back home to live with Nana, but on the journey home things don't go smoothly, her car breaks down, which is where she meets Charlie for the first time. Charlie takes it upon their self to get Dana home for Christmas eve, but as you can guess, things are not that easy and things keep popping up to put a stop to it. Along the way you meet exes, Nana, old friends, pigs and much more.

If you're looking for a book where everything happens in a few days and is a really easy read, this is that book... unfortunately this book wasn't for me.

Ill give it a 2.9

I was given a copy for a honest review.

2.5 ⭐️

This book was pretty disappointing if I’m being honest. I LOVE holiday romances (just ask my fiancée - I’ll happily watch the Hallmark channel any month of the year 🎄😍), but I felt like the premise of this book was far too constraining for what the author wanted to achieve. It’s a shame because not only do I harbor a deep love for the holidays, but I also adore road trips, so it was disappointing to see the featured route be so short and dull. As someone who lives in Chicago and routinely drives through Indiana, there isn’t much to see or be entertained by there.

My biggest hang up with this book is that they go from strangers to considering marriage over the span of 2 days and one (very short) road trip, which feels unrealistically fast, even taking into consideration the stereotype of the UHauling lesbians. The writing wasn’t bad and the concept was intriguing - the follow through just didn’t deliver for me 😕

I will say I give the author props for including a genderqueer protagonist. I love seeing the romance genre finally diversifying and representing different iterations of queer love.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Dana Gottfried is stressed out to get home to her grandmother in time for Christmas Eve. Her stress was so palpable it gave me anxiety reading about her trip home, not to mention stupid mistakes like forgetting to charge her phone before leaving on a road trip in winter weather.

I am happy that the author explores Charlie as a genderqueer person and how they feel about using neutral pronouns and how life is dealing with prejudices being genderqueer.

The story plays out over 4 days which doesn't give time for much depths of the characters and their relationship.

Spoiler ahead:

As such, I just couldn't find it believable at all that they are moving in together after knowing each other for less than a week. And that Charlie ould quit the lab and leave their pigs behind on a whim.

I was a little confused with this when I first started to read but it improved after a short while and then ended up really enjoying the story. It was different but not really a Christmas novel although set around the time, it could just have easily been set during another season. Yes I enjoyed this and I give it 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley  and Publisher for a  copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Will be posting review on my Instagram on date of Book Release: Sept 15, 2020

The concept of this book is great, the execution missed the mark.
The characters are lacking depth and are not relatable. The fact that they are the stereotypical U-Haul lesbian couple is not cute. They know each other for a couple of days, at best, and all of a sudden they go from **SPOILER ALERT** first kisses to moving in together and talking about being together forever. It's really unrealistic!
Charlie would be a great character - they are laid back, caring, helpful - but I found issues with the fact that the family struggles they had was solved in a matter of hours. It doesn't work that way. While being on this issue, Charlie doesn't move to correct Dana when she is misgendering them, until someone else points it out. You want to spend the rest of your life with this woman? She needs to respect you.
Dana - the book is from her POV. Her internal thoughts are very self-absorbed. I get the fact that she is trying to get home, but girl needs to chill. She cries at the drop of a moment and is barely grateful when people help her.

The plot was easy to read. It was a bit on the shorter side, I got through the book in less than a day.
The concept of finding a love for the holiday is so cute - I just wish that Kolven would have stretched the story out a bit more and had the characters grow throughout the plot.

2.5 stars. Dana Gottfried is stressed out about return home to her grandmother for Christmas. She starts making the drive from Cleveland to Chicago when her car breaks down. When a friendly stranger, Charlie, a pig farmer, offers to help her, she can't resist. She is instantly attracted to Charlie and would love to spend more time getting to know this stranger headed to Chicago too. When Charlie's car gets towed and nothing seems to go right on their trip, it seems as though the world is against them getting to Chicago.

This book was okay. There was a lot that seemed unbelievable about the relationship between the two. Their relationship evolved too fast for their liking. They only really knew each other for one long day and they are talking about forever. I never like the relationship that evolve. It did not seem natural considering how their conversations went. They both have fine interactions, but it did not seem like it evolved that far. Knowing someone for one day where they mostly did not seem to like each other I am not sure I would recommend this book, There are a lot of books that are a lot better.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book! This is completely based on my honest opinion.

In a nutshell, Dana Gottfried, who seems to have quit her job before getting fired was driving all the way from Cleveland to Chicago to be with her Nana for Christmas. She is a Jewish Lesbian and is stressed out with her life. But on the way, her car breaks down in the middle of Indiana and in comes the rescuer, Charlie, who identifies themselves as queer. What begins is the whole drama as they try to make it to Chicago to celebrate the Christmas and the budding relationship between Dana and Charlie.

This is the second LGBTIQ book I have read and the first book I have read from this author. However, despite the story being a bit short, I didn't really enjoy much. I was skimming through most of the pages and it was a bit boring to read. The plot is great but the writing wasn't that really good, too much of unrealistic things in the books. However, towards the end, it got a little better.

Overall it was an OK book to read though and I would give 2.5 stars for this book.

This is an honest review thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.
I always enjoy granddaughter and grandmother relationships and the book brings it and the bright spot for this book is definitely the genderqueer character, but the insta-romance and the flat plot don't really appeal to me.
The first person narrative was not a problem in my opinion, but it might be for some that like to "see" all the angles. I have to note, though, that if I were the author and bringing a genderqueer character into the spotlight, I would go all the way and make this character the first person narrator.

You have insta love and you have The Holiday Detour, insta love is nothing compared to The Holiday Detour.

Dana is on her way from Cleveland to Chicago when her car breaks down on the interstate, as her luck would have it her phone battery is dead as well. Stuck on the interstate without any idea what to do she lucks out when Charlie drives by and helps her out. Together they embark on a road trip to Chicago. On the way, Dana rambles on about many things, one topic is her being a lesbian. Charlie knew this before she got in her truck. When Dana asks Charlie about it the answer is a bit complicated but comes down to being genderqueer and queer, the preferred pronoun is they. As they continue on their trip lots of things go wrong, an ex is introduced and many lies are fabricated while the ex is part of the story. All Dana wants to do is go home to her grandmother, but without her purse it's hard. When she finally arrives she can enjoy the not Christmas celebration with her Jewish grandmother.

There are so many things with this book that had me confused or annoyed, I will list only a couple.
The book is written in the first person, which is something I usually like, but not in this one. Dana is a rambler, she just goes on and on in her head. When they broach the subject of the spectrum Dana rambles on in her head about how she understands and such, but with the book being in the first person she keeps referring to Charlie with female pronouns. This is very annoying to me, especially because Charlie said they didn't like their parents still using she/her and calling them Charlotte. These characters lack so much depth, it's not even funny. I think I could have like Charlie's character, but there is no depth, some mentions of being genderqueer, an ignorant dude at a gas station, mentions of family issues that got resolved in a couple of hours, it's not enough. I think maybe when you dump all this in a rom-com flick mixer it works, but not in a book. And Dana is just plain annoying, a self-absorbed rambler, not my type of character at all.
WARNING SPOILER AHEAD!
And moving in together after a whopping 4 days together? Just no.

The writing style is ok, once you get over not liking this story. But this story could have been so much more.

If Hallmark had the balls to make movies starring gay and genderqueer characters, they might go something like this.

Dana is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.

But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love.

Overall, I thought this was a cute story. Even though Dana’s Jewish, the story revolves around Christmas, so this is a perfect quick holiday read. I read it in a day and laughed out loud in several places.

One quibble that I had is with the first-person narration. Sometimes I felt like I had whiplash from being in Dana’s head. She was all over the place and would sometimes have completely opposite thoughts in the same paragraph, which was annoying.

With a better developmental editor, this book could have easily earned a 3.5 or 4 star review. The characters are great, the situations are funny, and the romance is heart-warming.

Holiday Detour will be released on September 15. I received an advance copy of this book from #netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

#holidaydetour #holidaybooks #Christmasbooks