“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?”

This books was enjoyable, but struck me as Diet Schitt’s Creek.

There were funny moments, and sweet moments, and moments where spoiled rich boys don’t know how to cook, (Fold in the cheese!), and I might be unfair in my comparison to that show, but Matthew and Hector didn’t burrow as deep into my heart the way David and Patrick did.

I think the ask – that Matthew change his entire personality in two weeks – was a little too much.

I did, very much, like the representation of Matthew’s anxiety disorder, and his subsequent panic attacks. It ventured a little to close to Mental-Illness-as-Character-Traits for my liking.

“Matthew has GAD, so he MUST have hidden depths!”

Or, he could just be a shit person with shit brain chemistry.

That said, there was one thing this book gets completely and irrevocably correct.

The Muppets Christmas Carol is absolutely the best version of Dicken’s classic.

6.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, SourceBooks Casablanca for this festive ARC.

Mathew Prince I don't think is mean, I think is he is spoiled, misguided, and lost. He is a NY high society socialite because of his mom being a best seller of a popular book series and rich dad. He gets shipped off to his grandparents house after acting out from buying an island after is polyamorous relationship ended.
It is there that he finds that he has to room with a man named Hector. Hector is staying with Matthew's grandparents while he finishes his semester at college there. Matthew is aghast that he has to sleep in the basement and share bunk beds with him. Matthew however does know how to throw... or should I say delegate a mean party. He and Hector have been volunteered to throw a fundraiser to help the small businesses in town around Christmas. Through this Matthew starts to change and discover new things about himself and sparks fly between him and Hector. This was a cute holiday read and I recommend giving this one a try to get you into the holiday spirit.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of Your a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky. I don't think he's mean, I just think Matthew hasn't lived enough. His life has been pampered, he goes through trials to find out what's really important.

Hallmark movie "Big city socialite is stuck in small town for the Holidays and falls in love with both said town and cute guy" plotline except everyone's queer. A cute and fun time, if sort of overly saccharine for my taste. I absolutely do not mind "cheesy holiday rom-com with gay people" but some scenes just ended up seeming really trite, and the end tied up so quickly and conveniently. I also understand that Matthew is supposed to be obnoxious, especially early in the book, but some of his internal monologue is just so grating and over-the-top. Regardless, it was sweet and charming, and I will keep an eye out for Janovsky's next release.

*dnf @ 48%...for now at least*

I looked at how long was left and rolled my eyes because how was I not already at least half way through this...it reminded me of 'it happened one summer' by tessa bailey; rich kid does something bad and is sent to an ex hometown that has a lot of family history but the mom left for the big city and now its awkward for the MC to be there and the MC has to adjust from a massively privileged life to the 'simple life'...except Matthew Prince is so fucking annoying. He is so in his head and privileged and I'm sure that was the point when the author was writing this since it's a huge plot point but it was unbearable to listen to and finish (for me at least). There are also a LOT of "subtle" stereotypes that kept jumping out and taking me out of the story even more then the MC/narrator being if i'm honest completely insufferable. I know there is going to be a lot of people who like the book but I was not one of them.

Small town holiday romance?
You know I was in!
I really enjoyed this adorable queer romance set in a super cute town!
Lots of fabulous side characters and much holiday shenanigans.
I knocked a star off for the overuse of the word dude.
If it had only been used 3-5 times instead of the 7,349 times (estimate based on my feelings and not an actually count of the usage) I might have given this 5 stars.
Much love to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my DRC.

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and selfish. After buying an island, his parents cut him off and banish him to his grandparents for the holidays. The problem is Hector, a grumpy local is living there too and getting under Matthew’s skin.

Soon these enemies need to put their differences aside while they work to host the town’s Christmas fundraiser. I loved the holiday seasons and the way the boys went from enemies to friends to more.

Spoiled little rich boy, Matthew Prince decided to branch out on his own from his wealthy, uninvolved parents and buy an island. When his parents catch wind of it and the public relations nightmare he has created for them, he is sent to his grandparents’ cabin in a small town upstate. Begrudgingly, Matthew volunteers to coordinate the town holiday gala in hopes of getting back to Manhattan in time for New Year’s Eve and his own fabulous party. He just wants to put his head down and get to work when local hottie Hector Martinez enters the picture as his co-coordinator. Now if Matthew could only simmer down his attraction to Hector, he can get the gala off without a hitch and move on with his life.

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince is an interesting take on the Grinch or a grumpy-sunny romantic comedy, with a sunny, happy go lucky personality in Matthew and Hector playing the annoyingly lovable grump. As in the Grinch, Matthew undergoes quite the growth arc when he realizes that his Manhattan friends are only around for his money and fame, but his family and the small town’s residents he’s come to love are real. I loved the easiness and lightness in the flow of the writing, the cast of quirky and endearing town folks, and the spicy emotional scenes. I’m glad I read this holiday romance that isn’t your typical TV movie style.

Loving the holiday rom-coms this year! I didn't love the beginning and it took a few chapters for me to really get on board, but once the story picked up I was hooked. A solid 4.5 for me, but I'm rounding up because I loved the depictions of anxiety and Matthew and Hector are adorable.

This was a holiday queer rom-com done right, and I enjoyed every minute of it; especially with Mark Sanderlin's fantastic narration. Very rarely do I pick up a book that can fill me with all the right feels that i’m craving lately, but this managed to do just that.

One of the things I loved about this is the LGBTQ representation. Not only was the main character gay, but the primary love interest was bisexual, and there were some sapphic side characters as well. With no blatant homophobia in sight,that I can recall. And not only that it had some great mental health representation thrown in there too, which is very important especially while dealing with the LGBTQ community, since I feel it doesn’t get talked about enough, and in this day and age the more books with this kind of representation the better.

The romance was also done perfectly, in my opinion. A slow burn that was not exactly enemies to lovers, but more of opposites attract, or maybe something in the middle; but all the same, I loved their dynamic. Everything felt like it happened so organically, right down to their first kiss. I seriously lost count of how many times I had a stupid smile on my face. While watching their relationship develop, I absolutely adored it!

Now let’s talk about character development! I always give props when authors manage to do some amazing character development; and Mathew’s development was so natural and made him go from such an annoying insufferable character to someone that I not only grew very fond of, but someone I sympathized with as well. So I’m going to take this moment to give major props to Timothy Janovsky for that. Of course, his development wouldn’t have been as successful without an amazing bunch of loveable side characters and a fake friend that he needed to get rid of along the way. And I loved getting to know every single one of them. Especially Hector, for obvious reasons.

Now you might be wondering if I loved it so much. Why 4 stars instead of 5? And I have 2 words for that contrived drama . I get every rom-com needs some kind of drama, but like I said this felt contrived, but this was just a small nag of mine. If I’m being honest I actually liked seeing this drama unfold, even though it annoyed me a bit, so yeah I’m a bit of a hypocrite that way.

Anyway, this was an overall, charming yet swoony holiday queer rom-com that I highly recommend!

I love the depiction of mental health in this book. Matthew (the main character) calls his anxiety Krampus and I really like giving anxiety a name. Matthew was pretty unbearable at the beginning of the book but that’s the point of the book. The relationship is really believable and the way it develops is too. My only complaint is with the third act breakup. Not the breakup itself but the drama surrounding it. Matthew’s mom blaming it on Hector, whether they were dating or not, was pretty unforgivable. From what I remember, she never acolites to Hector and Matthew forgives her way too quickly in my opinion.

Matthew Prince is a spoiled rich kid who never really had to grow up or deal with any consequences due to the wealth and distanced parenting style of his mom and dad. Imagine his surprise when he's sent off to his grandparents' cabin after an investment gone awry.

Grumpy city vibes and small town northeast Christmas - this was a fun spin on a Christmas romance that makes me want the holidays to come soon! I enjoyed it via audiobook and liked the development of characters throughout the book!

(and this is the perfect audiobook to listen to while baking!)

Thank you to Netgalley and to Dreamscape for the ALC.
#YoureaMeanOneMatthewPrince #NetGalley

This book was just okay. I didn't particularly care for the main character or the love interest so it was hard to connect with them. I did enjoy the small town and thought by the end the main character had made a lot of growth.

The narrator for this did a great job. The only complaint I have about the audio is that the consistent use of the word 'dude' got a little annoying while listening.

Overall I think this may be a good fit for someone, but it just wasn't the right book for me.

I do enjoy this author's writing style, so I will continue to check out future books by him.

An entitled rich boy gets sent to stay with his grandparents in small town New York after a PR disaster threatens his parents' reputation in this holiday romance featuring a character rediscovering his love for the holidays. Matthew isn't looking forward to a holiday without parties or friends or NYC, but when he realizes he isn't even going to get a room to himself, he's certain this Christmas is going to be a disaster. He's been cut off and his new roommate, Hector, is judgmental and rude. But Matthew isn't exactly brining a jolly holiday spirit, either, and as he begins to reconnect with his grandparents and open up to Hector, he begins to remember all the things he used to love about the holidays. As he spends time with family and new friends and helps put on the small town's holiday fundraiser, he realizes just how unfulfilled a life he's been living. It's exactly the sort of Scrooge rediscovers the joy of Christmas story you'd hope for with a title like this. And I really loved the GAD rep and the m/m romance with a bi love interest. Plus Matthew's grandparents! I would do anything for Matthew's grandparents.

I loved this book! It’s been a while where I listened to an audiobook that I didn’t want to put down but I listened to this one in about 3 days. There were so many things I loved about this book! I loved the depth and character development we got from Matthew. Matthew has generalized anxiety disorder and throughout the story we see how some of his mistakes could have been appeals for attention from the people around him and his parents. I thought the narrator conveyed these emotions in the audio book fantastically. I loved Hector as a love interest and was rooting for him and Matthew this whole time.

I do think the idea of class with Matthews family could have been expanded on a little bit more but I still really enjoyed it. I thought the narrator was fantastic throughout the story!

This is such a fun holiday read!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for a copy of this audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5

This reads as a typical Hallmark Christmas romcom with the expected tropes, but luckily I eat that shit up. Plus, this one is queer!

I thought this was very cute, and the audiobook narrator did a great job. I really liked the two main love interests. Matthew did take some time to grow on me, but I appreciated his arc and the focus on mental health. Hector was adorable, even if he did say "dude" a lot. The story also kind of felt like a Schitt's Creek David x Patrick Christmas fanfic, but that's definitely not a bad thing in my eyes.

Some small things: the writing didn't always work for me. It sometimes came off as too unnatural and forced. It did also drag a bit for me in places too, mostly in the beginning before the plot really began to take off.

Overall, a fun and cute read, especially if you like Christmas romance. A+ on that book title too.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy!

A solid 3.5 stars that I'm rounding up! A cute, cheesy, Hallmarky style romance.

Matthew is rich, shallow and, at first, VERY hard to like. But then we start to see below the surface. He clearly has anxiety and isn't as confident as he wants you to believe. As we start getting his backstory, we leave that he is sad and that he comes from a family with parents who are more focused on work and he isn't shown much love and affection. He's lost and trying to find his way. And I think being a jerk is a defense - he's scared to let people get too close.

He's Grinchy about Christmas. But you will get to see his heart grow several sizes!

I enjoyed the friendships he forged. I liked the romance with Hector. I liked his interactions with his grandparents. And I loved when he laid it all out for his parents about their parenting, or lack thereof.

Hector's use of the word "dude" drove me batty, although I do believe it's common with men this age. And some of the conversations were odd and not natural.

Overall though, a cute holiday story! And Matthew grew on me as he went on (anyone else seeing him in their mind as David from Schitt's Creek?)

Many thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for my ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This physically pains me but I did not love it and I wholeheartedly expected to. An entitled dude gets shuttled off to his salt of the earth grandparent's house after a series of mistakes and falls for a local man who is nice to his grandparents? Did I mention when we meet Hector he's chopping wood in a flannel? Catnip.

Unfortunately, the story had oodles of opportunity for character development for Matthew but at the end I'm afraid I still found him as unlikeable as I did at the beginning. I love when people are extra because I'm an introvert and like to see them go have a great time and live vicariously. But his extraness felt false and made the whole book feel like a shade of secondhand embarrassment because he would do embarrassing things and be privately horrified but publicly thrilled.

This had all the makings of a Hallmark Christmas special (plus a little rated R action) and I was checking them off as I went: quirky coffee shop owner, Christmas tree farm, finding the missing Christmas vibes from his life, big winter gala. I just found everyone in Matthew's NY life to be intolerable (except for Oksana and Maxim).

Thank you to Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are my own.

This didn't work for me. I tried reading Matthew as David in Schitt's Creek, which only helped a little bit. Unfortunately this was insufferable; there were meddling grandparents, super pretentious and over the top lead, a tiny town where a spoiled rich kid is banished for the holidays, and some party planning. I will say the anxiety & panic attack rep felt like a good addition.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince was a sweet romance that will put a smile on any reader's face. Javovsky's holiday romp will speak to a younger audience seeking a heartwarming cross-over book, as Matthew Prince undergoes a Hallmark-esque transformation.