I was intrigued by the premise of this, and it sounded like it would be a fun little romance set around the holidays. And this also had elements of things that I really love: like quirky characters, a main character down on their luck, and some family drama.

And for the most part, I liked those things. But I just didn’t really connect with the story. I wasn’t a fan of Henry having to basically babysit Aiden at the beginning because he knew nothing about the world. The idea of somebody being thrown into a world they know nothing about and having to learn about it seems like it should be fun, but because this was an instance where Aiden was thrown into the real world, it didn’t have that fun and magic of somebody having to learn about a world that I as a reader knew nothing about.

None of that makes this bad, I actually thought it was quite good, but my own personal preferences are why I didn’t really enjoy this.

A fun, queer romance novel with a little magic! If you're looking for a lighthearted romance to breeze through, then give this one a try. The characters are witty and relatable-even if one is a mannequin lol. I only wish I had read this book closer to the holiday season.

This was so much fun! I really loved it. I've read previous books from this author and have enjoyed all of them.

⸻

I’ll read anything Timothy Janovsky writes, and A Mannequin for Christmas just proves why. This book is pure holiday magic. It’s funny, heartfelt, a little whimsical, and packed with the kind of charm that only Janovsky can deliver. He has such a gift for creating characters you instantly want to root for and stories that feel both delightfully quirky and deeply human.

The premise is fresh and unexpected, but somehow it works perfectly, equal parts rom-com and emotional warmth. I laughed, I swooned, and I may have even teared up a little. Janovsky balances humor and heart like no one else, and this festive gem is yet another example of why he’s a must-read author for me.

If you’re looking for something that will make your heart feel full and your holiday season brighter, A Mannequin for Christmas is exactly what you need.

Mixing elements from both holiday and light magical romance genres, Timothy Janovsky’s A Mannequin for Christmas novel is a light-hearted and cute story perfect for the holidays, though it’s still a solid read outside of the winter months. A cross between the 1980’s movie Mannequin and the classic Disney movie Life Sized, paired with the wishing/midnight hour premise of Cinderella, the story has a charming whimsical feel despite clearly having the light spice and style of an adult romance novel. Likewise, the comedic and sillier moments are nicely balanced out with more serious and somber content, resulting in a well-rounded novel that’s far more ambitious than most holiday themed stories.

The story follows Henry’s struggles and insecurities revolving around maintaining his Aunt Isla’s vintage items store as well as his recent breakup, and in a moment of despair, he makes a wish at the afternoon magic hour for a perfect man. Between Henry’s amusing horror at the mannequin/Aidan’s sudden appearance and Aidan’s childlike confusion at how to be a functional human, the story on paper is quite light-hearted and playful. Although it’s only briefly mentioned in the premise, besides the humanized mannequin narrative, there’s a secondary storyline revolving around Henry’s Aunt Isla who has entrusted her store Isla’s Attic to him following her admittance to a senior living center as well as Henry’s diminished passion for creating art. Although the perfect man-nequin romance is the eye-catching hook of the novel, the other plot threads are equally as important and compelling that really tie the whole story together.

While early chapters start out rather silly and comically ridiculous courtesy of Aidan’s ignorance at being a human (the narrative decision to make Aidan initially naïve and helpless at living is quite a choice, more on that shortly), there’s far more weight behind the story beyond the initial goofiness. Despite the colorful and festive flourishes, there’s a notable wistful, melancholy feeling that runs quietly through all the events of the story. From Henry’s increasingly heavy realization of his beloved Aunt Isla’s mortality, his incredibly terrible sense of self-worth both professionally and romantically, Aidan’s unexpectedly well-written sense of existential crisis and lack of family/history, A Mannequin for Christmas is not just fun hijinks and meet-cutes.

While Janovsky’s writing style is casually modern with an extra touch of queer flamboyance perfectly suited for the novel’s genre, there's an added sense of confidence and introspection that I found particularly great. Having read several of his past novels, there’s always more ambition and solid character drama beyond the light-hearted presentations. At a surface level, Janovsky’s tone and humor walks a fine line between being endearingly sweet vs embarrassingly cringe (I for one like a hint of cringe in my life personally), but despite the occasional slapstick shenanigans, the end result is always really wholesome and warm-hearted. While the intentional jokes hit the right notes, both holiday-themed and not (references to the 12 Days of Christmas lyrics were particularly fun and a certain recurring joke based around wig snatching had me rolling repeatedly), it’s the quieter moments that I found particularly impressive. Most afternoon beach scenes that featured Henry reflecting on past events were highlights for me as well as Aidan’s curious probing around Henry’s numerous insecurities. But the story’s best narrative moments were pretty much every scene involving Aunt Isla, both Henry and Aidan jointly as well as those separately. The maternal and queer wisdom she provided both men as well as her general presence in the story added so much and is the main reason why this story is quite enjoyable and rewarding to read even outside of winter months.

As the story progressed and the focal Christmas family reunion dinner occurred, A Mannequin for Christmas pleasantly caught me off-guard with quite a few of its plot twists. For the majority of the book, the story intentionally captures the cheesy and familiar Hallmark Christmas movie feel with a queer spin, a point that the novel constantly pokes fun at via Aidan’s binge-watching of Hallmark movies and HBO dramas. But the book’s expected 3rd act conflicts went in a far different direction than one would expect for Hallmark-style stories and one that I personally really enjoyed. It almost seems like a romance novel requirement to have romantic leads get into some sort of argument, separate, only for them to realize their differences (usually miscommunication-based) to finish out with a happily ever after. A Mannequin for Christmas followed that formula but had Henry and Aidan part for very different reasons. There’s a constant theme of trying to find love as well as allowing oneself to be vulnerable despite the risks of a fall, but the characters' mutual understandings and decisions just before the story’s conclusion were chef’s kiss. I have nothing but respect for Janovsky’s risky narrative decision for that last separation for the sake of important character growth, making their Henry and Aidan’s later reunion all the more sweeter and satisfying to read. Some other reviewers felt that the ending and reunion was out of place or poorly executed, which I sharply disagree with. If you pay attention to the recurring themes of Henry’s conflicted feelings caring for Aidan and the fear of living for oneself and passions, the ending makes perfect sense and makes for a far stronger character conclusion vs a simpler HEA if they stay together 24/7.

The story is presented from both Henry and Aidan’s point of view, with chapters alternating, though that’s not always the case as Henry is clearly the main character of the two. When it comes to the characters, Janovsky did a great job of making them both inherently likable and very relatable. All of Janovsky’s past main characters have explored different areas of neurodivergence, and his portrayal of Henry’s anxiety-ridden internal intrusive thoughts were well done without it taking over the novel’s entire story. While Henry also had a recurring issue of being a perfectionist and trend for jealousy, I never found him off-putting or unpleasant (compare that to Janovsky’s past MC Matthew Prince). I also have nothing bad to say about Aunt Isla who was colorfully distinctive and a parental icon most queer kids would love to have. On the other hand, while Aidan’s eventual introspective and curious personality grew on me as well as his matter-of-fact dryness, I had mixed feelings about his perspective initially.

While I enjoyed reading the novel as a whole, the early chapters from Aidan’s perspective required quite a bit of suspension of disbelief and I found a few choices relating to his character odd. When the story first introduces Aidan, he has almost a childlike demeanor and knowledge, almost like an old-school robot or AI personality. That’s to be expected for the story’s premise, but Janovsky makes the narrative choice to have Aidan the mannequin has zero knowledge of living as a human. While issues involving social cues, concepts of money and jobs, and all the confusion around romance are to be expected, Aidan is portrayed as having no idea what food is, what a store is, how basic things work, etc. That’s fine, but then right after he’s shown to know how to use a sink faucet to drink water (he has the instinct to drink water from a tap vs his confusion about a fridge holding food) as well as being able to use door handles and other everyday objects. The next day Henry must show Aidan how to take a shower (yes, I know it’s for romance purposes and Aidan stripping eye-candy) but the story conveniently sidesteps his knowledge of using the bathroom. Normally I wouldn’t fault the story for skipping over these less flattering topics, but the novel goes into great detail about Aidan’s crazed food feasting, aches, and ignorance for very similar things where the book seems to be at odds with how far it wants to take the “living as a human” concept. I personally would’ve preferred it if the novel opted for a less literal approach to the living human idea and had Aidan already know how to do basic human activities but struggle with the societal elements only. Henry teaching Aidan how to exist was generally at its best for me when they were discussing more abstract philosophical topics or human etiquette rather than physically being alive.

The other potential sticking point that some readers may also take minor issue with is the unorthodox caretaker/creator and student/subordinate relationship between Henry and Aidan. Due to the choice for Aidan to start with a very child-like innocence and ignorance, there’s a possibility that their uneven power dynamics early-on can feel slightly creepy or off-putting. Both men are clearly physically adults but when one has such a naivety to them while the other has thirsting eyes, there’s something that feels a little wrong if you think too much about it. To Janovsky’s credit this issue goes away pretty fast (Henry’s self-awareness of the situation helps a lot) and the 3rd act conflict/separation is entirely intentional to address concerns regarding Aidan’s sheltered nature, but again this would be less noticeable had the story not focused so much on Aidan’s literal learning to exist as a human and Henry having to act as a half parental guardian, half fake boyfriend debacle.

While I had some minor nitpicks with a few of the narrative choices near the start of the story, from about the half-way point onward I thought the rest of the novel was excellent! The character work, relationship shifts, introspective reflections, I feel like Janovsky’s character work just gets better and better with every one of his novels that I have the pleasure of reading (Never Been Kissed’s Alice Kelly was no slouch, but Aunt Isla is considerably more complex and nuanced of a senior female character). And regardless of what is happening in the story, there’s always a sense of warmth and earnestness that makes his novels so easy to fall in love with, especially for younger queer readers that may also suffer from similar social anxieties and worries as his main characters. While the holiday theme and the mannequin premise get your attention (not to mention the great book cover design), the thoughtful reflections about love and life are why you’ll stay well beyond New Years Eve, just like Aidan.

I love this author. I have read a lot by this author and have loved every book I have come across. I was sucked into this book from the first page and wished I had more story to read.

Vibes: The 2000 Disney classic Life Sized (starring Tyra Banks), but make it gay.

I loved that a story with such a silly plot was able to make me feel so many big feelings! If you love holiday romance movies this is the story for you. Humor, kitsch, fun supporting characters, and main characters you truly want to root for - what else can you ask for?

Read if you like: Curating the perfect holiday decor, golden retriever boyfriends, last year’s Netflix christmas movie Hot Frosty

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of the book.

3.5

Henry has been living in the shadow of his own complacency as he managed his elderly aunt's vintage/ antique shop. The most joy he allows his artistic soul is decorating the store's display windows, with one mannequin in particular. Then his wish for the perfect man brings that mannequin to life... and Henry has to come out of his shell and decide if wishes really do come true.

Okay, shoutout to NetGalley for this book. As a child of the 80's, who has seen the movie Mannequin an OBSCENE number of times, this was right up my alley. And Aidan (the mannequin) brought the comic relief I was absolutely looking for. His questions, realizations, and his wonder were hilarious and warm--they gave the story a warm lift. Henry tugged at my heartstrings. His fear and cynicism made you want to shake him, but also hold him so tight. He should have dumped that cat long before he did. I do think the story tried too hard at the end to make him the problem; he had things to work on, but making him the heavyweight against people who'd hurt him deliberately and lied to him didn't sit right with me. I was happy he found his joy in art though, and his heart's desire.

I will say that this was a lot more melancholy than I expected for a holiday romance. Even the happy parts had an undercurrent of sadness. The gloom of the third act breakup (and subsequent separation) fit right in with the overall feeling of the story, and I wasn't even that happy they got back together, especially considering how they ended and what happened after. But, it was well written, engaging, hit all the holiday notes and it was sweet watching Henry and Aidan fall in love.

This twist in a tale was so unique and interesting. The love story of Henry and Aidan was anything but easy but the story was full of joy, learning, reflection, and even sorrow at times but with the purpose of showing humanity in its most basic form. Timothy Janovsky never fails to write compelling, engaging stories and characters that I can’t help but love.

Timothy Janovsky has made magic once again! He has the ability to bring such wonderful, complex characters to life. Just when you think you know who the character is and what direction the story will go in, Janovsky surprises the reader by giving additional layers to the character and the storyline. Not once did I get stalled in reading. The pages were turned so quickly and the ending came too fast.

This is the story of Henry Aster and his quest for finding love and happiness. With the holidays quickly approaching, Henry makes a wish. But not just any old wish. A wish for the perfect man. His perfect man ended up being "someone" he has known his whole life. The male mannequin he has made many window displays with over the years at his Great Aunt Isla's store. There were so many layers to peel back to watch Henry and Aidan blossom. It took the characters in getting to know themselves as well as each other to say the story was complete. I highly recommend this book!

I was interested in reading this as it screamed Hallmark movie, and who doesn't love to enjoy one of those every now and again. And this certainly fit the bill. It was fun getting to see Aiden learn how to be human, and the goofs that came along with it. Christmas was really the perfect setting for Henry and Aiden's relationship as it added a certain magic to it. The end of the book felt a little rushed to me. I would have liked to explore Henry and Aiden reuniting after their two year split a little more. I'm not normally a fan of third act break ups, but it worked here as Aiden only was human for a month and for sure needed to spend some time on his own. That's why I think it would have been interesting to see how the two of them would get to know each other again. Overall, I found this to be a quick read and fun holiday romance!

This was a cute, fun read that felt like a Hallmark movie. Would definitely recommend to those looking for a feel good book.

I’ve read all of Timothy Janovsky’s books since his debut and loved every single one, so I was super excited to get an ARC of this book! I’m always a fan of a sweet holiday novel and this one doesn’t disappoint. I love Aiden’s charm and open personality and how this was portrayed while still going deeper into Henry’s social anxiety and how that manifests in how he approaches the new relationship. And although I felt that the ending was a bit rushed, I loved the direction it went it and how it all came together in the end. Overall a very sweet and cute Christmas story. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book!

*"A Mannequin for Christmas" by Timothy Janovsky is a delightful and imaginative holiday romance that combines magic, humor, and heart. The story follows Henry Aster, a vintage shop manager at the Jersey Shore, who, after a recent breakup, wishes for "The Perfect Man" to accompany him to his family's Christmas gathering. The next morning, one of his male mannequins, Aidan Smith, springs to life with no memory of being a mannequin and a pressing deadline: he must experience true human love before midnight on New Year's Eve or remain human forever.​

Janovsky's writing is charming and witty, capturing the magic of the holiday season while exploring themes of love, self-discovery, and the importance of human connection. The dynamic between Henry and Aidan is both humorous and touching, as Henry teaches Aidan about human emotions and relationships, all while navigating the complexities of their growing feelings for each other.​ I fell in love with them almost immediately.

The novel's pacing is well-balanced, with a perfect blend of romantic tension and festive cheer. The setting of the Jersey Shore adds an unexpectedly cozy backdrop to the story, enhancing the holiday atmosphere. While the premise is fantastical, the emotional depth and character development ground the narrative, making it a heartwarming read for fans of romantic comedies and holiday tales.​

Overall, A Mannequin for Christmas is a delightful read that offers a fresh take on holiday romance. Janovsky's unique storytelling and endearing characters make this novel a perfect addition to any holiday reading list.

This was a fun read. It is very quick and basically a hallmark movie which I love. It hit all the Christmas accepts I believe it needed. I did love the characters and their relationship. I did not like the third act breakup-it’s so overdone. But I do see how it was relevant to the characters. I do wish the ending wasn’t so short and we got to see more of them together happy again.

As someone who loved the original Mannequin movie growing up, I couldn’t wait to dive into this book, and it absolutely delivered! Timothy Janovsky took a nostalgic, whimsical concept and gave it a heartwarming, queer holiday twist that felt both magical and meaningful.

This story is packed with everything I love in a holiday romance: charm, humor, family, and just the right amount of sparkle. Watching Henry, unlucky in love and a little jaded, get swept up in the whirlwind that is Aidan, the mannequin who springs to life, was so much fun. Their chemistry is electric and endearing, and Aidan’s wide eyed wonder at the world made me smile so much.

Beyond the romance, there’s a sweet exploration of identity, personal growth, and how love, whether romantic or otherwise, can transform us. The antique shop setting was cozy and full of charm, and the Christmas vibes? Immaculate. I could practically smell the gingerbread and hear the soft hum of carols in the background.

This is my second book by Timothy Janovsky, and I’m officially a fan. He writes with warmth, wit, and such clear love for his characters. Oh, and can we talk about that gorgeous cover? It’s giving holiday magic in the best way.

If you’re a fan of Hallmark movies with a dash of queer magic and heart, this book is perfect. I’ll be thinking about Henry and Aidan’s story all season long! 💕

Thank you to NetGalley, Timothy Janovsky, and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC of this book.

I absolutely LOVED the mannequin movie growing up so I was super excited to check this book out and it was incredible! Such a fun concept and so well done. This is now my second book by the author and I’m becoming such a big fan. This has romance, family love, a sweet antique shop, and Christmas vibes. Also, the cover is stunning!

This is a cute, funny, and well-written holiday romance with a magical twist. Henry, unlucky in love, makes a wish and suddenly the mannequin he works with comes to life. Aidan is sweet and charming, and their story is full of heart and humor.

There’s a third-act break where Henry sends Aidan off to explore the world, and while their reunion is sweet, I wished we got more details on their reconnecting. It seemed cut short. It does end with a HEA and delivers some cozy holiday vibes.

This was a fun, very silly premise for a holiday novel that ended up being deeper and more melancholy than expected. Unlucky-in-love Henry, who runs a junk store for his beloved elderly aunt, makes a wish for "the perfect man" and it comes true via a gorgeous store mannequin. Hijinks ensue as the mannequin, who names himself Aidan, has until New Year's Eve to get Harry to fall in love with him or he'll become plastic again. Problem is he basically has to start from scratch in learning how to be a human. This results in some very funny situations and endearingly guileless observations as he grapples with his new abilities and feelings, but also makes him seem uncomfortably child-like and helpless. I did enjoy the building relationship between the men though, especially as they designed a new window display for the store together, but the ending unfortunately soured me on the book. *spoilers* They do fall in love just in time to keep Aidan human, but then Harry decides to send him off to explore the world on his own (even though at that point he is still very much a naive babe in the woods). It makes sense he should have his own experiences before making a lifelong commitment to one man, but it's also very sad since the MCs are kept apart for almost two years(!) and sadly drift apart. Aidan does not even show up when the aunt dies which hurts Harry deeply. It's really painful to read and makes their sudden reconciliation at the end seem unrealistic. They do get the requisite HEA but it feels sudden and unearned. This was a fun concept though and Janovsky's writing is sharp and clever, fans of Hallmark holiday movies will find a lot to enjoy here.

Henry Aster just wants to have a magical love story, only it's approaching the holidays and he's newly single after thinking this was the year he was going to get engaged. After a bit of wallowing, Henry makes a wish, for the perfect man. Hilarity and magic ensure when the mannequin in his shop window comes alive. It's the magical Christmas movie plot he thinks he's always wanted. The catch, if Aidan (the mannequin), can't get Henry to fall in love with him before New Years Eve he will turn back into plastic.

This started out like a perfect hallmark movie, and ended with an indepth look at what we bring into relationships and how we show up and treat those we are in relationships with. I loved the exploration of complex family dynamics and how those relationships can be multilayered, complicated, and beautiful all at the same time. I also really enjoyed seeing the world through Aiden's eyes, the questions he asks, and the exploration of how we communicate things to others.

This book offered dimension and depth and I would recommend it. There is always a good time for a Holiday Romance (even in April lol). Thank you to the publisher for providing an advanced readers copy via Netgalley in Exchange for an honest review.