In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren – 336 pages

Book Blurb:

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.

My Review: 3.5 stars – Guest Review

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In a Holidaze is a fun, entertaining, feel good rom-com that revolves around the holidays and family. Without exception, I will always read every new Christina Lauren book since they are light, easy, humorous romances. This was slightly different than other Christina Lauren novels, due to a “time loop” which was similar to “Groundhog Day”. During Christmas in Utah, the main character relives the same period of time during the holidays, over and over again. Like many of this writing duo’s previous novels, it deals with the emotions that occur when the path to romance does not go smoothly. Mae needs to face her true feelings in order to realize her own happiness.

This light-hearted, entertaining romance was a quick, easy read, and evoked warm feelings about family and the holiday season. I enjoyed the setting of the cozy Utah cabin where the two families and childhood friends gathered every year over the holiday season. I wanted to spend the holidays in this fantastic cabin with this fun group of friends and family. The closeness of these characters who functioned as one big extended family was heartwarming. Many of the secondary characters were very well developed. The lead character, Mae, was a confused but endearing character; however, the male lead, Andrew, was less defined. I felt that their relationship was a bit forced, so I was glad that there were several other storylines that were focused on. The romance between Mae and Andrew happened quickly and seemed to come out of nowhere even though they had known each other all of their lives. Filling the reader in on some of their past history could have helped me to better understand their relationship, and would have made the romantic tension more authentic and believable. I was never completely invested in this couple.

The time travel concept has been very popular in fiction recently. I was probably more critical of this story since the last two books I read had the same theme, but had more substance and was a less “gimmicky”. I was also confused as to why Mae kept on re-living the same day over and over. The reasons weren’t made clear as to why she was sent back in time to relive the same holiday during certain situations. This book did have a universal message that what we think we need to do to obtain happiness isn’t always the right thing, and that happiness can come from making changes. Although I wasn’t as wowed by this book as much as Christina Lauren’s previous books, I will continue to be a fan. There are many warm and fuzzy moments in this book, and it had a very sweet ending. It will definitely put the reader in the holiday spirit. Fans of Christina Lauren will enjoy this lighthearted romance. Review courtesy of Guest Fairy Ronna.

Quotes I liked:

I’ve essentially handed my heart over to the person who’s had it on reserve for half my life, and I’m terrified that he doesn’t realize what he’s holding.”

“He’s smart, but I’m not sure he’s looked up from his phone in the past two years. If you want to have a conversation with him, you might want to consider strapping his phone to your forehead.”