I planned to write this post before I started reading my festive ARCs and now I’ve read nine of them so I’ll just talk about the three I have left. By the time this goes up, I may have finished all of them. Well, I’m hoping I have.
Summer Hates Christmas by Rachel Dove
I can’t tell you how excited I am to read a book where the female main character is the one who hates Christmas. It’s always the other way round and I’m tired of grinchy men.
I think this is a pretty short read so I’m glad I’ve left it near the end because I’m starting to get tired of these books now. Without giving too much away before I post my reviews next month, there have been a couple of pretty bad books this year.
Synopsis: Summer Hastings hates Christmas. She loves sunshine, the beach and running her travel agency, sending people off to their dream destinations – even if she doesn’t get to see the world for herself. For Summer, Christmas is nothing but a reminder of all the things that have gone horribly wrong in her life, so when handsome Noel Pritchett moves his pop-up Christmas shop in the store next to hers, Summer is livid.
Noel loves Christmas…and he also has a sneaking suspicion that he might be falling in love with Summer, if only he could break through the armour she has surrounded herself with. Just why does Summer hate Christmas so much? And can Noel be the one to prove to her that life can be sweet all year round?
The Perfect Christmas Village by Bella Osborne
This sounds pretty cute and I love Christmas books about small towns, they’re so cosy. I’ve never read anything by this author and I’m interested to see what this will be like. I’m hoping it’s going to be decent as my last couple of reads have been poor.
Synopsis: When Christmas-hating Sam moves to Holly Cross, he thinks he’s found the perfect home, until he discovers that, each year, Holly Cross transforms into the most Christmassy village in the whole country…
Blythe is just one sale away from being Real Estate Agent of the Month, so she twists the truth to sell a home to city boy Sam, who is looking for the perfect house in the perfect location. Little does he know he’s just bought a cottage in the middle of the most Christmassy village in the country. And if there’s one thing Sam loathes, it’s Christmas.
Sam’s arrival puts Holly Cross’s chance to win the title of Britain’s Most Perfect Christmas Village now in jeopardy, and the villagers are soon up in arms. Meanwhile, Sam is in his own personal hell surrounded by fairy lights and everyone is looking to Blythe to fix things.
But as the festive season looms, maybe there’s more than just Christmas in Holly Cross for Sam to fall in love with…
The Christmas Swap by Talia Samuels
This is a big moment for The 12 Books of Christmas, the first-ever LGBTQ+ festive romance. I can’t tell you how excited I have been to read this. I’ve left it for last, so hopefully I haven’t hyped it up too much, but it’s got fake dating in it and we all know how much I love that trope.
Synopsis: It’s the perfect Christmas love story.
Margot Murray is a newly single, high-flying businesswoman with no interest in a cutesy seasonal romance.
Ben Gibson is an unlucky-in-love sweetheart in need of a woman to bring home for the holidays.
Together, they make a pact: Margot gets two blissful weeks away from London in a picture-perfect manor, in exchange for posing as Ben’s girlfriend.
The story can only go one way. Margot is sure to fall in love for real.
And she does.
With Ben’s sister, Ellie.
Check out Young Creative Press on all socials
You can also check out my StoryGraph here
Like this post? Why not read this one too: Audiobook Review: Eight Winter Nights by Liz Maverick
[…] Like this post? Why not read this one too: To Be Read: Festive ARC Update […]