This was a very festive and heartfelt read! Interesting characters who can COMMUNICATE. They don't try to hide their feelings and the relationship developed naturally. The only big miss for me was that the FMC's dislike of Christmas wasn't really explained other than her parents suck. Cute concept and enjoyable execution. I recommend this holiday romance.

I was drawn to this book because of the premise of a former child actor who starred in a famous Christmas movie hates Christmas. I thought it would be funny and plucky and adorable. It was sweet and slow and a little boring. Not a whole lot happened. The romance was a very slow burn with not that many feels. It was average, not a lot there to get excited about. It was fine if you are just looking for a Christmasy book set in London.

Charlotte Lane hates Christmas.

This is due, in no small part, to her role in a modern classic Christmas film twenty years ago when she was a child. It was her one and only acting role, and yet her fame from that movie tends to overshadow her work as an independent commercial artist. When Charlotte refuses to participate in a modern reboot of the film, the backlash from rabid fans sends her fleeing from her apartment in NYC to spend the weeks leading up to Christmas with her sister Ava and Ava's in-laws.

But what Charlotte doesn't know is that she is heading into her very own holiday romance, complete with a meet-cute, plenty of holiday backdrops, and a gaggle of Christmas carolers. Christmas is All Around does an excellent job of being the holiday romance book for people who want warm holiday feels without the toothache of the overly saccharine fare some channels are known for -- and that some people treasure.

I appreciated that no elements of this book ever felt too extreme. Charlotte is a pragmatic Christmas-hating grouch, but she isn't completely unreasonable. Her romantic interest, Graham, is confident without being cocky or smug. The characters display a bit more maturity than what I feel like I usually see in most romantic comedies. (There is a fight due to miscommunication, but it feels realistic and is resolved in ways that adults would deal with something.)

So, if you are like me and you want to read a holiday romance but you are not huge on either the holidays or romances -- this book is really what you are looking for! It has charm in spades and a demon baby with whom I can fully relate.

This book is fun, but not super christmassy, other than the time of year and some of the settings. I really enjoyed the romance, but overall I was just kind of bored. This is good for those wanting to dip their toes into the world of holiday books.

This was so adorable!! Charlotte, a child actor of a popular Christmas movie hates her early fame as she pursues a career in art prints. When the internet learns that she refused to appear in the sequel some 15 years later, the internet attacks her. Escaping NY to visit her sister Ava in London, England for a 6 week holiday at Christmas time, she accidentally stumbles into the home where her counterpart of the movie was filmed. She meets the man who’s family owns the house and over the course of her stay in England, the two dabble in flirtatious trips around England after he hires her to paint portraits of other popular London homes to stock in their gift shop.

This was full of witty banter, hilarious side characters, and beautiful intimate moments between our two main characters as they relived popular Christmas movie locations. I loved that Graham was a son forced to take care of his family home after his dad’s passing. Despite his initial resentment of the task and his British stiff upper lip attitude, he had so much decency and honor and just really loved his family so much. Charlotte conversely realizes that her family and friends aren’t truly concerned about her and she begins to spiral over her life as a whole. Is she making the right choices?

Graham and Charlotte find comfort in each other and slowly over the course of her stay begin a courtship of sorts. I’ll say that in one scene Charlotte needs to go shopping for a dress for her neice and Graham took over and it was HOT! I love a confident man! These two compliment each other and held space for one another to express their issues and explain their lives without judgement. They both lifted the other up constantly.

This was classic Martha Waters with the banter and one liners! As a fan of her regency pieces I was so excited for a christmastime modern romance! This had everything I loved!

I was pleasantly surprised by this book! I absolutely love Waters’ regency novels but Christmas Is All Around was fun, witty, and heart warming! It’s a great Christmas romance and a definite treat.

I like to read a Christmas book or two this time of year, and this one fit the bill. I thought it would be a quick read since it was pretty short, but I did have times when I felt it was slow. Overall a pleasant read though.

Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters is a cute holiday rom com set in a London Christmas. Charlotte heads to England to spend the holidays with her sister and family, despite hating Christmas. She has never gotten over being recognized for being a child star from a popular holiday movie and so she avoids Christmas at all costs. Despite this, she heads to the site of the holiday movie for an event and of course meets a handsome stranger, that while she doesn’t know it at the time, has a lot to do with this part of her past. As they fall in love, will Charlotte be able to get past his connection to Christmas, Truly?

Cute story and characters. Predictable—but in a good, Christmas story way.

A cozy holiday modern romance for your TBR this season.

There's not much "com," in this supposed rom-com, and a too much rehashing of Charlotte's former child star issues make this a three instead of a five for me. Still, it kept my attention. I read it in a day.

Graham was a good, kind leading man with GLASSES. Which is good enough for one star on its own! The one sex scene was on the short-side and only about a 5 on the spicy scale. If you're a fan of Waters' historical rom coms, be advised that this is quite different.

Waited until Christmas time to read this one. Definitely hallmark vibes. Spice 2/5. At first it was hard to feel the chemistry between the two main characters but it got there towards the end.

Thank you Netgalley and Simon & Schuster/Atria for the opportunity to review this title. I am a Martha Waters fan, having read her Regency Vows series, so I was incredibly excited when I was asked to read this merry romance. Martha writes her characters with this sarcastic sense of humor I find so charming! I must admit, it was a slow start and the ending fell a little short for me, but if you're a sucker for all things Hallmark Christmas movie, this fits the vibe, with some spice mixed in!

Charlotte Lane can't seem to escape the Christmas movie she acted in as a child--it's followed her her entire life, and now that's she's turned down acting in a sequel, total strangers are accosting her. When she flees to her sister's house in London, she thinks she'll finally get a break from it--until they attend an event at the house where her character's counterpart's scenes were filmed. And even worse, the house belongs to a gorgeous, sweet man she finds herself drawn to.

I absolutely adored Christmas Is All Around. I loved Charlotte, Graham, and the whole cast of characters. I also rally loved that (spoilers incoming) Charlotte stuck to her resolve not to do the sequel. A part of me worried that that would factor into the resolution, and I loved that it didn't--but that she found her own way to make peace with things, which felt very true to her. I'd read Martha Waters's historical books and I loved getting to read a contemporary by her, too!

Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.

After reading a couple of Martha Waters’ historical romances, I was curious to see what her contemporary Christmas Is All Around would be like.

The verdict: despite the FMC, who sometimes seems oblivious, this book ends up being heartwarming.

There’s so much discourse about unlikable heroines but the truth is that Charlotte is kind of annoying at times. I thought she was unfair toward her sister & surprisingly high-maintenance herself, given her vocal distaste for the movie she was in as a child & her dislike of Christmas.

But…I also like how Graham likes her crabbiness. There’s something nice about someone falling in love with a grumpy, not always very self-aware lead, & the way that the characters overall engage with each other is cute.

This isn’t a book that will be perennial holiday fave for me, but it was enjoyable & sweet & real, if you know a holiday grump or are one yourself ;).

I loved Martha Waters regency series so I was psyched that she had a Christmas book coming out, named for Love, Actually which is my favorite Christmas movie! This was a cute holiday romance, we have a former child actress that is haunted by the Christmas movie she did as a kid and is just trying to distance herself from it, then we have this sweet, charming man, picture Jude Law in The Holiday, who owns a classic English estate that is barely keeping float. They come up with a plan that could help them both and of course start to fall in love. It was a good book, but I didn't really understand whyy Charlotte hated her role sooo much and she brought it up too much. I also didn't love how they both made fun of corny holiday romance movies which I happen to love, especially Love, Actually, which that book is name after!! So that was kinda off-putting but I think it was more of a me thing.

This book was a solid mid book for me. I was enjoying it. It was cute and fun and moved along quickly. Charlotte may have been a little too grumpy but it was kind of relatable, not really understandable though. She lives in New York city and is successful enough as an artist she doesn't need a different full time job, like why so grumpy girl.
HOWEVER it lost a star because the 3rd act breakup was absolutely ridiculous and made no sense. It was overreacting for the sake of drama.

Charlotte is trying to outrun her past - namely her role as a child in a very famous Christmas movie. When she is the only thing stopping a sequel, she heads to London to visit her sister and family and let the spotlight die down. But on a trip to the very house featured in her Christmas movie, Charlotte meets Graham, the owner, and slowly but surely, starts to feel like she’s starring in a real life Christmas movie.

This is a fun Love Actually-inspired Christmas story that had some laugh out loud moments and a lot of heart. I liked this book. Charlotte is definitely the grumpy side of the grumpy/sunshine trope, sometimes overly so. But I liked the chemistry between her and the MMC. Overall a solid Christmas romcom.

Charlotte is a former Christmas movie child star who no longer enjoys Christmas, and also refuses to participate in a reboot that could save Graham’s family estate. Graham is determined to show her some Christmas cheer, and (of course) they fall for each other along the way! This is a classic little Christmas romcom, and perfect to get you in the Christmas spirit! I loved Charlotte’s chaotic family as well, and the ending was adorable. Definitely one to add to your Christmas TBR!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read before pub day! ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. CHRISTMAS IS ALL AROUND is out now!

3.5 rounded up to 4. This was honestly everything I could ask for a holiday romance! I enjoyed that the roles were a bit reversed in terms of Charlotte being the grumpy one for the holidays. Graham really pushed Charlotte into the holiday spirit, and shocker they developed feelings for one another. What started as a working relationship definitely blossomed into more. I felt like some of the side characters/storylines weren’t always necessary but overall, I enjoyed it.

I liked the concept of this book, but I think the story ultimately fell flat. It took me forever to slog through this book, which is never a good sign. Furthermore, the third act conflict was pretty ridiculous and childish in my opinion. I thought the premise and Christmas vibes were nice, but I didn't really enjoy reading this overall and can't see myself recommending it to others - it didn't really do much for me. Thanks anyway for the ARC.

Feels like a Hallmark Christmas movie in a book! This is my favorite type of book to read this time of year. I really enjoyed the main characters but the supporting cast really brings the story to life.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this book in exchange for my honest opinion.