Book wasn't meant for me. Hopefully someone will enjoy it more. I will look into renting it in the future

Perfect Christmas story! It’s very witty, very funny, the characters are relatable, who doesn’t love a holiday romance ?!

The best way to describe this book is it was a nice read. Well written solid 4 stars. Looking forward to read something else from the authpr.

This is the kind of book I would've preferred in movie form, because the pacing and the kind of dialogue fit so much better in that kind of overly cheesy and unnecessary dramatic Christmas movies. It wasn't really for me. The characters and their personalities made it hard for me to finish the book, and at times the dialogue confused me a bit. It was a fun and fast read, sadly it didn't convince me much.

"Holiday Hearts": 3⭐

Normally, I'm all in for Christmassy reads with a Hallmark feel. However, this wasn't what I expected.
I laughed at times and there were times I felt like the story could really pick up, but it could've been so much more! It lacked development and the characters were a bit bland. However, it's a cute and fast story to read around Christmas!

I mostly enjoyed this book, but didn't really like either of the main characters or the connection between the two main characters. Overall, it was a nice enough holiday read.

I was confused with their names- they sound male to me, so I had trouble with envisioning them as females (English is not my first language). I read few FF stories before, so It's pretty new and undiscovered territory for me.

I liked their energy and passion, but there were so many emotional baggage inside. I like carefree stories, but this wasn't easy one. Characters had lots on their mind, and sometimes it was hard to read and follow the story.

Overall It wasn't bad, I just wasn't in a mood for such long and emotional story.

1,5/5

Sadly, I was disappointed by this book. Everything was very rushed, which made the romance unbelievable and didn't allow me to get attached to the characters or their relationships. I had a lot of issues with characters claiming that the other person was "unlike anyone they'd ever met before", while only knowing each other for a day or so. It all felt very forced. Many situations made me uncomfortable, with dating and marriage being presented throughout the entire novel as the most important achievement in life. Mick was also pushing Logan to come out to her family and putting a lot of weight on her shoulders. The way the idea of coming out was talked about in this novel didn’t work for me at all and felt invalidating. This wasn't a book for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the eARC!

Holiday Hearts..... A 3. star.

It's like a Hallmark film... It's readable, as it's laughable family banter moments... but I felt no chemistry at all between the main characters. I agree with some of the other reviews, this story had the potential to do so much more, but it's lacking something I can't put my finger on.

When I read the synopsis for this book I was excited to read it. A forced proximity, romance? Especially a cute holiday one? Sign me up. This book sadly missed the mark. Logan Brady lost her job and is headed home for the holidays, ready to disappoint her family. Mick Flannagan is a billionaire, headed to an old college friend’s house for Christmas. They meet on a plane and have a one night stand, then they realize they have to spend the holidays together.

This booked seemed like it should be a light, fun, read but it was not. There is an overwhelming amount of homophobia in this book. Some very prominent characters are just mean to each other. One of the main characters basically forces the other to come out to her homophobic, family.

It was filled with so many tropes and so many outdated terms and subject matter. To name a few, a billionaire, girl next door, age-gap, grew up in foster care, one night stand, coming out, small town, a weird RuPaul reference, rich girl-poor girl, assault, jail, surprise pregnancy, and many, many, more.

Overall, the book was disjointed, the characters weren’t likable, and the story is just not believable. Sadly, I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

‘The Brady Bunch As Never Seen Before’ could have been the secondary title for Holiday Hearts. Logan Brady is on her way home for the holidays. She is feeling like a failure because of losing her job and living deep in the closet to not hurt or disappoint her family.
Mick Finnegan is a highly successful business woman on her way to see her best friend from college (also a Brady) and look at his prototype video game as an investment opportunity. They meet due to an unexpected layover and share a room plus a lot more.

The plot has great potential however does not quite deliver. Logan is hard to like and acts much younger than her age. She rubs the reader in the wrong way with her poor me attitude. The attraction between the two main characters happens far too quickly. We do not get to see why Mick would be attracted to Logan and works on expanding their connection.

The Brady family is another bump in the road unless you like overly opinionated, hyper active characters. And the character Paul is a walk on character with minimal lines. This is too bad because I would have liked to know more about him.

The writing was inconsistent in pacing with extreme swings in does she like me to I am totally invested then over to I just wanted a one night fling. My not liking Logan really detracted me from enjoying Holiday Hearts. Her negative attitude towards her family and her life circumstances was a really downer and not at all what I was looking for in a holiday romance.

I received a free advance review copy from Bold Stroke Books and NetGalley. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I enjoy cheesy Christmas rom coms and this book had so much potential to be a great holiday romance. The synopsis was intriguing and the main characters seemed to have good chemistry at first. However, soon after the first few chapters it all unraveled for me. The writing made the book really hard to follow and it felt like sections were missing - characters would be entering a room and before you know it they would end up in bed together with the steps in between completely missing. This just kept happening throughout and the main characters were behaving in ways that I found immature and out of character, especially towards the end. I was confused by their actions and motivations. The Grand Gesture at the end was extreme given they’d only known one another for about a week. The book had a lot of potential but unfortunately it did not live up to it for me.

When I read this book's description I thought of a couple of holiday films that I know and love. Unfortunately, it ended up leaning towards the Lifetime / Hallmark holiday movie kind of vibe. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but I wish it would have been a little less mainstream.

Mick Finnegan grew up in the system going from one foster care home to another. As a teen she ran away wanting to make her way in the world. Through having no place to sleep most nights and trying to eat something/anything to keep her alive. She has come a long way through hard work and determination and now owns one of the most admired companies, making her a very rich woman. Now one of her college friends was reaching out for some help launching a new video game and an invite to share his family’s Christmas.
Logan Brady's life is on a downward spiral. She has lost her job which made staying in DC impossible. She hasn’t told her family but how she was going to keep this information a secret. Now heading home for the holidays she has to face her loud, loving, warm family.
Both women are on the same plane. They don’t know each other but during a delay in their flight they do become friends. But when Mick finds out Logan is her friend's sister she tries to find a way to make this mistake right.
I found myself reading and really liking this book. Is it going to become a ‘classic’, I don’t think so but it kept me entertained on a long snowy day.
Very enjoyable.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

I have been delaying writing about this book because it gave me mixed feelings.
.
On the one hand, the plot started great, the characters are great, even the clichés queer and homophobia, but by the middle of the book the plot began to fall and closed in a happy ending that for me didn't do, did not get to untie the knots and conflicts between the characters, that made it implausible and I would have preferred a better ending even if the characters did not end up hugging and happy
.
Logan is the perfect bookworm for whom things don't go well and she has a family with whom she finds it difficult to be a part, under the shadow of her older brothers and the great personalities of her parents.
Mick has no family and always did everything on his own, she overcame the difficulties of living on the streets and a difficult childhood to become the successful businesswoman that she is but she realizes that something is missing in her life when she crosses her path with Logan in the plane
.
Thanks to Diana Day Admire, Lyn Cole and Bold Stroke Books for give me this book in exchange for my honest opinion
.

I liked the premise of this book and this time of year I will happily submerge myself in Hallmark movies in bookform, but this one was a bit of a disappointment in all honesty.
I won't write a long review cause I can't even give it 3 stars in good conscience. Too many stereotypes, no character development and main characters I couldn't get a connection with made it very difficult to get to the end of this one. Sorry, but not recommending this one.

Who doesn't love a lesbian holiday romance? I am here for it! This had hallmark vibes but definitely bought into the lesbian stereotypes a little bit more than I felt comfortable with. I wish there had been more character development because the storyline really had me.

The characters in this book were not relatable for me. I found some parts leaking character development and I was unable to finish the whole book. If the hallmark movies are your things, this one may be for you.

Thank you to NetGalley & Bold Strokes Books for an e-ARC of this book.

This book was so disappointing. The premise seemed like a cute idea - two women (Mick and Logan) are stranded in one hotel room after their flight is delayed due to weather. They have instant chemistry and end up spending the holiday with Logan's family. However, there was just so much about this book that just rubbed me the wrong way.

First, the dialogue was so stilted and just made me cringe at times. Especially the way lgbtq+ characters spoke - full of stereotypes and unrealistic conversations. Referring to one of the only gay men in the book as queen regardless of context was odd to read.

I also hated that homophobia / homophobic relatives was used as such a big plot point; that isn't what I reach for in a fun holiday romance, as I'm sure others don't. People's homophobia was used as like a quirky plot point and not a really heavy and difficult thing to deal with. At least three characters are outwardly homophobic, but this didn't really affect how gay characters interacted with them - it was very uncomfortable to read about the main character practically forgiving her sister's blatant homophobia.

The characters were also so mean to one another ! I personally love an unlikable character but only when their motivations at least make sense. The main character is shamed for not coming out to her very homophobic family in such a harsh and judgemental way - by a queer woman. And to make matter's worse, the same character says that the main character should just get over herself and come out because the world is more accepting "since RuPaul" came out.

Overall, I would not recommend this to anyone I know.

I loved the family dynamic of the book, a bit dysfunctional but unconditional love for each other. It was well written and I really enjoyed it i recommend 4 stars.



Thank you Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for this ARC.