The current Goodreads rating is 3.57 and I’d have to agree. This book is enjoyable, the storyline is enjoyable, but it wasn’t anything that blew me out of the water. I wish the characters had a bit more depth. Or maybe that’s just the current mood I’m in.

Thank you Netgalley for this one!

This was such a cute Christmas in London story! Loved the references to movies, and castles. I would recommend this as one my favorite Christmas books read this season!

This was a sweet Christmas book. I truly loved the characters so much! The child star story line was unique, and I loved how much heart this book had.

I was so excited to read Martha Waters' first contemporary romance! This story was so cute and had such a unique premise. Graham and Charlotte had amazing chemistry, I loved spending time with them. Banter - amazing! Meet cute - phenomenal! Amazing Christmas spirit.

To me, the most interesting thing about this book was the conflict. Charlotte is kind of hung up on what is, arguably, not that big of a deal. Her character arc is about getting over her issues being a child star.

Overall, I enjoyed this book, but didn't love it enough to rate it any higher. I can't really see myself ever revisiting this book.

I was a huge fan of Martha Waters Regency Vow series so when I saw that she had a Christmas romance based in London, I was so excited to read it! However, this book basically just consisted of the main character repeatedly expressing her disdain for Christmas and for a Christmas season lover like myself, it was really hard to get past. I also just didn't feel the chemistry between the FMC and MMC, it felt a tad forced.

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

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f contemporary romance
-holiday romance
-frenemies to lovers
-hallmark movie vibes
-man in glasses

This was like being transported into a Hallmark movie for all of us who find them a bit cheesy (but secretly love them) i had the best time and honest started debating looking at moving to England. Martha's writing just transports you into the sweetest romance between two jaded adults who definitely weren't looking for love but stumbled into it any ways. Martha always writes fun anter and i had just the best time with this. Can't wait to see what she writes next.

Thanks to Atria Books I received an eARC of @marthabwaters newest book Christmas is all around, her first contemporary book that has a sneaky tie in to her regency vows series that I IMMEDIATELY DM’d Martha about when I saw it.

I’m giving this book 16/10🎄bc I can.

This book is about a woman, Charlotte,, who greatly dislikes Christmas in large part due to having starred in one of the most popular Christmas movies when she was a child. she is spending the Christmas holidays in London England with her sister and her family and is forced to participate in numerous Christmasy activities much to her chagrin. When attending a Christmas tree lighting event, she ends up meeting Graham and the serendipitous meeting is the start of not only a business relationship, but a romantic one as well.

And that begins a story of humor, family, lots of Christmas, and perhaps not letting go of the past, but accepting it and being able to move forward

My Thoughts:
I’ve binged-read this book in one afternoon because I enjoyed it so so much. I am a fan of Martha’s books and her writing. I think fans of the Regency vows series will thoroughly enjoy this book because it has all the hallmarks of Martha’s wonderful writing – humor, family, friends, shenanigans, and love.

I like that the female main character is very cynical about Christmas and she’s forced to reckon with this cynicism and navigate why she feels this way when she’s existing in the world in which Christmas is just coming out from all directions. So how can she find a way to live with Christmas in a way that she doesn’t have to be a super-uber Christmas fan, but how can experience it with more positivity than what she currently does.

This is definitely a book I would happily read each Christmas season and I hope that somebody out there decides to turn it into a movie because I think it would be a wonderful visual experience as well.

If you are looking for a book to start to get into the Christmas spirit, definitely check this one out I think lots of people will enjoy it.

Super cute story, great banter and and few LOL moments. Martha’s writing style shines through but love that it’s not historical romance. Bring on her next book!!

This was a very enjoyable Christmas read! Great banter, great background story, and super fun side characters. I loved the “quest” that the MCs went on - so fun!

Definitely recommend this holiday romcom and will likely read it again in future seasons!

I loved this book! It was a perfect hallmark movie meets romance novel andI couldn’t get enough! It was cheesy and cute and everything you want in a holiday romance. I definitely recommend!

Christmas Is All Around follows Charlotte, a former child star of a popular Christmas movie who has grown up to resent the holidays and the movie, and flees to England to spend the holidays with her sister and out of the spotlight.

Overall, this was a fun story with cute Christmas vibes, and I would recommend it for a read around the holidays!

If you take a close eye to the story, though, that’s when I had to knock it a few stars.

At the beginning of the book, I liked Charlotte and really rooted for her. But as the story went on, it becomes clear that her only personality trait is hating the holidays and hating Christmas, Truly (the movie she was in as a child). Her resentment is understandable, but her inability to ever let it go or stop talking about it started to drive me a little crazy.

The characters also kept making references to being in a romance novel, and the meta-ness of that pulled me out of the story every time (and it happened way too many times).

Honestly, a lot of the characters in this book weren’t super likable, aside from the two main love interests. I’ve seen some critiques that this book would’ve benefit from being dual POV, and I agree. I think balancing Charlotte’s grim attitude with Graham’s upbeat one would’ve really benefit this story.

If you’re able to shut off your critic’s eye and simply enjoy the story, I think it is a fun Christmastime read. But if you’re looking for something with more depth, this probably isn’t the story for you.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is my first Martha Waters book and I adored it! It hit all the right notes for me. Lovely English setting, a character who hates Christmas, super witty banter, a leading man who wears glasses {{{swoon}}}, a funny supporting cast, and the perfect amount of Christmas cheer.
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Charlotte has hated Christmas ever since a movie she starred in as a child became a cult Christmas classic. She’s in England visiting her sister for the holidays when she meets Graham, the swoony glasses wearing guy who’s trying to save his family’s historic home.
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Charlotte and Graham were a hoot. I loved their chemistry and playfulness, but their relationship was much more than that. They helped each other work through some complicated feelings (family stuff, job stuff, etc) in a believable way and really made me think they would make it as a couple. There was also a kind of tongue in cheek moment near the end where they checked off each requirement for a holiday romcom, and I thought that was so cute! 🥰
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Sometimes holiday romcoms are forgettable but I feel like this one will stick with me! It was also my favorite cover of the season! 💙🩵 Thank so much to Atria Books and NetGalley for the arc!

I have enjoyed Martha Waters’ previous books, so I was excited to read this contemporary holiday romance. The premise was unique and interesting. I liked Charlotte right away. I found her character believably cranky but also enjoyed her journey of becoming more Christmas-loving (or at least Christmas-appreciative). The resolution of the conflict at the end was believable given the character arcs we had been experiencing, and I loved Padma and Ava at the end too.

Thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC!

I loved this book. It was very cute and fit perfectly into the type of book that I was looking for in the winter weather when it’s cold and I just wanted to read a cozy love story.

The fact that the story centres around a former child actress who really doesn’t like Christmas, but also can’t seem to get away from it with such a fun storyline that I hadn’t read before. I really liked the connection between Charlotte our main character and Graham our other main character. I felt like they had good banter, and I believed in their story as it unfolded. The pace of the book worked for me. I found it moved really smoothly. We got a little bit of information just at the right time and by the end I was super bought into what was going to happen between Charlotte and Graham.

I would definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for a fun romcom with winter weather vibes I would honestly read it anytime not just around Christmas.

This was a neutral read for me that felt like a predictable holiday romance. It was a nice read but I don’t have anything terribly good or bad to say. I will say though I did get a bit annoyed at Charlotte’s consistent hatred of Christmas, which is understandable but doesn’t need to be repeated once a chapter. But on the plus side I did enjoy Charlotte’s and Graham’s romance, while predictable did have some good banter and a nice buildup.

This was a DNF for me at 60%

This book was rough! I love a good grumpy romance, but Charlotte was down right hateful. It dragged the story down form all the hate and it was very depressing. I had to step away.

Some things that attributed to my DNF:

Charlotte: She was so bitter and hateful. 20 years of being angry and hating on Christmas over a movie that she praises constantly for providing the income that was needed to start her art business, but Hayes that she did. Make it make sense! Also the constant complaining about a baby crying. Villainizing a child in a supposedly sweet rom-com is wild! My favorite…her expecting her family to praise her art career while she insulted all their career choices. She was not a likable character for me.

Ava (Charlotte’s sister): She was so self centered and didn’t give a hoot about anyone but herself. Her claiming they didn’t know the lights on location was the filming spot of Charlotte’s hated childhood was so terrible. Who is that clueless and that heartless? She knew exactly what house it was, Yikes! Then to boot, abandoning her there. I disliked Ava from the start.

Graham: Zzzzz He was a complete snooze fest. Need I say more? He actually seemed depressed to me and I felt sorry for him.

I actually saw a lead in on Amazon calling this book Hilarious. It was anything but that. Too depressing to be called a fun romance. This one wasn’t for me, but thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

The riff on Love Actually absolutely set this book apart from your standard Christmas rom-com, and I found myself laughing and smiling through the whole thing. Cozy, redemptive, just plain fun.

A one-time child star haunted by the Christmas movie she starred in meets a hot British man who will do anything to save his family estate, except exploit her stardom…. SWOON. And it takes place mostly in London at Christmas? I mean…. Martha Waters knocked it out of the park with this one. The yearning. The quirky family members. It’s all there, but it’s anything but sickly sweet thanks to main character Charlotte’s edges. I loved it. Sleigh.

I have loved all of Martha Waters previous regency series. When I saw she was coming out with a holiday read, I was so excited. And she definitely did not disappoint! Such a cute seasonal read, which I love to have around the holidays. I also just love a celebrity storyline so going in I knew it would be good. This book was so fun and I really enjoyed the characters. I liked the plotlines around the main characters' families too. This felt like an original story which you don't always see with holiday reads. Would recommend to anyone but especially romance readers.

This was super cute!! I couldn’t help but imagine the main character like Taylor Momsen who played Cindy Lou Who as a kid and went on to do other things, like form a whole rockband, but some people still only know her as Cindy Lou Who.
In this novel, our FMC Charlotte was in a very popular Christmas film when she was nine, and she is forever seen as Tallulah now. She has a thriving art career, but this one role seems to shadow her success. Especially when rumors of a reboot surface, and she is the only one who won’t sign on. Now she’s the Grinch.
She goes to visit her sister in England, and spends longer there to escape all the bad press and just relax. There she meets Graham, who happens to live on the estate where said Christmas movie was filmed.
Graham commissions her to paint different iconic Christmas scenes, which I thought was really cute since it focuses more on her passion. He accompanies her and the more time they spend together, they can’t help but get attached. I loved their banter and dynamic; it had my chest tightening and my cheeks blushing. Graham had me swooning.
There is a third act breakup, but Charlotte acknowledges her overreaction, and it also helps conclude her growth arc, surrounding her feelings around the role that the Christmas movie she did plays in her life. It’s always going to be part of her, but it doesn’t have to define her. And it has its uses.

Thank you Atria Books for the arc for review! A perfect Christmas read!