Goldilox and the Three Weres: Release Day Review: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

In a Holidaze
Christina Lauren
Release: October 6, 2020
Amazon Goodreads

One Christmas wish, two brothers, and a lifetime of hope are on the line for hapless Maelyn Jones in In a Holidaze, the quintessential holiday romantic novel by Christina Lauren, the New York Times bestselling author of The Unhoneymooners.

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.

Jam-packed with yuletide cheer, an unforgettable cast of characters, and Christina Lauren’s trademark “downright hilarious” (Helen Hoang, author of The Bride Test) hijinks, this swoon-worthy romantic read will make you believe in the power of wishes and the magic of the holidays.

Review:
As someone who religiously watches the movie Groundhog Day every year on February 2nd with her best friend, I knew I would be reading this book as soon as I heard the premise of the story and the words time loop popped up. Y'all, there aren't near enough time loops in fiction, in my opinion, let alone in the romance genre. So it's not at all unexpected that I went into this book excited, with high expectations, and with more than a bit of trepidation. I'm happy to report that I just read my favorite Christina Lauren book yet.

In a Holidaze was fun, campy, hilarious, heartwarming, and sexy all at the same time. Everything about this book worked for me. The romance! The time loop! The family dynamic! The location! The Christmas/holiday setting! The Christopher Walken puns! I loved it all! I will say that this one straddled the line between Women's Fiction and Romance splendidly although I will say that it veered more on the Women's Fiction side of things more often than not.

I loved the main character Maelyn and her crazy extended "made" family! All the secondary characters made me want to add myself to the gang at the Hollis family cabin. I kind of want Benny to be my adoptive uncle too. I loved that the time loop happened in response to Maelyn making a last minute wish to find what would make her happy. It was fun to see Mae break out of her shell, so to speak, and take chances and make changes she wouldn't have if she hadn't gotten stuck in a time loop.

The romance was sweet and sappy once I got on board with the love interest Mae chose. There is a slight love triangle thing going on at first and it's the only thing I have a complaint about. It's actually probably something that won't even occur to other people but I kept thinking as I read that something was going to happen where Mae would go back and choose the other guy. And it kept pulling me out of the romance aspect of the story. Once I convinced myself that that wasn't going to happen, I was all in with the relationship developing how it did.

I seriously can't rave about how much I loved this book enough. It's about finding what makes you happy and clasping on to whatever that is with both hands. I do think it's one that is better to go into the story a little blind so I don't want to say too much about the plot or the romance. It's definitely one that I'm going to add to my holiday collection and work into my yearly holiday book TBR. It made me want to have Christmas in October which is high praise coming from someone who has a strict no trees or Christmas music before Thanksgiving policy.

If you're looking for a sweet, heartwarming story with a side of time travel, this book is what you're looking for. Go read it and then come back and chat with me in the comments. I'm going to go find a mug of hot chocolate to drink while I contemplate finding my holiday cheer a little earlier this year.

ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley