If you’re feeling in a mood for a romantic comedy that takes place during the Christmas week, then writing duo Christina Lauren has a pretty good book option for you. In a Holidaze takes place in a snowy Utah cabin where Maelyn, Mae, Jones and her family and friends spend Christmas. Two of those friends are brothers Theo and Andrew. While she loves Andrew, she ends up kissing Theo in a drunken make out session. Regretting everything the next morning, Mae leaves the cabin and makes the wish Please. Show me what will make me happy. 

Mae and her family suffer a car crash and the next thing Mae knows, she’s waking up on the airplane and it’s just the beginning of her trip. Soon enough, she realizes that she’s trapped in a time loop. The only way out is to figure out what makes her truly happy. 

This book is predictable, let’s just get that out of the way. It follows a predictable plot, but that wasn’t a bad thing. It’s a refreshing, quick read that gets the reader in the holiday spirit.  

While there was a large cast of characters that were living in that cabin, the story focused on only three or four. This created a concise story while still feeling like a larger narrative. The characters themselves were realistic and acted according to their natures. The main character Mae was a flawed person that only wanted something that all humans want: they want to know what will make them happy. She’s a very relatable character and Christina Lauren writes it well.  

What drew me to read this book was the time loop aspect. Somewhere in the story, the authors make a Groundhog’s Day reference which I found both hilarious and appropriate. The time loops were used sparingly and at times where it served the plot. I did think it wasn’t as explored as it could’ve been. There also wasn’t much thought from the main character on why or how she got stuck in the time loop. It was accepted a little too quick.  

The love triangle was also a bit predictable and lacked any real suspense. The conflict between the two brothers was minimal. If the authors had built the suspense up and increased the conflict, the story would’ve been a bit better. As is typical with romantic novels, there are romance scenes but they aren’t graphic.  

Overall, I thought it was a nice holiday novel that could really be read anytime throughout the year. If you are in the mood for a literary palette cleanser between reads, I fully endorse In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren. 

About the author:

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of longtime writing partners and best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings, the New York Times, USA TODAY, and #1 internationally bestselling authors of the Beautiful and Wild Seasons series, Dating You / Hating You, Autoboyography, Love and Other Words, Roomies, Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating, My Favorite Half-Night Stand, and The Unhoneymooners. You can find them online at ChristinaLaurenBooks.com, @ChristinaLauren on Instagram, or @ChristinaLauren on Twitter.