Well I want to start by saying... I think I'm in love with Nick!
What an amazing character he is. He reminds me of a cheeky chappy maybe like chandler off friends or someone similar.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Alfie is a sweetheart, Sarah is so lovely too and even Matt is. Just a lovely warming story.
In my top 5 of the year most definitely. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers and the author for the privilege to read this book for my honest opinion

This was a really cute Christmassy read. Nick has lost his job which means he ends up working as Santa at the shopping centre where he meets Alfie making his Christmas wish. The story follows them over the year to see what happens. A lovely feel good read

Romance isn't a genre I read often, but a few years ago I picked up Joanna Bolouri's first book for some reason (I think it was an emergency airport buy - gosh, airports, remember them?!) and heartily enjoyed it. So I was really keen to read All I Want For Christmas because while I don't particularly enjoy romance, I love anything Christmas-related. And it was a DELIGHT. Properly laugh out loud funny, to the point my partner got annoyed with me for snorting. Similarly to the other books by Bolouri that I've read, I felt I could relate to every character and everyone was genuinely likeable (I especially liked that there wasn't a villain, just rounded, flawed characters: let's face it we all are in need of villain-free, feel good tales at the moment). Highly recommended for a festive read.

This was such a warm, witty and happy festive story. I'm so fed up of angsty, awkward and heart wrenching reads after the ongoing PITA that has been this year, it's lovely to be able to escape somewhere where you can freely meet with people you don't live with and do normal things. Remember that?

Unusually for a chick lit, it was narrated in first person by Nick, a lawyer who has just been sacked and has to temporarily resort to working as a shopping centre Santa.

Although he's down on his luck, he's snarky, funny and he made me laugh lots of times as he gradually gets his life together. I loved his friendship with Matt, but I really loved his loyalty and integrity as he hides his attraction to Matt's girlfriend, Sarah. I also loved the interaction between Nick and Sarah's son, Alfie.

This was such a belly warming and funny read, I loved spending time with these characters.

Complete story, recommended if you're looking for something romantic, funny and uplifting. No smut though I'm sad to report.

*Thanks to the publishers via netgalley for my arc.*

This is a gorgeous feel-good festive read. The protagonist, Nick is adorable in fact all of the characters were great. I read this at a difficult time and it was a balm for the soul. A must read.

While it was predictable it was a good Christmas read giving you that warm fuzzy feeling which is what everyone needs this time of year

I think All I want for Christmas is my 2020 book! This book makes you laugh, root for Nick & Sarah but want Nick to keep his friendship with Matt too as he’s the best, best friend Nick will ever have and yet you know the whole point is Nick loves Sarah. It’s a clever boy loves girl story as the “other man” isn’t the villain of the piece so you also want Matt to be ok too. I’m hoping this becomes a Christmas movie as it’s the right side of romance, comedy and the story of where Santa tries to make a little boy’s wish come true with the grace of an elephant with a Spanish elf.
Hugely fun read!!!

This superior romantic comedy follows a year in the life of thirty-year-old luckless lawyer, Nick Harris, and starts and finishes with the festive season. Whilst there is a certain amount of predictability about the whole novel and the direction it’s heading in, All I Want for Christmas benefits from superior characterisation and the occasional bit of near the mark humour! When Nick is fired from his job as a corporate lawyer and on the receiving end of numerous rejection letters he swallows his pride and reluctantly accepts a seasonal post as Santa at nearby Southview Shopping Centre. His flatmate, former colleague and best friend for over a decade, Matt Buckley, might have family money to fall back on but as the son of a deceased single mum and brought up in a tower block, self-deprecating Nick pitches up for days with an aggressive elf dishing out presents to snotty kids with greedy Christmas demands. His vacuous and reality TV obsessed girlfriend, Angela, is mortified and makes short work of calling time on their relationship.

Just a few days into the job Nick meets four-year-old Alfie O’Brien who doesn’t want anything except for Father Christmas to make his mum happy again after the death of his father. When Alfie’s mum catches up with him, Nick meets Sarah who works in the shopping centre coffee shop and as well as being attractive turns out to be funny and grounded. Nick, being the thoroughly decent guy he is, sets Sarah up with Matt thinking that if he can’t solve his own problems then he can at least solve Alfie’s. As Sarah and Matt hit it off Nick finds himself quite happy to babysit Alfie and takes a shine to him, leading to the foursome forming a sort of family unit of their own and spending days out and dates together. As Nick spends more time with Alfie and gets to know Sarah the unthinkable happens and he finds himself falling in love with his best mate’s girlfriend but his loyalty and brotherly relationship with Matt precludes him from acting on his feelings. As the year unfolds and Nick finds himself wanting everything that Matt has and his affection for Sarah and Alfie grows he starts to realise that he might have to forgo his own chance of happiness in order not to lose the three people who mean the most to him.

This is a genuinely relatable rom-com with enough depth to make the friendships and relationships feel credible and a great line in sarcasm and whilst the novel is admittedly pretty predictable there are a some well-fleshed out detours along the way that don’t just feel like half-hearted padding to prolong the story. I really appreciated how Nick’s relationship with Sarah blossomed into a great friendship and just having fun together with Alfie and the dialogue felt so natural. Whilst I never really felt the chemistry between Matt and Sarah this did little to detract from an easily readable and wryly humorous story with characters that I cared about. Superior chick-lit that with characterisation and humour that I would compare to Jane Fallon and given I would never normally read a festive rom-com All I Want for Christmas gets the thumbs up from me!

3.5 stars
I would not be fooled by the title and cover of this book; it is not an overly Christmassy book.
It takes place during the span of a year bookended with the holidays.
This book is a bit lighter on the romance, but has some holiday vibes (working as a Santa in a mall for instance).
It was cute and bittersweet! Somewhat predictable, but was incredibly delightful.
I wish I could’ve gotten into Sarah’s head to see what she was thinking more.
The ending also felt a bit too much of a happenstance and a little rushed, but I really enjoyed this.
Definitely for fans of One Day in December!

*special thanks for NetGalley for the ARC copy in exchange for a review!

A great short festive read.
Nick has lost his job and ends up reluctantly with a job as Santa in the local shopping centre. When he meets Alfie, he wants to make his christmas wish come true, but will he manage it?

I’m not usually a Christmas book lover. I tend to find them fluffier than a Christmas jumper and avoid as much as possible, so I really don’t know what drew me towards this book. But I’m glad I did read it. It wasn’t your usual Christmas fare; it wasn’t set in a seaside town in a bakery or cafe, for starters, and it had a male lead. It felt a lot more realistic, the plot wasn’t over the top and exaggerated, and there was minimal cheesy dialogue. I could genuinely see this as a Christmas film, and I really enjoyed reading it!

After Nick loses his high-powered city job he is forced to take on the role of Santa in a shopping mall’s grotto. When he meets 4 year old Alfie and his recently widowed mum, Sarah, he decides one of his festive good deeds will be to set her up with his flat mate and best friend, Matt. But as he starts seeing Sarah and Alfie more and more he begins to realise his mistake…

My feelings on this book are very mixed. It’s a super-short read at only 285 pages, the kind of book you could easily devour in an afternoon. And it has some real laugh-out-loud moments, one of which still makes me chuckle when I think of it now!

However, what missed the mark for me were the male characters. For me to really enjoy a romcom I’ve got to basically be fully in love with the men, and be able to imagine myself being friends with the women. Sarah and particularly Alfie are great characters, and I was totally rooting for them to find their happy ending.

But though Nick and Matt are both supposed to be good guys, I mostly found them to be obnoxious and full of stereotypical “lad” thoughts and behaviours. Sadly their banter grated on me too much for me to be able to properly enjoy the love story.

That said, if you don’t mind a lot of casual swearing and lad banter and are looking for a quick and funny festive read then this could be a book for you.

With thanks to Quercus for gifting me a digital copy for review.

The book is PERFECT! I am a big fan of Christmas books, and I have to say, this may be the best one I have ever read. Romantic and funny as hell! Goosebumps, tears, LOLs and audible gasp inducing. Amazing! Loved every second of this. Massive congratulations to the author, and thank you netgalley for my gifted copy

All I want for Christmas is an enjoyable light story with a Christmas theme. The main protagonist, Nick is a recently out of work, down on his luck lawyer. Mistakes at a major law firm see him unemployed and seemingly unemployable in his field. His only available option is to work as Santa at a large shopping mall. I found this book humorous and sweet. Even though it is an easy read , the array of interesting characters and situations were well drawn. I would recommend this novel for a fun holiday read. Thanks to Quercus Books and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for review.

I don't know where to start with this heartwarming, charming festive delight. It has everything I look for in a lighthearted Christmas romcom! Think Hallmark with a bit more bite.

It is also a breath of fresh air to read a romcom solely from the perspective of the male lead. Written in first person I was immersed into his life and absolutely loved him and the other characters. Even though we were focused mainly on Nick we still are able to gain a deep connection with his friends, feeling every bond that he has and develops with them. In fact, I finished this wishing I could know more about the other main characters and delve deeper in to their stories. I would absolutely read any others if this were a series (even though their lives are kind of summed up at the end).

Overall a fabulous holiday read with the perfect combination of romance, Bromance, banter and drama...oh and of course Christmas themes!

Perfect Christmas read.

This is a typical love story and such an easy read. Loved every part of it and will definitely read again.

3.5 stars with the potential for a 4-star upgrade when I re-read it. A really enjoyable read!

What a pleasure to read a new author. This is my first Joanna Bolouri book but won't be my last. I thoroughly enjoyed reading Nick's journey as he transforms from Peter Pan to a real adult. I loved the snarky dialogue and the wonderful characters, and the love story which surprisingly resembled some of my favorite classics more than your usual modern romance book.

Many thanks to my GR friend, Agi, who's review convinced me to request this on NetGalley. Many thanks to NetGalley for sending me this ARC.

Profanity... many, many f-bombs.

A wonderful, heart-warming story. All I Want for Christmas is my first read of Joanna Bolouri and I loved it. I could not help but want everything good for Nick he was a fabulously delivered characters, the other characters were also well delivered holding me engaged throughout and closing the book with a smile on my face. I will be reading more by this author and recommend you give it a read as well

This is nice romantic Christmas story.
The interaction of the characters made me smile and although the ending is predictable it is an easy read.
The only thing I would warn you about is the swearing which is splattered about which may offend some people.

I didn't want this story to end. That is how much I loved All I Want for Christmas!

This is the hilarious, heart-warming, yet brutally funny Christmas book I needed. It will lift your spirits, make you laugh, maybe even make you a bit emotional, but it will pay off.

In short, Nick is 31 and lives in London. He just lost his job and has to work as Santa at the local mall just to make ends meet. Yep, St. Nick, the irony, right? He lives with his best friend, Matt, who he fixes up with a girl that he saw and works at the mall. And just because life knows how to throw you a curveball, Nick unwillingly falls in love with his best friend's girlfriend.

Here's why I loved it so much:

I bookmarked sentences from the very first page, which is a rare thing. The writer made me laugh right off the bat and set such a good tone for the rest of the book. The main character is just the right amount of sarcastic, funny, desperate and kind. All of these traits have been so perfectly balanced. I LOVED the main character. Side characters as well! Everyone had their own story, and I felt like I got to know them all, and connect to them so naturally.

The pacing is just perfect. Not too fast, not too slow, but Goldilocks kind-of-right. I was never bored once, as the writer takes us from different scenes and events all the time. From fancy engagement parties, a beautiful wedding, a birthday spent at the theme parks, and farms. There's so much going on, but everything had its purpose, and the story evolved flowed beautifully.

The humour in this - so many funny, present-day references (but not too many to the point where you feel like the author is trying too hard). No, the author really knew what she was doing. This is truly a laugh out loud book!

''I glance at the corner of the living room where my most recent Amazon purchase sits untouched, mocking me for being stupid enough to waste money on an unused gym membership while simultaneously ordering kettlebells online to work out at home. God, I'm an idiot.'' Seriously, laughed out loud.

I also loved how the main character struggled with fitting in and with the expectations of society. He is 31, but still hasn't found the job of his dreams, doesn't have a wife or kids, or even a girlfriend for that matter, while everyone around him appears to have their life together. Yes, Nick feels what we all feel at some point -inadequate and confused with life. Which is why I loved him.

The romance aspect did not disappoint. You don't have to be a huge romantic to appreciate a good love story. I'll add just one of Nick's thoughts right here: ''I just want to chill out, drink wine and chat shit. She has that effect on me.''

Once again, I didn't want it to end. I wanted to see this as a movie or a TV show. It had all the right feels. It wasn't too sappy or cheesy, and none of those Hallmarky moments, which tend to suffocate me as a reader when overused.

If you want to have a good laugh, and follow Nick's story as he navigates through chaos that life is, please pick up this read. The scales show the perfect balance of humour, romance, friendship, Christmas, which is all one could ask for this Christmas.