🍷🍷🍷🍷 #Review of In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Title: In a Holidaze
Author: Christina Lauren
Format: Kindle Edition, 1st edition, 334 pages
Published: October 6th 2020 by Gallery Books
ASIN: B084GB2M9R

Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N 

Source: NetGalley

Reviewer: Crystal

Rating: 🍷🍷🍷🍷 out of 5 Wine Glasses

One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners..

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

Crystal's Thoughts:

“I ask the universe, simply: Can you show me what will make me happy?”

Christina Lauren is one of few authors (duo) that I will automatically pick up a book from without looking at the synopsis first, and one of the rare contemporary romances that I fancy. In a Holidaze, as you can conclude from the title, is a fun and quirky holiday story that centers around the character of Maelyn Jones. Mae has been down on her luck in love and life, but looks forward to her family's annual holiday getaway. Unfortunately, her unlucky streak continues when she drinks a little bit too much of the eggnog and finds herself in a compromising position with a family friend who then pretends nothing happened. To add fuel to the fire, it is announced that this is the last year that they will spend at the cabin that she has been coming to since she was a child. Right when she thinks that things couldn't get any worse, her and her family suffer a car accident on the way home. When she wakes up though, she finds herself back on a plane like the whole trip never happened. Are do-overs possible?

In a Holidaze was such an entertaining read with a lively cast of characters that begins with the simple question of, can you show me what will make me happy? The story is very Groundhog Day-esque, but instead of one day Maisie is living several weeks over and over again! Can she ever get it right though and find happiness? 

 

The humor and heaviness of the plot are balanced out well, with a heaping side of steamy. Maisie has always had a crush on Andrew, but she's had a closer relationship with Andrew's younger brother. While Drew has never acted like he even notices Maisie in the female sense, but if she is bound to live this trip over and over again why not put all of her cards on the table and go for the one guys she's always wanted? While she's at it, she also decides to show her friends and family how much fun they have every year in hopes that Andrew's parents will change their mind about selling the cabin. 

I adored the family dynamics of this group of friends and family who have formed one big, happy, and convoluted extended family. Benny was a delight and acted as an uncle to Maisie, her very own toking Jiminy Cricket trying to guide her along the way. And while the tale ran the gamut of emotions, In a Holidaze was a magical journey - as long as you don't take it too seriously. A recommended read to cozy with this winter. 

“It never occurred to me that you might be mine.”