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.

My Review

“The only person whose expectations you have to live up to is yourself.”

Usually, books that are heavily influenced by the movie Groundhog Dog aren’t the greatest. I’ve read my share of those reliving the same day over and over again books and I usually want to bury myself. But I can never turn my back on Christina Lauren because their books are always magical.

What happens when you don’t exactly get to live the perfect Christmas holiday and wish for a better one? Would you want to go back and change things? Or would you leave things up to fate?

Maelyn and her family have traveled to the same cabin in Utah for Christmas since she was a kid. Her family and her parent’s best friend’s family get together to celebrate the holidays in a magical way. They cook together, they participate in fun events, and even hold their own secret Santa gift exchange. What could be better than that?

One tiny thing could turn this Christmas into something more memorable if Mae would find the courage to tell the guy she’s known since she was a kid her true feelings. She’s loved Andrew since she could even comprehend what true love is but never had the gull to come right out and say it. But one drunken make-out mistake costs her what she truly wanted for Christmas.

To forget that even happened, she asks the Universe to show her what will make her happy. Before she knows what’s going on, a car comes out from nowhere and hits them from the side. As soon as she opens her eyes after the impact, she finds herself waking up from a dream while on an airplane. The airplane that will land in Utah…. confused as to what’s going on, she starts picking up clues that maybe she wasn’t dreaming and gets to live the life she really wants. But as things don’t go her way, she startles awake on the plane again and again.

Will Mae finally get her perfect Christmas with the man that she loves? Or will she keep reliving the same couple of days over and over again for all eternity?

I’m not a Christmas person and we all know it. I’m Scrooge times ten mixed with the Grinch. It’s awful. But this book was so cute and so perfect that it made my heart grow warm and tingly. I didn’t know that I could feel that bliss after reading the sweetest contemporary book. Christina Lauren doesn’t fuck around when it comes to wooing us with their books.

In a Holidaze was funny, cute, and the perfect read for the holiday season. There is no way that you can read this book and still be a grimacing grinch. I loved reading this and had a lot of fun trying to figure out what was going to happen next. A true joy for the season.