Read in September 2020
I love this Groundhog's Day Christmas version.
Mae is at a cabin in Park City, UT (in the mountains in my home state!) for Christmas as she has been every year since birth. Her parents and their college friends all gather with their families every year. It's tradition.
As they are leaving to go home, there is a car accident. Mae wakes up.... Back on the airplane and traveling once again to Park City for Christmas.
She relives this day over and over again. Until she starts making meaningful decisions that will make her happy.
I love the family groups. They all have different dynamics and all have different problems. Will Mae end up with Andrew who she's secretly had a crush on for years or his brother that had wanted her? This was a hilarious, heartfelt, sweet romance.

I love all things Christina Lauren. Their books whether emotional, sad, funny, cozy all have a wonderful calmness to them. I always smile when I get to pick up one of their stories. This holiday book was no different. It's a must-have for the 2020 holiday season. The coming of age style story, plus groundhog-day-esq theme was a great way to jump into the holiday season on a happy note.

In a Holidaze
by Christina Lauren

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for my advanced readers e copy of the book! Fans of Christina Lauren will love this cozy, feel good book via a time travel approach - which I was NOT expecting. Yes, you will begin to feel liked you’ve already lived through this day over and over as Mae struggles to figure out what is going on and what she’s supposed to do. Add in long term family relationships and yes, romance, too. In a Holidaze is a great addition to the author duo of Christina Lauren of rom coms 👍🏻

Maelyn, her family, and her closest family friends have gathered at the same cabin in Utah for Christmas since Maelyn was born. With the impending sale of the cabin and her parents divorce, the holidays will look vastly different next year so Maelyn is determined to have the perfect Christmas to remember the cabin and the memories created there. A eggnog induced mistake however leaves Maelyn regretful and hopeful for a do-over. A simple wish throw to the universe en route to the airport leads to a groundhogs day scenario that has Maelyn waking up on the airplane headed to the cabin to celebrate Christmas. It seems like the universe listened and came through for her. However Maelyn soon finds that life is nothing if not complex and romance adds an extra level of complications and confusion. Hilarity ensues as Maelyn bumbles her way towards finding the right path to happiness so she can break free of this strange Christmas time loop and get on with the rest of her life.

The dynamic writing duo is back in a holiday themed, sweet yet sultry story that will have readers believing there really is magic at Christmas. In a Holidaze is Hallmark Christmas meets Groundshog day; a perfect mashup of contemporary romance with a bit of a science fiction time travel twist that works wonderfully to create a compulsively readable feel good story. Family, love, and laughter were at the heart of the story that contained some of the most lovable characters readers will find it hard not to root for. I highly recommend this story to fans of the duo's other amazing works or for readers looking for a lighthearted feel good story perfect for the holiday season.

This is a Groundhog day for Women! What a head spinning page turner. Who hasn't asked the universe to show them the way with their life. Not everyone (or at least I haven't) has been given the change to have a do-over and see. Maisie gets the chance to embrace the childhood crush that she has had for so long... or will she miss out on this second chance.
This is a great read that made my laugh, dream, and hope with every page turned. Thank you Netgalley, Gallery Books, and Christina Lauren for this advance read.

This was a very cute holiday romance. Perfect for Christmas time. It was very similar to the structure of Christina Lauren novels. Unexpected relationship, breakup, get back together. It was cute and a short novel. I think it would be perfect for the holidays. The story follows a 26 year old who goes with her family and (divorced) parents friends to their cabin. They have been doing this for ages. She ends up making a mistake & asks the universe what she can do. Then she is stuck in a "groundhog day" like time warp, where she keeps "dying" and going back to the beginning of the week. Cute and romantic.

I loved In A Holidaze. I was unsure of the Groundhog Day type loop of the story but once I got the rhythm, I couldn’t stop reading. It was fun and funny and I was so emotionally involved through the whole story. This is the CLo I know and love.

What if you could make a wish to the universe asking what will make you happy? What if this wish sends you into a time loop? This is what you will find in Christina Lauren's Holidaze book! The Groundhog's Day like adventure will bring you through a time loop with 30 year old Mae as she seeks happiness. This is a light hearted romantic comedy that can be read anytime of the year. For me, I felt there were a lot of characters introduced in the beginning and the time loop got a little old, but all in all I did like the book. I enjoyed the process Mae went through and her braveness for putting herself out there to find her happiness.

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Maelyn Jones is not having a good Christmas. She’s spending it, once again, with her parents and family friends at a cabin in Utah. She’s twenty-six years old, but she acts like she’s eighteen.. She’s had a crush on one of the sons forever, but she’s made a monumental alcohol fueled error that changes everything. Except there’s an accident and she’s back on the day they arrived at the cabin. She tries to fix things and makes an even bigger mess of things. Two more reruns find her confused and unhappy – not at all what she wanted. Can she repair the disorder she’s created?

The book was not what I expected from the write-up. I didn’t find the characters “unforgettable” and there was very little “yuletide cheer.” I thought everyone behaved unrealistically and immaturely. I thought she’d need more reruns to get life straightened out. It was as if, ok she tried twice, this time we’ll just keep going until it all works out. To be very honest, I don’t think I know anyone who would enjoy this book. But that’s my humble opinion about a book that I received from NetGalley. I chose not to post my review on Amazon, BookBub or GoodReads.

I absolutely loved this book! It really swept me away from all the crap that is 2020. It was so sweet, heartwarming, sexy, and FUN! Christmas is my favorite holiday and time of year and spending it with these extended families was the vacation I needed right now.

Maelyn Jones is on her annual Christmas vacation in Park City, Utah with her parents and brother plus three of her parents’ best friends and their families. Included in this is Andrew, who Mae’s been in love with since she was 13. Enter a miraculous twist of fate... After a slightly disastrous week, Maelyn wakes to find herself at the beginning of the week, not the end. Like the Bill Murray movie Groundhog’s Day, she ends up reliving the week a few more times until she figures out how to get it right.

So yes, the premise is a little Hallmark Channel made-for-TV-moviesque but the characters are charming and sweet and the week they spend having snow creature-making contests, going on scavenger hunts, sledding, and playing games is a week I’d happily relive and reread over and over again. And I hope they do make it into a movie because I’d totally watch it!

I didn’t recall the blurb for this story which made for a surprising and fun beginning. As the story begins, family – those of blood, friendship and of love – are back again for the Christmas week and the cabin they’ve visited for years. The older adults are those that mostly met in college so have known each other for many years. There are children of various ages but mostly young adults. We meet Maelyn who has moved back home, unhappy with her work life and a non-existent love life. Through her eyes, we learn about the older adults, the various children, their personalities, the traditions each Christmas, the description of the cabin, and the fun and chaos that ensues with thirteen people together for a week with cooking, games, and more.

Maelyn, Maisie, Noodle, and goes by many other nicknames, has had a long-time crush on Andrew, the older son of another couple. She dreams about him, is mesmerized by his looks, his kindness, the way he plays the guitar but believes he thinks of her as a sister.

After the holiday and as everyone leaves for their homes in different states, Maelyn has a thought about what would make her happy. In the next second, the screech of cars colliding threw me into shock, wondering about injuries or worse. THEN, Maelyn wakes up on the plane going to Utah to start the Christmas holiday again. I burst info laughter at the way she and her family acts. She’s wary of going to the cabin again as she’s not quite sure what’s going on.

Benny, the one adult she’s always confided everything throughout her life, is who she tells about this crazy event. After going through this cycle again and again, Maelyn decides to just let go and be honest about what she wants, which is so out of character for her. It was so sweet during each of these restarts, how she and Andrew start to get a bit closer then start over again.

This story is the perfect mix of family, long-time friends who are considered family, holiday traditions, funny, sweet, romantic and a bit of angst. The cycle Maelyn goes through makes me think of the movie Groundhog Day and it was interesting to see what changed each time. We get just a peek of the older adults during their college years with relationships and friendships and I would have loved to know a bit more about that time in their lives before they had children. The various characters and personalities made me think a bit of the movies Family Stone and The Big Chill.

The various relationships are the best part of the story with so much love through the years. As Maelyn decides to be honest about her feelings and makes some decisions about her life, she and Andrew get closer. It’s just so sweet to see how hesitant they’ve both been, to learn more about Andrew’s feelings and vulnerability and how the spark ignites when they take a chance.

Of course, there are some issues to work through which are heartbreaking but there was a beautiful HEA. I love epilogues and while this was a brief one, it was just so perfect and exactly what I needed right now.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this new work.

Sweet and funny, I absolutely love everything Christina Lauren writes. This has the perfect blend of comedy and romance. The glitter and sparkle of the holiday season is sprinkled throughout all the pages, which gives the story such a happy, love-filled setting. Each of the Groundhog Day styled resets made me giggle. The book had a lot of laughs, but also had me crying for a good twenty minutes or so at the end. Definitely a must-buy for all Christina Lauren fans.

Are you ready for some Christmas Cheer? If so you need to pick up the new book In A Holidaze by Christina Lauren. This book will have you dreaming of snowy days and log cabins in the woods with the people you love.


The story uses two fairly common tropes to build its plot. The “ make a wish “, where you make a wish and end up in the past so you can hopefully fix or change things, and the “ Groundhog Day “ where you are in a constant loop of a certain time period. Lauren does an excellent job of combining the two.

Being from the South, having the typically shown snowy cold Christmas is as fiction as most of the books I read, so the setting in the book was wonderful to me, and the author described everything in detail, which gave me the feeling of being transplanted straight to Utah ( which was great because we are still having 90-degree weather where I am at ). I even told my husband we need to pack our bags this Holiday season and head for somewhere snowy !! The cozy log cabin, the snow, the tall trees, the big porch, it all just felt warm and fuzzy like you expect Christmas to feel.

The family dynamics were great in the book, and while yes, it was a romance, I felt it leaned a bit toward a family saga also. There were so many times you felt like the fly on the wall watching the family’s yearly traditions, their love for each other, their doubts, and their fights. The family felt real to me, they were not a perfect family, they had their flaws, yet even with flaws, they showed great respect and love for each other. Possibly my favorite relationship in the book was the main character Mae’s relationship with Benny. It was a close almost parental type relationship, where she often turned to him for advice, not wanting to tell her parent's certain things. It was a relationship a lot of us could have really used as we grew up.

I am not giving much detail on this review, as it would be so easy to give away the entire book, but I will say, I could easily see this as a Hallmark Christmas movie, it is funny, it is cute and cozy and it is magical. Be prepared though, the typical meet-cute is not in this story, it isn’t needed to be part of the story, but it doesn’t feel lacking at all. All I can really say is JUST READ IT…YOU WILL LOVE IT…

Working for a magazine means that I’m always a few months ahead of the curve holiday-wise. Since we’re wrapping up our Nov/Dec issue now, my head has been filled with Christmas carols & The Holiday rewatches. So, I decided why not add a festive book to the mix?

In A Holidaze follows Maelyn Jones, a slightly discontent 20-something, who is absolutely shocked when her family-friends tell her they’re selling the cabin where she’s spent every Christmas she can remember. When she gets the opportunity to redo the week (yes, in a Groundhog Day-type scenario), she has to figure out how to save the cabin from being sold. But what if the cabin isn’t the only thing she’s supposed to enjoy this go-round?

I truly wanted to like this one more than I did. I absolutely loved The Unhoneymooners (the only other Christina Lauren book I’ve read) but In A Holidaze required some serious suspension of disbelief, and still left me somewhat bored and wanting more. It didn’t make me have butterflies, or chuckle to myself, or stay up late reading, which I think for me are the defining characteristics of why I love contemporary romance.

The more romantic scenes came as a bit of a shock to me, as I figured on more of a slow burn romance based on the initial tension. There were also a LOT of characters to keep up with, and not all of them felt totally necessary and fleshed out.

What I did love was the swoon-worthy romantic lead Andrew, Mae’s sense of humor about her entire Groundhog Day experience, and the cozy festive winter scenes at the cabin. This would be an excellent Hallmark movie and maybe reading it around the holidays would change how I feel. But something about it just felt off and it was probably a case of too high expectations, to be totally honest.

This was so much fun! A Christmas romance with a time-travel twist? What's not to love?!

The thing that really shone for me throughout this novel was the family dynamics that the authors absolutely slayed. The interactions and banter was both realistic and a joy to read.

There was a great message throughout this novel about acceptance and taking the chances that we all want to do, but are too afraid of change to go ahead with. As an avid planner and someone who doesn't adapt well to change, the story hit a little too close to home.

I laughed, cried, and instantly wanted to reread it. Totally recommend to any rom-com lover!

Mae has a life a lot like many twenty-somethings -- she's moved back in with her parents, has a job she hates, and is harboring a love she's been too scared to say anything about for years. One drunken night, she makes out with the guy's brother and regrets that it ever happened. Her wish to undo it and truly be happy comes in the form or re-living her Christmas holiday until she gets it right.

At first, Mae focuses on fixing the wrong issues; she wants to fix everyone's problems and not just her own. But once she learns to let go a little, she begins to go after what she really wants.

This is a binge-worthy romance that can be read in a day, and I almost (but not quite) got through it in 24 hours. Mae's story is relatable and her romance is both cute and sexy. The journey is a roller coaster ride filled with fizzy highs and heartwrenching lows.

Highly recommended for fans of lighter women's fiction or "chick lit," especially those who enjoy the holidays. Fans of Hallmark Christmas movies will eat this book up!

This binge-worthy book made me want to curl up in front of the fire with a snuggly blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. It’s tradition for Maelyn’s family and their closest family friends to spend every holiday season together by staying in a cozy cabin in snowy Utah. Their time in the cabin is driven by nostalgia and routine making for a comfortable and predictable getaway; that is, until a lost and confused Maelyn drunkenly kisses her childhood best friend, Theo, who also happens to be the younger brother of her longtime crush, Andrew. Deep regret leaves her wishing for the opportunity to discover what she really wants from life. The universe hands her an opportunity for self-discovery when she is placed in a time loop and finds herself repeating the first few days of the family trip over and over. Although the plot itself is not wholly original, the writing is strong, the characters are likable, and the romance is steamy, making for an emotionally engaging and enjoyable read. I can definitely see myself reading this one again when holiday season is approaching!

I love Christina Lauren’s books but I tend to deeply hate and get extremely stressed out by do-over stories. Groundhog Day, for instance, has been one of my least favorite movies since it came out. This is a repeating day story, which I had to push past, but it’s more like Before I Fall, where the main character Only gets sent back to the beginning again when she does something wrong. I liked the way the story turned out, but this won’t be one of the many Christina Lauren’s that I re-read.

This book was a bit harder for me to get into - especially compared to other Christina Lauren novels; however, I think that is largely due to the fact that How to Save a Life by Lisa Steinke and Liz Fenton also came out this year and was a similar time loop concept, ending in death.

However, once I got past the similarities there, I loved this cutie little holiday book; I was worried it was going to be too cozy and Hallmark-like, but it was still a high-quality romance that we are used to seeing from this dynamic duo.

My only pause is that the end seemed to wrap up a bit too nicely; I would have preferred for the central conflict being the couple to be drawn out a bit more, instead of the back to back grand gestures. However, this was a great cast of characters, a picturesque setting and a lovely, light read.

In a Holiadaze


I so enjoyed this light hearted quick read. It is about Mae and her extended family spending every Christmas in the same cabin. The group were in college together and have always spent Christmas together. Mae is attracted to one of the boys (Andrew) and his brother Theo is a player and flirts with Mae a lot. But suddenly Mae in rewinding her days there just like Groundhog Day. This is the first book I have read of Christina Lauren and it was a breath of fresh air. Things do work out between all of them but it takes awhile to get there. I enjoyed the peppermint kiss scene! I am not gonna spoil this for you but I think you will love it!

I received this as an ARC from Netgalley for an honest review.