I love Laura Jane Williams and I did enjoy this story but it wasn’t my favourite of hers. It was easy to read but didn’t hook me like the others did.

Unfortunately, this book did not catch my attention. Originally, I was hopeful this would be a good read based off the description, but I just couldn’t get into it. Life is too short and my TBR is too long to force myself to read a book I’m not enjoying, so I DNF this one.

Thank you for this ARC! It was a lovely book to read at the holiday time. The characters were likable and the love story was charming. It put me in the spirit of the holidays. I loved all the details and imagery. I recommend this to anyone that likes to read for the season.

This has all the premise of a great romance book - fake dating and a gorgeous christmassy setting in Bavaria. The characters however, I found very difficult. Evie is cold and rude, and Duke is name dropping left right and centre.
I am very much for diversity and inclusivity within the books i read, but I feel like LJW shoehorns in these 'diverse' characteristics into her characters in a way that makes it feel like a tick box exercise which I don't enjoy either.

Not my favourite of her work in this instance.
Thank you for this ARC copy.

This is the third Laura Jane Williams book that I've read and sadly, it is my least favourite and by quite some bit.
I just found it difficult to connect both with the story and particularly with Evie, who is so cold and rude.
Making her American but then using British words and terminology, also held her at a distance for me.
I also wasn't a fan of Duke's constant name dropping either.
It's really tough to root for them or them getting together when I disliked them as much as I did.
I did like the festive setting and the behind the scenes peek that we get into the movie making business.
And I will be keeping an eye out for what she writes next, as when she tackles a more realistic romance or characters, I normally can't put her books down.
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a big fan of Laura Jane Williams writing and would consider her a go-to author for me now. I enjoyed reading Just for December - it featured the fake dating trope and I was rooting for the characters to get together. I liked how they bonded over their own relationships with their parents as well. The dual point of view meant I got a good understanding from both the characters on how they were feeling. The secondary characters also added a lot to the overall story, and I liked that it explored different friendships as well as the romantic situation. Overall, I loved the setting and thought it was a great festive read without going overboard on Christmas.
Generally, I don't like it when a lot of pop culture references are used, e.g. mention of celebrities, but it was more relevant in this book because of the Hollywood mover set setting. My only big criticism would be the missed opportunities between the two main characters as the story progressed. I found it a bit frustrating when they kept missing each other, but maybe I was just excited for them to finally get together.

Note: A big thanks to NetGalley and the author, Laura Jane Williams, for providing me with a copy of Just for December in exchange for an honest review.

I highly recommend this book. As someone who has enjoyed the author's work in the past, I was particularly impressed by the character of Evie Bird. She is relatable and handles her fears and challenges in a way that made me feel like I understood her and myself better. However, I did not like her judgmental attitude in the beginning. But, she redeemed herself as the story progressed. Duke Carlisle is charming and good-looking, with huge patience, especially towards Evie. This book was already one of my favourites this year, and it's a must-read for the holiday season. Reading this book was a fun and enjoyable escape to a film set, but it also provided me with some valuable life lessons. Whether you're looking for some holiday romance or just a great story, I can assure you that you won't be disappointed if you give this book a chance.

Evie Bird is a romance writer who’s estranged father is a famous movie director. When one of her books is turned into a movie, she goes to the shoot location in Germany, at Christmas time. She’s grumpy about it, and keeps her father a secret.
She meets Duke, a famous actor playing the male role. He’s as cheery
as Evie is grumpy. After they’re caught arguing, the producers etc decide that the only thing they can do to save the movie is to fake date each other.
Evie is not happy, but as she and Duke go on “dates” they start to develop real feelings. Can their relationship last beyond December?

I recommend this book, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Just For December
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Genre: Romance
Format: Kindle eBook
Date Published: 11/24/22
Author: Laura Jane Williams
Publisher: Avon Publishing
Pages: 384
GR: 3.35

I requested a digital advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Avon Publishing and providing my opinion voluntarily and unbiased.

My Thoughts: I finished this last month but am a little behind on publishing my reviews. This was an adorable, sweet holiday read. The story is narrated by both Evie and Duke in alternating POVs, my favorite type of storytelling. This follows fake dating trope, one of my favorites. A lot of reviews indicated a hard time connecting with the characters, but I connected immediately, and stayed connected throughout the story. Evie is standoffish, has been hurt before, has an addictive personality, and a flawed character. I think the one thing that would have solidified her character, is to show parts of her American Life, particularly the struggles through flashbacks. Duke was in a relationship that was not right for him, troubled past with his mother, strong, and makes the perfect hero. I think by introducing another trope to this storyline, it would have increased the plot a bit. However, I still throughly enjoyed the story and loved the storyline. The characters were developed well, had witty banter, chemistry, and were creative. The author’s writing style was crisp, funny, swoony, and kept me engaged. The German Christmas Market was described so well, that I felt like I was there. This story would be perfect for readers of The Holiday or The Santa Suit. I recommend picking up the book or the audiobook.

I liked this book but I wanted to love it! I honestly did not really cheer for Evie and Duke. I believe it was the feeling of the characters being underdeveloped.

I love a book set on a movie set and bonus points for a book set on a CHRISTMAS movie set. This is pure fun! Evie and Duke do not have a cordial relationship and when images are leaked online of them arguing. They begin to worry about the movie. Of course, there is only one solution. They must fake date! Like any good fake dating relationship love turns real.

I would love to see this as a movie, while making a movie! Thank you#Avon and #NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a great premise for a lovely Christmas romantic novel and it is a good book, but in my opinion it could have been much better.

The plot concentrates on Evie and Duke, she is an author whose work is being made into a film in which actor Duke is starring. After a comedy of errors the two agree it a fake romance for the sake of the film and the two bond over their shared troubled pasts.

The characters are likeable however the plot becomes less believable and I became less invested in the story. I liked the character of Magda, best friend of Evie and think she made the book a lighter more enjoyable read.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really liked one of Laura Jane Williams's books, so I keep reading her new ones in the hope that the next book will be good. It never is! Why do I keep doing this to myself!

Just for December is a Christmassy rom-com set in charming Bavaria; it follows bestselling romance writer Evie Bird (stupid name) and very famous actor Duke Carlisle (even stupider name) as they film an adaptation of one of Evie's books. I loved the Bavarian setting – I've seen photos of these towns during December, and they look gorgeous – and it was obviously a really easy, quick read, which is exactly what I was craving. But the writing was completely mediocre, the characters were paper-thin and the fake-dating scenario was completely unnecessary. Evie was also downright unpleasant for most of the book and she just really annoyed me, in a way that is probably okay for an 'unhinged woman' type of book but does not work for a romance. LJW has at least stopped shoehorning in her characters' 'diverse' characteristics, but she still does something that I find incredibly cringe: including real famous people as either cameos or her characters' friends. Because Duke is an actor, this book was absolutely rife with name-dropping: Owen Wilson advised him to do this and he'd spoken to Jennifer Aniston about something else and maybe he should give Ashton Kutcher a phone. I absolutely hated this and would like to never see this in any book again. Anyway, I'm sure you've grasped I did not love this book. It did get better as it progressed and Duke was an interesting character, but I think I'll probably forget this in about fifteen minutes' time.

A fabulously festive read with all the feel good aspects I've come to expect from Laura's books.
I really enjoyed this and it made me feel very warm inside.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. This one was cute. It took me some time to get into it, but I enjoyed the tension between the MCs and the author's sense of humor definitely shone through!

My thoughts




Narrative and Plot




Just for December isn't exactly a book taking place during Christmas. It is the weeks leading up to Christmas with a festive German backdrop. I ended up enjoying this book more than I thought I would. The story is told from both Evie and Duke's perspectives.


The plot is your hate-to-love/fake dating romance. It leans into all the romance read cliches while acknowledging all the romance cliches which is always fun.
The only thing to point out would be, it could have been shorter. Not that it got dragged, but the story took its sweet time to reach the finishing line in the latter half.





Characters and Conflicts

















Evie and Duke are just adorable romantic leads. The ensemble cast was vibrant, with Magda and Daphne adding character and color to the main leads.

Evie being a romance writer, doesn't exactly have a great love life for herself. Despite being a heartthrob and a hopeless romantic, Duke isn't exactly living the life of his dreams as well.


How these two come together and fall for each other while seeking some self-growth forms the gist of the story.
I love that there wasn't just this one big conflict that drove them apart. That's not how relationships work in real life most of the time. It is the combination of all those little things that we accumulate as a person and shapes our worldview. It is sometimes our own life experiences that form our opinions and make us view a situation in a certain light. Sometimes we tend to forget that the other person is flawed too, and can have apprehensions.

The story acknowledges all these things beautifully, all the while remaining light and fluffy. And then it blends back perfectly into a Hollywood rom-com ending.



Conclusion



Just for December is the perfect romance to pick up right before the holidays. It is picturesque and has an adorable love story and a little bit of self-growth and self-love. Now, who doesn't want all these things during the festive season?

I appreciate the opportunity to read this but I just couldn't get into it with its lack of focus. While the book blurb sounded promising and I was looking forward to a fun holiday read, this one just didn't meet expectations.

This was a really sweet romance and for once I actually found myself liking the male love interest more than the female. The setting was fun and I liked our main characters backgrounds and how it informed their personalities. Very glad I read this book

I love Laura Jane Williams’ romance novels but this one fell a bit short for me unfortunately. What I love about her writing is the genuine honesty of her characters: real characters in relatable situations. This novel felt a bit like it was trying to be too big for me: the Hollywood star and famous writer. I personally prefer her more understated characters and situations. I found it quite hard to warm to Evie and didn’t completely buy into the relationship between her and Duke. I also wasn’t a fan of the obvious use ‘tropes’ - fake dating with an element of enemies to lovers. I found her earlier plots slightly more natural and sweet. I also would have liked a more christmassy vibe from a book set in December.
Still enjoyable enough but not a patch on Our Stop or The Lucky Escape in my opinion.

Evie Bird is a romance writer whose latest bestseller is being made into a Christmas movie. Behind the scenes, she has a lot on her plate, with her mother in a care home, no relationship with her father and now a new book deadline on the horizon.

Duke Carlisle is a world-famous actor who has landed the role of leading man in the film. Fresh out of a relationship with his co-star Daphne, the atmosphere on set is a little fraught.

Evie is contractually obliged to appear on set as a consultant, and when she meets Duke it’s a frosty encounter. In fact, the only thing icier than their interactions is the snow that coats the Bavarian streets they are filming on.
But after images of them arguing leak to the press and put the movie in jeopardy, they are left with no choice but to fake date until the cameras stop rolling.

As the pair start to put their differences aside, gradually, somewhere along the Romantic Road, their feelings begin to thaw… But can sparks ever really fly in a snowstorm?

Initially when I started this book, I really didn’t like Evie, I felt she was rude and aloof, but as the story progressed, she thawed a bit and I ended up liking her!

It took me a little while to get into the story because of the block I had about Evie, however, I found that during the day when I was sitting at my desk at work, I was thinking about the story and the characters, and then by the end I had to stay up and finish it as I had completely fallen in love with them all!