I really enjoyed this Matthew Prince! I think he was a spoiled character who grew so much in this novel. While he was not perfect, I do think he is someone we can all grow to love and admire as we read this book. I loved the accepting small town who really showed that you could be your true self. I do think Matthew's parents were a little out there, but I think his Mom even learned she needed to be her true self as well. I think this is a perfect christmas time read. Its not too Christmas-y, but gives you some vibes while also a romance with growth!

A perfect holiday read. Matthew and Hector share a fun holiday story with a meaningful ending. I love the growth Matthew goes through and the sweet romance they share. It’s got those good holiday Christmas feels and left me Happy and wishing for more! Loved it,

If you’re looking for a funny, festive read with a lot of heart, look no further. Also, if you’re a fan of Schitt’s Creek and you’ve been missing the Roses and their small-town antics, You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince will do the trick in satisfying that craving.

Matthew Prince is spoiled, entitled, and kinda clueless. At 21, he’s living off his parents’ money, riding a wave of semi-fame, and not doing a whole lot with his life. After he does something particularly foolish, his parents send him away to hide out with his grandparents, who live a quiet, modest life in a small town. Matthew is certain he’ll be miserable there, especially when he finds out he’ll be sharing a room - and a bunk bed - with his grandparents’ boarder, Hector, a total grump who instantly makes it clear he dislikes and judges Matthew. When Matthew is roped into planning a holiday gala for the town’s Small Business Association, he makes a deal with Hector for his help and, as the pair work together, Matthew learns a lot about himself, the real world, and the new hot grump in his life.

I really enjoyed Matthew’s growth throughout the story. I especially appreciated the mental health rep; Matthew has Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and he’s named his anxiety Krampus, which is both amusing and relatable. I loved watching him open up, especially to Hector, who was patient and understanding and never made Matthew feel bad about the ways his anxiety manifested. He was exactly what Matthew needed, along with some hard work, a change of scenery, and some new friends.

This book has a very slow start but it good for fans of Christmas retelling. I was a fan of Mathew Prince and how he seems mean, but isn’t. I wouldn’t say he’s exactly like the grinch, but I do see the similarities.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I first saw this cover I gasped. Full on.

It is still one of my favourite covers to date and every time I see it on Instagram or TikTok it makes me want to reread. Because if there's one thing that everyone should know about me it's that I love Christmas and I looooove a Christmas rom-com!

Timothy Janovsky had a successful debut with his first book and this one was just as good but it didn't hit that great marker I was hoping for. There were some things that annoyed me though (see: "dude" omg), the pacing was a little slow but guh. The characters were great. Matthew isn't supposed to be super likeable at first, but he did grow on me. Hector is the foil to Matthew and is sweet and hard-working. But D U D E. No.

Still, I would recommend picking this one up if you're looking for a holiday LGBTQ romance with some great representation!

I absolutely loved this one. Matthew and Hector were my perfect match and the representation of a queer main character with generalized anxiety disorder was absolutely needed. The holiday goodies were incredible and brought me so much joy, and the david rose/upper east sider vibes that we got from Matthew made me feel so many things. This is a perfect holiday read, and I for sure recommend to anyone who needs a little bit of Christmas joy and queer love.

This could have been really good. I simply just didn’t fall in love with the characters. “Dude” was said an annoying amount, and maybe because they were so young I just couldn’t really connect, idk. I think it might make a cute movie with a quicker pace, but it just missed the mark for me. 2.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 3 because of representation.

DNF @25%

This wasn't for me. I wanted to love it because an enemies-to-lovers Christmas book sounds great but a couple of things didn't work for me.

My main problem was how annoying the main character is, and his plot arc of learning to live without money didn't intrigue me. Also, the love interest was kind of bland, and the humor wasn't my thing.

All-in-all, this book had a lot of promise but ultimately is something that I'm DNFing because it wasn't working for me.

I really, truly, wanted to love this book, but the protagonist just did not connect for me. I often found him annoying and waiting to like him.

This book was a cute, gay, hallmark movie of a novel! The book certainly got more enjoyable as it went on, but it struggled with getting me on the main character's side! It felt a little bit like it was hitting canned benchmarks in a formula (nothing wrong with a formula, but it felt so exposed here)! I thought that Matthew Prince was a tough character to like, and I feel that the story would’ve benefitted greatly from either alternating perspectives or from Hector as the main storyteller. I was too aware of the structure of it all to really enjoy the book, and I never truly got absorbed into it. It left you with a warm fuzzy Christmas romance feeling, but I wish we could've arrived there differently.

This was mostly eh for me. It didn't grab me like I wanted it to. I mean it was fine enough for the most part, but I did find it to be a little slow in the middle section which I found myself skimming. I think this just wasn't for me. Other people may have loved it more than I did, so check out their reviews for sure before making a decision. I will say I did like Matthew's growth by the end. That was done solidly.

Timothy Janovsky is surely an author to watch in the romance arena! his characters are fully fleshed, flawed, and simply leap off the page. YOU'RE A MEAN ONE, MATTHEW PRINCE has all the festive trappings of a holiday romance, without suffocating you under the weight of tinsel.

Fans of Schitt's Creek will enjoy the episode 1 allusions where multi-millionaire heir Matthew Prince is stripped of all his pomp and circumstance after a VERY PUBLIC pr nightmare forces his parents to revoke his spending privileges and to spend weeks hiding out with his very normal grandparents until the storm blows over.

Things Matthew does not anticipate:
1. Finding the people and the town overtly and disturbingly charming
2. Determining that he misses his family
3. Begrudgingly finding his bunkmate insanely hot and highly suspicious

Summary:
An "effervescent" (Rachel Lynn Solomon) Christmas LGBTQIA+ New Adult RomCom, perfect for fans of Schitt's Creek and Red White & Royal Blue.

Bring a little joy to the world?

Not today, Santa.

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He's on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents' charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?

It's bad enough he's stuck in some festive winter wonderland-it's even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who's unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.

Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior...with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can't resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince's heart grow three sizes this year.

Thanks to the publisher for the e-ARC of You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince. This was a hilarious, holiday-themed rom-com. The main character reminded me of David Rose from Schitt's Creek. I loved the Christmas, small-town vibes.

- 3.5 Stars -

This book actually had me laughing out loud as I read alongside it. Our primary perspective is Matthew Prince Jr. who has been sent out to his grandparents cabinlike home, in their small town, for the holiday season due to him being irrersponsible with money and buying a whole island. I wish.

He was written so well that I felt like I was talking to him as the story went on. Or at least could aggressively read his mind to a level that I wish I couldn’t. The way he starts out as a pompous brat who was filled to the brim with entitlement, everyone’s favorite kind of person to deal with, right…? But as his time in Wind River continues, we actually get to see some character development of epic proportions and I LOVED IT! I was wholly rooting for him as the story progressed and I was so happy with who he became in the end.

Hector was the perfect lifestyle balancer for Matthew and his influence was so fun to watch as those roots really dug deep into who Matthew could see himself wanting to be. Made my heart melt a lil bit too. Matthews grandparents were by far my favorite characters in the whole book because they were hilarious and wholesome as well, you just couldn’t help but love them!

Overall, this was a fun holiday read and if you are looking for some lgbtqia+ representations in a holiday read, this is the one for you! A side note: if you’ve read this one and enjoyed it, I recommend you also check out Kiss Her Once For Me by Alison Cochrun.

⚠️TW: panic attacks/disorders, mental illness, toxic friendship, classism, cursing, drug use, infidelity, outing

Thank you @netgalley for this advanced copy in exchange for my honest review! All of the thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

1 Sentence Summary: After some impulsive and reckless purchases, Matthew Prince is being shipped off to his grandparents in the middle of nowhere for Christmas, and to make matters worse he has to share a room with Hector Martinez who clearly thinks Matthew is just a spoiled idiot, but when they’re forced to start working on the Christmas charity gala together and the longer Matthew stays in town, the less it feels like a punishment and the more it starts to feel like home.

My Thoughts: Okay, this was really cute. Yes, it got pretty cheesy at times, but it still worked. And it’s a Christmas romance, after all, there’s gotta be a little cheesiness.

Matthew was a fun character, and even when he was being super unlikeable, you couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for him. His dynamic with his parents was interesting, and their relationship at the end was a lot more mature than I’d expected.

This book features a spoiled rich kid stuck in a small town, enemies to lovers, A Christmas Carol references, mental health focus (specifically anxiety), hot chocolate, found family, and the magic of Christmas.

(Also, I almost died laughing when Matthew tried to bake cookies but thought ‘beat the butter’ meant to literally punch it.)

Recommend to: Fans of cute Christmas romances set in small towns.

(Warnings: swearing; explicit sexual content; anxiety attacks)

Matthew Prince is the bratty, entitled, oblivious to the real world character we all actually love. Banished to live in the basement of his grandparent’s house with a stranger during the holidays, this cast of characters is sure to win you over.

In a beautiful growth over time, readers see the true morphing and layers peeled from Matthew’s carefully masked public personality. The struggles, mental health rep, aspirations, and heartbreak are a journey that felt real and very raw. I went in wanting to hate him but ended up relating Matthew to David from Schitts Creek and that is honestly the best comparison. The diversity of relationships and sexualities here was shocking in a fantastic way.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Timothy Janovsky for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review

As a huge fan of holiday Hallmark romcoms, I knew from the title and cover alone that I would love this book. And I love when I'm right!

Matthew Prince is your typical snotty kid: affluent, spoiled, and immature. When he gets involved with a PR disaster, he is forced to live with his grandparents. Of course, said grandparents live in a small town completely isolated from the rich world he used to live in. As if that all wasn't bad enough, Matthew is forced to share a room with his grandfather's nerdy student Hector.

This delightful one-room trope turns into a combined enemies to friends to lovers story between two men who grow so much even from their first meeting months ago. The mental illness depiction is sensitively handled, the chemistry between the characters is off the pages, and the pacing of the entire story was perfect. I devoured it in one sitting.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

This was adorable. It's very Hallmark/Netflix Christmas movie-esque. Spoiled city guy must spend Christmas in small town to learn lesson...and maybe find love. I love this trope. I really loved how this story played out and how everything ended up. It was very cute and heartwarming. Matthew and Hector are adorable and I love their dynamic. Another great addition to my holiday reading.

Let’s get one thing out of the way. I hated “dude” as a term of endearment.

Now that we are passed that, I had such a fun time reading this book! The author really knows how to write unlikeable characters. I say that in a good way. When we are first introduced to Matthew, I absolutely hated him. I wasn’t overly fond of Hector either, but liked him so much more.

However, I loved seeing them grow as individuals and as people in a relationship. I did suspect the twist during the third act breakup and I have to say that Matthew is a much better person that me. I would cut off my parents so fast.

This book definitely read more YA than adult, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it!

I unfortunately had to DNF this at around 70%. The amount of ‘dudes’ in this book is astronomical. 79 to be specific. That’s too many ‘dude’s for one book. I also just didn’t find myself loving the characters, which made it really difficult to read. I’m certain people will love this book, it’s sexy and fun and well written, it just wasn’t the book for me.