This was everything I didn't know I needed! A cozy mystery set in an English mansion during a snow storm, with two mystery writers trying to solve a mystery. I loved the chemistry & banter between Maggie & Ethan. It may be set at Christmas, but this would be a great read any time of year!

This was a fun holiday read! I didn’t really find the romance to be earth shattering, but the mystery of it all was fun!

Five stars! I absolutely loved this! The setting was so fun and the writing was so fast paced.
I've loved Ally Carter since her Gallagher Girls series and I'm loving her adult books. Can't wait for The Blonde who came in from the Cold!

This book was a fun read! Think cozy mystery mixed with rom-com! The main characters being mystery writers and solving a mystery was great. Overall a cute, easy holiday read!

What happens when you and your arch-nemesis are invited to spend Christmas together in a secret location in order to solve a mystery? I love Ally Carter's books and was excited to see there was a new one for Christmas! This book was a hilarious, fun read. Perfect cozy mystery to read around the Christmas season. Recommended.

Ally Carter can do no wrong in my book and here she is killing it again! Loved loved the mystery element to this one and the romance was perfect. He's obsessed with her and she thinks he hates her. Love love love!

This was a cute, fun little read. It wasn’t super christmasy which I was a little disappointed with. Also the main female character seemed a bit whiny and childish which kind of threw me off and left me not too impressed.

I received an advanced copy of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year from Netgalley and the publisher and am leaving this review voluntarily.

Ally Carter was a staple author for me growing up, so it feels like coming home when I read her adult books. I couldn't have asked for a better way to start my year than The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year. On top of it being an Ally Carter book, so of course I have to read it, this felt like a love letter to my Nancy Drew-loving preteen self.

I had a blast reading this book. It was quick, snappy, and funny. The pacing was fast, but not so fast that the plot got lost. I'm a sucker for long books because they always feel more developed than shorter ones, but that was not the case here. For a book under 300 pages, there was not a moment that I wasn't getting enough information. The characters got the development they needed, along with fully realized backstories. The side characters were just as enjoyable, with funny quirks that made them stand out. The mystery was fun, and the romance was cute (perhaps a little cheesy at times, but that was fun too).

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is the perfect book to cozy up with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket on a cold winter's night. The mystery kept me hooked, and the humor made me laugh. I wish I had more eloquent things to say, but I'll end with recommending this book to anyone looking for a cozy romantic mystery.

What an absolute delight!

I know I always say I’m not a romance reader, but books like this make me reconsider. I loved everything about this story from start to finish!

I loved the main characters and their love story.

I loved the location. Sprawling mansion in the middle of nowhere with a massive snowstorm. Count me in.

I loved the mystery, the clues, and Eleanor Ashley.

The only thing that stopped this one from being a 5 star read for me was having to suspend my disbelief for several elements of the story when it came to the mystery and back story. That’s not going to stop myself and Lacey, who I got to buddy read this one with, from checking out Carter’s Blonde Identity series in 2025!

This locked room mystery/rom-com was so much fun! Ally does a great job weaving together the different plot points and giving each one the time they deserve to be fully fleshed out. Learning why each character may want to murder Eleanor and digging into Maggie and Ethan’s enemies-to-lovers relationship makes this one so easy to binge!

The perfect mix of romance and mystery wrapped in a holiday-themed story — Ally Carter never misses! Loved the banter and romance arc of this one, and how Ally always manages to write female characters who can stand on their own even while falling for notoriously soft-hearted (yet chiseled) men.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is an absolutely adorable holiday mystery that gave me serious Knives Out vibes—which I was so excited about because I loved that movie! The story was fun and festive, with Maggie and Chase stealing the show for me. Their banter and chemistry were everything I hoped for, adding the perfect mix of tension and charm.

That said, I felt like the second half lost a bit of steam compared to the first. I was hoping for something as sharp and twisty as Knives Out, so I found myself a little let down. But even with that, this was still such a sweet, cozy read! If you’re looking for a light mystery with a sprinkling of romance and all the snowy holiday vibes, this is definitely worth curling up with.

I loved this book! A perfect cozy mystery meets romance. This is exactly the kind of book I want to read during the holiday season. Two literary enemies are invited to the secluded home of a famous British mystery author for Christmas. Their trip takes twists and turns are they attempt to solve their own mystery. All told with a side of romance and banter that kept me engaged. A perfect holiday romance!

Y’all this was SUCH a fun read, you gotta squeeze it in in the next few weeks. The publisher’s synopsis describes it as Knives Out with a holiday twist and that could not be more accurate!!! Two mystery writers (one cozy, one thriller) get a mysterious invite to spend Christmas in England with the most renowned mystery author of all time. Not sure why exactly she invited them, the answer soon becomes clear: to solve the puzzle of who among her ungrateful family members and would-be heirs has been trying to murder her. Naturally, these two writers also fall in love in the process. This is definitely one of my new favorite books.

And if you were wondering, yes, this is the same Ally Carter who gave us the Gallagher Girls, writing grown up books for grown up Gallagher Girls!!

This was one of the most fun holiday romances I have ever read! Ethan and Maggie's rivals-to-lovers (sorta) romance is set against the backdrop of a snowy manor, and a locked-room mystery. There's an eclectic cast of characters! A lot of fun banter! And of course, it's all about Christmas!

My major complaint is that as a mystery lover, I felt that those components began to dissipate in favor of the romance rather quickly. Of course, that is more of a personal gripe, because I do think that this is a well-done story. It simply didn't work for me based off of my expectations.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely adored this book!!!

Such an amazing cozy and romantic mystery with the one sided rivals to lovers story. Enjoyed how the reveals of the actual mystery played out as well as the reveals with Maggie and Ethan's stories as well, like why he kept calling her Marci and what went down in Tucson.

Side note would have enjoyed a bonus chapter of the awful ex duo running into our perfect couple of Maggie and Ethan and seeing Maggie thrive, being petty on behalf of Maggie.

Absolutely love this one!! I'm a big Ally Carter fan (I've read everything she's published), and this one did not disappoint!!🤩

I read this one in anticipation of the holiday season, and it did not dissapoint! The characters were fun, and funny, and I was rooting for the romance. The mystery was a little bit light, but I loved the idea of an older author passing her torch to younger authors. Very, very fun and seasonal.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED AND DEVOURED THIS!

This has to be one of my favorite books of all time. A author brings guests to her house for Christmas when suddenly she disappears. It is up to the guests to see who has been trying to kill the author and if she is still alive.

This story was moderately paced and very well written. I love how the author was constantly dropping clues and pushing the story forward. The chemistry between the two main characters is insanely good. I was really impressed with how you would think you knew what happened but then the author would surprise you or change courses.

this was fine. i enjoyed the mash-up of romance & cozy mystery, and there was some cute banter. but none of the characters really hooked me. i also think i will forget about it completely in a few months.