I’m obsessed with Becca and her voice really shone through with this debut. It was sweet and comforting but never too cheesy. I definitely would recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my advance e copy of this book! All opinions and ratings are my own.

Wow this has been one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it did not disappoint! Hannah and Finn have been best friends since a fateful Christmas in college when they were the only two left in the dorms. Since then they spend every Christmas together and have added a few more friends into their Christmas Orphans Club. Full of witty pop culture references, found family, and Christmas spirit this book was such an amazing debut from Becca Freeman!

Loved it:
-Found family! This is easily my favorite trope in any book and this one was no exception
-The dual perspectives and timelines. It was so fun getting to see the present Christmas as well as ones from the past
-The love stories. Seeing each of the characters find their people was such a joy and I was rooting for all of them the entire time.
-Hannah! I have never related to a character more in a book I think ever. Hannah was such a great character to read about.
-The pop culture references. There were enough to place the book’s year but not too many that it felt cheesy. A lot of them also felt like a nod to the BOP listeners which I loved! (I’m looking at you combos and Terrance)

Didn’t love as much:
-I wish we got to see more from Priya’s and Theo’s perspectives, they were such great characters!
-How quickly the love story between Theo and Finn happened and fell apart and then resolved itself. It get a little rushed at the end

Hannah and Finn have been best friends since that fateful night these two Christmas Orphans turned what could be a lonely night for one into a new found celebration. Hannah is alone after tragically losing her parents just 3 months apart when she was 15. She has an older sister, but not much of a relationship with her. Finn is alone since being rejected by his father after coming out. He still keeps in touch with his younger sister, but secretly from the rest of his family. The night these two found each other they realized they found family. Fast forward a few years and add in Priya, who technically doesn't celebrate Christmas, and the ever elusive Theo who's family money supports his lifestyle, without a family to support his life. These four friends spend each Christmas together in highly unusual, but entertaining ways. That is until Finn announces he is moving to LA. Hannah is distraught. She wants everything to stay the same, but as we all know change is the only constant. Can Hannah let go and move on with her life? Will the friends find a way to grow in their personal lives and still keep their found family?

Wow—talk about Christmas in July! I am normally a person who saves holiday books for the time near that holiday, but I am so glad I didn’t do that with this one! I absolutely loved the friendship of Hannah, Finn, Priya and Theo in this story! Friendship was definitely the star of this book and for good reason, but the extra cute stuff between characters was fantastic. I really enjoyed the author’s shifts between past and present and just absolutely loved how real these characters felt—meaning, I didn’t like all of them all the time, but they often were characterized so well by the author that they felt real. Great story!

Very cute. I liked the romance subplots (and think they added necessary tension) but friendship was really the star of the book, including what happens it isn't perfect. Hannah can be very frustrating but I'm glad she "figured it out" by the end.

Having followed Becca for years I enjoyed the little personal touches from her life (Holbox, BC, etc). I also like reading all the weird New York Christmas things.

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman is a perfect read for not only Christmas in July or the actual December holiday but for readers who tightly cling to people and traditions to the possible detriment of both. The novel tells the story of Hannah and Finn, two best friends brought together by their absence of a family with which to celebrate Christmas, over the course of ten years. Along the way, they’ve gathered more orphans, Priya and Theo, and have established their importance in each other’s lives. When Finn’s seemingly last Christmas reveals itself, Hannah panics about making it perfect. The source of her panic isn’t just her best friend relocating for work. Freeman tiles a mosaic of asynchronous Christmases that shows that the tradition of togetherness is easier said than done. The non-linear disclosure of information makes for an engaging narrative that provides a well balanced amount of Hannah and Finn where the reader can see both protagonists’ perspectives.

Freeman seeds perfect cultural references throughout the text and it is clear that while the world changes, it feels like the relationship amongst the Christmas Orphans Club is encased in a snowglobe of good feeling. The characters exhibit a conversational ease that makes the reader want to know what their group texts and emails look like. Freeman explores the romance of friendship in a special way and imbues friendship with the same gravity given to romantic relationships. This book isn’t just about friends celebrating a holiday with their found family, it’s about navigating growing up and around the most important people in your life and holding each other accountable in order to maintain those friendships.

Thank you, Penguin Random House and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.

The cover and title of this book makes you want to curl up and dive into what promises to be an amazing story about the family we choose. I love that the story is not told in a linear fashion, but relies on flashbacks to past holidays to parse out the story of how Priya, Finn, Theo, and Hannah become the family they always needed to be. They have their traditions and make their holiday into whatever they want it to be. If they want to eat things that can only be cooked in a toaster, so be it. While we're distracted with their sometimes decadent choices we're reminded that with the good also comes the bad, and the truly awful at times, yet they're always there for each other, until a misunderstanding and fight tear them apart. When they finally find a way back together it's tenuous and they worry that it could be unraveled again and all of their hurts and truths come to the surface during what may be their last holiday together before everything changes. While it deals with some serious topics like parental death, this book is also very Christmassy and perfect for a last read of the year.
Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for allowing me to preview this title.

What a lovely surprise of a book! The writing sparkled. There was great banter and the humor of precise cultural references. The specificity of everything (the characters, the locations, what they were wearing) made it feel like watching a TV show. Each year's Christmas felt like a new episode. I did sometimes lose the thread of how far back in time we were jumping, but it didn't really matter.

I am going to be quick and honest with this one.

I lost interest by the third or fourth page. I had to force myself to read this one.

The characters were bland and boring. I never really felt like we get to know them at all by the end of the book.

I usually like the back and forth from present to past, but it didn't work for me. I don't think I have been so disinterested in a story before. That breaks my heart. I was really hoping to get a fun read in this book.

Overall, this is another case of a book that just wasn't for me.

I can't wait for the world to read The Christmas Orphans Club! Becca Freeman beautifully (and hilariously) captured the growing pains of your 20s. I loved watching these friendships unfold and evolve over the years! Looking forward to reading whatever Becca writes next.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the advanced copy!

Obsessed with this book! Loved the premise and the focus on friendship. Face paced and heartwarming while also touching on real life topics. Read this book!!

As a sophomore in college, Hannah (whose parents died when she was a teen) met Finn (thrown out when he told his parents he was gay) one lonely Christmas, and the day they spent together cemented their friendship. The next few years added Priya (from a non-Christian family) and Theo (neglected by his wealthy parents), and each Christmas they spent together found them bonding over unusual meals and activities, with plenty of heart and humor to make the holidays memorable. But after 11 years of depending on her found family for Christmas, Hannah worries that this might be their last: Finn is off to LA for a new job, Priya is increasingly busy with her job, and Theo travels so much, who knows where he will be? Not to mention, Hannah's boyfriend David is dropping hints that he'd like to make a major commitment to her. And Hannah isn't ready for her world to change so drastically.

Told from the perspectives of Hannah and Finn, this novel bounces from the present back through various past Christmases to show the development of this fun-loving and loyal friend group, through all their ups and downs. Because of this emphasis on only two POVs, Theo and especially Priya don't get quite as much character development as Hannah and Finn until the "present" Christmas unfolds later in the book, and even Hannah and Finn are slow to have more substance to their characters (especially in understanding why Hannah is so committed to this group's traditions). That's not to say that the characters aren't engaging: their banter and antics, along with their mutual support, keep the reader interested in the story when the plot meanders a bit. You will find some low-key romance in the book, but it definitely takes a back seat to the friendship.

An enjoyable story, just not quite as tight as I would have liked. 3 stars.

Thank you, Penguin Random House and NetGalley, for providing an eARC of this book. Opinions expressed here are solely my own.