Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of Christmas People!

This book is a hilarious, clever, and delightfully meta holiday rom-com perfect for fans of Hallmark movies and the people who lovingly poke fun at them. Iva-Marie Palmer delivers a fresh spin on holiday romance by literally dropping her snarky, Christmas-skeptical main character into a real-life Christmas movie—complete with flannel-wearing love interests, cookie bake-offs, and just enough magical realism to keep things unpredictable.

Jill is the ideal narrator for this romp: sarcastic, self-aware, and totally out of her element. Watching her navigate the tropes she normally rolls her eyes at is wildly entertaining—especially as she realizes her only way out is to play along. Add in a swoony high school crush, awkward run-ins with the ex, and a town that's basically a gingerbread village come to life, and you've got the recipe for holiday chaos (and charm).

Tropes include:
🎄 Enemies-to-exes-to-something-more
🎄 Holiday bake-off
🎄 Magical realism / movie-within-a-book
🎄 One that got away
🎄 Big-city-girl-stuck-in-small-town

Funny, festive, and full of heart, Christmas People is a self-aware holiday treat that still delivers all the cozy feels—perfect for readers who want to embrace the spirit of the season and laugh at it a little.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending me a copy of this book to review.

This was a fun romance novel, and I enjoyed it a lot. I am looking forward to reading more by this author.

This book just gives you all the Christmas feels! I couldn’t put down the book. It was absolutely darling. Makes me want Christmastime

This is a sweet Christmas story. Jill is struggling in her life and then one day she wakes up in a vibrant Heartfelt movie! How funny! Santa keeps trying to tell her to open her heart. Really that is what her friends and her mom try to tell her too. She needs to quit pushing good things away just because she is afraid something bad will happen. She is keeps trying and trying to figure out what the right path in her life is. She does just fine when she finally just trusts herself!

Jill is definitely not a Christmas person, having moved away from home after a bad breakup with her boyfriend when he announced he was moving to NYC right before Christmas three years prior. Jill now lives in LA & is a failed screenwriter. Her agent as reached out letting her know that her last hope hinges on her writing for a "hallmark" type production. She returns home for Christmas and finds herself in a "hallmark" movie of her own life after being out with said ex. The story moves along, is "hallmark-y" predictable, all is well that ends well. Heads up--the language and sex scenes are definitely not "Hallmark approved" for those who it will bother.
Thanks to St Martin's Publishing Group for the email reaching out suggesting the ARC in exchange for an honest review, as well as NetGalley and Ms Palmer.

Christmas People is a cozy, bittersweet holiday read with just the right amount of heart and humor. I loved how Palmer brings a small-town Christmas vibe to life—think twinkling lights, family chaos, and those awkward reunions that somehow feel comforting. The characters are real: they mess up, they heal, they laugh at their own drama—then laugh some more. And while the story delivers plenty of yuletide cheer, there’s enough emotional depth to keep it from feeling saccharine.

What really worked for me was the balance between community warmth and someone dealing with real baggage. The romance is gentle and slow‑burn, more about healing through connection than insta‑love, and I found myself rooting for everyone—even the ones who were hard to like at first. If you want a holiday romance that’s cozy without being cliché and has a touch of emotional honesty, Christmas People is a win.

Jill was not a Christmas person and avoided her hometown during Christmas because she did not want to run into him. Jill is a screenwriter but unable to get anything sold. Her agent suggests she do a Heartfelt movie. Jill ends up in an alternate dimension and vacillates between reality and being the star in a Heartfelt Christmas movie. The holiday bakeoff was fun as she works with her old crush and her ex from high school. Jill’s family adds a lot to the special Christmas feeling. Going back and forth from reality to being in the movie sometimes confused me. It was an interesting way to see what she was thinking throughout the story.

Some people are not Christmas type of people. Jill Jacobs does not care for Christmas after what happened to her three years ago. She left her hometwon and moved out to Los Angeles. You see she is a screen writer and thought being close to where her career would take off. Although she had to get a job to hold her over till her sucess. She is working at an up scale arcade to make ends meet. Then her family pleads for her to come home for Christmas. So she flies back home to Powell Park, IL.

I would like to thank the marketing director of St. Martin's Griffin for inviting me to read this novel prior to publishing.

Your typical Christmas love story but how can you not love it?!?

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity of having this arc.

Such a cute “hallmark” movie is what I would say. Just in book form. This was such a quick read and it flowed so naturally. Kept me fully engaged while being able to picture everything unfolding like you are watching a Christmas movie.

Sometimes second chances are the best ones and in Christmas People it happens when and how you would least expect it.

I absolutely adored Christmas People. I’m a sucker for romance, magical realism, and Christmas settings so this was right up my alley. I could have used a bit more Jill and Grant but overall I really liked this. The story was thoughtful and fun and I loved the full circle ending. Definitely recommend!

Just about everyone has seen a Hallmark Christmas movie with the perfectly adorable town, the handsome leading man and the perfectly beautiful leading woman.
Things look hopeless and the leading man swoops in at the last minute and miraculously there's a happy ending! [If you haven't, stop reading this and go find one to watch immediately!!]

Christmas People is the story of a young woman who leaves her family and home town to move to LA to pursue her dream of being a screenwriter. After being fired from managing a game arcade, she suddenly decides to go home to Chicago for Christmas. But somewhere along the way she becomes trapped in a Heartfelt Christmas movie.

I loved the premise and seeing how reality and true life meshed in this delightful story. Wonderful imagery, but a plot that seemed to get bogged down a little during the "movie" section. Fortunately when back to reality a faster pace resumed to a delightful ending.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Iva-Marie Palmer and St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin for this digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

This was a super cozy holiday vibe read. It was interesting right off that bat and you really felt for Jill. The transition to the Hallmark world felt a little confusing and she seemed to just accept the change of setting a little too quickly to be realistic. The ending was solid and a good overall read!

3.5 stars rounded up. A cute easy read Christmas romance. not too much focus on Christmas, and it's definitely more on the romance side. I loved the concept for this book, and there were some great parts.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started this book, but I was very pleasantly surprised. I ended up finishing the book in just a few sittings and really enjoyed the story and characters.

I really enjoyed this one!

Jill's life is not going as "planned" after her break up and moving to lA 3 years ago. She comes back to her small town for Christmas and is trying to avoid her Ex at all cost, which in a small town never works out well.

She ends up passing out in the park in a Santa sled and wakes up the next morning in her town but different. The Heartfelt (aka hallmark) version of her town. It's the weeks leading up to Christmas and she finds herself in a bit of a love triangle between her Ex, Grant and her high school crush Corey.

Which will she choose? How will she get back to her own real time?

She finds our pretty quickly that if she lives her part of the story like a Heartfelt movie maybe just maybe she can get back to her own time and try and fix her life.

I loved that it is a very real feeling in your late 20's-30's of feeling like you have failed and not reached your goals you had set forth.

I received a free copy of, Christmas People, by Iva-Marie Palmer, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Jill does not care for Christmas after having her heart broken on Christmas. Jill is back home for Christmas this year, and is not that happy about it. What should of been a great read is not, it sound like it would be, Christmas hater finds herself in a hallmark movie, though people dont swear in Hallmark movies, which is why I love them.

Thank you St Martin’s Press and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. A fun holiday read! Jill hasn’t liked Christmas since her ex broke up with her on Christmas Eve years ago. She hasn’t been back to her hometown since then either. But this year she’s returning home for the holidays. After a night out she wakes up in her hometown at its perfect holiday season, jolly people, snowy, and even holiday smells. She realizes that she’s stuck in a holiday like movie, one that features her hometown and people she knows. Including her ex and her high school crush. The only way to get back to her world is to play out the movie the perfect holiday romance. But in doing so will she fall back in love with Christmas? And can she turn her movie romance into a real one? A fun and light holiday rom com! Iva-Marie Palmer will have you in the feels and also all the holiday warmth! Sweet and charming!

I just finished reading this book. The plot was absolutely fantastic! It was quite the page turner, and I could not put the book down once I began reading it. I can't wait for it to be released. I will recommend it to everyone I know!

This book feels like a love letter to the genre and to anyone who’s ever felt a little lost around the holidays. Charming, emotionally honest, and just the right amount of cozy, it made me fall in love with Christmas stories all over again.

This was a cute Christmas rom-com. I wish I would have read it closer to Christmas (and not on a 90 degree day in June :) ).

Jill is not a Christmas person, but one day she wakes up in a Christmas movie. In order to escape, she has to finish the plot and see if she can get into the Christmas spirit.

This was a cute take on the magical realism Christmas vibe that has been going around the last few years.