I started You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince worried I wasn’t going to like it, but came out like the Grinch at the end of the story—with my heart feeling fuller and bigger, reminded of the happiness of the holidays! Matthew Prince is young and spoiled and after a PR misstep his parents can’t ignore, he’s went to live with his grandparents parents in their small town where he’s forced to shred a room with Hector Martinez, a student who his grandparents are helping for the holidays. Matthew’s growth in this was really impressive. This story starts with what feels like a little too much introspection from a main character that feels super spoiled and immature. It was a little hard to get into, but worth the journey. His emotional growth is so strong, the anxiety rep is beautifully done, the acceptance from the community is lovely, and the chemistry of the characters develops into something special. It’s a great holiday read with some wonderful moments of vulnerability and some steamy moments with this enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity romance. Each side character really adds a lot. Noelle was a favorite of mine. It felt like a kind Schitt’s Creek story and it was just a story with a lot of heart! Really a great holiday book!

This heartwarming holiday M/M new adult romance started off a little rocky for me at first but won me over in the end. Matthew Prince is a spoiled rich NYC kid who gets sent to spend the holidays with his grandparents in the country. He's a very unlikable, privileged prick upon arrival but slowly starts to redeem himself when he starts helping with a holiday charity event and ends up falling for local townie Hector.

While there's really great anxiety rep in this book and wonderful found family, I didn't love the miscommunication, third act break up. Think Chuck Bass from Gossip Girl but make him gay and Grinchy and you've got a pretty good idea of Matthew Prince. Good on audio too narrated by Mark Sanderlin. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.