A lot of Christmas touches are the biggest redeeming quality of this book- the story becomes too far fetched the longer it continues.

Charlotte is escaping the fallout of her refusal to reprise a childhood film role in a Christmas movie reboot by visiting her sister in London for the weeks leading up to Christmas when she happens upon a handsome man who just so happens to be dressed as a reindeer and part of the family that owns the amazing country house where she is attending an event. Graham's family is trying to find a way to fund the maintenance on their family estate that capitalizes on the fact that scenes of the very same childhood film Charlotte starred in were filmed there. Though Charlotte hates Christmas, she likes Graham and his family and wants to help them, taking a commission to paint scenes from other famous Christmas movies that they can sell in their estate store, and Graham offers to escort her to some of the more far-flung locations. Gosh, whatever will happen as they spend more time together during the magical holiday season???

Waters does a great job playing with the Christmas romance movie tropes without being over the top or too saccharine. It helps that both protagonists are a little more edgy than is typical of Christmas romances and that they are both aware of said tropes and call them out when they appear. The secondary characters are quirky and fun (as expected of both Waters and good Christmas romances) and add a nice layer of depth to Charlotte in particular. The romance itself feels realistic and builds gradually but so it feels too drawn out or rushed. The third act misunderstanding and argument makes sense and feels authentic for both characters, as does the first resolution. Though the ending tips a bit too far into self-aware schmaltz, it doesn't make the mistake of tying too neat a bow on things. It is nice to see Waters branch into contemporary romance after her delightful historicals!

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Christmas Is All Around early in exchange for a review.

Harassed by her past as a child star in a holiday movie, Charlotte flees to London—only to entangle herself in a new Christmas adventure. A chance encounter leads to a collaboration with a charming man whose family’s historic home needs a boost of holiday cheer, creating a heartwarming and unexpected romance.

What a fun book! I love the tone and all the wonderful characters. If you like a hint of snark with your heartwarming holiday romance, this book is for you.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I love Martha Waters’ historical fiction novels, so I knew I needed to read this one, and while I’m not totally in the mood for Christmas right now, I really enjoyed this one.

I always enjoy Waters’ writing style - she keeps me engaged throughout the entire book. The banter is fantastic and the characters are well developed.

Highly recommend for anyone looking for a good Christmas read.

Pub Date: October 22nd, 2024

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

In this funny holiday rom-com, Charlotte, a former child star, can't stand Christmas, mostly because fans of her iconic holiday movie won’t let her leave it behind. When an article reveals that she shut down plans for a reboot, she escapes to London to spend the holidays with her sister.

But things get complicated when she ends up at Eden Priory, a filming location from her movie. After being recognized by a fan and accidentally left behind, she has to hitch a ride with Graham, the son of the estate owners. Their family relies on holiday tourism, and Graham knows that having a holiday star visit would boost business.

Now working as an illustrator, Charlotte takes a commission to illustrate holiday movie scenes around London, with Graham volunteering to help—if she agrees to run an art workshop at Eden Priory. As her family holiday plans fall apart, she spends more time with Graham and starts to realize that maybe Christmas isn’t so bad, especially when you might be falling in love.

Thank You Netgalley and Atria Books

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I love a sweet little Christmas romance and this did not disappoint.

Former childhood actress Charlotte visits “the house” where she filmed a Christmas movie. The owner happens to be Graham, her love interest. I had a hard time relating to Charlotte because she is truly anti-Christmas, but Graham thaws her.

Definitely recommend as a Christmas tbr add!

Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters

Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Spice: 1/5 🌶️

Thank you to Atria Books, Simon and Schuster, Netgalley, and Martha Waters for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Martha Waters always writes such incredible historical romances so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to read a contemporary romcom of hers. Christmas Is All Around is a modern-day romcom set in England over the holidays that’s full of heart, wit, and cheer!

It centers on Charlotte, a former child star who is now an artist in New York City, who dislikes Christmas. She goes on vacation to England to see her family and while she’s there she reluctantly visits an estate that was a filming location for the movie she starred in. There she meets Graham, whose family owns the house. As they get to talking, Charlotte agrees to illustrate famous holiday movie scenes in England and they embark on a journey together during her time there. The setting, banter between the MCs, and the supporting characters all make this one a wonderful read.

Overall, I really liked this book! The plot is unique, the relationship between Charlotte and Graham felt authentic, and I loved the emphasis on London and the surrounding areas during Christmastime. I highly recommend adding this to your TBR this holiday season!

When it comes to Christmas books, I don't expect much. Typically, they mostly follow the same, predictable pattern. So when a story comes along that surprises me, it's the best holiday gift I could ask for!!

Hallelujah!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

This is the story of Charlotte - a disgruntled child star who stared in an uber popular Christmas movie (think Love, Actually) - and is tired of the attention it still draws to her. She wants to be known for her art, not her one-time claim to fame. When she refuses to do a follow-up movie, the internet trolls come after her, and she escapes to London for the holidays. Enter meet-cute with Graham, whose family owns the property where said movie was filmed.

What I loved about this book:

🎄 Not your typical holiday tropes
👯‍♂️ Great supporting characters
🌶️ Chemistry & spice
🍭 Sweet but not sticky
👩‍❤️‍👨 Witty, good banter
🏃🏻‍♀️Good pacing

If you're looking for a holiday romcom that gives you something different than what you could get from a Hallmark movie, this is a great choice!

Christmas is All Around will be my favorite holiday romance of 2024!

This festive love story centers around the heart. Charlotte and Graham struggle with family issues, as each feels like they haven't lived-up to family expectations. Charlotte is the resident Christmas Scrooge, and starred in a block buster holiday movie in her youth. The haunts of her time on screen are a constant in her adult life. To escape the drama of her notoriety, she escapes to England to visit her sister.

Graham owns the family home used in the filming of Charlotte's movie. He's determined to save his families legacy and establish it back to its glory. A chance meeting in a reindeer costume has them partnered together to visit Christmas movie locations throughout the countryside.

The witty banter, their chemistry and comedy made this an absolute delight. This book will light-up the holidays!!!

Thank you, Atria Books

Martha Waters has written a wonderful Christmas Rom-Com. This is a Hallmark movie in print form. It hits all the holiday rom-com requirements. City girl, check. Grumpy golden retriever hero, check. Family needs to be rescued from financial trouble, check. A cast of hilarious supporting character, check. Meet Cute moment, check.
What I love the most is the slow burn romance between the child actor turned artist and the great great grandson of a famous artist. They have amazing lovable chemistry. I loved the dialogue between these two, typical of all Waters novels.

As a fan of the Martha Waters' Regency Vows series, I was excited to get my hands on a copy of her new holiday rom com. Full of holiday hijinks and the author's trademark humor, <i>Christmas is All Around</i> tells the story of Charlie, a Christmas-hating ex-child-actress who falls in love, during the Christmas season, with a man who stands to profit from the former career she now reviles.

This book has lots of great stuff: London holiday magic, sisterly affection, and a bespectacled British love interest. Unfortunately, it also has Charlie, its extremely grinchy main character. I love a good grumpy-sunshine plot, but Charlie's grumpiness is so broad (in addition to Christmas, she dislikes romantic movies and babies, and resents most of her family and friends) that it makes her difficult to connect with, particularly in the story's first half. Still, I enjoyed the read and appreciated Charlie's character development and eventual (partial) thaw.

3.5 Star Review for Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters

Christmas Is All Around had me hooked from the start with its witty banter, delightful characters, and refreshing take on holiday romcoms. Charlotte, the sharp-tongued, big-city heroine, stays true to herself and her career while navigating a quintessentially English holiday romance with Graham, the bespectacled, emotionally-repressed hero. The playful commentary on hallmark-style Christmas clichés had me laughing out loud, especially when Charlotte declares, “Because Christmas romances are bad. The meet-cutes under implausible circumstances! The elaborate festive tasks that require the protagonists to join forces and discover the joy of Christmas! The quirky, borderline contrived Christmas rituals! The meddling supporting characters! The third-act fights! The sudden, improbable snowfalls! Kissing in front of Christmas trees! It is all terrible.”

The supporting cast is quirky and fun, and the English countryside setting is a picturesque backdrop for this festive romance. Plus, the inclusion of a “demonic baby” adds a humorous and unexpected twist that I wasn’t prepared for, but thoroughly enjoyed.

However, while the novel sparkled for most of its length, I was left disappointed by the lack of an epilogue. I wanted all those cozy, feel-good holiday loose ends to be tied up in a nice Christmas bow, but instead, I was left wondering: What happened with Charlotte’s wallpaper line? Did Graham (and the rest of his family) ever get therapy for their “daddy issues”? Did Graham ever propose and was it in their nook? Did they consciously decide not to have children (love that for them either way). And most importantly, where did Charlotte and Graham end up—New York, London, or both? These unanswered questions left the ending feeling a bit incomplete, and I really needed that epilogue to feel fully satisfied.

That being said, Christmas Is All Around still delivers on the charm, humor, and festive romance you’d expect. It’s just that without that final wrap-up, it fell short of the four-star read it could have been.

Favorite quotes:
“She’d turned twenty-nine this past summer, and was convinced that it had destroyed her ability to sleep properly on a plane, like some sort of horrifying aging switch had been turned on in her body’s wiring.”

“Kit shook his head. ‘I think you just need to meet a handsome man from a small village whose family livelihood is tied to the festive season and who teaches you to view the holidays through new eyes,’ he said solemnly. ‘You’ll be discovering the joy of Christmas in no time!’”

“‘Because it’s a requirement for emotionally repressed English boys who live in countryside manors to find a career that cannot possibly bring them any joy or passion, all so that a nice boy or girl can come along to teach them how to feel,’ Charlotte said without missing a beat. ‘I think I’ve read that one,’ Graham said, and Charlotte couldn’t help smiling.”

*This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was so charming! I've been in a reading slump from school, but was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this so I wanted to get it done before it's release on Tuesday!

This is a cute little Christmas story that also works if you're not really a fan of Christmas! I don't often enjoy holiday reads, but this one (with a Grinchy FEMALE main character) intrigued me. I enjoyed Charlotte's Christmas hatred so much, as someone who used to hate Christmas myself and have now come to absolutely adore it. The banter in this one was off the charts and I was laughing and kicking my feet for the greater part of the story. This is, quite simply, just a happy little holiday book, perfect if you're looking for some cozy winter cheer.

I will say I've never been a huge fan of Waters' writing style. Sometimes it just feels a little choppy and repetitive to me (Truly, I lost count of the number of times characters said or muttered something "darkly" in this novel). So it took a little bit of time for me to get into it and get past that, but I was able to in the end because the story was just fun!

Definitely add this to your happy Christmas tbr!

Basically a Hallmark move in a book. A cute, lighthearted holiday romcom. I do love a self-aware romcom that calls out typical tropes, and this one does that.

The book follows grumpy FMC Charlotte, who has an aversion to Christmas after being in a Christmas movie as a child. She flees to London for Christmas and meets Graham, who actually owns the English manor featured in her movie.

Charlotte was grumpy but not to an overly annoying extent, and so strong willed. She was a bit extra, always worrying about being identified as a child actress, but given she fled to London to avoid the controversy regarding her holiday movie, it was understandable. She was a bit harsh to her infant niece and honestly the niece could have been referenced less. BUT there was copious witty banter between her and Graham, which I loved. And good sisterly and best friend content.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: 10/22/24

Thank you Atria and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Charlotte meets Graham when she is in the UK for Christmas. A great festive read, and a great setting.

If you love Hallmark Christmas movies like I do, you will love Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters. The entire book is an absolutely sweet holiday movie script, with the addition of actual holiday movie references sprinkled throughout. The romance is charming, the characters adorable, and the situations are frequently laugh-out-loud funny. The best part is that all the while, the book kind of pokes fun at typical holiday romance tropes!

I especially like when a book makes me want to travel to the location it is set in, and while London at Christmas may be a bit more populated than I prefer, the setting of Christmas Is All Around made me envious of a holiday in an old English mansion.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC of Christmas is All Around by Martha Waters. The opinions in this review are my own.

Christmas Is All Around is a holiday romance, the main character Charlotte is a Christmas hater. She was previously a child star in a Christmas film and has spent all her life trying to separate herself from being associated with the film. She is now an artist. She comes from parents who are in the entertainment business, as well as a sister that is quite popular performing in plays. Charlotte lives in NY by herself, but travels to London for the holidays to be with her sister and her family. While there they visit the family home of Graham, which just so happens to be the location her former holiday film was filmed at. Graham’s family home is on the verge of being lost, as money to fix the home is hard to come by. Charlotte and Graham end up making a business deal selling her art as a way to make money, but their meeting and connection might not be what Charlotte thought it was. Charlotte spends a lot of the book coming to terms with the fact that the Christmas film will always be in the background of her life, and that the way she has been towards her family and any romantic relationships may have been a flaw on her part. This was a cute holiday romance for sure and I enjoyed the banter and sarcasm that Charlotte used throughout the book.

This book was a sweet holiday romance but I couldn’t really connect with the characters, and it was just missing something for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️

Read if you love:
-single POV
-friends to lovers
-Christmas romance

For a book that is about a character that hates Christmas and Christmas movies, this is the warmest, coziest, most festive Christmas book I have ever read. I loved every moment of Christmas is All Around. I enjoyed the veiled references to both real and fictional Christmas movies and the continual commentary on them. Both Charlotte and Graham are kind and delightful characters and their witty banter and sarcasm only serve to make them and the story more enjoyable.

This Christmas books of this season are just so good, I’ve loved every one I’ve come across and read so far! All so different yet all have the perfect Hallmark Christmas movie feel. Honestly Christmas books are the best part of the October-December release season!

Charlotte is the perfect grinch hating Christmas and all things related to the holiday when she’s stuck doing all these activities with her sister and her in-laws. Charlotte is the star of an older Christmas movie and is recently getting a lot of backlash as a result of new articles. She escapes to London and at the scene of where her movie was set, meets Graham who loves Christmas and enjoys all the small things about it!

Charlotte and Graham work together on a business venture and as a result, they go on adventuring to other Christmas movie sites and overtime fall in love with each other. They have a slow burn, it’s a melting, two friends falling in love over a short period of time that will have you grasping for more until you finish the book!