The Royal Runaway by Lindsay Emory was a unique, new genre for me as it combines romance with a thriller, and I liked the spin. The story begins with Princess Thea, part of the monarchy for the country of Drieden, being left at the altar. She doesn't know what has happened, and obviously everyone is talking about the royal wedding gone wrong. Alone in a bar, she runs into Nick. They immediately connect, but she soon learns he's not who he says he is. Nick is the estranged (and presumed dead) brother of her former fiance who is also a spy. That's a lot of things, right? However, Nick lets Thea know he believes there is more to the story of her runaway fiance, and they agree to work together to figure out the truth. What follows is an uncovering of all the secrets. They have to figure out what these all mean, who they can trust, and what they're going to do with what they find out. This again was a different take on a thriller. It kept me reading and guessing as I wanted to know what was at the core of what was going down!

Well, this was a wonderful, heart-warming, cozy read for all you Hallmark movie lovers (and you closeted ones too). A Groundhog's Day style story about fighting for what makes you happy, will surely make you happy too.

I enjoy Christina Lauren's novels a lot, but In a Holidaze was one of the more enjoyable ones overall. I had a lot of fun reading it. While it follows a trope that has been overused quite a bit lately (maybe because every day feels like Groundhog Day right now), it was done in a clever way that kept me wondering if Maelyn would get sent back again or not. I liked the characters and the dynamic between everyone. Even though I don't celebrate Christmas, it made me appreciate the holiday and reminded me of the days when I was into the Christmas spirit. Having said that, I wasn't so on board with a church scene, but I can see why it was in there. I could practically hear Christmas songs coming out of the pages and could smell and taste the hot cocoa and candy canes. I could even feel the coldness of the snow. It just seemed like they all were having a lot of fun, despite Maelyn's stress over her situation.

Movie casting suggestions:
Maelyn: Maia Mitchell
Andrew: Robbie Amell
Theo: Brandon Flynn
Miles: Mason Cook
Elise: Diane Franklin
Lisa: Peri Gilpin
Benny: Richard Roxburgh

4.5 stars rounded up to 5. Maelyn Jones always spends the holidays with her family and a group of close family friends. This group includes two bothers that are close to her age; one of whom she has had a long-standing secret crush on. She accidentally, drunkenly makes a bad choice the last night she's at the cabin and then receives some bad news. As her family is on her way to the airport, and she's agonizing about both the choice and the news, they are in an accident. When she wakes up, she's on the plane several days earlier, just arriving to the cabin. She has the opportunity for a do-over (okay, more than one do-over). The question is, what will she do with these opportunities? Will she make different decisions? What will happen if she makes different decisions? It's almost like a Choose Your Own Adventure. I really enjoyed it and loved watching Maelyn grow and connect.

I loved the Groundhog Day premise of this book. I actually just watched Groundhog Day for the first time earlier this year (I can't believe i hadn't watched it before- if you haven't seen it, watch it!). And the book How to Save a Life by Liz Fenton (actually another female writing team) also had a Groundhog Day vibe to it (different from this, but worth reading). So, this must be my year of characters needing to repeat the same day in an effort to learn or grow or just get something right. I like it!

Thanks to Gallery Books and NetGalley for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you for the advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley. This is my first book by this author. I don't read contemporary romance, I'm a historical fiction reader, but I thought this might be a fun read because I'm a huge fan of the movie Groundhog Day, since the main character gets stuck in a time loop at Christmas. In general I like the idea of character repeating a timeframe until they get it right and learn what they have to learn . I was afraid this would get boring but there was just enough new stuff each time to keep it entertaining. Glad I read it.

I will admit that I do not always connect with Christina Lauren novels, but "In A Holidaze" may have changed my mind about these two women. Maelyn Jones wakes up after drinking too much eggnog and realizes that she has done the unthinkable- She has made out with Theo, her best childhood friend, and the brother of her crush Andrew. Maelyn is mortified and even more so when Theo acts like nothing happened the next morning. Maelyn is the main character who the audience wants to root for; she is down on her luck working for a job that does not appreciate her and living at home with her mother and stepfather. As a reader, I immediately wanted her to get the guy! As she leaves the snowy Utah Cabin, she makes a wish right before she hears the sound of metal on metal, and the next thing she knows, she wakes up the day before her Christmas vacation and has to relive her trip. I can't recommend this novel enough; it is full of pop culture references and a witty group of supporting characters who will make you laugh. I will definitely check out another Christina Lauren novel.

Everyone was comparing this book to a combination of Love Actually and Groundhog Day and that is exactly what it is. I read this entire book in less than 12 hours and I enjoyed it so much. This is the second or third book that I have read by this author and this one was by far the most enjoyable.

I read this in September and absolutely loved the heartwarming Christmas-y vibes. This book was everything I was looking for; it was refreshing, funny, relatable, and had the perfect amount of smut for this type of book.

Honestly, this book is just so cozy, heart-warming and everything you could want in a holiday read!

4⭐️
I absolutely loooove Christmas, and I loved all of the Christmas magic in this book!!!🤩

🎄Read it if you enjoy:
-Christmas magic and cheer!
-Friends to lovers romance stories!
-Rom coms!!!
-A quick, light, and easily bingeable read!

This one was so cute. I have become such a big Christina Lauren fan, so I was very happy to receive a gifted copy of this book! Thank you @gallerybooks & @simonandschuster ! This one came out on Tuesday! (10/6)

Y’all this was giving me Hallmark vibe and I LOVE IT! In A Holidaze is a great book to cuddle with on a rainy day and ignore all of your responsibilities.

What I liked:
- CL made believe that time travel is real.
- I enjoyed this journey with Mae and girl could I relate to some of her struggles.
- OMG everyone needs someone like Benny. He was giving me so much life.
- I thought Mae’s family was wonderful ( Not everyone was blood-related).
- The timeline of this book was within a week but felt like a whole month.

What I didn’t like:
- The ending was disappointing. It left me with so many questions such as what happened to the tragic car accident? There are more questions but it would be spoilers.

Overall, I do recommend this book especially if you are looking for a cute, funny, and charming holiday romance book.

Thank you @gallerybooks and @netgalley for a copy of In a Holidaze in exchange for an honest review.

I usually love A Chrtisina Lauren book but this one was was just ok. Lots of laughter, but the romance, I just didn't feel.

I am a huge CLo fan, and have really loved their past few books that seem to have polarized many readers (The Honey-Don’t List, Twice in a Blue Moon, etc.) When I saw that the duo had a Christmas novel coming out, I was giddy with excitement. I had yet to find a Christmas romance that I adored, and was excited at the prospect of reading one written by my absolute favorite romance writers. What could go wrong?

Like protagonist Mae, I was perhaps about to underestimate how my journey was going to go. While there were a lot of positive elements to this story (Traditions! Diverse families! Beautiful cabins!) it definitely didn’t hit the list of my all-time CLo favorites (that list is reserved for gems such as Roomies and Love & Other Words). Perhaps it was because of the premise of Mae being stuck in a time loop, but aside from her and Benny I felt like I hardly knew any of the characters- they felt very one dimensional, especially the love interest and his brother. I was only getting a glimpse of a few days of them over and over again and while the scenarios sometimes changed, it wasn’t enough to flesh out their characters for me. Therefore I had a hard time buying into the romance (and especially the sort-of love triangle that felt pretty forced to me).

While this story definitely felt more like a romance than other recent CLo novels that have been more about the protagonists’ personal development (which I’ve coincidentally really enjoyed), I personally had a hard time getting into the romance novel mood when the setting included so many of Mae’s family members and close family friends, with very little privacy. A large secondary plot point of the novel is Mae and the other older “kids” stepping up and realizing it’s time to change and adapt and not be rooted in their Christmas traditions forever, but at the same time Mae was chasing her childhood romantic dreams and that seemed to take precedent over the plot points focused on maturity and finding your footing as a grown adult in family dynamics where you’d played the role of the child for decades.

I recognize that the time loop was a fun plot element and anticipated that I probably wouldn’t get a full-blown explanation as to why it was happening or how it worked, but I didn’t expect it to be forgotten about so completely once Mae achieved her Happily Ever After. Especially when her admission to certain characters of the time loop led to a pretty big argument toward the end of the novel…it all just sort of fell away and wasn’t mentioned (at least, not that I can remember) in the epilogue. I was hoping to at least get a little tease behind the magical realism veil as to what caused the time loop (even if the explanation was just a little Christmas magic!)

Overall: While I didn’t dislike my reading experience of In a Holidaze, I felt like it tried to straddle the line between romance and women’s fiction too much and was a bit half-hearted in its execution of both. I would have rather had a story that focused just on a Christmas romance or just on a time loop/paranormal tale of a young woman trying to find her footing as a adult. I think a lot of readers will enjoy this fun and quick holiday story, but compared to the other fantastic books CLo have put out this doesn’t rank among my favorites.

The writing duo of Christina Lauren has put out another delightful RomCom, combining a bit of Groundhog Day meets Christmas vacation, for a laughable & heartwarming story with charm.

Our main character, Maelyn, doesn’t quite have her life together, and is beginning to realize it. Which is so fitting for the world we live in now, making it all too relatable. Then she makes a wish that she could figure out what happiness is and finds herself repeating Christmas week with family and friends. Wouldn’t that be nice? Or would it?

I loved how she bumbles through the repeated days, forced to figure out what makes her happy and take charge rather than settling for the traditional status quo. It’s all kind of a wake up call that sometimes life is showing you what you need but you have to be willing to open your eyes and actually see it.

Obviously, partly of the book are a stretch into unbelievable; time travel, but I felt it added to the holiday magic and warmth that the story hinges on. We also get the romance and bit of steam that Christina Lauren never fails to come through with.

And you don’t want to miss the epilogue, since it seems that where everything really comes together and a few of the sweetest moments happen. I do love when we can get a glimpse of the future for our characters and know how things played out good or bad.

** I received copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review **

Such a cute, quick read. Mae loves tradition and spending Christmas at the usual Utah retreat with friends and family is her ultimate happiness. Until they find out the cabin is being sold and it’s all coming to an end. When a simple wish to know happiness sets off a Groundhog Day events until she figures out what makes her happy.

A fun holiday romance with time travel, friends to lovers, and fate. I love a good holiday romance and for a short book, this was packed with laugh out loud moments, fun banter, sweet tender moments and moments that take your breath away. I love this writing duo and will read anything they write.

This writing duo hit it out of the park again. I love everything they have written and this one does not disappoint. It is the perfect holiday read for 2020. Everything from the cozy winter setting to the family dynamics made this a must read. Maelyn was a flawed relatable character who was in love with her childhood family friend, Andrew, and stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario. The supporting character were quirky and added a ton of depth to the story. I especially loved Uncle Bennie! Smiles, laughter and little romance is the perfect mix for this crazy 2020 holiday season.

Perfection. I loved everything about this book and it was exactly what I needed.

Every year, Maelyn and her family spend the week of Christmas with her parents’ college friends and their families. At the end of this year’s trip, however, she doesn’t feel as fulfilled as she usually does. Not only is she living back at home at 26, but she has kissed the wrong brother and found out that the cabin is being sold and the won’t be able to all come together again next year. That is, until on the drive back to the airport, Mae and her family are in a terrible accident and she wakes up on the airplane back to the cabin at the beginning of the trip. Mae is the only one who knows that this has all happened before.

When I was describing this book to a friend they said that it seemed like a Hallmark movie and that is exactly the vibe it gives off. This book could easily be made into a Hallmark Christmas movie and I would love every second of it. Mae has been in love with older brother Andrew (not her older brother) but made out with younger brother Theo in the first reality. I loved watching Mae and Andrew’s relationship evolve. The only issue I had was that the relationship with Mae and Theo was a bit underdeveloped. Apparently they were the closest of friends, though they had grown apart in years, but in the story they barely interact. It made it difficult to understand some of the difficulties they were having. I wish that the story had started maybe a day earlier with more interactions between Mae and Theo so that I understood that side of the story a bit more.

Every other side character was so much fun. I loved her “uncle” (whose name is escaping me at the moment). You could tell he really loved and cared for Mae and I loved that he was her confidant. He was a bit more active in the first few rounds of vacation that she lived through, so I do wish he hadn’t fallen by the wayside quite so much in the final reality, but I understand why he did.

I also really enjoyed Mae. I loved her take charge attitude but that she struggled with learning how to do that. I could see some people getting annoyed with her figuring stuff out, but I loved her. I found her to be very relatable and I rooted for her the whole way through.

I just overall enjoyed everything about this book. I don’t think there’s anything that I could criticize. This is the perfect book to pick up for the holiday season and to read in a cozy cabin, just like in the book. I’m so glad that I loved this book as much as I did, because I wasn’t as crazy about their last two books. Christina Lauren does it again! Love.

This was a warm, quick, feel-good read. Christina Lauren paint a vivid picture of holiday tradition, family (both blood and chosen), and the magic that comes from being with those you love and going for what you want. The characters were well written. While the stuck in a loop idea might have been done before, this treatment of it certainly hasn’t. I really enjoyed this book.

This is the newest book by contemporary romance duo Christina Lauren. Their books are seriously some of my favorite escapes and In a Holidaze was no exception.

With a groundhog day theme, our main character, Maisie, made a plea to the universe to show her what would make her happy as her last holiday vacation in snowy Utah with her family and friends came to an end. All of the sudden, she startles awake and instead of being in the car on her way to the airport, she's back in the plane going to Utah.

This book had it's funny moments along with it's more serious life conundrums. While it may not be my favorite Christina Lauren book, I enjoyed my time reading it and can't wait to see what this duo does next.

3.5/5⭐️

This is a fun Christmas book. It has a Groundhog Day movie twist to it which makes is very much a laugh out loud book. I read it very quickly as I wanted to know how it ended and with who.

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
Even though I read this in September, I really enjoyed the holiday vibe, and loved the concept too. We are led to believe that Maelyn is suffering a Groundhog Day-like Christmas, and we are along for the ride. Little pointers help us to see what is happening and why, and how she goes about changing things, but like her, we are left waiting for the next start over to happen… it is clever, crazy, but gets us to just where she wants to be, eventually!

The people in this story are so well introduced to us, that I would know them on the street – in fact, I think I know some of them already. They are beautifully penned, mainly described from Mae’s perspective, but she is aware and reads people well. I enjoyed how we get little extra snippets each time round, and how her awareness hones down to what is important and what isn’t. The holiday has become such a matter of routine, that it seems likely that she will know what is going to happen next, even if this wasn’t a repeat.

I don’t want to say more, because it is definitely best read fresh and without preconceptions – I read it pretty much in one sitting as I just had to know how it worked out – it was definitely worth it. Thank you, Christina Lauren.


Mary – ☆☆☆☆
First, I have to say that I was not impressed with the Groundhog Day effect at the beginning of the book. I have never liked that movie and it took me longer than normal to get through this book because of it. I had to make myself read it but once I got past that, it was a sweet story.

Anyway, we have all had that one guy we fell in love with, whether it was a neighbor, brother's friends, a long-time family friend’s son. Did you ever wish that you got the chance to see what would happen if you got together?

Well, this is Maelyn's story and the Groundhog Day effect gives her the chance to change things to make things right. Or so it seems. While the rest of the families do not know how to take her answers to certain questions, she doesn't tell everyone what is going on.

This story started out as a three-star read and ended up a four-star read for me. It is a sweet story if you don't mind the do-over again and again at the beginning. But the ending is perfect for Mae and Andrew.