I did enjoy parts of this and it was fun overall, but as I was reading this book, I couldn't figure out if it was attempting to be more of a mystery or a rom-com. I find few authors do this mix well, and this was no exception.

I have liked other books from this author. I thought this sounded interesting. It was a bit too much rom-com and not enough mystery for me. I really did have a hard time connecting with the characters which also made reading this less fun.

I was intrigued by the synopsis but the book is so poorly written that it was a struggle to finish it. I do not recommend this book.

This is a light, cozy locked room mystery novel that’s perfect for the upcoming festive season. It’s not heavy handed on Christmas festivities, so all can enjoy whether you celebrate the holiday or not!

I actually have read her YA mystery spy books back in the day as a pre-teen (Gallagher Girls series), and it was such a wonderful throwback to see those titles, those covers again!! I completely forgot about this series, it was a faint memory from childhood that has been sparked upon looking her up on Goodreads as I was reading this Adult Mystery eARC!

Loved the retro feel of the cover, that’s what appealed to me. Again, like I said it’s a nice lighthearted read! I liked the set up in location and the famous author and the authors angle. I liked the chapters with the Q & A, line of questioning, that was fun and kept the interesting going! I love how the ending sentence tied the story together.

I did find the mystery and the romance didn’t marry quite well together, it was a bit choppy to me. The romance came on quick and was forced into the scenes where the mystery aspect was taking place. I found the FMC put damsel in distress to the extreme in the sense that she was constantly insecure, needing reassurance, on the brink of tears. Her backstory too got to be overwhelmingly tragic when we had already felt for her as a reader (wine cellar part could’ve been omitted, didn’t feel authentic). The MMC kept calling the FMC “sweetheart” and I didn’t care for it. I thought it was unnecessary to have Ethan’s POV in the story, the switch to his POV didn’t add anything to me - I would’ve been fine if it was just the FMC’s POV and the line of questioning chapters.

Overall I would recommend this cozy mystery with a side of rom-com for the winter season and would try out another one of her Adult novels.

Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager (HCC Killer Crime Club) and Netgalley for an eARC copy!

I’m not sure how to give this feedback. I don’t hate it but I just haven’t connected to it. I started it and then stopped reading and I’m gonna pick it up again but I think for me I’m struggling to read. So this is a DNF for now.
I will rate it a 2 for now because what I did read I enjoyed I made it about 70 pages in. I just struggled to pick it back up.
The cover though is my favorite thing

The perfect cozy Christmas whodunnit! One of my favorite reads of the year!

Two rival mystery authors get invited to the home of the Eleanor Ashley queen of cozy mystery books for Christmas? Count me in! Think Knives Out with the coziness of Christmas and a good splash of romance added in.

The locked room mystery was so intriguing and fun and felt very Agatha Christie-esque. The setting of the snowy mansion really set the scene for some quick paced mystery sleuthing. I loved seeing the mystery in the eyes of mystery authors. I would have never guessed the ending, so bravo!

I loved our main gal Maggie and getting to see her character development throughout the book was a great element that showcased what I feel a lot of women go through. Her relationship with Ethan was so fun to watch unfold from the beginning to the very end. I think Ally Carter writes perfect romance subplots. Not too much and not too little.

Read if you like:
- Knives Out or Only Murders in the Building
- well done whodunnit
- cozy Christmas sweaters
- laugh out loud banter
- secret passageways

Thank you Netgalley and Avon books for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

All the fun and cozy Christmas murder mystery vibes!! I had so much fun reading this book 🙌 Two rival authors sent to a surprise location for Christmas then having to solve a mystery together while attempting to stifle their growing feelings for each other?! Yes please!!! Thank you to NetGalley and Avon or Harper Voyager for an ARC in exchange for an honest review 💚

This was a really fun enemies to lovers, he falls first, dual POV, forced proximity, holiday romcom murder mystery that has two rival mystery authors accepting a trip to England where they find themselves stuck trying to figure out who killed one of their favorite authors. I loved that the book is dedicated to all the women who have been gaslighted in their lives as the main female character, Maggie, has recently divorced her toxic ex who constantly belittled her. Not feeling in the holiday spirits at all, her editor convinces her to take this trip where she discovers the man she thinks hates her actually has been secretly pining after her from their very first meeting. Amazing on audio narrated by Saskia Maarleveld, this is a standout holiday read for the 2024 season! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

A RomCom mystery that forgot the Com part.

I’ll preface this review by saying that if you like tropey Romance, you’ll probably like this book a lot better than I did. I enjoyed Ally Carter’s last RomCom/Mystery hybrid The Blonde Identity, but it’s a much funnier, more clever story.

The mystery here is fine if predictable, and the premise was a good one, just not one that was executed with a lot of success. Carter’s last novel felt like campy, action-driven fun, and had some uniqueness to it. This was mostly a slow slog through two unappealing people fumbling toward a romance with a mystery going on in the background. And no, none of it actually has anything to do with Christmas.

There’s probably an audience for this, but it’s not for the mystery audience, and also probably not for the RomCom audience if you care about the comedy part of that, as I don’t think I laughed at all.

Was it weird to read a Christmas book in September? Yes. But did I love this book? Yes.

It kept me on my feet the entire time and I was trying to figure out who did it until the very end. I loved how it was equal parts romance & mystery and Ethan is my new book boyfriend.

This is an absolutely delightful, locked room mystery! The publisher for Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt has received an invitation for both authors to fly, all expenses paid to the home of mysterious fan in England at Christmas. They are soon airborne and arrive to find the "fan" is the famous mystery author, Eleanor Ashley, now 81! Maggie and Ethan are not fond of each other but thrilled to meet Eleanor. Eleanor's family arrives, and everything seems to be going well until a blizzard descends and Eleanor disappears from her own study! Ally Carter has written an amazing, twisty mystery with marvelous characters, danger, romance, and a most surprising ending! It is quite a perfect Christmas mystery! I look forward to reading more books by Ally Carter. Thank you to the author, publisher, Scene of the Crime, and Netgalley for my advance copy. The opinions of this review are my own.

I REALLY enjoyed this book. I don't like time jumps (which this had), some of the misunderstandings were a bit much, and Ethan was a bit TOO much (but only a bit.) However, I stayed up late to finish this book and fell asleep with a smile. Quite lovely.
Maggie Chase has had her confidence destroyed and is happier to stay home. But then an invitation comes and her publisher tells her it's one she doesn't want to turn down. So, she boards a plane to a mysterious location where there is to be a party hosted by she doesn't know who. Unfortunately, also on the plane is Ethan Wyatt, her nemesis in their publishing house. He can never remember her name and always seems to be laughing at her. So that's a great start to the vacation.
They finally land and discover that they've been plonked right into a locked room mystery, complete with characters who disappear and characters who die. It even happens that Maggie has some close calls herself. Can she really trust the man she is getting to know?

Four and a half stars
This book comes out September 24, 2024
ARC kindly provided by Avon and Harper Voyager, and NetGalley
Opinions are my own

Okay, 100% agree that this is an amazing mix of murder mystery and holiday romance. Literally two of my favorite things. We love a mysterious dinner invite leading to a murder, who could it have been?! A little enemies to lovers as well.

Thank you Avon Books for the eARC of Most Wonderful Crime of the Year.

4.75 stars rounded to 5

This book is so freaking fun! It’s Beach Read meets Knives Out with a Christmas twist and it is perfection. The mystery is clever and kept me guessing without being too scary. The romance is sweet and includes BOTH a “who did this to you” moment and an “it’s always been you” conversation (swoon!). The setting is atmospheric and somehow both cozy and mysterious at the same time.

I adored every page of this book and really hope we get a follow up from Ally because I NEED more of Maggie and Ethan! Make sure to add this to your holiday TBR this year!

Overall ratings
Exact star rating: 4.75
5-pt star rating: 5

Attribute ratings
Characters: 4
Atmosphere/Setting: 5
Writing Style: 5
Plot/Pacing: 5
Intrigue: 5
Logic: 4
Enjoyment: 5

Knives out meets holiday murder mystery romance... need I say more? Maggie Chase is a writer who is known as the Queen of Cozy Mystery meanwhile her nemesis is Ethan Wyatt, the king of Thriller Books. Maggie and Ethan have famously not gotten along, he's actually never gotten her name write in all the years he's known her and no matter how many times she's told him. Yet when they both accept a mysterious invitation to attend an exclusive Christmas party at the English estate of a reclusive fan.... neither of them expected that said fan was none other than the most powerful author in the world: Eleanor Ashley herself. However as the party goes on their host disappears... and then murder is afoot. Now Ethan and Maggie have to solve the mystery and that also means finding a way to work together... and confronting their feelings for one another. Maggie might be the queen of cozy mystery but she's about to realize the greatest mystery of all is her relationship with Ethan and what she thought was a bad relationship was completely wrong. Can they solve the mystery before it's too late and they end up dead too? This was such a cute holiday mystery romance read and I had so much fun with it. Ethan and Maggie were really cute, Ethan was especially adorable as a love interest. I loved that we do get his POV and get to see his meetcute with Maggie. It's a cute romance and the mystery was fun. It definitely is an adorable holiday read that I'd recommend!

Release Date: September 24,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest reviewe*

I discovered Ally Carter (and her back catalog of books) last year and thank goodness I did, because her writing is so FUN. I will forever be a gallagher girl at heart <3 Anyways...I was completely sold on this from the get-go - romance meets Knives Out mystery? Did I mention FUN??? I saw a lot of myself in Maggie and I loved the way the story played out (no spoilers!). The mystery had me sitting on the edge of my seat the whole book, and I was pleasantly surprised by the reveal, but I think I need to go back and re-read it again to pick up on all the clues :) Treat yourself and a friend to this stunner!!

As a lover of Christmas mysteries, how could I resist the chance to read The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year? Still, I feared that while the title might signal the most delicious cozy, it may also turn out to be just cutesy rom-com banter disguised as a mystery.

Not to worry. New York Times bestselling author Ally Carter gives readers full-fledged holiday whodunit suspense with twists, turns, and - no matter how superficial some may appear - characters with real depth.

When rival cozy fiction rising star Maggie Chase and the too-handsome thriller author Ethan Wyatt are whisked away by private jet to spend the holidays with their biggest fan and her family at an English country estate and it snows, it can only mean one thing - a locked room mystery to solve - when their host, the most powerful author in the world and Maggie’s idol, goes missing.

Maggie and Ethan team up to not only find the missing mystery maven but solve the attempted murder of another author at the holiday gathering. With suspects, motives and literary clues aplenty, not to mention watching the duo get to know and trust each other made for the coziest of romantic mysteries.

I highly recommend The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year to fans of cozy mysteries and romantic comedies. I received this advanced reader copy from Avon, courtesy of NetGalley.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was so fun!!! I loved the locked room, knives-out vibes of this mystery. And the added romance was perfection.

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are both big time authors of mystery and thrillers, respectively. These rival authors both get invited to a mysterious Christmas house party at a English Estate, invited by none other than the mystery legend herself, Eleanor Ashley, a beloved author who has written 99 novels.

Both Maggie and Ethan are unsure why they have been invited to this particular house party filled with a random assortment of Eleanor’s family until a large storm blows through, the power goes out and Eleanor disappears. Then a true mystery begins to unfold.

I loved following along as Maggie and Ethan start to uncover family secrets as well as battle their growing feelings for one another!

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this advanced reader copy! 5 stars!!!

Locked room mystery
Rivals to lovers
Cozy

What a fun and clever holiday book! It wasn't like most Christmas books I read, but I loved it. It covered so many different genres!

4.5⭐️
This was bloody brilliant. There was no dull moment from start to finish. I loved everything about this from the drama to the romance to the mystery.

It was entertaining and engaging. There is something for everyone- romance and mystery lovers will certainly enjoy this.

It follows the story of ‘arch enemies’ Maggie and Ethan, who were invited to visit a mysterious writer for Christmas. What follows are series of whodunnit incidents guaranteed to keep you vested in the plot.

The setting was superb and gave off eerie vibes even though it is a Christmas story. I enjoyed how the author balanced the romance and mystery aspects and how they coexisted without one outweighing the other.

I wanted Colin and Emily to feel exactly what they made Maddie go through and I didn’t like that there was nothing about them at the end.

This is perfect for mystery fans, romance and he fell first lovers.