Martha Waters has been an auto-buy author for me since reading To Have and To Hoax. Historical romance has always been difficult for me to get into, but Martha Waters got me to love the genre. When I saw that she was publishing a Christmas modern romance, I knew I would have to get my hands on it!

Ever since Charlotte appeared in a beloved Christmas movie as a child, she has detested the holiday. This year, her dislike has been amplified by the fact that news got out that Charlotte refused to participate in a reboot, thereby sparking a frenzy of angry DMs and fans. Charlotte decides to escape the mania by visiting her sister in England for the five weeks leading up to Christmas. Charlotte's sister leans into the Christmas spirit and drags Charlotte to Eden Priory for a tree lighting by highlighting the fact that the home once belonged to the famous artist Christian Calloway. When they drive up to the property, Charlotte cannot shake the deja vu feeling that she has been here before. Once inside, she remembers that she has been here before, as it was the location of an infamous scene from the very Christmas movie that caused her fly halfway around the world.

Charlotte immediately finds a hiding place in the home, hoping to avoid fan recognition (and angry outbursts!), but her solitude is short-lived when Graham enters the space and starts stripping out of his felt reindeer costume. Turns out that Eden Priory is Graham's family home, and it's not doing well financially. When he learns that Charlotte is a graphic designer, he asks if she would be willing to do some custom pieces of Eden Priory and other famous Christmas movie locations to sell in the gift shop. As Charlotte and Graham visit each movie location, Charlotte's Grinch-like heart began to grow - both in her outlook on Christmas and on Graham.

My thoughts:
The setting of this book was absolutely magnificent. I loved visiting the iconic UK spots at Christmas time, and after reading this book, I seriously considered how I could plan a UK Christmas in my future! I also enjoyed the nod to Love, Actually - the movie that Charlotte stars in is called Christmas, Truly, and it similarly follows many characters' storylines around Christmas - I mean, the opening line of the book references being gloomy about the state of the world and finding oneself at Heathrow airport. As a Love, Actually fan, I loved catching all the slight nods to the movie!

When I read multiple books by an author, it's hard not to compare the book to the author's previous works, and, for me, her foray into modern romance just did not hold up. I have come to expect sizzling chemistry from a Martha Waters book, and this book's romance was more on par with a Hallmark movie. I also found Charlotte's anti-Christmas cheer to be a bit much at times - I wanted to shout "We get it! You don't like Christmas!" several times throughout the book.

I have posted a review to GoodReads, and I will share a review on my bookstagram @thecozybookgal closer to the publishing date!

Christmas Is All Around by Martha Waters
lighthearted medium-paced
Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

I enjoyed this modern romance something I haven’t seen done from this author. It had the perfect mix of hallmark vibes, chemistry and banter. I was thankful there was only one steamy scene and it was after 50%. This was so fun to read (even in August).

An absolute delight!! Charlotte has had enough of being accosted by angry fans of "Christmas Truly" and flees to her sister's home in England to avoid any further harassment. The movie, that she starred in as a child, has somewhat of a cult following and the makers are interested in a sequel revolving around the child stars as adults. Charlotte hates any reminder of the movie and Christmas as well.

Once she arrives in England, she finds that her sister's in-laws have rented the flat above theirs until the New Year and has all sorts of Christmas events planned for the entire family. If that is not enough, add what Charlotte considers to be her sister's demon spawn - a baby who is intent on making everyone miserable with her attitude that often results in screaming a top volume.

Things change for Charlotte when a visit to Eden Priory, the home of her favorite artist, turns out to be the setting of the English side of the movie. There she meets the heirs of the original owner and forms a friendship/relationship with Graham Calloway. Graham wants to commission Charlotte to create prints of several other movie-related sites in England - something that could be profitable to both.

But what happens when Charlotte finds out that Graham has lied to her, albeit, through omission? And with only days left before she returns to New York, is there any chance to salvage what has been lost?

I thoroughly loved this book and would definitely give it more than 5 stars if available! I will be on the lookout for more works by Martha Waters!

Charlotte is a child star that became famous from staring in a Christmas movie, and ever since then she has hated Christmas with a passion. 20 years later she gets roasted online for saying no to a remake and she decided to hide out in London where her sister lives.

Graham is the happy go lucky Londoner who is trying to save his family business. He meets Charlotte and hires her to create Christmas motifs and to do a couple celebrity appearances at his business.

As they tour the city looking for inspiration, they slowly, ever so slowly, fall in love.

This was a very cute story and a very quick read. I enjoyed the characters and definitely felt the Christmas cheer.

Tropes You'll Love: Tropes We All Hate In The Book:
. Reverse Black Cat x Golden Retriever . Miscommunication
. Slow Burn . 3rd Act Breakup
. British Men
. Holiday Romance

Charlotte hate hates Christmas from her childhood she just hasn't loved the holiday season. But when she stumbles upon Graham and she spends more time with him she is opening to the idea of liking Christmas once again.

A very cute holiday rom-com that references a fictional version of that Christmas movie we all love, even though we know we probably shouldn’t. I loved that she was a child star, and really enjoyed her sister’s family dynamics. A London setting at the holidays gets me every time!

3.75 stars

A rom-com that also pokes fun at the genre and features some great dialogue. Charlotte is an artist who starred in an iconic Christmas film as a girl. She is under fire on social media for not agreeing to do a reunion flick 20 years later. She decides it would be a good time to get away and goes for an extended visit to her sister in London for a few weeks.

Charlotte loathes the film she was in and pretty much anything Christmas-related. Unfortunately her sister has a new baby and her family is into all the holiday events and activities. Charlotte chooses what and how much she will do but is still not on board.

She does accompany them to a Christmas tree lighting ceremony at an old estate belonging to an artist she likes. She doesn't realize until she gets there that it was one of the locations for her movie. She accidentally meets the estate family who is struggling to maintain the house. She becomes reluctantly involved with Graham, the son who is trying to stave off financial meltdown.

The characters are easy to root for, there is a lot of humor, and the banter between Charlotte and Graham is entertaining. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This book is one I can say, I appreciate that it was predictable and exactly what I want from a Christmas romance book. I loved that the book was set in England with what I pictured to be a giant castle that was in need of saving. There was a lot of self reflecting from the main character, and I loved that as well. I was smiling as I finished this book and you really couldn't ask for anything more. Thanks to the author and publisher for the ARC of this book!

In a twist of a familiar trope, the woman is the grumpy one is this fun holiday love story. Charlotte Lane is a successful illustrator and artist living in New York. Her parents are a completely self absorbed Hollywood director and a playwright. When Charlotte was a child, they convinced her to play a young character in a Christmas rom com that becomes a cult classic."Christmas,Truly. Charlotte has spent her life since the movie living down the role to rabid fans to constantly recognize her…she never wants to act again and her hates Christmas. To make things worse, her older sister Ava has flourished in the “family business” and is an accomplished stage actress in London. Her parents can’t or won’t understand why Charlotte has don’t something different with her life and they don’t seem to respect her creative choices. To make Charlotte’s life a disaster, a recent magazine article announced that a reboot of Christmas, Truly is in the works and all the original actors have agreed to replay their roles except Charlotte and the rabid fans are NOT happy. After a hysterical teenager accosted Charlotte in Central Park, she decide to extent her usual 1 week visit to Ava in London to 6 weeks to lay low, avoid disappointed movie fans and keep away from angry social media trolls. Ava and her husband Kit have a new baby who loves to scream and cry and Kit’s parents are also visiting and the love Christmas. At one of the many Christmasy events that Charlotte is dragged to, she meets a very charming and handsome Christmas lover. Graham is the oldest child of the family who own a lovely ancestral home that’s falling down. There are instant sparks between them despite their very different feelings about Christmas. Will their story become s real life Christmas rom com?!?

I'm a sucker for a great holiday rom-com and Christmas All Around didn't disappoint! It was a cute story with a lot of heartfelt romance. Highly recommend and we will be purchasing for the collection!

This was such a cute little holiday book! I love a good Christmas book, and I love a good rom-com, this definitely hit both! The characters were loveable, the plot was engaging. I would definitely recommend that you add this to your Christmas TBR. I will definitely be checking out more from Martha Wayers!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC!

𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗮 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 ⠀
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𝙌𝙪𝙚 🎶"𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙅𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙅𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚𝙧𝙨"🎶 Its Christmas time!⠀
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Full confession I am not a huge fan of Christmas but I L♥️VE Christmas movies and holiday themed romance novels. I mean who reads Christmas holiday romances in August. I read this over the course of a few weekends just so I could drag it out because it’s so cheerful. I loved the whole storyline, the setting of London and the countryside in December, the FMC and MMC are great. Even the side characters ɪɴᴄʟᴜᴅɪɴɢ Aʟɪᴄᴇ are fantastic. It’s everything you could possibly want in a holiday romance. If you are a fan of my absolute favorite movie 𝗡𝗢𝗧 Christmas movie but favorite movie 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙃𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙙𝙖𝙮 you will LOVE 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. ⠀
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I hope this book gets picked up for holiday movie.... paging @netflix
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Best paired with reindeer pajamas, mulled wine or hot cider, a cozy fire, and the Jingle Janglers greatest hits album. ⠀
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📗304 pages on kindle ⠀
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Thank you so much to Net Galley, Martha Waters, and Artia Books for the gifted ARC. ⠀
𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗜𝘀 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟮, 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 ⠀
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#Books #Bookstagram #Audiobooks #ChristmasBooks #Booksta #Listentoread #Artia#SimknandShuster #holidayromance #MarthaWaters #ChristmasIsAllAround #ChristmasRomance #TheHoliday #Advancedreadercopy #Prettybooks #Readingreviews #Ilovetoread #Supportlocalbookshops #TimeToRead #Tbr #Bookstack #Allthebooks #Bookstacks #Book #Audiobook #Lovetoread #2BooksAtATime #Kindle

I really liked this book! It's a modern twist on the Scrooge Christmas Carol story. I loved the banter between the two main characters, but I felt as if their fight in the end was kind of silly and a little childish to get upset over? I'm glad the MC's best friend clocked her in the end with her obsession about the movie and everything being about it because it was getting to the point that even I was over it.

This is a delightful Christmas romcom that puts you in the festive mood! It has some cheesier moments that weren’t necessarily my cup of tea, but the romance was really cute!

I really liked the slow burn this book had! Main character was fine! Love interest was kind of boring after his initial set up! 3rd act fight was kind of dumb! Reconciliation was pretty good!

This book tries to subvert common Christmas romance tropes and embrace them at the same time, leading to a misguided and messy book. Simply acknowledging the tropes by saying, "Wow this moment between us is like a Hallmark Christmas movie!!!!!!!!" is not clever writing, it's just uninteresting.

If you are feeling even 1% not into the cheese of a book like this, don't read it. You will have a bad time.

There are so many better Christmas romance books, but this one is certainly decent.

4.5 stars! This was a really, really cute Christmas romcom. Charlotte, the FMC, is a Christmas grump who incidentally starred in a Love, Actually-esque Christmas movie when she was a child. (She does not learn the true joy of Christmas by the end and remains a Christmas hater/tolerator.) Graham, the MMC, has a family home that was used in Charlotte’s film that he is trying to save. The book was truly a romcom, and both the romance and the comedy were a hit for me. I think the book would be a good choice for both Christmas lovers and Christmas haters. My only quibbles are with the third act conflict pacing and with the lack of an epilogue, but these were minor.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC!

Charlotte and Graham were a cute pair. Charlotte is a former child actress who is haunted by one of her roles, she goes to London for the holidays to sspend it with her sister and ends up at a home used for filming that role (owned by Graham). I enjoyed the story, it was a nice holiday read

Mmmm . . . there are so many things to love about this book! It's a delightful bit of anti-Christmas cheer and I devoured it as quickly as my schedule allowed.

The characters are complex and complicated and flawed and interesting -- basically exactly what I've come to expect from Martha Waters. I liked Charlotte's penchant for speaking bluntly, Graham's quiet regard, and Alice's demonic presence.

I thought the story started off slowly. It took a little while for me to feel completely sucked into it, which is my only complaint. Once things all clicked into place, I was IN IT. It unfolds beautifully and while I never questioned how it would end, I did have to wonder how we'd get there.

By far my favorite aspect of the book is the narrative voice. It's told third person limited, from Charlotte's PoV. The neurodivergent grammarian inside me was tickled by the abundant use of parentheticals and em dashes! It gave the narrative a unique cadence that felt perfectly Charlotte. I also adored the liberal use of more obscure pop culture references. Sure, the whole plot mocks a popular (and problematic) Christmas movie but there are other references that often made me giggle out loud.

Go read it. It's a wonderfully unique holiday romance and I'm certain you'll enjoy it!

<i>Many thanks to NetGalley, Atria Books, and the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.</i>

I love a sweet Christmas love story, and this was hands down one of the best ones I've read!! Highly recommend this! It was the sweetest story and the characters were so relatable. Wonderful job!

I DNF’d this at 56%, but somehow kept thinking about it and decided to pick it up again. So glad I did, because I ended up liking it.

If you enjoy holiday romances, add this to your TBR.