*I was given a copy of Holiday Romance in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Bookouture and Catherine Walsh*
Synopsis:
Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.
Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.
Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.
The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.
What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own…
Review:
Holiday Romance was a super fun and super festive read. I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to finally see a festive romance where the man cares more about Christmas. It is always the other way round and this was very refreshing.
I’m a massive fan of the friends to lovers trope so I really enjoyed Holiday Romance. It was done very well here and I liked how it was built over ten years. The flashback scenes were some of my favourite parts of the book and seeing how they went from hardly knowing each other and Molly dropping the huge bomb that Andrew’s girlfriend is cheating on him, to celebrating the ten-year anniversary of their tradition was quite the ride. I love how much depth their relationship had and the developments came from a place of rich history and care.
Speaking of their relationship/friendship, the chemistry between Molly and Andrew was undeniable. I don’t know how it took her so long to realise how she actually feels about him.
The trip to get Andrew home was pure chaos but I enjoyed every minute of it, especially the ones spent in Paris.
I absolutely loved Molly’s twin sister. She was by far the funniest character in the entire book. It’s a shame she wasn’t in it for very long. The times you did spend with her though were some of the best bits of Holiday Romance.
My biggest issue with Holiday Romance was the conflict near the end. It really didn’t need it as let’s be honest the entire book was one huge conflict. The stress of Molly and Andrew trying to get home in time for Christmas was enough, a lover’s tiff was not needed. Molly blew it way out of proportion considering they weren’t even officially together. It felt forced and a bit too ‘oh we’re nearing the end, something bad needs to happen so the main characters can have a big romantic reunion’.
All in all, I did really enjoy Holiday Romance. The settings were fun, especially London at Christmas and there were some really great characters. If you are looking for a quick festive read then I’d definitely recommend Holiday Romance.
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Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: Snowed in For Christmas by Sarah Morgan
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: The 12 Books of Christmas: Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh […]