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snorthington's review against another edition
4.0
I dream of traveling the world and trying to capture it's magic in the written word, and in this book Mia gets to do just that when her boss sends her to document his daughter's two month adventure with her fiance leading up to their wedding. This book was captivating, the characters were all lovely, the adventures they had added to my wanderlust, and I was swept into their world!
As with my other reads this month, this would make a precious Hallmark Christmas movie, which is the style of book I've been loving lately!
I was given a digital ARC of this book through the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.
As with my other reads this month, this would make a precious Hallmark Christmas movie, which is the style of book I've been loving lately!
I was given a digital ARC of this book through the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my review.
krystynnna's review
3.0
This was an ok read, mostly because of Hunter. Until the very end I found Mia to be annoying and childish, she reminded me of that journalist who interviewed Jordan Peterson with the never-ending " So you're saying ...." and jumping to the wrong conclusions.
‘Sorry. They’re fun. Just… not what I expected of you.’
‘You’re saying I’m not fun?’
He tilted his head and smiled. ‘No. That’s not what I’m saying.’
This was at 79% and I felt that most of their dialoge was the same, Hunter saying things and Mia jumping to the wrong conclusions or Mia saying things and Hunter just giving up.
‘Sorry. They’re fun. Just… not what I expected of you.’
‘You’re saying I’m not fun?’
He tilted his head and smiled. ‘No. That’s not what I’m saying.’
This was at 79% and I felt that most of their dialoge was the same, Hunter saying things and Mia jumping to the wrong conclusions or Mia saying things and Hunter just giving up.
rosie_roche's review
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
flowerchildreads's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes a book is just such a lovely surprise, more then what you’d expected. I love when that happens! This was my experience with The Christmas Holiday by Maxine Morrey.
After years of paying her journalist dues Mia Walker finally gets her big break when her boss asks her to accompany his daughter and fiancé on a pre-wedding trip. Along with documenting the trip for the couple she will get the chance to finally write some travel pieces, her ultimate goal. There’s just one glitch. The renown photographer chosen for the assignment is her ex-fiancé. Hunter Scott has actively tried to have her removed from the assignment, thinks she’s in over her head, and still holds a grudge for her breaking things off. I was absolutely transported as Mia travels to India and experiences the culture for the first time. Hunter sees things again though her eyes. Ms Morrey doesn’t sacrifice the romance while bringing real depth and substance to these characters, and expertly using the location as a character itself. I do wish as they traveled more of the locations were highlighted more prominently. As the wedding approaches back in festive holiday London Mia and Hunter are torn between a complicated history and moving forward in the present. I really enjoyed this and recommend for those that crave winter themed holiday stories and lovers of romance.
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from HQ Digital through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.
After years of paying her journalist dues Mia Walker finally gets her big break when her boss asks her to accompany his daughter and fiancé on a pre-wedding trip. Along with documenting the trip for the couple she will get the chance to finally write some travel pieces, her ultimate goal. There’s just one glitch. The renown photographer chosen for the assignment is her ex-fiancé. Hunter Scott has actively tried to have her removed from the assignment, thinks she’s in over her head, and still holds a grudge for her breaking things off. I was absolutely transported as Mia travels to India and experiences the culture for the first time. Hunter sees things again though her eyes. Ms Morrey doesn’t sacrifice the romance while bringing real depth and substance to these characters, and expertly using the location as a character itself. I do wish as they traveled more of the locations were highlighted more prominently. As the wedding approaches back in festive holiday London Mia and Hunter are torn between a complicated history and moving forward in the present. I really enjoyed this and recommend for those that crave winter themed holiday stories and lovers of romance.
I received an advanced reader copy (eGalley) from HQ Digital through NetGalley. This review reflects my honest and unbiased opinions.
clarab12's review against another edition
5.0
I enjoyed this book so much! Mia who wants to be a travel writer gets her big break when her boss asks her to travel with his daughter to document her wedding. She's to be paired up with photographer Hunter Scott who just so happens to be her ex fiance. What ever could go wrong with that!?
I adore Maxine's writing style, it just pulls you in and this story is another fantastic read! I loved it so much I managed to read it in one sitting!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
I adore Maxine's writing style, it just pulls you in and this story is another fantastic read! I loved it so much I managed to read it in one sitting!
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an arc copy in exchange for an honest review.
jilljemmett's review against another edition
4.0
This is a unique romantic comedy.
The dynamic of Mia and Hunter’s former relationship was quite funny at times. They bickered like an old married couple, though they don’t want to get back together. We also don’t learn about what ended their engagement for a long time, which keeps their relationship intriguing.
The way that Mia and Hunter go on a trip with Olivia and her fiancé around the world was unusual but entertaining. I didn’t really get why they had to document the trip in that way. It was a nice way to showcase different parts of the world in the story, but I didn’t see it as a realistic trip.
Some parts were glossed over when they should have been described in detail. For example, Mia gets injured on one of their excursions but it isn’t described. Yet, other activities where nothing exciting happens are told in the story. There should have been more action in the scenes where they did activities and travelled.
I think the story could have been given a better name. Olivia and Sandeep are having a Christmas themed wedding, but that’s the only Christmas thing about the book. It takes place in the winter, but since Christmas doesn’t play an important role throughout the whole story, I don’t think it should be in the title.
Overall, this is a cute and funny story.
I received a copy of this book on NetGalley.
The dynamic of Mia and Hunter’s former relationship was quite funny at times. They bickered like an old married couple, though they don’t want to get back together. We also don’t learn about what ended their engagement for a long time, which keeps their relationship intriguing.
The way that Mia and Hunter go on a trip with Olivia and her fiancé around the world was unusual but entertaining. I didn’t really get why they had to document the trip in that way. It was a nice way to showcase different parts of the world in the story, but I didn’t see it as a realistic trip.
Some parts were glossed over when they should have been described in detail. For example, Mia gets injured on one of their excursions but it isn’t described. Yet, other activities where nothing exciting happens are told in the story. There should have been more action in the scenes where they did activities and travelled.
I think the story could have been given a better name. Olivia and Sandeep are having a Christmas themed wedding, but that’s the only Christmas thing about the book. It takes place in the winter, but since Christmas doesn’t play an important role throughout the whole story, I don’t think it should be in the title.
Overall, this is a cute and funny story.
I received a copy of this book on NetGalley.
angsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
It was an alright book. Kind of slow and sometimes the two main characters were screaming about the same problems over and over with no resolution, but it made me feel good. I laughed and wanted to punch the characters multiple times but you know from the very beginning how infatuated they truly are with one another.
booksreviewsandprocrastination's review
4.0
Blog Review: https://trishadoeseverythingbutstudy2.wordpress.com/2021/01/01/my-december-in-book-reviews/#christmas-holiday
I liked it, but not as much as I had expected.
One of the main problems I had with this book was one of had with the book I'd read just before this, Notorious. The problem was that it was trying to be too many things it was not, or should not have been. Every character does not need to have a traumatic past or a traumatic experience to make them character.
I would honestly love a bit more of this incorporated in today's romances, giving people normal pasts, normal childhoods, normal parents. Not to say that people who do not have these are abnormal, but with characters, especially in rom-coms, which are things I read when I want to improve my mood, or to take a break from life, to take a break from books which require more brainpower; I dont want or need there to be anything more than what's necessary. And that includes traumatic pasts and experiences.
That is not to say that character with traumatic pasts are not interesting or intriguing or valid, but more to say that such characters are better suited to a genre other than rom-coms maybe, or if they are in rom-coms, we need not have all our major characters with issues.
Moving on from all of that, I loved the tourist aspect of this, but I wish it had been more explored. I loved the India part of their tour, but the Floridean and Malaysian and Scottish-island part of the holiday was just so glossed over. I wanted to know more about them too. I am an Indian so it was interesting to see India from an outsiders point of view, but I would have liked to see more of the other tourist destinations as well.
Yet another issue I had with this was the denial and the angst. I love angst, but there's a limit to the amount you can include onto a book without it seeming repetitive and filler and boring and unrealistic. This book could have been shorter and I would have still loved it equally as much, if not more.
Maybe another aspect of why I didn't love this was that I just don't like second chance romances as much as I like the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-love-interest trope. I just don't like that as much.
On the whole I liked it a lot, and I will be continuing to read other books by Maxine Morrey. I recommend it to anyone who likes second chance romance, books with traveling and touristing (god knows I needed this after the awful year that this has been), denial, denial, and more denial, angst, angst, angst; characters with traumatic pasts that are appreciated but extra and wants to see a bit about touristing in India, because I can confirm as an Indian, that it was pretty well portrayed.
I liked it, but not as much as I had expected.
One of the main problems I had with this book was one of had with the book I'd read just before this, Notorious. The problem was that it was trying to be too many things it was not, or should not have been. Every character does not need to have a traumatic past or a traumatic experience to make them character.
I would honestly love a bit more of this incorporated in today's romances, giving people normal pasts, normal childhoods, normal parents. Not to say that people who do not have these are abnormal, but with characters, especially in rom-coms, which are things I read when I want to improve my mood, or to take a break from life, to take a break from books which require more brainpower; I dont want or need there to be anything more than what's necessary. And that includes traumatic pasts and experiences.
That is not to say that character with traumatic pasts are not interesting or intriguing or valid, but more to say that such characters are better suited to a genre other than rom-coms maybe, or if they are in rom-coms, we need not have all our major characters with issues.
Moving on from all of that, I loved the tourist aspect of this, but I wish it had been more explored. I loved the India part of their tour, but the Floridean and Malaysian and Scottish-island part of the holiday was just so glossed over. I wanted to know more about them too. I am an Indian so it was interesting to see India from an outsiders point of view, but I would have liked to see more of the other tourist destinations as well.
Yet another issue I had with this was the denial and the angst. I love angst, but there's a limit to the amount you can include onto a book without it seeming repetitive and filler and boring and unrealistic. This book could have been shorter and I would have still loved it equally as much, if not more.
Maybe another aspect of why I didn't love this was that I just don't like second chance romances as much as I like the out-with-the-old-in-with-the-new-love-interest trope. I just don't like that as much.
On the whole I liked it a lot, and I will be continuing to read other books by Maxine Morrey. I recommend it to anyone who likes second chance romance, books with traveling and touristing (god knows I needed this after the awful year that this has been), denial, denial, and more denial, angst, angst, angst; characters with traumatic pasts that are appreciated but extra and wants to see a bit about touristing in India, because I can confirm as an Indian, that it was pretty well portrayed.
thejoyfulbookblogger's review against another edition
5.0
Fall has begun and the Holidays are almost upon us! This was the first Christmas themed book of the season for me and it was a wonderful one to start with as it wasn’t overly in-your-face Christmas-y but it had a Christmas vibe since it takes place around the holidays. The Christmas Holiday is about a young woman that gets an assignment that may lead to her dream job with her company but there’s a catch; she’ll have to work alongside her ex-fiance that she hasn’t seen in years. Not only will it be difficult to work with him, but their lack of closure after the breakup certainly adds to the potential unpleasantness that awaits her.
I enjoyed reading along as Mia experiences the different places on the trip along with Hunter, Liv and Sandeep. The main theme of the novel was the idea that it’s important to have open and honest communication with your significant other. If something is bothering you, you should talk about it with the other person with clear and direct communication. You shouldn’t ignore things that bother you and let them get to the breaking point. If you assume that the other person wants things to be a certain way even if they haven’t explicitly communicated that to you, then you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of unhappiness.
The novel also included a theme of protecting and caring for others. Reflecting back on past traumas and mistakes can be difficult but oftentimes it is necessary to be able to move on with your life. One of the most important things in life is to spend it in the company of those you love because life is precious and sometimes we don’t realize quite how precious it is until we lose those that matter most. I loved the characters introduced in this novel and I was sad when the novel was over [had a quick book-hangover when it was over] because I wanted the adventure to continue! Maybe there will be a second one? Fingers crossed! Regardless if there will be another one, this was a fun adventure packed novel and I was thoroughly entertained the whole way through.
I enjoyed reading along as Mia experiences the different places on the trip along with Hunter, Liv and Sandeep. The main theme of the novel was the idea that it’s important to have open and honest communication with your significant other. If something is bothering you, you should talk about it with the other person with clear and direct communication. You shouldn’t ignore things that bother you and let them get to the breaking point. If you assume that the other person wants things to be a certain way even if they haven’t explicitly communicated that to you, then you’re setting yourself up for a lifetime of unhappiness.
The novel also included a theme of protecting and caring for others. Reflecting back on past traumas and mistakes can be difficult but oftentimes it is necessary to be able to move on with your life. One of the most important things in life is to spend it in the company of those you love because life is precious and sometimes we don’t realize quite how precious it is until we lose those that matter most. I loved the characters introduced in this novel and I was sad when the novel was over [had a quick book-hangover when it was over] because I wanted the adventure to continue! Maybe there will be a second one? Fingers crossed! Regardless if there will be another one, this was a fun adventure packed novel and I was thoroughly entertained the whole way through.