DNF this book. I read the first 2 in the series. And I enjoyed those but this one I just couldnt get into the characters like the others, Reviews on Goodreads and Amazon for the first 2 books.

I love slow burn romances! really recommend this for a fun, enjoyable, feel good read. I am obsessed with the "texting and pretending to be someone else" trope. Though sometimes that bugs me with the lack of honesty, it all worked out in the end with this one.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Approximately Yours is the final book in the North Pole, Minnesota series, and it helps to tie up everything that has happened in the previous books. This time around we have Holly, who is back in North Pole to sell her grandmother's home, and then they will be leaving, for good. She's always had a crush on Danny, a boy in North Pole who she's seen when visiting her grandma. However, he's so out of her league, and it seems he actually likes her cousin, Elda. Elda doesn't know how to talk to him, though, so begs Holly to pretend to be her when texting and talking to Danny, and it soon seems as if Danny is falling for the person he's talking to - it's just too bad that it's not the right person. Danny, on the other hand, has always liked Holly, but never said anything, and now that his texts with 'Elda' are going so well, he's conflicted. Will they be able to actually tell the other the truth?

I liked this book, but found myself skimming bits, if I'm being honest. The lying about the messaging, on the phone, and in reality, didn't sit right with me, and that sort of ruined my reading experience. Both Danny and Holly were great characters, and definitely had the chemistry, but forcing Elda into the scene for a bit of drama, when she and Danny didn't even seem to like each other, was jarring. I'm glad I've read the book, but this one wasn't as good as the others in the North Pole series.

Cute and festive, but a bit shallow for my liking. The romance drama was frustrating, and I couldn't get into it at all. I did like the family dynamics, so that was fun. Overall, though, it was just ok.

This was seriously cute, so much like a fluffy teen movie, which I was just in the mood for. Loved the setting too, I definitely want to read more in this little world :) Although it kept throwing me that Tinka is a girl because I work with a guy whose nickname is Tinka haha

Danny Garland is so out of Holly’s league. And her family is only back in North Pole, Minnesota, long enough to sell Grandma’s house and say “Merry Christmas.” So telling her basketball-star, too-hot-to-be-real long-time crush that she’d like to kiss him under the mistletoe just isn’t going to happen. And now he’s asked out her cousin, Elda. Elda is a mess at flirting, so when she begs Holly to intervene, she does. Holly helps her flirt with him over text. And then again. And again. Now she’s stuck texting him as her cousin, and Elda is the one going on the date. Holly thought she could settle for just conversation with Danny, but talking with him is some kind of magic. He’s got the perfect comebacks, she makes him laugh, they text until everyone is asleep.
She just can’t ever tell him it’s her he’s really texting.
This was a cute and quick read, a retelling of a familiar story that I thought the author did a good job of. I liked both main characters as they went through the story. I enjoyed the plot. I recommend.
**I voluntarily read and reviewed this book

And this lovely series is back with another couple getting together the unique town of North Pole, Minnesota. Of course, you can also read it as a standalone.
This is YA contemporary romance story, about a girl who pretended to be her cousin in text messages in order to impress a boy.
This is a cute story and a cute idea for a story incorporating all of the Christmas elements: gingerbread and hot chocolate and warm toasty fires. Unfortunately Approximately Yours didn’t work for me as well as the previous two entries in the series.

A little more than midway through two thoughts occurred to me. Holly and Danny were apart for most of the novel so it was really hard to just accept that they were a thing. When they finally do come together, it all feels rushed and a little unsatisfying because I didn’t feel like there was a spark between Holly and Danny and I don’t know if that was because they were ultimately too similar. As well, it was hard to believe Danny was falling for anyone considering that just a few days had passed since he found out about his long-time girlfriend cheating on him and their subsequent breakup.

Also, I found Elda a more intriguing character than Holly and would have loved for the subplot with Elda and Dinesh to be fleshed out more. Probably, it would have helped overall if this novel had just been longer to show more interaction between Holly and Danny and some fun between nerds Elda and Dinesh.

However, this novel is sweet and I think for anyone following the series, you don’t want to miss this latest installment, not to mention it’s arrival is just in time for pre-Christmas reading.

This was a cute holiday book I found on NetGalley that caught my eye because A) it takes place in my home state of Minnesota, and B) it revolves around the plot of a one girl texting a boy to make him like another girl, and C) I’ve basically fallen in love with YA contemporary romances lately.

So yeah, this was a cute book, but it wasn’t unforgettable. I think Holly is pretty relatable, because what girl hasn’t compared herself to a friend/sister/cousin she thought was prettier than her? She clearly suffers from a big case of low self-esteem and has built up some very big walls to prevent herself from getting hurt. Unfortunately, those walls have also done her the disservice of keeping others away.

I also really liked Danny because he was the guy who had it all – he was the hot star of the basketball team with the hot, “perfect”, cheerleader girlfriend. Until he injured himself and his girlfriend dumped him. Then who was he? He really was just a sweetie and it was obvious why Holly liked him. I really loved that the author showed that someone who had it all, like Danny, could also suffer from low self-esteem and self doubt. Feelings of unworthiness run rampant in the teen years.

The way Holly and Danny bonded over the gingerbread competition was pretty adorable, but I was mostly frustrated that Holly would even want to encourage her cousin to date the guy she’s been crushing on her entire life. That just never really made sense to me from the get go. I mean, maybe in the beginning, but when it became pretty clear Elda wasn’t really all that interested in Danny Holly still pushed her cousin into continuing the charade.

In the end, it was a cute story, but like I said above, it just wasn’t entirely memorable. I would read the other books in this series, just to see what happens with the other minor characters, but I wouldn’t buy the books.

I enjoyed this book. I thought the characters where great and the story moved at a good speed.

It’s been years since Holly was in North Pole, Minnesota, the place she loved with her grandmother. But now with her grandmother gone, her and her family are staying in North Pole to sell the house and celebrate Christmas. When Holly runs into her childhood crush, Danny Garland, she knows her chance with him is nonexistent, especially once he asks her cousin, Elda, out. Elda keeps asking Holly for advice on how to talk to him, which leads to Holly texting as Elda again…and again. Before too long, she finds herself falling for him harder than ever, but she’s in too deep to come clean.

APPROXIMATELY YOURS became one of my new favorite books within a few chapters. Julie Hammerle creates a wonderful, holiday-filled story in a town overflowing with cuteness. While I was initially a little hesitant about the love triangle situation, Hammerle handles it absolutely perfectly. There is no girl on girl hate between Holly and Elda. In fact, their friendship is one of the centerpieces of the story, and you’ll find yourself giggling alongside them during their adventures. Danny is also well-developed and far from naïve. He continuously questions his interactions with Holly and Elda while trying to sort everything out. He and Holly have a swoony relationship with so much adorableness you won’t be able to contain the squees.

While I love the romance so much, there are other exceptional themes within the novel that can’t be left undiscussed. Holly is plus-size, something we learn in the beginning. While she has a nice amount of confidence and self-esteem, she has certain assumptions as to how she is perceived, which I was so glad to see in this story. As a fat woman myself, I identified with her. Holly has no desire to change her body, but she believes, as many do, that most people do not find her attractive like they do someone like Elda, who is classically thin and pretty. Part of her journey isn’t about accepting her body, because she’s already quite happy with it, but rather, learning not to assume that others, like Danny, will only find traditional standards of beauty attractive.

I could shout the praises of APPROXIMATELY YOURS for several lengthy pages, but in efforts to be concise, Julie Hammerle has woven an unforgettable story of romance, friendship, family, grief, and a surprisingly number of gingerbread houses in her latest North Pole, Minnesota novel. Whether you’re looking for a cute holiday read or looking to cozy up with a good romance, this is not a book to miss.

I have a soft-but-uncomfortable spot for Cyrano-inspired stories, and this is definitely one of those tales. Holly has had a crush on Danny from afar for as long as she can remember--the boy from her childhood who inspired her to greatness in architecture and a love of gingerbread house competitions. He's from her grandmother's town, and when her family comes back to North Pole after her death to get her affairs in order, they run in to each other again. The only problem is Holly's newly-single cousin has set her eyes on him.

Holly loves her cousin very much and agrees to help Elda get him, because Elda has a very difficult time talking with boys. So Holly begins wingman-ing like crazy. She talks Elda up, tells her what to say, has text message conversations with Danny. But maybe Danny actually likes Holly?

There are a lot of sweet moments in Approximately Yours. I love the friendship between Holly and Elda, and I love watching them discover things about their grandmother's life. The town and its traditions is super cutesy and kind of reminds me of Stars Hollow. But I felt like this book was really messy. Danny likes Holly from the beginning (like a LOT), and Elda isn't even super into him, but for some reason the majority of the book is still spent trying to shove D & E together. The Cyrano conceit was okay, but it kind of fell flat - it should have been more exciting, or funny. Also, our characters are high school seniors, but I thought they read much younger. Younger YA readers will probably enjoy this much more.

I'd never read a North Pole book before, but this one is a standalone novel. I don't know if there were any references to either of the other books in the series, but I never felt lost.

It's a super sweet, silly, and festive book about a tight-knit family and finding love at Christmastime.

I FREAKING LOVED THIS BOOK! It was cute, sweet and gave me all the feels that any book should

First  of all, I would like to say thank you to Entangled Teen for sending me an eARC copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. And this will not affect my thoughts and opinions about the book in any way.

Approximately Yours is the third book in the North Pole, Minnesota series but you can still read it without reading the first two book as they are standalone stories.

The story is about the Page's girls, Holly and Elda together with their family goes to the small town of North Pole to find new people who will  buy the house of their late grandmother. During their first day, they met Danny, whom Holly had a crush for a long time and the boy who won the gingerbread contest every year. 

Holly is the main character that has feelings for Danny but tried to set her cousin Elda for him. She pretended to be Elda every time she is texting to Danny that makes her to love him more. One thing to love about Holly's character is the way she set up Elda and Danny even though she love him. In our days, some people will not step down just to make the people they love to be happy even when they are hurting already. But in the story, Holly didn't do it, what she did is to let her feelings hidden by encouraging herself that Danny likes Elda and not her. The way she dedicate herself to win the gingerbread contest for her late grandmother is one thing to love her again. When a person have a positive traits they also have negative traits. And that negative trait of Holly is not telling them, Elda and Danny what she truly feels. She also showed how coward she is and do not want to be rejected is something we shouldn't do. Let's be brave to admit what we feel and just embrace the consequences of being hurt. Cause somethings we learn from the bad things we experience.

I want to wring the necks of both Danny and Elda. I hate how naive they both are in not sensing what Holly really feels. But aside from it, isn't Danny cute every time he stole secret glances to Holly every time they meet. I also find it cute when Danny notice the small thing Holly have that makes him fall in love with her more. He show what are the things a boy is experiencing when they have a girl crush and how they are shy in telling their feelings.

With Elda, I find it cute also how her love story with Dinesh is being developed. And how cute and quirky she is when talking about pipes and creepy things that most girls avoided. She show that not all girls are into flirting, make-ups and cute stuffs. 

I love the whole concept of the story especially that the setting is during Christmas. People who loves Christmas, candies and gingerbread contest will surely love the story.

The author wrote the story that every reader will definitely love the characters by their own unique characteristics and cuteness. The reader will also love how the story is well written and will enjoy it without reading the first two books. 

Kudos for the author for writing a story that will make you to be the person who you are, be brave and don't be afraid to tell what you really feels. And also to be a better person by forgiving others no matter what they do. We can learned also through the book how family is there beside you willing to help you for the things you really want or love.

I highly recommend the story for all ages that loves Christmas, cute love story and family love. 

My rating for the story is 5 out of 5 stars that makes me want to reread and reread it. 


https://bookishcaramel.wordpress.com/2017/10/19/approximately-yours-book-review/

The formatting and proofreading really needs to be fixed, especially the formatting of the chapters. Which is why I gave the book 3 stars. This romance was a good read.

After the death of their grandmother, the entire Page family flies to North Pole, Minnesota to weed out and clean up her house to sell it. Holly Page and her cousin, Elda Page are best friends, but complete opposites. Elda is skinny, beautiful, and blonde; she attracts men like flies. Holly has curves, she's closed off, and because of constant rejection, she doesn't put herself out there anymore; she has a hard exterior up all the time.

Holly used to visit her Grandma every Christmas when she was a little girl and they would enter the gingerbread house contest. That was where she met Danny Garland when she was just 8 years old; she's never forgotten him. She kept going back until she was a teenager, then her Grandma would come visit her family. When she and Elda see Danny in town, he's too busy staring at Elda that Holly gives up. But Elda doesn't flirt very well, so Holly helps her out. When Danny texts Elda, Holly ends up talking for hours with him, she actually opens up to him. But when he's alone with Elda, it's awkward. She's quiet, if he refers to their text conversations, she's confused.

Danny Gardner is having a real bad month. He's the captain of his basketball team. While being interviewed by a persistent reporter, he dares him to do a basketball dunk; that dunk ends up causing him to break his tibia in 2 pieces. Then he accidentally finds out his girlfriend of 6 years has been cheating on him, with a supposed friend of his. So when the Page Girls are back in town he can't help but be excited. He likes Holly, but she's hostile to him and constantly pushing him towards Elda.

But when he finds out the truth about what the girls have been doing behind his back, he can't find it in him to forgive Holly. Which breaks her heart, this is why she pushed Elda to him in the first place; to avoid his rejection.

A must read!

This was another cute read set in North Pole, Minnesota. It is where it is Christmas all year round, 24 hours a day. I liked the gingerbread decorating contest and that both female and male characters were entered. I liked Danny and Holly but feel like Holly went a bit too far with the pushing of Elda on him. The secondary characters were very likable and I would like to see some of their stories. Elda was not your typical beautiful girl and the fact she loved plumbing was hilarious. I received a free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Adorable!

Holly and Danny are such likable characters that even when they're being totally blind and frustratingly dense, it's hard to get too mad at them, because if you've ever been an awkward teen you totally get where their insecurities come from, at least a little. Through it all you can see just how absolutely right they'll be together, which will keep you turning the pages like no one's business (except for the brief breaks you may need to take in order to Google one--or fifty--of the gifs they end up texting to one another. Thanks, Julie Hammerle, for making this book take me twice as long to read... ;))

All in all this was a fun read that kind of makes me want to take up competitive gingerbread housing. (Who knew this was a thing?) Though Holly's cousin Elda's ending here gave me a bit of a pause (maybe I'd feel better if she had her own book? I'm not questioning her choice, just how quickly things happened there) overall this was a cute read and a fun way to spend a few weekend hours while I wait for sweater weather to (finally) arrive.

P.S.--read the author's "Airing of Grievances" at the end. Even if you've never seen a single episode of Seinfeld (do such people really exist?) they're good for a laugh.

Rating: 4 stars / B+

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

This was a cute story, but it felt like something was missing.

In my mind, I'm actually packing my bags and moving to North Pole, Minnesota. This town just seems so damn magical and beautiful, with wonderful people in it and a christmas vibe all year long, something that doesn't sound bad to me at all. I'm writing this review while listening to christmas music (in october, gasp!!!)

This review is going to contain spoilers, cause I can't contain my feels!!!

I still haven't read the first book in the series but I LOVED the second one. And now the third one sucked me in right away. This series is just greatly written and so easy and fun to read.

The characters.The two main characters are Holly and Danny.I loved them both right from the start. Holly broke my heart so many times in this story, just her being super selfconsious and always thinking that she will never be good enough. And Danny, breaking his leg and having to give up on basketball for a while, finding out his girlfriend is cheating on him. Give these two a break. And then they met, and because Holly is Holly and she's thinking that he will never be interested in her, she's trying her best to set him up with her cousin, Elda. On the topic of Elda, I love that girl, she's weird, she talks about gross things. She's wonderful.

So this story is basically about Holly trying to set up Elda with Danny, doing everything in her power to avoid her own feelings and making things happen between these two. She's writing him texts, pretending to be Elda (who knows about it), they pretty much make him believe that Elda is the one their grandma tried to set him up with. When Elda and Danny actually have to talk to each other face to face, it's just painful and awkward. But because Holly is trying to keep her distance, he actually things that she strongly dislikes him.

I love this story. I love the whole thing. Yes, some lies are being told, some feelings get hurt along the way. But I was living for every little moment between Holly and Danny. These two are just such beautiful idiots that I was really rooting for. LOVE THEM. I also really loved Elda and Dinesh. I mean things between them happened really fast, but these two weirdos work so well together that it was just so THEM to jump right into the relationship. Wedding bells and all.

I also very much LOVED the whole gingerbread competition. This is coming from someone who loathes gingerbread. But this element to the story was just so cute. And I loved the little moments of Tinka (from book 2) that we got through this. Girl was not happy about her placing in the competition. Haha, loved it.

I HIGHLY recommend this book for everyone who is in need of a little bit of christmas-y cuteness!!!

This book was fun and entertaining, I love books from Crush. This book was funny and reminded me of a movie I watched when I was a kid. I can't wait to read more books from Crush.

I received an eARC copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

For the first half chapter, I was so annoyed like totally annoyed with what Holly did try to matchmaking her cousin with the boy she has been forever in love with. Even Danny, he is kind of confusing with his own heart. Hmm I’m not sure I should consider it as annoying. I think might consider it as frustrating me? I think that’s better than annoying. Anyway, after long waiting for the best part of the book. I finally found it and enjoy it along. Because Holly is definitely for Danny. They made the perfect match and sweet and they can talk almost anything when they are together!

Rating: 3.5