THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 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 … 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.
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What a delightful, sweet holiday read with a sprinkle of magic. I adored the usual Christina Lauren dry humor, but what I enjoyed the most was Mandrew! He’s the perfect leading man, a real Disney prince of the page.
The Groundhog Day inspiration was unexpected. Like with most of my favorite authors, I went into this book without reading the blurb, so the first time Mae goes back in time I was like, wait, what? I quickly got on board.
This was a book about Christmas, family, and having the courage of going after the things we want.
Super recommended.
Whimsical fun, with a warm helping of holiday feels.
Christina Lauren’s In a Holidaze is the perfect fresh take on finding your joy and falling in love. One page in and you want to put up your tree at all times of the year, sip hot cocoa, and dive into a marvelous cast of characters while staying on your toes as to what will happen next.
This book has been everywhere so it made me very curious! My first listen by Christina Lauren. Enjoyed this holiday themed story a la groundhog’s day. Sweet story! Glad Maelyn got her HEA in the end. This was my first time listening to Patti Murin. She did a great job!
I enjoyed this book and was definitely rooting for the couple! Fun play on Groundshog Day!
I’ve been in a large reading slump with the pandemic and this is the first book in a long time that I gobbled up and could not put down. The Groundhog Day concept was fun. I enjoyed Mae and her large group of family and family friends, and her romance with Andrew gave me all the feels!
I’m a sucker for a good time loop book. This one was romantic and fun.
***4.5 STARS***
Boisterously jolly and high-spirited, In a Holidaze is merry and mirthful–a sparkling romance with the perfect amount of Christmas cheer to grow even the smallest Grinch heart!
From snow creatures, Christmas scavenger hunts, and sledding confessions to snowflakes in hair, kissing under the mistletoe, and gazing under the tree– this novel was truly unexpected!
Maelyn ‘Mae/Maisie’ Jones has been in love with Andrew Hollis since she was thirteen years old. Now twenty-six, Maisie’s life has hit a massive standstill. Ketchup gate led to the destruction of her last relationship, her job is unfulfilling, she’s experiencing the woes of unrequited love, and she lives with her parents. Well, her mother as her parents are divorced.
A Christmas tradition birthed before her by her parents and their college friends, all families still visit the cabin in Utah every year to celebrate Christmas together as one big extended, pseudo-family. The cabin is the only place giving Mae a feeling of normalcy, the place where her family is still somewhat whole. The place that brings her an abundance of joy. But upon the end of the trip, Maisie even loses that as the cabin will be sold. This, and one infinite regret sends Mae into an emotional tailspin and has her contemplating life.
An unspoken wish to the universe not only takes Maisie back in time over and over again to relive her favorite time of the year but to find her happiness; thus, throwing us into the Groundhog Day twist which dominates this novel.
Together, Maisie and Andrew gave me that feel good feeling deep in my gut. This life-long friendship turned more left me a heaping mess of giddiness and I revelled in it! However, this novel not only focuses on these two romantically but on Maisie singularly. Her character growth is exceptional and in many ways I found her so very relatable. She loves the cabin and Christmas just as much as she loves her family. She’s quirky, random, blurts out her thoughts– she is just someone who wants to be content with her life, and throughout this novel she finds herself doing the unexpected, righting some wrongs, and finding her happiness.
Christina Lauren has penned a novel that is good-humored and heartwarming, stirring the soul in ways that will leave one pondering what will make them happy! In a Holidaze is a time-looping, Christmas themed must read that is bound to get you into the spirit, no matter the holiday season!
I was lucky enough to score an early copy of this book, and I’m already looking forward to rereading it once winter arrives. Christina Lauren are at their best with this one. It’s everything I love about the team’s writing: the humor, the sexual tension, the heart-squeezing sweetness, the quirky side characters. Throw in the light-fantasy whimsy of Groundhogs Day, and you’ve got an absolute perfect book, in my opinion. I fell hard.
This was absolutely such an amazing book. I loved every second. The author really ropes you in and makes you part of the family and you enjoy everyone in it. This is definitely one of my new favorite authors for sure.
I admit this is my first read of Christina Lauren and I’m not sure what I expected. In a Holidaze is a festive, quirky, romance that has a ‘ground hog day’ type plot. Meaning? The days repeat themselves and one lucky person, Mae in this case, gets to be driven batty over it.
In a Holidaze is a standalone book (YES STANDALONES STILL EXIST) and no other books have to be read prior to this one… or after. Let’s all take a moment to appreciate a good standalone book.
TO THE REVIEW
“I am the human equivalent of a fart that clears a room.” – Christina Lauren, In a Holidaze
As I mentioned above, this was my first Christina Lauren book and I think I went in with a lot of hype. Not that the book wasn’t good, just for me I was expecting a bit more?
Things I liked:
The dialogue – hysterical and so well done
Uncle Benny – I feel like he needs his own book after this haha
The plot – Ground hog day is a hard sell but it’s done really well for this
The plot is solid and Christina Lauren does a wonderful job giving the ominous vibe of how and when a day will reset. The lack of control the overall character has in their situation. She also has done a wonderful job projecting the hopelessness. Reading through each day/trial is enjoyable. The dialogue is HYSTERICAL and Uncle Benny deserves the Gold Medal for best family member. #nospoils #TeamBenny
However, I will say the pairing left me a litttle wanting. I made it about half way through and I still wasn’t feeling the romantic vibes. It felt off. Not sure if that was intentional or not. If so, well don – if not, it made the romance just a bit ‘meh’ for me. It started to recover around 75% but even then I didn’t fully ship the pairing. It could have been due to the plot itself. The plot is very isolating as far as other character interaction.
Ultimately, In a Holidaze was a fun and quick read. I would recommend it to anyone who loves the holiday/winter season and unique romance. The characters are relatable and their family is wonderful to read about.
Overall rating: 3.5
Plot: 4
Character Development: 3
Dialogue: 4
Writing: 3
Happy Reading,
Ash
Reread, December 2021 – I originally gave this a 4 star rating, but I have to bump it up to a 5 after my reread. It may be closer to a 4.5 but whatever, this is so good! I listened to the audio while physically reading alone, and I enjoyed the audio.
I read this all in one sitting, like I did last time, and have no regrets about doing so. I absolutely adore both Mae and Andrew, and Benny of course is wonderful as well. I love how winter-y it is, I love the focus on family (and found family), and it still had a great balance of romance with those topics as well.
The line “it never occurred to me that you might me mine” will forever make me swoon. Also, Mae’s mom saying “everyone around you being messy might make you feel like you can’t ever be, but that isn’t true. It’s okay to be messy sometimes” really hit me today. I loved it.
This is the only Christina Lauren book I’ve really enjoyed for date, but I do want to check out their 2022 release. But I’m pretty sure I’ll reread this every Christmas, so even if it’s their only book I end up loving, I’m still a fan of theirs.
*****
Original review, December 2020 – This was a very pleasant surprise. This was the third book by Christina Lauren that I’ve read, and I didn’t love the previous two and had just kind of assumed their writing style wasn’t for me. But I’m happy to say that I was wrong!
I believe this is the first book I’ve read with the friends to lovers trope, and I really enjoyed it. I liked both Mae and Andrew, and all of the side characters just made the story even better. It took me until about page 90 to really get into the book, but at that point I couldn’t put it down (literally, I just spent my entire evening on my couch because I HAD to finish this book!).
This was a really fun book to read so close to Christmas, but I honestly think it would be good any time of year. It was a cute, quick read and I definitely recommend it!
I did feel like I was in a holidaze with this one from Christina Lauren, in a good way! I read this one super fast in just 2 days even while woking so needless to say it’s a fast easy read for the holidays.
Maelyn Makes a wish as she’s leaving the cabin that has hosted all of the christmases since she was born for the last time, with regrets a plenty. A wish to be happy, next thing she know she back on the plane headed to the cabin and the rag tag group that she calls family. Now she has the chance to change things for the better, after a few false starts she finally figures out how to make everyone happy and how to get the guys she’s been in love with for as long as she’s been christmasing at the cabin.
I really enjoyed the time travel aspect of this story but did kinda forget about it in the second half. So much had happened and it like with Maelyn I was forgetting which time things had happened. I think I actually like Andrew more than Maelyn he’s a sweet understanding guy, he listens for a living and that makes him a great match for Maeyln.
I loved the premise and the characters and the plot, the only thing I had just a bit of a problem with was the spice. We had great burn nice tension and some steamy kisses but the main event was basically fade to black. This is the second of Christina Lauren’s books that I’ve been left a little unsatisfied.
This is a great holiday romance novel. There is humor, magic and family relationships. This is Groundhog Day in book form. Just how many times can you relive a day! This is a good Christmas book and an easy read!
The perfect read for this time of year! This was a really fun friends-to-lovers, close proximity romance with a small time travel element. I loved the characters and the decades long bond many of them shared. For Maelyn Jones there’s no better way to spend the holidays than with two other families and an ageing, hippie Aussie in a snowy cabin in Utah. There are tons of fun references to Christmas traditions in here too!
3.5 stars! It wasn’t a bad book by any stretch, but it just wasn’t all that I expected, wanted, or needed it to be. I did appreciate the warm, cozy, holiday feeling, the close-knit family friendships, the holiday tradtions. But there were other parts that just felt off, or at least left too much alone. For example, the time loop. That particular aspect had so much potential, but there were only a couple, and they all took place in the first quarter to third of the book. And then it was just swept to the background, the story continuing in the same timeline. It began as such a major part of the plot, and then it just sort of disappeared, which was a little odd. And then the dynamics between the families and friends. As much emphasis as there was put on their long histories together, it felt like, outside of the generation group of Maelyn, Andrew, and Theo (and a little bit of Miles), the only person we really got to know was Benny. Even the dynamics between Maelyn, Andrew, and Theo were a little off-putting at times. Theo acted like a brat, angry and jealous when faced with situations, blaming others instead of taking responsibility. In the end, although she wasn’t in the wrong, Maelyn made excuses for him, which is something I really hated in this day and age. And while this was a romance novel, that aspect left me on the fence. It centered on a romantic theme that I just find toxic. The heroine pines away, the hero never notices her, but then when he realizes she is into him, then he decides in an instant that he wants her, too. Honestly, the whole romance aspect felt a little immature at times.
All in all, it wasn’t bad, just sort of meh.
Not the book for me. Did not put me in the holiday spirit.
This is a fun book that definitely has Groundhog Day overtones. I enjoyed the characters and the plot twists throughout the book. There were some laugh out loud moments, but also some thought provoking ones. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves Christmas and who believes in second chances.
The story
Mae and her family have been spending the Christmas holidays at their family friends’ cabin for what seems like her whole life. Her family, and her mother and father’s best friends are like family to each other. When Mae realises her mistake in kissing Theo after too much eggnog, it’s too late. And it doesn’t help that she has had a secret crush on his older brother Andrew forever. Then their parents tell everyone that they will be selling the cabin right before Mae and her family are off to the airport. A car accident happens on the way just after Mae makes a wish. And then the Groundhog Day starts. Mae keeps reliving the holiday until she is finally so irritated with the repeat that she forces herself to find what makes her happy. What does she have to lose if no one else is going to remember anyway?
My thoughts
I recently read CLo’s “Love and Other Things” book and there was so much of this story that had a similar vibe. Family friends, cabins in rural areas, twenty year olds finding their true love. But this story had a subtle wintery, Christmas vibe too, without things being too saccharine sweet and cutesy. Despite life here being smack in the middle of summer, I was transported to the cabin in the winter in this story, surrounded by loved ones and happiness. It’s such a gorgeous Christmas read!
Now this is just what I needed. I actually meant to read this one last year and it somehow slipped through the cracks. Probably because last year I actually had a hard time feeling the Christmas magic. I’m in a better place this year and glad I pulled this off the shelf.
This was a perfectly light, funny, tender-hearted Rom-Com that has all the Christmas feels. I wish I had a family & friends mix like this when I was growing up. I love big gatherings and would have been all over a winter cabin retreat every Christmas.
Maisie was endearing and the banter between her and Andrew was fun. I loved their interaction and romance. I also loved the underlying lesson behind the time-loop which just made this one that much sweeter for me. I was laughing and giggling so much while reading this one and definitely recommend it.