tl;dr feel-good holiday romance that feels like a Hallmark movie wrapped up in a warm hug
Premise
When Finley Brown returned to her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma, from boarding school, she expected to find it just as she left it. Christmas hasn't changed much in her sixteen years. But instead she returns to find that her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother's inn. And she certainly didn't expect to find the boy she may or may not have tricked into believing that Christmas was an idyllic holiday paradise on her grandmother's doorstep. It's up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised. This is Finley's Christmas. It's about home and family and friends and finding her place, and along the way she also finds the best Christmas present of all: love.
Rating
4/5 stars
Review
Super cute and wholesome Christmas romance!
So, This Is Christmas follows Finley during her first winter break after leaving her hometown of Christmas, Oklahoma to attend a prestigious boarding school in Connecticut. When she gets home, a lot has changed: her best friend is dating her ex-boyfriend, her parents have separated, and her archnemesis got a job working at her grandmother's inn. Not to mention one of her posh British classmates just appeared on the doorstep of her grandmother's inn, expecting a perfect American Christmas. It's up to Finley to make sure he gets the Christmas he was promised.
PS there's no love triangle - the archnemesis isn't the beginning of an enemies to lovers arc lmao. The love interest is the British one ;D
I thought this book was very heartwarming and a feel-good read perfect for Christmastime! Seeing FInley's relationship with Arthur develop was so adorably cute - I just love the two of them each other so much. They got to learn a lot more about each other over this holiday break together, and the various holiday activities they did together made everything feel like a cheesy, romantic Hallmark movie (in a good way!). This makes sense because the author actually writes Hallmark movies lol.
Outside of the romance, the book focuses a lot on family and friendship. It was great to see reconciliation and mature conversations between family/friends, and how everything came together in the end made me super happy. The book talks about resilience (specifically when it comes to school and relationships), and I really liked it!
Also, there was sapphic rep in this book which I'm all for. It's between two side characters and i"ll admit, it did come as a surprise because I thought the romance was going in a completely different direction but yk what, I live for it. Sapphic supremacy y'all. This relationship plays a major part in the story, and honestly it was great to see. Those two are so cute.
I will note that a lot of the tension surrounding this relationship was related to coming out (it wasn't like a "oh hey these two side characters got together" kind of thing, this relationship had its own obstacles and difficulties). Even though I'm sapphic, I can't really speak on that aspect of the plot/how well it was done, so it's not really my place to make an evaluation. I did like the discussions around homophobia still persisting til this day, even if some parts of the world seem more accepting than others.
This isn't a 5-star read because I found myself enjoying the first 75% of the book more than the last 25%. The third-act conflict and its resolution wasn't my favorite, but it still gave off those iconic Hallmark movie vibes.
Nevertheless, I'd definitely recommend this book!
Other Info
Standalone (releases October 12 - Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for the e-ARC!)
13+
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/So-This-Christmas-Tracy-Andreen/dp/0593353129
Would I Recommend?
Yes, especially around Christmastime!
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