It's still Christmas in July, right? Lol, as if I need an excuse to read a holiday read. Joy to the Girls is a cute, she gets the girl holiday novella that is set in Barnwich, and town straight out of a Hallmark movie. Molly and Alex go on a trip with friends for winter break and decide to play matchmaker for their friends Cora and May. ⁣
⁣
While they are busy setting up cute moments for Cora and May, they are holding some of their own secrets that could impact their own relationship. A cozy read that will be perfect for holiday romance readers when it releases in a couple of months.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an arc! I absolutely loved She Gets the Girl so I was so excited to pick this up and it did not disappoint. It was the perfect mix of getting more of their story, seeing how these two have grown together over the years, and the potential for new sparks.

I definitely wish that this was longer because I didn't want it to end but there was so many amazing pieces that I couldn't help smiling at!

A cute and cozy follow up to check in with the characters - romantic and filled with holiday and warm vibes!

A big thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster, Rachael Lippincott, and Alyson Derrick for the opportunity to read this ARC!

I was having a down day and decided to celebrate Christmas in July with this adorable novella! It’s a follow-up to She Gets the Girl, which if you haven’t read yet… what are you doing?! Rachael and Alyson are the queens of YA WLW books, and this book was no exception!

Joy to the Girls follows Molly and Alex as they help their friend Cora get the girl she’s crushing on. The four of them head to Barnwich, the perfect holiday town to spend their holiday break together. As Molly and Alex try to help Cora, it comes to light that they may be hiding secrets from each other…. secrets about their future after college threaten that may threaten their relationship. Will they be able to help a new relationship blossom and keep theirs at the same time?

Rachael and Alyson seriously cannot write a bad book! 💕 They are absolutely my favorite writing power couple. She Gets the Girl was my first book centered on a WLW couple, so it holds a special place in my heart. I was so excited when I found out that I got to read more of Molly and Alex’s story. This book is a dual POV, which I always love! While I didn’t love that the book was based on two people keeping secrets, I still enjoyed it. It’s super cute and perfect for the holiday season!

Joy to the Girls will be available on September 30th! ❄️

Thank you to Netgalley, Simon and Schuster Children’s books and authors rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick for providing me with the eARC of “Joy to the Girls”, in exchange for my honest review!
Publication date: September 30th, 2025
*I will be posting this review to Goodreads closer to the official publication date, on September 1st. I will also be updating this feedback to include to the link to my review once it is posted.

4 stars! This was such a cute, fun and quick Christmas read!
I finished this just a few hours, and it really left me wanting more!

This story is a sequel to the book “She Gets the Girl’.
While I have yet to read the first book, it did not affect my ability to read and connect with this one.
“Joy to the Girls” is a young-adult sapphic romance that follows Alex and Molly- who have been dating for several years.
They are taking a trip with two of their friends from college, to do Christmas in one of their hometowns, while also playing matchmaker and trying to set the two girls up.
However, there is a problem. Both Alex and Molly are hiding something from each other.
Molly’s secret could change things forever, but she must find the courage to confide in Alex and hope they can still have their relationship.

I really enjoyed this story, and I am quite excited to go back and read the first part now!
This was so simple and cozy, but also kept me on my toes the whole time.
I was very anxious for the two girls to finally talk and share what they had been hiding- and even more anxious to find out what would happen to them in the end.

I really liked Alex and Molly together!
I could feel the connection between the two of them, and I could tell how much they care about each other.
I love their little shared moments of romance throughout the story. It was so wholesome. Just pure cuteness and fluff, that is super feel-good.

I must say that Molly’s secret made me somewhat sad, and the way she reacted towards Alex’s feelings about it made it worse.
She was hiding something big and life-changing, and I think Alex had every right react the way she did.
However, conflict-resolution is part of the story, so I did not mind it too much.

The Christmas theme here is so nice and cozy!
I think this would be a fantastic read for the holiday season. I am looking forward to re-reading it during that time.

Overall, this is quite good!
I think a lot of people would like this, even if they haven’t read the first one yet!

Well, this was a sweet little Christmas in July treat! I was so happy to get this arc because both of these authors are new to me, and I can happily say they didn’t disappoint! I will be rereading this around Christmas, and will definitely read more by these authors!

Joy to the Girls, by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick, is a fun holiday novella. It is a heartwarming story with just enough angst to keep you turning the pages to see what happens next. Beautiful Cover! I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for providing the ARC ebook that I read and reviewed. All opinions are my own.

As someone who had a good time with both She Gets The Girl and Make My Wish Come True by this author duo, jumping back in that world for a little bit was a fun time.

I liked seeing what Alex and Molly were up to since we last saw them and the adventures their future took them on. I also enjoyed seeing them work together to get a friend of theirs with the girl she had a crush on.

Unfortunately I didn't love how long it took everyone to admit the things that were on their mind and how it seemed to consume the entire story. I'm glad things still felt light and cheery throughout and the fact that it was set on a Christmas backdrop definitely helped that, but that was my one minor complaint.

thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC to review.

Gorgeous cover. Beautiful on its own but also lovely for how it matches with the previous book in the series.
The content itself… too short to get anything going, despite the cute small town vibes. I didn’t find it very believable, Molly holding off on telling Alex about her future plans, and it felt too contrived that Alex’s secret was similar. Like Cora said, they needed to talk, “like yesterday”. That was the main conflict (and it resolved almost immediately, understandable given the short length of this novella. Not much on the Cora romance even if it was sickenly sweet (in a good way!)
The story’s main charm is following up on its prequel, and coming back to the same characters / setting / voices. It’s an easy, short read and a nostalgic blast to the past for those who read the first one. Unfortunately, I feel new readers would have a hard time getting into these characters with this novella alone. Wish it were longer and had more substance.

Joy to the Girls by Rachael Lippincott and Alyson Derrick is a cozy, heartwarming holiday novella that checks all the right boxes: snow-dusted romance, small-town charm, and just the right amount of angst. Set during a picture-perfect winter getaway, Alex and Molly return in this sequel to She Gets the Girl with a mission to play matchmaker for their friend Coram, while secretly dodging their own relationship landmines. The emotional stakes feel real as the couple grapples with looming post-college uncertainties, even as they sip cocoa and skate under twinkling lights. With equal parts joy and vulnerability, this novella is a tender reminder that love isn’t just about getting the girl, it’s about growing with her, too. A perfect holiday treat for fans of sapphic romance and second-chance magic.

Yeah, Christmas in July and all that, but it was still weird reading this when I'm in a firm summer mood. Regardless, this was just a cute followup to the author duo's debut romance. But Make My Wish Come True is still my favorite holiday lesbian romance from them.

Despite Alex and Molly being as loveable as they were in the main book, the main conflict of the book is Molly not telling her girlfriend of three years she's going to London for her masters. I find it so dumb it took her so long to even tell her, and the reason she gave also was pretty weak, too. It just caused so much needless melodrama, and the fight that came out of that lasted, like, a chapter and a half. But, besides that, there was a lot of cute holiday feels and moments with these two. Plus, two side characters have a side romance as well, and that was cute, too.

It's kind of hard to talk so much about this book other than that one big issue I had and saying, "But the rest was cute!" This book is definitely for those who enjoyed the first book and want to experience canon holiday moments between the girls. Otherwise, I don't know who else to recommend this to.

This was a cute and heartwarming novella set in the world of She Gets the Girl. It follows Alex and Molly during their senior year of college, just a few days before Christmas. The holiday setting adds a cozy charm to the story.

Alex and Molly are still going strong as a couple, but both are keeping big post-graduation plans secret from one another. Their lack of communication leads to some light tension, though it’s handled with the tenderness and emotional growth fans of the original novel will appreciate. At the same time, the couple is playing matchmaker, trying to help Cora and her crush find their way to each other romantically. Their efforts add a fun and heartfelt subplot that mirrors their own relationship journey.

Overall, this novella is sweet, satisfying, and a nice glimpse into the characters’ lives after the events of the main book. It’s a feel-good story about love, friendship, and the sometimes messy, always meaningful process of growing together.

This cute novella gave all the Christmas holiday cheer- whew the town in this takes you straight to hallmark! Like the movie Snow Globe come to life, it's all peppermint hot cocoa and snow within these pages. I loved Alex and Molly in the first book and was so happy to see them again, so this made me swoon a bit (even though I wanted to yell at them to just communicate through this one)! This will be such a fun sapphic novella for the girlies who want some escapism around the holidays.

I really enjoyed reading Joy to the Girls! The story was heartfelt and engaging, and I especially appreciated the positive and authentic lesbian representation. It’s wonderful to see such meaningful portrayals that resonate and inspire. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a joyful and uplifting read! I will absolutely be giving this one a reread during the holidays.

Reading a Christmas book in July felt right. All of the jolly of this story was just so sweet. I loved to read a follow up to see what happens with Molly and Alex. They have such a beautiful relationship and it makes so much sense they would want everyone to feel the same. I love LOVE and this book was just too cute! A great sequel that I wish could be followed by yet another book.

Thanks NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Totally predictable and has my least favorite plot, not telling each other something. That seems rather hard to believe, since Alex and Molly have been together for three years.

If you find predictability comforting, there's nothing else really wrong with this book. It is well-written and all that.

And don't let this put you off of She Gets the Girl or Make My Wish Come True, both of which are good books in different ways.

Joy to the Girls is the anticipated sequel to “She Gets the Girl.” Set 3 years after Molly and Alex get together, they head for a quick Christmas getaway to Barnwich, Pennsylvania to play cupid to their friends, Cora and May. While their initial plan is to setup their friends, their trip is not without friction. Both Alex and Molly have news for each other that will impact their future. The question is… how will each take it?

As a huge fan of the authors, unfortunately, this was a miss for me. I enjoyed the writing and the cadence of the story, but I felt that the story stretched the “will they or won’t they” say their news. While I understand that the characters had different plans for their relationship, I felt that the anticipation of the news was stretched out too long and the fall out and resolve was short-lived. I would have also loved to explore what happened to Cora and May, but perhaps that’s for another novella. I’ll still be waiting to see what happens to Alex and Molly on the next iteration of their relationship.

Also, great reference to their other book “Make My Wish Come True.” (Shoutout to Ruth who finally got to light the Christmas tree but everyone booed her lol - iykyk!)

Thank you Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley for an honest review.

This fun holiday sequel to "She Gets the Girl" was exactly the update I needed on Alex and Molly's relationship. We jump in after a few years have passed, and they are at another key moment in their relationship where they are graduating from college and figuring out what happens next. Their realistic struggle over sharing big plans and fear of rejection was so relatable. And in the background we get to follow along with a blossoming new romance in their friend group!

This was a quick read and an easy five stars from someone who is already a huge fan of Rachael and Alyson's previous novels. This would make a great read for Christmas in July and the perfect stocking stuffer for an Alex and Molly fan.

The novella wraps up nicely but leaves an opening for more. I can't help but hope for more of Alex and Molly's story in the near future.

The perfect addition for Christmas in July :) I was glad that I saw this one in the newsletter and was able to quickly read it. Thank you for the opportunity!

I didn’t enjoy this. The light christmas fun activities couldn’t save this for me. It’s filled with secrets, lies, and miscommunication and idk I just was bored.