tl;dr slight enemies to lovers vibes all wrapped in a wholesome Christmas story
Premise
Noelle Partridge is known for three things: being the best ballet dancer, babysitter, and person with the most Christmas spirit in her small town. But lately she’s bored by the lessons at her dance school, and her friends and father are more bah humbug than Hallmark movie marathon. So when her favorite babysitting clients ask her to accompany them on a ski trip over winter break, she packs her bags for the slopes. It helps that they’re offering double her rate—she’ll need the money for Beacon, an elite ballet academy that’s granted her an audition.
Noelle is ready to “Deck the Halls” and have fa la la la fun, until Wyatt, the older half-brother of her babysitting charges, decides to surprise his family for the holiday. He’s one of the best dancers at Beacon, and makes Noelle’s head spin faster than pirouettes. Unfortunately, she also manages to step on his toes—spoiling his surprise and complicating his secret plans. After a few missteps, Noelle and Wyatt begin to thaw toward each other and bond over the big decisions looming in each of their lives. With enough Christmas magic, Noelle might just start the New Year with lots of babysitting cash in her pocket and a chance with the pas de deux partner of her dreams.
Rating
5/5 stars
Review
I'm Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas was such a pleasant surprise and one of the cutest, most heartwarming contemporaries I've read. Come on, it's a Christmas-themed novel following a ballerina and has a super cute romance? What's not to love?
The book follows Noelle, a fourteen-year-old ballet dancer, on a winter-break ski trip with the family that she babysits, the Kahales, with the unexpected addition of Wyatt Kahale, one of the Kahale kids and also a dancer at the elite dance school that Noelle wants to go to. Noelle faces decisions on where she wants to take her dance career, tension in her relationship with her father, and of course, a little bit of an enemies-to-lovers dynamic with Wyatt, who's not exactly who she thought he'd be.
This book reminds me of a Netflix coming-of-age movie and To All the Boys I've Loved Before, and for those reasons, I'm going to need Netflix to turn this book into a movie ASAP. It honestly reminded me so much of the ski trip from To All the Boys I've Loved Before (there's even a hot tub scene hehe) and Lara Jean and John's relationship from PS I Still Love You, which has a special place in my heart. The story was told in such an endearing way, and I thought the characters were super realistic and dealt with very typical teenage emotions.
And the romance? SWOON. Wyatt Kahale is adorable, and I love how much he cares about Noelle. I also love Noelle so much, and she was a really relatable narrator. I enjoyed seeing her relationship with her father develop and it was interesting to see how grief still affected her, even years later.
Overall, such a great read, and I would definitely recommend I'm Dreaming of a Wyatt Christmas to anyone looking for a fluffy Christmas romance!
Thank you to NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Other Info
Standalone
Releases October 5, 2021
12+
Buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Dreaming-Wyatt-Christmas-Tiffany-Schmidt/dp/1419754017
Would I Recommend?
Yes!
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