A classic plot plus Lauren's trademark snark and steam add up to a winning rom-com full of heart and holiday cheer.
A Christmas wish leads to a Christmas nightmare when one woman gets stuck reliving the holiday season, Groundhog Day style.
Things aren’t going as planned for Maelyn Jones. At the age of 26, she’s living with her mom and stepdad, she’s stuck in a dead-end job, and, perhaps most important, she just had an eggnog-filled holiday hookup with Theo Hollis, her family friend and the brother of her unrequited lifelong crush, Andrew Hollis. Maelyn’s spent years waiting for Andrew to notice her as more than a friend, but now she knows she’s screwed things up for good by kissing his brother. The only thing that’s going perfectly in her life is the lovely Park City cabin where her family, Theo and Andrew’s family, and her parents’ other college friends get together every Christmas. But then, on the last day of their vacation, Theo and Andrew’s parents announce that they’re selling the cabin. On the drive to the airport, Maelyn miserably wishes that she could find out what would make her happy…and suddenly, she’s back on the plane to the cabin, pre-Christmas, about to live the whole week over again. With another (and another and another) chance to make things right, will she be able to finally tell Andrew how she feels and discover real happiness? Lauren—the author team behind The Honey-Don’t List (2020) and countless other romantic comedies—is as reliable as ever with this cheery holiday outing. Down-on-her-luck Maelyn is a likable protagonist, and it’s easy to relate to her desire to fix her life (even if most readers don’t have the benefit of time travel). Her conversations with Andrew are adorably banter-filled, and her relationship with her parents’ friend Benny, an aging, wacky stoner, is sweetly charming.
A classic plot plus Lauren's trademark snark and steam add up to a winning rom-com full of heart and holiday cheer.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982123-94-9
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK TO SCREEN
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
A largely lighthearted, charming tale that takes some bumpy turns.
A young Canadian moves to Hollywood and faces new loves, bitter jealousies, and the possibility of her dreams coming true in Stringer’s novel.
At 26 years old, Charity Trickett is ready to chase her dreams. Already a relatively successful production assistant on film sets in Vancouver, she leaves for Los Angeles after finding her boyfriend in bed with another woman. Awaiting Charity in Hollywood is a job with Casper, an up-and-coming director at Canopy Studios; it’s the perfect stepping stone to ultimately becoming a screenwriter. Unfortunately, what is also waiting for her is Saffron, Casper’s associate producer, who is immediately envious of Charity and pulls every petty trick in the book in an attempt to sabotage her. In spite of Saffron’s tactics, however, Charity’s skills shine through. She befriends Vivy Parker, a famous actress; meets Kai, a sexy assistant who flirts with her at every opportunity; makes strides with her script; and even begins her own pitch for a film. Later, though, after a copy of Casper’s latest movie is stolen and the finger of blame is pointed straight at Charity (as well as an investigation by the FBI), Hollywood seems to turn its back on her, and Charity doesn’t know if her career will recover or if her dreams are dead for good. Stringer’s 1997-set story is mostly a nostalgia-lite romp, though it does suffer slightly from a couple of issues. The first act is cluttered with relatable self-deprecating humorous interior monologues from the endearing protagonist, who always has good intentions (“we don’t think about unbuttoning our coworker’s oxford shirt”); the trope works, but it’s a gambit used too often at the start of the story. Additionally, the narrative does not always seem know what it wants to be, beginning as a fun, fish-out-of-water tale before making a hard left into intellectual property theft, kidney infections, and verbal abuse. Though the ups and downs of Charity’s experiences in Los Angeles feel authentic, the changes in tone can be jarring.
A largely lighthearted, charming tale that takes some bumpy turns.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781684633166
Page Count: 320
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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