Title: The Christmas Wish
Genre: Romantic Dramedy
Page Count: 348 pages
Publication Date: November 15th, 2022
Rating: ❤❤❤❤❤
Hi friends. I'm back with another hot take on the latest books I've read. I snatched this one off NetGalley. It took them so long to approve my request I thought they were going to deny me for a quick second. I was fully prepared to throw a tantrum, but it ended up not being needed. Thankfully. Anyway, we're in the Holiday Season currently, and although you are well within your right to read Christmas books any time of the year, I figured what better way to get myself in the mood for Christmas than by reading books about it? When I started this book, I figured it would be just your regular, corny Christmas movie in book form, but I was wrong. This book was heeeeeeeeelarious. Let's get into it.
Synopsis "borrowed" from Amazon
Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas—countryside, a mountain of food and festive films—will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can’t help wishing her future was clearer.
Then Gwen wakes up to discover it’s Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but with eggnog. And family arguments. On repeat.
As she figures out how to escape her own particular Christmas hell, Dev is the one bright spot. He might be all grown-up but underneath he’s just as kind and funny as she remembers.
Maybe, just maybe, her heart can be mended after all.
But how do you fall in love with someone who can’t remember you from one day to the next?
Have you ever had the pleasure of reading a book that made you laugh out loud? If not, make sure you check this one out. I was open mouth laughing throughout the entirety of this book. Full on guffaw. An intense cackle that swelled up from the depths of my stomach and startled those within earshot. My mouth was open so wide, I am willing to bet that those around me got a full view of all of my teeth, plus the empty spaces where teeth used to be. I even earned a few weird looks from people when I would sneak and read it in public places. Who needs social interactions when you have books?
This book had so many hilarious lines I lost count. BTW, this gif is a visual representation of me dying at: "Yeet it to the sun!"
Let's take a closer look at what I liked and didn't like about The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk, shall we?
The Banter was A+ level. The relationship between Gwen and Manny was the funniest, but there were gems in the entire book. The banter was bantering like I have never seen it banter before. When I read books with this level of hilarious back and forth, I can't help but wonder if the author is this witty in real life. If so, then we need to be best friends immediately. I go absolutely weak in the knees at books with an impressive amount of wit and cleverness because you don't see it often.
Less Rom. More Com. Thank God. Okay see, I am usually quite apprehensive about reading romantic comedies because there is usually an uncomfortable amount of *whispers* smut -involved that really makes me want to barf. I am not a smut fan. I love spicy foods, but I don't love spicy books. I was prepared to skip past scenes of "growling" and "eyes raking down their bodies" and "moaning" and whatever other representation of sex that these authors can think of, but I didn't have to with this one. Let us all breathe a sigh of relief together.
Family dynamics. It wouldn't be a holiday themed book/movie if it didn't have some level of family drama involved. This is why people hate the holidays and avoid family gatherings like the plague. The Christmas Wish was no different. I enjoyed seeing the complicated relationships between Gwen and the rest of her family members as she tried desperately to find her way out of the time loop.
Christmas vibes. Duh. It's a Christmas book, so it goes without saying, but I still wanted to mention it because I'm unconventional like that. It had the perfect amount of Christmas without being overbearing and corny. Honestly. Truly. I loved this book.
I really don't have much to say here. The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it wasn't longer. I sucked it down like it was my first drink of water after a trip to the desert. I was supposed to be participating in a Buddy Read on Instagram, but I completely ignored all of that in order to finish this gem.
In case you weren't paying attention, yes I absolutely do recommend this book. It's the perfect book for those of us who want to read romance without having to sift through all of the grunting and groaning and awkward sex having. A romantic comedy with some substance. I honestly appreciated the fact that the romance was literally the last thing on the list. Gwen reconnected and bonded with everyone in her family and THEN took care of her love life. Yes please! I will take so many more books like this.
It is set to release on November 15th, 2022, which is the day after my anniversary so that makes it all the more special. You can grab it off Amazon here:
If you do decide to purchase this one (you absolutely should!) please come find me on Instagram and Facebook and let me know what you thought about it. Did you find it as hilarious as I did? I can't wait to hear your thoughts on it.
Until then, I'm off to find more books by Lindsey Kelk.
Happy Reading Babes! ❤
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