The 12 Books of Christmas: Under the Mistletoe with You by Lizzie Huxley-Jones

youngcreativepress

1 year ago

Synopsis:

Ready to spend a quiet Christmas with his nearest and dearest, Christopher has closed up shop in his bakery, he’s wrapped up and packed up his presents, and he’s found someone to stay in his flat over the festive period. Everything is under control. That is until the mysterious person he’s rented his flat to turns out to be none other than…

Nash Nadeau, an actor – and the star of all Christopher’s favourite Christmas movies. In fact, he’s the guy Christpher’s been crushing on for the whole past year. Since last Christmas.

For Nash, this Christmas was a chance to escape Hollywood, to go to a small town and hide away, alone, in a place where no one knows who he is. But when a huge snowstorm hits, the whole country grinds to a halt. There’s no way Christopher is leaving, and there’s nowhere else for Nash to stay. The two of them are just going to have to weather this together, snowed in for Christmas…

Review:

Under the Mistletoe with You is a heartwarming romance that celebrates the importance of community spirit and caring for those around you. I’d say my main take away from the book would be the community element but the romance was also very sweet.

I had no idea that this is technically a sequel. You definitely don’t need to have read the first book to enjoy this one but it does include the same characters.

There isn’t a lot about Under the Mistletoe with You that is overly festive, but for once that doesn’t annoy me. The community spirit more than made up for the lack of Christmassy activities. This book is packed full of heartwarming moments and like all books with a close knit community, made me wish I lived in a small town.

I adore the fact that Nash is trans and is also a Hollywood rom-com heartthrob. Imagine living in a world where that’s the norm. The LGBTQIA+ representation was incredible in Under the Mistletoe with You. Pretty much every character was queer and there wasn’t any homophobia. Which I’m so tired of reading about in queer books. So thank you Lizzie Huxley-Jones for writing a LGBTQIA+ story that is happy and actually celebrates queer people!

The disability representation was also great. It’s so rare to have a book told from the perspective of someone with a disability and then also have side characters with disabilities too. The detailed explanation of Nash’s seizures really helped me understand his character better. It also developed my knowledge on what a seizure could be, so that’s a positive.

The ‘insta love’ wasn’t my favourite part of this book as falling in love in just a few days is a little too quick. However, this book was on the slightly longer side for a romance. So it didn’t feel like it happened too quickly. Plus they did spend every minute of every day together so it was realistic that they’d build a strong connection in that time.

However, I did really like both Nash and Christopher. Nash drops the actor stereotype very quickly and Christopher’s cautious nature around new people is something I can relate to. Their back and forth banter was so funny and showed that spark of chemistry really well. The forced proximity helped with this.

The side characters were also brilliant. The whole ‘spanks’ squad featuring Christoper’s sister and ex girlfriend, and his two other best friends were so funny. I loved the sections that showed their Whatsapp group chat. It was pure chaos but also provided a great change of pace. Shaz was hilarious and her love of gingerbread was so relatable.

Although it’s not massively festive, I’d still definitely recommend Under the Mistletoe with You. There are so many sweet and funny moments. If you’re looking for a great queer festive romance, this is the book for you.