A winter holiday m/m rom-com that I was so excited to get my hands on. Who doesn’t love a holiday romance? Though let's face the facts any tagline of someone buying an island drew my attention fast.
Triggers of generalized anxiety disorder that was done in a sensitive and gentle manner.

Matthew was sent away to his grandparents house for the winter holidays after buying an island. Yep, an island to use for his dream music festival. His parents were fed up with his crazy spending habits and his behavior. So they sent him to his grandparents with the explicit instructions that he was cut off from all his money, he cannot tell anyone why he was sent away, and he had to redeem himself somehow so he can return home. Matthew learned that spending the holidays with his grandparents and their houseguest Hector was going to be hard without some changes within himself. With Hector’s help he planned a winter gala for the small town to redeem himself but to also help his grandma’s small business.

What I loved was Matthew’s growth as a person. He started off as a spoiled brat, but turned out that he was hiding behind that to prevent himself from getting hurt. He suffered from generalized anxiety disorder and was afraid others would judge or ridicule him. Hector was beautiful in helping him and learning about the real Matthew without judgement. I really liked the relationship between the two guys that developed slowly and beautifully. Together they were amazing and good for each other. I didn’t like Matthew’s parents. I thought they were selfish, clueless, and dishonest to name a few. Matthew’s so called bestie/friend was also awful. Matthew deserved better friends and parents. The epilogue was cute but short for me. I wanted to know more about the future for Matthew and the other characters. Yes, I know I’m greedy. Overall, the story was sweet, hopeful, and cute. I love a great winter holiday romance and this was delivered in a beautiful and sweet way. I can envision this as a great holiday movie. I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend this to everyone!!!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince is a perfectly acceptable Christmas romance novel. It’s a combo of It Happened One Summer and Boyfriend Material, with a splash of Hallmark movie. Luckily, unlike Hallmark Christmas movies, Matthew and his love interest, Hector, do kiss earlier than the last page, for those of you who care about that kind of thing (it’s at halfway through).

The book opens with Matthew being banished to his grandparents’ house in a small town after buying an island with his (very rich) parents’ money. Hector is a college student of Matthew’s grandfather who couldn’t afford to go home for break and needed a place to stay. Cue immediate hatred of each other while stuck sharing a set of bunk beds. Matthew wants out as soon as possible so he bribes Hector into helping him plan the town holiday gala to raise money for the small business association. One thing leads to another and instead of just fake learning a lesson, Matthew actually starts to grow up and get over himself.

As Matthew is the narrator, we spend the book entirely in his head. While I think this worked because it really allowed the reader to better understand Matthew and why he acts the way he does (sometimes spoiled and selfish), it ended up making some of the other characters come off as rather flat, which was a shame, as they could have been really interesting additions to the story instead of just ways to move the plot along.

One thing I think that You’re a Mean One did well was the portrayal of Matthew’s anxiety. Obviously I can’t speak for everybody with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, but as a person who also has experienced it, I felt it to be an accurate representation of some of the ways anxiety can manifest in somebody’s life. I also didn’t find it to be too overpowering. I have read books where the anxiety on the page can be written so that it made me feel anxious, and this book wasn’t that - which honestly is a good thing for me in a romance novel.

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince does have younger characters, both being around 22 years old, but I found it to be less angst-y than most books I’ve read with younger romantic couples. There was a big dramatic moment near the end of the book, but for the most part it was fairly cute, and watching Matthew and Hector get over their first impressions of each other was fun. Plus sprinkle some Christmas charm in (including a trip to see Santa) and you’ve got an adorable story.

This cozy gay holiday enemies to lovers romance was such a relaxing read. Matthew gives serious David Rose vibes and the tackling of mental health was great to have addressed even if it bordered a tiny bit on clunky. Definitely put me in the holiday spirit!

* Received a copy for review.*
Matthew is an entitled, spoiled rich kid. Hector is far from home, trying to get through college.
These two are definitely enemies and opposites at first. They are also being forced to me close to one another, sharing a room at Matthew’s grandparents.
This is an easy read about a rich kid who blows up his own life while trying to keep his generalized anxiety disorder a secret.

I read this book in a day because I just couldn't put it down. Timothy has a way with creating holiday magic so well that you can see it all clearly as if you're there. I felt as if I was at the gala, under the stars and memories, watching all of the (no spoilers here!) chaos unfold. I mean this in the absolute best way as someone who lives for them, but this book had that perfect Hallmark movie vibe--the one that you want to cuddle up to with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket, content in the knowledge that you'll have an ear-to-ear grin by the time the story is through.

Most of all, I appreciated Janovsky's candid exploration of generalized anxiety disorder, and how it can so quickly impair your own brain to believe the worst in the best people. He doesn't sugar coat anxiety and panic attacks, instead pulling the reader through them at Matthew's side. It was refreshing to find that Matthew wasn't treated as "sick" or "wrong" or as something to be pitied...his anxiety was accepted as as much a part of him as his beloved designer wardrobe.

This is incredibly sweet, heartfelt, and festive romcom. Powerful mental health rep and delightfully queer. The pacing was a bit slow but overall a great holiday read!

I really liked the premise of this book and the journey that Matthew goes on to become more self-aware and accepting of himself. There were so many times throughout that I just wanted to give him a hug as he had been so starved for affection his whole life, and was trying to fill that void in the worst ways possible. I especially enjoyed his scenes with Noelle, and how him and Hector gradually started warming up to each other while working alongside one another. It was a very nice holiday read, with enough substance to be impactful but enough fun to be really enjoyable!

You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince is a fun holiday MM and BI romcom. It is a single POV, Christmas, forced proximity, small town, opposites attract, one (bunk)bed novel featuring a main character with anxiety disorder. 



Matthew is the 21 year old offspring of two extremely wealthy celebrities. His whole life has been in the magazines. After a bad breakup he makes a lapse in judgment that has his parents rolling out damage control and sending him off to lay low with his Grandparents. This is where he meets Hector; who is also staying with his grandparents. 



Like many other reviewers I felt this book dragged. This is the kind of book I can blast through in one or two days. For whatever reason it took a week to finish as, even though cute, felt never ending. I really enjoyed the Christmas specific scenes and the relationship between Matthew and Hector. The parents were a bit off. Not really evil, not really caring. Wishy-washy enough to forgive them, I guess, for how terrible they are? I’m not sure. The end of the book which I wanted to be all Matt and Hector was so parents drama heavy; I was not into that and it kind of ruined the ending for me. Also the tropes could’ve been teased out a bit more to be really substantial. Everything felt fleeting and rushed, but also dragged? The timing of events was off. How long to be enemies? How to resolve that; how long should that take etc.



I would recommend this book to people who enjoy event planning. Those that enjoy a family reunion. Romance fans that read in airports.

This was hard for me to get into—I found some of the main character's internal monologue to be kind of ornate, distracting, and hard to follow—but the romance was ultimately very sweet and well developed.

Matthew Prince is a very privileged young twenty-something who has made one too many mistakes for his parents and their public images. This time he purchased an entire island. To avoid this scandal getting into the papers, Matthew's parents send him off to spend the rest of the holiday season with his grandparents in their small town. He arrives and learns that he'll not only have to sleep in the basement but he has to share it (in bunk beds) with a college student from the school where his grandfather used to work. And Hector, his new roommate, is not at all impressed with Matthew's rich-kid fashion-obsessed snob persona and isn't shy about making that known.

Matthew loves planning events and is going to miss out on his famous annual NYE party if he can't convince his parents that he's been on his best behavior and deserves to come home early. In order to impress his parents, he offers to plan the holiday charity gala after the event loses its coordinator. And Hector ends up serving as his co-chair. This is a fun enemies-to-lovers holiday romance with anxiety representation. Matthew deals with generalized anxiety and has a few panic attacks on page. I loved how sweet Hector was in taking care of Matthew in those moments, even though they were barely friends at the time. I also loved the entire small town setting and all of the true friends that Matthew makes during his short time there. I know a large part of Matthew's backstory is the way his parents have treated him over the years but it was still difficult to see the neglect. The third-act conflict was a surprise for me but sometimes I'm super naive and don't see what everyone else sees coming. Either way, I was engrossed in the story and eager to see Matthew's personal development as well as his romance with Hector. Also a great recommendation if you want to have the Grinch song stuck in your head every time you look at the title of this book!

LGBT Hallmark

This would be a perfect movie for Christmas it has all the festive feelings with lots of sprinkle.

What i loved

Hector - Can you Imagine a Latino mountain man Because that's what i have in my mind!

The grandparents and community - this was fabulous all those small town feels to the perfect Hallmark (obnoxious city character is enveloped into the heart of the community and miraculously has a personality transplant) I love this in the movies not so much in the book... Matthew came across Way to annoying, spoilt and self obsessed, some of it was funny but on a whole he was really unlikable and i couldn't see how he could endear anyone to him, let alone make them fall in love with him!

The Anxiety.... Now i have Bad anxiety wrapped in OCD topped with a sprinkling of depression, if it was so bad he would be on Meds not party planning in his head, it was nearly trying to make it a fashion statement, which years of sleepless nights and panic attacks, not wanting to leave the house and avoiding going out... this is not how i see anxiety, buying islands to cope... cmon please.

Also a tad of a spoiler here.....

The Ending Mathew sacrifices nothing and is bankrolled all through, he gets a bit of leftover money from the island he brought with his parents money in the first place to buy everyone presents....... No... this and the Anxiety portrayal brought it down..... 2.5 stars

This was such a sweet, queer holiday romance book! Thanks to a bout of jet lag and my inability to sleep, I powered through the last half of this book in one sitting. Matthew and Hector are such sweet main characters and I so wish I could have more of their story as this book and following epilogue was NOT enough.

This book has all of the elements of a very adorable romcom: there's a cute small town, a snowstorm, a grandma and gramps, a coffee shop, Christmas trees, I could go on and on. What I love about it is the love story is between two young men, so it's not your average hetero love story. I only wish it didn't take so long to start rooting for the two of them. Matthew Prince is a real jerk when you first meet him: entitled and pretty mean, Once you get to know him, you understand that he's very insecure and is dealing with anxiety and panic attacks. Hector is rightfully skeptical of Matthew when he shows up in their small town. The two of them have a lot of chemistry as they work on putting together a fundraising gala. They provide young people with a good example of a consensual and kind physical relationship. And the end is all grand gesture, so it wraps up just like a holiday rom com, which is everyone's favorite.

it is a nice christmas story, that i will need to reread once we are in december so i could get in the mood.

Elements of David from Schitt’s Creek mixed with rediscovering the spirit of Christmas. I read it in summer and enjoyed it, but it would be even better in November or December to get you in the holiday spirit.

This book followed all conventional rom-com tropes, was full of cheese, and the main character was super spoiled. It’s one of the best romcoms I’ve read in a while. This book took classic tropes and spins them in really interesting ways. It was very smart and current. I loved the characters and the plot. This book is very heartwarming and fun.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.

You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky totalllly surprised me. There was so much to be delighted about in this New Adult novel & I shall enumerate it below in hopes of convincing you to give this one a try:

The tropes. Money difference, hate to love, fish out of water, only one bunk bed. All wrapped up in a male male holiday romance that had me singing “all I want for Christmas is you.”

A rich guy who’s kinda rude & undergoes a transformation of the heart after he’s cut off by his parents & sent to live with his grandparents.

Mental health rep. Matthew Prince Jr. has generalized anxiety disorder & experiences panic attacks on page. When he does, the other lead Hector Martinez helps calm him.

I didn’t fall in love with Janovsky’s first book but I’m so glad I gave this one a shot because it was everything I could have wanted. The hate to love arc is wonderfully rendered, with both leads not being at their finest coupled with assumptions they both make, & then a moment of kindness & realization that turns things sweeter between them.

This one hit me emotionally on several levels & offers so much holiday goodness.
5⭐️. Out now!
CWs: Generalized anxiety disorder. Parents aren’t the most supportive or involved.

[ID: an ebook rests on an open hardback surrounded by three pumpkins. From left to upper right they are mint green, orange, and white.

I surprisingly enjoyed this book. The main character is unlikeable, but that's kind of the whole point. I like the love interest and low stakes storyline. One thing did confuse me, the main character said that he as a gay man was privileged for not being bisexual. I didn't really understand that but go off.

Move over Hallmark, this is the queer holiday story we need.

Built on the classic story of rich kid goes to a small town, this book had everything you'd expect to find, quaint bookshop, sassy new friend, hot wood chopping meet cute. Except make it so, so queer.

And while this was at points extremely twee, it dealt with crippling anxiety in an authentic way (anxious bean recognises anxious bean and approves).

I also really enjoyed Matthew's struggles with growing up in the public eye and having to maintain a public image whilst finding himself.

Overall a lovely Christmas tale that made my Grinch heart grow slightly in size.
More queer Christmas stories please and thank you.

Thanks NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

You're A Mean One, Matthew Prince follows Matthew Prince who made one teensy tiny had decision... buying an island. His parents cut him off and send him to the small town where his grandparents live. Their house is small and he has to share his room with a stranger, Hector. Things were at there worst until he find out about the opportunity to plan a Christmas party for the town. Thinking this was a way to get home early he eagerly decides to plan it and brings Hector along with him. They get closer and Matthew's heart towards the holidays change.


THIS WAS SO FLIPPING CUTE
Like so flipping cute
Matthew and Hector were just adorable together their dynamic was really amazing. The plot was hallmark movie esk but queer and I loved it. The big end miscommunication wasn't my favorite but in most romcoms there is one. Overall super cute definitely a good holiday read.