It's a Fabulous Life is a retelling of the famous movie, It's a Wonderful Life. It was a fun story with some new characters and storylines. After years of putting aside her dreams of travel and adventure, Bailey George is ready to leave Lanford Falls and her responsibilities behind on a long-awaited vacation to New York City. (sound familiar) She had been the chair of Winter Wonderfest for years but gave it up this year. Unfortunately, the new chair had a medical emergency and Bailey is roped into taking over again. Bailey is a people pleaser and doesn't want to let her family, friends or neighbours down. Meanwhile there are some angels, who are also drag queens, who want to help Bailey realize how much she is valued. Clara Angel wants her wings and is supposed to help out. As Bailey tries to get organized, Maria, the girl she dated briefly in high school, returns to town and offers to help. Things don't go smoothly and on the day the festival begins, Bailey is on the old town bridge where she declares to Clara Angel that she wishes she had never been born. Poof! What changes in Lanford if Bailey hadn't been born.

This was a fun twist on the well known story that some people will enjoy and others will be upset with. How dare you mess with George Bailey and his story. This was a sweet Christmas story about finding your worth, second chance romance, frustrations, giving up on your dreams, friendship and more. As in the movie, Bailey realizes all she did in her life and those she touched. I enjoyed this story, with the characters, updated setting, and storylines. Pick this one up if you are looking for a feel good story with Christmas Magic. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Pete Cross. I enjoyed their narration and my listening experience.

This is a cute queer retelling of It's a Wonderful Life
It's full of festive cheer and reads just like a cheesy Christmas movie, which is just vibe I was looking for at this time of year. It even has magical drag queens! What more could anyone want?!

Well I suppose I could want more emotional depth and impact. It did feel very light on character development and I never fully believed in the relationship between the main characters. But it was so much fun and so I could forgive it for a lot of this.

I was given access to the audio of this book by the publisher via Netgalley. The audio was a quality production and both narrators gave great performances. Highly recommended!

“Somewhere in this town, there’s a person in despair. They don’t love the holidays anymore.” “In this town? That’s hard to believe.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

Bailey George just wants out of Lanford Falls for the few days leading up to Christmas. It is her first year not in charge of the Winter Wonderfest and she needs out; even if the elusive and beautiful Maria has returned. But when everything goes wrong and Bailey must save Winter Wonderfest, with Maria’s help of course, she cannot help but feel resentful. Can love, and a little drag queen magic help Bailey find her festive joy once again?

I loved this story! Bailey and Maria are such a cute couple and they had a lived in feeling, as did all of Lanford Falls. Their romance made sense and their reconnection took a little time. If you like sapphic love and puppies, as well as a wintery, Christmasy setting, there is no better book to get ready for the holidays. This was easily my favourite ‘traditional’ holiday read of the last couple of years.

As I listened to the audiobook, I should mention that both narrators did an excellent job. The characterisation and attention to emotional detail was spot on.

This is a sapphic retelling of Its a Wonderful Life where the angels are drag queens!!!! It was so fun and sweet and the perfect silly hallmark movie vibes that I love in a holiday romance. I read solely on audio and really enjoyed that format. I loved Bailey and Maria so much but loved their dogs even more! No spice, which felt like a personal attack against me because I didn't know this going in, but will be perfect for folks who prefer closed door romance!

Thanks Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

I’m unsure how I feel about this book; on one hand it was an enjoyable and fun Christmas story but I kept getting progressively more confused about the logistics and particulars of the drag queen angels if I have that correct…not a bad book just a bit confusing

Bailey George is looking forward to a much-deserved vacation to New York City after years of putting Lanford Falls first and giving up her high school dreams. When the woman who took over planning the Winter Wonderfest, Lanford Falls’ biggest event, has a medical emergency, Bailey has to cancel her vacation to step back in. Maria Hatcher, Bailey’s high school crush, has just moved back to town and offers to help Bailey with Winter Wonderfest, making it a little less painful to stay home. Still, Bailey wonders what life would be like outside of Lanford Falls, and drag queen Clara Angel will use her magic to show Bailey how much Lanford Falls really means to her.

This was an entertaining sapphic retelling of <i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i>, exactly what you would expect based on the title of the book (and its description). Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Pete Cross did an excellent job narrating the audiobook. If you are a fan of <i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i>, be sure to check this one out! If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I would recommend watching it first for full appreciation of this story and the way it has been updated.

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

I read about 60% of this one and still wasn't vibing with it so I ended up not finishing it unfortunately

✨[Cue Jimmy Stewart Voice]✨

As someone who watches It’s a Wonderful Life at least twice every Christmas, let me just say I KNOW that movie. So trust me when I say, It’s a Fabulous Life was such a faithful and charming take on the movie. I loved that the angels were drag queens and that Zuzu was an adorable doggo named Lulu.

The audiobook was a really quick listen with two great narrators. There wasn’t any spice, but the story didn’t really need it. I really think if you enjoy the movie, you’ll have a fun time with this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

It's a fabulous life is a very solid LGBTQI+ Christmas romance novel set in a winter wonderland. If this was a Netflix or Hallmark Christmas movie I'd be watching it ASAP. As one lead is looking to leave her hometown her high school crush returns and I think it is safe to say some chaos, romance and magic ensues. The pacing of this book is good kept me interested as I listened to the audio book narrated by Mia Hutchinson-Shaw and Pete Cross.

It gets a bit corny at times but isn't that the whole point of Christmas Romance?

Overall, a solid read/listen that is worth your time this Holiday Season.

Netgalley provided me with early access to this Audiobook in exchange for this review however all thoughts are my own.

A fun & festive read. This book is filling a gap in the market, and I look forward to seeing more from this author. A great book for library & bookshop christmas displays, and perfect with a cup of hot chocolate.

Thankyou net galley for this audiobook! This book was everything I love in a cheesy christmas movie and more! I’m so obsessed with the drag queens as angels and every interaction with them was perfect. As someone from a small town who often has a complicated love hate relationship with it especially around the holidays I definitely felt very seen by Bailey, so watching her come to the realisation of everything she has in her life and how important it was to her was just so heartwarming. It was the perfect cosy christmas story and I would love to see more of Bailey and Maria and of course their gorgeous dogs! Definitely a must read sapphic christmas story!

It’s a Wonderful Life…but make it queer AF? Yes please!

This was a fun and festive story filled with magical drag queen angels, adorable rescue dogs, mistletoe kisses, and second chances. The story is told primarily through the point of view of Bailey George, whose only goal this Christmas is to get as far away from Lanford Falls and Winter Wonderfest as possible. But once again, her plans for a vacation are derailed and Bailey reluctantly agrees to stay and help.

Maria Hatcher, Bailey’s childhood crush who broke her heart, just moved back and her new dog Rosie befriends Bailey’s dog Lulu at the local dog park. The two begin to reconnect as Maria helps Bailey save Wonderfest. And with Maria by her side, staying suddenly doesn’t seem so bad. Bailey is finally starting to see that maybe there is more to Lanford Falls. But when the disasters begin to pile up, it becomes hard to hold onto the happiness and joy she had begun to rediscover.

Cue Clara Angel. Throughout the story we get snippets of Clara’s point of view as she and the Angels (her drag queen angel family) attempt to transform Bailey’s heart. Clara is still learning how to use her powers and things don’t always go according to plan. But eventually the time comes for Clara to truly intervene and she shows Bailey exactly what Lanford Falls would be like without her.

I truly adored this story. I was laughing and smiling non-stop while listening. I loved the different narrators for Clara and Bailey and getting little snippets into the life of the Angels in their RV. They truly were fabulous and I wish I could go hang out with them! I was deeply invested in Bailey’s story and rooting for her and Maria from the start. Bailey’s group of friends was diverse and also just amazing - the best friends you could ask for. And then there was Lulu and Rosie!! Rescue dogs will always capture my heart! There is so much to love about this story and it was a perfect way to kick off my holiday reading!

This was such a sweet and tender Christmas book! I really enjoyed the audiobook, too. I especially loved the angel chapters! Kelly Farmer did a fantastic job creating a welcoming and inclusive small town romance. I can't wait to read more of her words!

I simply did not like this book at all. The idea was solid and this should have worked but everything just felt to cheesy and over the top. The romance felt fake and the angels chapters really annoyed me. It just felt like the author was trying to hard...

As soon as I found out this book was a modern sapphic retelling of ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ I knew it had to be my first festive season read for the year.

It’s a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer follows our main character Bailey George, who’s trying to escape the small town life and move to NYC. But just as she’s trying to leave, she gets dragged back into hosting Lanford Falls’ annual Winter Wonderfest like every other year. She’s burnt out and at her wits end with the overwhelming responsibilities but when she runs into her high school crush Maria Hatcher at the dog park, she realises that staying around for one more holiday season might not be as bad as it seems.

This book is full of so much Christmas Magic and the story is told from a dual POV of Bailey and Clara Angel - A magical and fabulous drag queen who’s tasked to help Bailey get her Christmas spirit back. I really loved the narrators of the audiobook and felt they brought the story together so well.

The romance itself has tropes of second chance romance and Grumpy x Sunshine vibes and I loved getting to know their history and watching their romance develop over the course of the novel (and also watching their dogs become best friends).

This read really put me in the holiday spirit and I even agreed to let my wife put up the decorations early for the first time in years.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for providing me with an ALC of this audiobook.

It is very nice to have more queer rep in books, especially rom com type ones that typically lean heavy on heterosexual tropes. This was not a big hit for me. I did not connect to the characters and did not love the plot line a ton though. It felt like a straight rom com where the characters were simply swapped for queer stand ins. I think people will enjoy the Christmas backdrop and it is cute in parts. I also did this as an audiobook. So, I always attribute some of my lack of enthusiasm to potentially be from the miss on audio. Reading this book may have made it a totally different vibe.

For the Christmas spirit and gay rep, I give it credit. The audiobook aspect was a miss for me though.

3.5 stars but I'll round down to 3.

Christmas is in the air and not all are happy about it. A beloved holiday becomes the opposite when the weight of it falls on Bailey. Dreams and hopes are held back one more time and when everything that could go wrong does go wrong, she can't take it anymore. But beloved angels are there with a very clever and magical way to remind her (and us) that because things could be different doesn't mean that it could be better. Beautiful, magical and fun.

Now on why I only gave it 3 stars instead of 4. I felt like the word "said" was tepeated a bit too much. I'm sure there are other words to replace it. There were sentences were I heard it more than once. Doesn't bother everyone but it bothers me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for an Arc of It's a Fabulous Life by Kelly Farmer in exchange for my honest opinion. This was the perfect sapphic romance that got me in the mood for the upcoming holiday season.

It's a Fabulous Life is a cheery sapphic romance based on It's a Wonderful Life. After finally working up the nerve to travel during her small town's big holiday festival, Bailey George always finds a reason to stay. This time, the new holiday festival coordinator needing to step down from directing the festival, and the city desperately needs Bailey to step in and save Christmas.
Her small town's well-being, paired with Bailey's high school crush coming back to town *single*, Bailey could never leave.

Bailey's small town got me in the Christmas spirit, and I enjoyed this book. Bailey and Maria had a fun, lowkey attraction that grew over their love for the town. This is the perfect read for anyone looking for a modern retelling of a cult Christmas classic that focuses on being grateful for what you have and finding the best out of every situation.

Bailey George has been running Lanford Falls’ annual Winter Wonderfest for years now and she’s tired. It’s drained her and taken a toll on her love for Christmas and the town. With someone else in charge this year, Bailey is thrilled to get out of town for a while, maybe permanently, for a much needed vacation. Yet, life seems to have other plans. At least her high school crush is going to be around to help pull everything together.

When I saw this, I thought it sounded like a cute sapphic holiday read, so I was pumped when I received an ARC. Then I started reading and realized that this was an It’s a Wonderful Life retelling (when I tell you I was embarrassed it took me so long to put together). It only made me more excited to dive in and I did end up enjoying this one.

The characters here were wonderful. Bailey is a character that is incredibly relatable. She desperately needs a break, but struggles to really establish her boundaries and tell people no. She’s burnout and feels stuck where she is at and clawing at anything she can to get away and figure out who she is beside the individual who is there to help and make sure the town remains special and has it’s Winter Wonderfest that brings so much to the town. Her storyline is one that I imagine a lot of people can see relate too which could really pull them into the story.

Maria, the love interest, is full of life. She really feels like sunshine. She’s bright, cheerful and really does her best to help Bailey see all the good things about the town. Maria really does her best to be there for Bailey and clear up the issues they had from the past. Maria is lovely and I adored her with all my being.

If you are wanting a holiday book that really focuses on the holiday aspect, this is the one. At every turn there is some aspect of it, which I adored! It was woven into and throughout the story really giving it life and making it feel like the holiday book that I have been searching for for a while.

The narrators for this were wonderful. They sold the story and really kept me invested and interested in the story.

It’s a Fabulous Life was the perfect holiday read for me. I found it to be a good retelling and really captured the holiday feeling I was looking for. I imagine this is one that I will end up coming back to over the years.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC. Opinions here are my own.