Really great YA book about sapphic love! Loved the Jewish representation and authentic characters. A great cozy, winter read.

This book was not for me, but I loved the premise! We need more queer love stories out there, and I definitely think this is a good start. Thanks to netgalley for the arc!

A cute holiday romance not necessarily centered on Hannukah or Christmas that can remind us that there's magic to the season even without those holidays getting involved

This. Book. Was. Everything. Warm and fuzzy LGBT romance, Jewish protagonists, Natural History Museum fossils, adorable dogs, boarding houses, National Gallery art museum dates, a main character with flaws and OCD tendencies, glorious A+ banter, Hanukkah and New Years - literally all the best things. I mean, one of the chapters is literally called Thomas the Tank Engine has Risen from his Slumber, which is my exact brand of humor. While being sweet and funny, this book also discusses past relationship trauma that may be triggering for some readers (the author put a TW at the beginning).

Librarian friends: It's got a little spice and the characters are in college, so I think this will appeal to older high schoolers.

How to Excavate a Heart is an adorable rom-com that is the perfect cozy read for a winter’s day. From the delightfully sassy chapter titles, to the interactions between the characters, this book oozes charm, and it’s very easy to become invested in the characters and their relationships with one another. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this book and the ups and downs of Shani and May’s relationship. Would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a queer romcom!

a fun holiday read! great cast of characters with honest teen themes. perfect for this time of year.

3.50 Stars. This was a very cute holiday romance, but it wasn’t what I was expecting to read. I’ll go into the whys more but overall; I still thought the story was very sweet and cute and I enjoyed the read for the most part. The holidays don’t play as big of a role as I expected, and in the book the characters celebrate New Years so reading the book now, as of writing this review, would fit perfectly.

I had two misconceptions coming into reading this book. One was my fault, the other I’m blaming on the book blurb. The first was that I thought that this book was going to be more NA, than YA. If you follow my reviews, you will know that I love YA, but in this case, I thought this book was going to be more New Adult since Shani having a month-long palaeoichthyology internship in D.C., sounded that way to me. I didn’t realize Shani was actually going to be a very immature college freshman on winter break.

My other issue is that this was promoted as an enemies to lovers, romcom. I’m a big fan of the enemies to lovers trope. I love when there is dislike to even hate energy between two characters that can produce its own type of chemistry that when done well makes a great love chemistry. Unfortunately, here this was not a case of enemies, it was not even really a case of dislike. I don’t want to ruin how the characters meet, as it is interesting and I liked it, but it’s not a case of bad blood, just oddity and fate playing around. There are no enemies to lovers in this romcom and I hate to say this, but this isn’t really a romcom either. Just because a romance is cute and mostly feel good, does not a romcom make. I feel like people slap this label on everything nowadays, but the “com” part actually means “comedy” and I’m sorry, but I did not laugh once during this book so where is the comedy part? It was cute and sweet, but that means it is a “holiday romance” not an “enemies to lovers romcom”.

In the end, if you want a cute and sweet YA sapphic holiday romance, that stays mostly on the surface, and doesn’t dig too deep, this might be the book for you. While I found that I could not get into the romance, as it didn’t feel deep enough for me, it is explained later in the book why it was done that way, so I found other scenes I enjoyed more. I think the museum scenes were my favorite parts, and clearly done with the author’s love, and they reminded me how much I miss them since I haven’t seen any since the pandemic hit. I also fell in love with one of the cutest dogs ever. This wasn’t the book I was looking for, but it still had some nice moments and I expect that readers looking for a sweet YA holiday romance will enjoy this more than I did.

This was a delightful read! I highly recommend this book for those looking for a cozy holiday story with likeable characters.

This was really sweet, and although I loved the concept, I don't think the writing is enough to make this really stand out from other YA romcoms. The plot felt a little disjointed, and the romance felt sort of forced. I'd still recommend it for a sweet sapphic holiday romance, but I'm not raving about it.

Did not finish. Did not grab my attention and it wouldn’t sell in my library. No hook, no real storyline that connected

This book was ADORABLE. Jewish, winter, queer rom-com fun. It was funny, sweet and sassy, full of fun holiday and wintry moments. Enemy to lovers trope (one of my faves!), is well-written and has great characters (most of the side characters are pretty flat, but the main characters are great). Read it in two days— didn’t want to put it down!

Plus there’s a corgi and a fabulous 96-year-old named Beatrice I want to be best friends with. And so much geeking out about science and fun things.

This book is very heartfelt and endearing, especially regarding coming out, dating, and relationships (especially queer ones). As someone who’s never dated, I felt deeply the feelings of fear and inadequacy May AND Shani both experience as they navigate their new experiences, together and apart. It also touches a lot on single mom-daughter relationships which is EXTREMELY RELEVANT TO MY LIFE.

If you’re looking for a quick, sweet, and fun rom-com for your holiday break, this one is worth visiting

This book was absolutely adorable! I love this book, from the romance to the more intense topics that it covered. It did so in a very easy way, if assault can be talked about easily, but it was very smooth. Plus, the two girls were so relatable and adorable. As a queer Jewish person myself, I loved this. Definitely recommend for anyone who needs a happy and cute winter romance

I loved this and think it's real bizarre and off-putting (to say the least) of the publisher to change the name of a book about two Jewish lesbians to include Christmas, especially in the current political climate.

THIS WAS SO CUTE. It definitely felt like an early Morgan Matson book. I loved that our main characters were so passionate about their respective interests, that they were able to work through those obsessive first conversations when you start crushing on someone, that they learned to communicate and work through personal/family issues together. And Raphael the corgi was the best bonus. This read like a young queer holiday movie, and it was a joy. Also - I love seeing Jewish representation during the winter season! I can't wait to read more from Jake Arlow.

This was the book I’ve been waiting for! I had such a fun time reading this. I was really sucked in. The plot and characters were wonderful. Such a great read!

I was really, really not expecting the turn this very cute looking story took. Simply put, I loved it until I really, really didn't. It's clear early on that Shani had a bad first sexual experience, but there's no indication that it was possibly sexual assault until near the end. For something marketed as a holiday romance, I expected the problem to be body issues or or something awkward happening. I felt blindsided when this fairly light-hearted teenage love story turned dark.

Sometimes a meet-cute is running into someone at a cafe or a bookshop, and sometimes it's quite literally when your mom almost runs them over with her car during a blizzard.

Shani is not having a super great time. Her first-ever girlfriend just broke up with her and she's fighting with her mom, but at least she's just moved down to DC to work a winter paleoichthyology internship of her dreams. And then her mom almost runs someone over with her car. What a way to start a new beginning.

How to Excavate a Heart is the sapphic Jewish holiday romcom of your dreams and I adored every minute of it. It's rare that a book has me glued for hours, but I literally could not put this one down. Each character was so full of life that they at times had me laughing and crying - and I especially loved Shani and May. I don't want to spoil too much, but everything that happened was so incredibly realistic and well-handled. It was a refreshing discussion about relationships - those we have with romantic partners, parents, friends, and even co-workers.

I cannot recommend this book enough, put it on the top of your list for holiday romcoms.

Huge thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Chilrens Books for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest and fair review.

How to Excavate a Heart is about Shani, a heartbroken college student, that is traveling to her winter break internship. She's vowed that she is going to dedicate herself to her internship in order to forget about her ex and get over her broken heart. But on the way to drop Shani off for her internship, her mom literally runs into somebody with her car. The girl is fine, although angry, so Shani and her mother continue on their way. Little does Shani know that she will wind up encountering the girl again and she could never guess what the repercussions will be.

Before reviewing this book, I want to state that I feel it fits better into the NA (New Adult) category (ages 18-29) rather than YA (ages 12-18). My reason for this statement is that the characters in this book are college age and the experiences and issues they face are consistent with coming into adulthood (sex, drinking, college, living away from home, etc).

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The author did a great job building up a fun, banter-filled relationship between the two main characters that really help them connect with each other. I really appreciated that there were moments in the story where mental health, co-dependence, and developing individuality were highlighted. Shani came across at times as being self-absorbed and/or ignorant toward what was going on with those around her, but I think that was just a part of her character. I think that a lot of Shani's experiences and reactions are common amongst developing adults and she'll be a character that many can relate to. This book takes place over winter break and although the characters are Jewish, they still partake in some (not all) Christmas festivities. I'm hesitant to compare it to a Christmas rom-com because although Christmas is part of the story, it's not the main focus. I would say it's definitely a winter rom-com though.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the opportunity to review an eARC of How to Excavate a Heart by Jake Maia Arlow.

This book was sometimes hard to read through, but only because of its necessity. It highlights growth in love, and even gives a lesson about not being so lovestruck by a partner in the beginning of a relationship, which is not often advice given to young adults (but should be). It's funny because in my mind, I kept imagining May as Shani is depicted on the cover of the book knowing it's the other way around. Overall, the book was a wonderful queer YA romance novel.that I think everyone would benefit from reading.

Shani begins her first college winter break reeling from her first heartbreak, being a jerk to her sweet Jewish mother, and intent on burying her feelings in work at an internship in DC. That is, until she crashes (literally) into a girl named May and insecurities get brought to the surface in a way that was endearing but also frustrating.

I thought this book would be new adult, but it screwed a bit young adult for me. There were some very witty lines, yet Shani’s inner dialogue became repetitive after awhile and I wanted to scream at the characters to JUST. COMMUNICATE. I also thought there was a lot of potential for the side characters and their personalities and storylines to be developed a bit more. I was hoping for more of the “found family” trope in Beatrice’s house, or even with Shani’s supervisor, Mandira, but it all was left feeling a little surface level.

Overall, a solid debut novel though and I will take any sapphic holiday rom-com I can get. 3.75 stars.