what a fun short story for the holidays! Really enjoyed the tale of the Clauster family holidays & their very long-suffering mother Claire! Women, especially, will find it resonating with them... My thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for the DRC

We all want the holiday season to be a special time for our loved ones. For a season that is supposed to be filled with comfort and joy, it often ends up being more of a stressed-out occasion for the ones who do all of the preparations.

Claire Clauster has always made the holidays sparkle for her family. She loves to follow traditions, feed her family their favorite meals, wrap, entertain, and keep everyone merry, doesn’t she? But this year, Claire is struggling a bit, feeling a little underappreciated, overwhelmed, and a whole lot tired, and she has every reason to be. When Claire finally reaches her limit, this holiday proves to be nothing like the Clauster family thought it would be.

Oh. What. Fun. was just what the title promised: it was fun. This story was packed full of family drama, humor, and plenty of mayhem. Many people understand the pressures to make the holidays a memorable time for their families, but I promise you this, the Clausters will definitely remember this holiday season, probably more than all of the others.

So, when I’m in the throes of baking, decorating, wrapping, and cleaning, and trying to get everything just right, I will try to sit back, take a deep breath, and not let the fa-la-la-ing stress get to me.

*4 Stars

3.5 Stars

If you are looking for a quick read to get you in the holiday spirit, Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker will do just that! Not necessarily in that hallmark, cheesy, warm-and-fuzzy way, but a more real and relatable view of what it takes to make a holiday gathering special.

Claire Clauster works so hard to have her family together for the holidays and make it special. But do you think they appreciate it? Nope! Her grown children, and grandchildren, are so busy with their lives that they hardly notice or appreciate the effort their mother puts into the holidays. Well, they certainly will notice it when she's missing, won't they??

Being a short story, it was hard to sometimes follow the stories/all the characters introduced in the beginning, but it quickly gets into a flow and develops a cute story line that will get you into that holiday mood, and prepare you for the holiday crazy we all know and love!

I love Chandler Baker's writing. This short story was a lot of fun and well-written. How much work are the holidays? A lot of work. How many moms are taken for granted with respect to all they do to make their loved ones have a great holiday? Yup. This was a relatable story. The only thing was that it was hard on the e-book to understand the context of the parts where the Mom was talking (to whom she was talking, etc.) A lot of fun.

3.5 Stars

If you are looking for an amusing, whimsical book to get you in the mood for Christmas, this is an entertaining one.

Claire is the kind of mom who wants everyone in her family to gather round for Christmas, and she spends a great amount of time and care setting everything up to perfection in order to create memories that will last. Her children who are all grown and have kids of their own now, are accustomed to feeling they’ll just be in her way if they offer to help decorate, wrap the gifts, or bake or help with the decorations. But after many years of this, and feeling that all her efforts are not only unappreciated but expected, Claire’s tired of feeling overlooked and undervalued, and, well, tired and worn out from doing it all on her own.

Their plan for this year includes tickets to go see Disney on Ice, and Claire, of course, is the one who was supposed to arrange for the tickets. The family gathers, and heads to the venue only to realize they’ve forgotten one thing. Claire.

The most wonderful time of the year turns into a frantic search for Claire, some realizations that, perhaps, it isn’t as wonderful for her as they’d come to convince themselves over the years, and that maybe, just maybe, it was time for them to show her the same love and care that she’s given them.
A short, quirky, fun, holiday read about families as the season approaches.

Pub Date: 30 Nov 2021


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Amazon Original Stories
#OhWhatFun #NetGalley

Parts here and there were fun, others a bit confusing. Not sure if it was the layout? Big huge chunk paragraphs are not easy to read. Plus it felt a bit disjointed at times. Overall the story was fine, and kept my interest so would recommend.

This was a cute little holiday read that I think any mom could relate to! Claire Clauster’s 3 children are home for the holidays and the stress level is high for Claire. This novella had wit, humor and relatability. There were points it felt a bit jumbled just because it was one continuous story only being broken up by a second POV writing a letter. I’m not sure if this was just my app or not, but pages weren’t lined up and I had to keep swiping left and right on each page to read it. Overall, I’d give this story 3.5 stars and recommend it if you’re looking for something super quick to kick off your holiday reads. I look forward to reading other books by Chandler. Thank you for letting me read this ARC!

I want to thank Netgalley and the author for gifting me the ebook. I feel like this book was all over the place. I was gifted the ebook and I don't know if the layout was off by accident but it was hard to read. It just seemed all over the place and words were together and some typos. So like I said not sure if the layout was wrong or what. The story itself was okay. I know that everyone now writes in first person, but this felt like someone's diary instead of a first person perspective written like Sophie Kinsella etc

Exhausted, unappreciated and overwhelmed. That’s how Claire Cluster feels at the end of the holiday season. This year, add forgotten to that list after her special Christmas Eve surprise is a major fail when her adult children leave her at home.

Yes, Tyler, Channing, and Sammy Cluster are home for the holidays, enjoying Fun Dad and workaholic Mom. How sweet that she loves to wrap presents (including the ones they brought)! What a great cook she is preparing all their favorite meals! Leave the twins with her, she adores them! She loves the holidays until she doesn’t when she realizes she’s not getting the one gift she really wanted and hinted about. So she takes a drastic action to wake her children up to reality. Will it work?

Oh What Fun is just that. A lot of emotion, humor and snappy dialogue packed into a short story is a holiday gift to the reader! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Amazon Original Stories and Chandler Baker for this ARC.

Oh. What. Fun. is a Christmas novella that is quick and easy to read. It’s fun and festive, ideal to put you in the seasonal mood. To top it all off, it’s not just a nice little read, it also conveys a meaningful message about the role of women, spouses, mothers who bring Christmases to life. Their efforts often go unnoticed when they’re actually the ones making the magic happen… The Clauster family will soon realise that the joy of the holidays takes a lot of work and they should be more grateful.

This was such a quirky and fun story! I really enjoyed the multi-POV formatting of the writing, although I don’t think there were actual chapters so it was just continuous paragraphs throughout that were broken up by changing povs and letter/text message inserts here and there. The deadpan humor from certain characters made me laugh out loud a few times, and I also liked the sarcastic humor brought forth by the easy and snappy writing from the author.

I gotta say, I really felt bad for the mom’s character. She works her butt off all year round, and even harder around holiday season when she gets no help from the family and basically does all of the decorating, cooking, event planning, and gift shopping/gift wrapping/gift giving. Her children are all grown and can’t be responsible enough to carve time out of their busy schedules to help their mother with holiday tasks? That was really sad to me. It was also ridiculous that the family would lose track of her for more than a few hours when she’s meant to be a central figure in the household and was the one responsible for arranging their fun holiday activities. I don’t think I liked any of the characters apart from the parents, although it’s meant to be a short and lighthearted story so I also don’t think I need to be super critical with judging the characters’ personalities and motivations.

This was a short and witty story that served to kick off the holiday season reads for me and overall I did enjoy the storytelling and the fast-paced ridiculousness of the plot.

It was a short enjoyable history😍 the title could not be more accurate jajaj.

¿What could happen to a family at christmas season? This book tell us that, is addictive, funny and cute🤍 definitely a story perfect for this season (i know is not yet December but I LOVE CHRISTMAS💖)

Im not giving 5⭐️ only because i needed more history!!! More for fall in love the characters and for felt totally living Christmas with the Clauster’s

Totally recommended✨

4⭐️

3.5-4ish stars! Christmas, family dysfunction, Disney On Ice- what more could you want from a festive short story?

This was wild and a lot of fun to read. Loved the family/neighborhood dynamics and the little interludes of Claire making a video to submit herself for the contest, they broke things up really nicely.

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Original Stories for the advanced copy!

To get into the holiday spirit, I read Oh. What. Fun. by Chandler Baker, a festive (and simultaneously crazy) short story. This was quick, funny, and super relatable to a mom like myself. There were many comical parts and it was such a different Christmas-themed storyline. I enjoyed it!

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of this Amazon Original Stories publication. My review has been written voluntarily and honestly.

Oh.What.Fun by Ch. Baker is part of four Holiday Short Stories, published by Amazon Original Stories/ St. Martin's Press.
Oh. What.Fun. is a witty and sweet story, excellent written.
Tyler, Channing and Sammy are home for the holidays.
They have descended on their childhood home, with significant others and four-year-old twins in tow, for another good old-fashioned Christmas. Overwhelming holiday magic, as always, comes courtesy of their mom, Claire. They know she’s thrilled to cook, wrap gifts, decorate, accommodate, play games, overprepare every Christmas Eve tradition, and still let Dad be known as the Fun One. It’s her thing, right? Maybe the family should have paid closer attention. Because this year, something is a little off-key—and it’s not just the carols.
This beautifully thought out, beautifully written and beautifully told story is fitting right in with the other stories in this set.
I loved just everything about this book, 5 stars.

This was such a cute short story perfect to get you in the holiday mood. It follows a typical family where mom does everything to prepare for Christmas and soon enough the family realizes just how much she adds to their holiday cheer. Funny and feel-good wrapped up in one.

This short story was so aptly named! Brimming with humor and charm, it was a celebration of family, the holidays, and all the people who make them special.

Mom Clauster put her all in the holiday season. She showed her love by running herself ragged to make everyone's holiday special. She arranged elaborate adventures for the Elf on the Shelf, cooked all her children's favorite meals, decorated excessively, and even ordered special Santa wrapping paper from far off places. She put so much into this celebration and was the heart and soul of the Clauster family holiday.

This was so much fun to read. Super fast-paced and filled with moment after moment that either put a smile on my face or had me laughing out loud. The way the story was told had a feel that reminded me of A Christmas Story which in my opinion is a very positive thing.

Though set in contemporary times, OH. WHAT. FUN. had me feeling nostalgic for Christmases of my childhood while also reminding me to appreciate all those little things that make the season magical. Overall, this story more than delivered on its name, as I had so much fun reading it.

I am such a fan of short stories, and this one did not disappoint! The Clauster Family is relatable in the sense that they depend on tradition and when that is threatened one Christmas, what are they to do? I can picture this as a quick read on Christmas morning post breakfast... would recommend to others!

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oh.What.Fun. is a cute short read to get in the Christmas spirit. I chose this because I'm slowly getting ready for my Holiday Reading Marathon and it was great. Its light and definitely magical. Made me laugh a couple of times and it was a fast read.

This will be available on November 30th. Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy.

Oh. What. Fun. By Chandler Baker was cute and light. Perfect for the holiday season. Claire Clauster, mom of 3 grown adults and grandmother to 2 sweet girls, does everything to make the holidays perfect for the family. But, no one tries to make it special for her. So, what happens when Mom goes missing?

I thought it was fun to read and relatable for many moms. Who doesn’t want their family to have the magic of Christmas and make sure it’s a wonderful time for them, creating memories. But, I think we can all agree, moms want some of the magic too. It’s a fast and short read and was entertaining enough.