You’re a Mean One, Matthew Prince follows Matthew who after one too many “bad” decisions ends up stuck with his grandparents in his mothers small town. Not only must he lay low to keep his latest shenanigans under wrap he must share a tiny room and bunk bed with Hector who is living there while he finishes school. Immediately they start on the wrong foot and must learn to coexist for both their sakes. As the story progresses we get to Matthew and all that has led him there. This book and great mental health representation, LGBTQ representation, and a little Latine rep. I really enjoyed getting to know both Matthew and Hector and watch a friendship grow along with mutual attraction. At times I felt that Matthew was doing a little too much but it made sense for his character, Hector really was such a stand up guy showing Matthew love and acceptance in a way his closest “friends” and parents did not. Watching him getting to know his grandparents again was so sweet along with watching come into his own. There was a moment between Matthew and Hector that felt too cruel and I found could have been better handled (again I understand why it was portrayed in this way) but it felt unnecessary and unfair to both Matthew and Hector. Overall, I enjoyed this holiday romance, it was funny, sweet, and I will look out for more from Timothy Janovsky. I gave this 4⭐️.

If christmas themed rom coms and Schitts creek are your vibe, this is for you! I thought this was such a cute festive gay romance!! I think I would have loved this more if I connected with our main man Matthew, but his rich boy personality did annoy me throughout the whole book. Also the excessive use of the word “dude” didn’t bother me as much as it did others because i use that word a lot lol. Overall, this was enjoyable and I would definitely pick this up again next holiday season!

This book reads like a classic Hallmark Christmas movie, but gay -- a great foray into the genre! Both MCs were full of heart and had me rooting for them.

Once I saw this books title I was over joined that we were getting a romance retelling and that it would be "Grinch" based. I went in with eyes wide open and actually struggled a bit. I was not familiar with the author's previous work so it possibly could have just been me but the character Matthew Prince was just so spoiled in the beginning for such a long stretch of time that I just couldn't get into the novel. I did have to take a break from it and pick it up again but I will say I am happy I did. I was marveled by how much I fell for both MMC's. I hope Timothy Janovsky keeps up with the holiday romances.

Another wonderful, heartfelt Hallmark romcom- Christmas theme centered on sweet-swoon-lighthearted queer romance story with powerful mental health representation and inspirational self growth messages!

Normally I barely stand with spoiled, immature and unlikable heroes but there’s something unique about Matthew Prince: you find yourself empathize with him, patiently watch how his character evolves!

Matthew seems like having all: money, popularity, reputation till he gets involved into a PR disaster ( he thought buying an island was a great idea) his family sends him small town to live with his grandparents, disconnecting him with outside world as a punishment!

A fun holiday romcom. Think classic hallmark Christmas romcom but make it gay.
I enjoyed this book well enough but didn't feel it was particularly special. I was a little disappointed we only got to see it from one character's point of view.
Unfortunately I was having a difficult time over Christmas which prevented me from reading as much as I had planned. I feel like I would have gotten more out of this book if I had finished it over the holiday period.
One element of this book I really liked was the anxiety representation. I related strongly to Matthew's experience of anxiety and the way it was written. I can definitely recommend it for that reason.
If you enjoy a hallmark style Christmas romcom but super gay then definitely pick up this book, especially if you appreciate some good mental health rep.

This book is HEAVILY marketed as being reminscent of a Christmas special of Schitt's Creek. With the main character, Matthew, being likened to David Rose.

Listen, I LOVE Schitt's Creek, and the love stories in the show are ones that will go down in TV history for making me instantly emotional when I think of how wholesome and genuine they are. It was a bold move to liken this story to SC. The only similarity I saw was that it is a young, gay, rich male who must learn to see the positives of small town life. Unlike David Rose, Matthew's character arc swings low and doesn't really follow through with all the potential laid out before them. Hector, the love interest via forced proximity, is the heart of the book - in my humble opinion. He has more of a growth arc than Matthew does, as he navigates falling in love with someone as insufferable as Matthew. Which, brings me to the main point of contention - the tropes aren't completed! They are dangled out and then abandoned.

Enemies to lovers - how? Why? They have no real reason to dislike each other. Absolutely none. They also have no reason to resolve the distaste. There was so much potential there that was not captured.

Why did I still rate it 4-stars, you may ask? Because, I am sucker for queer love stories - particularly men because their tenderness and rawness is so vastly unexplored in mainstream romcom stories. I appreciated how anxiety was discussed and portrayed, and how gently Hector helped Matthew through panic attacks. I am also an absolute fiend for grand gestures of love in the face of possible rejection.

While I thought this book was lacking in rounding out the potential of the characters, I still found myself reading it through in one sitting and unable to predict how Matthew would end up redeeming himself to Hector.

One more note: I did appreciate the reality of Matthew discovering his rich "best friend" wasn't really a friend at all, and thought Janovsky did a great job having Matthew process that feeling of rejection and discovery in a realistic way.

If you're looking for a quick hit airport read or cozy weekend read, I would recommend this.

3.5 stars, rounded up for the overall message of the book. Finding your mental zen isn't easy and the past isn't always pretty, but you can find a way to apologize and do better in the future.

Matthew Prince was a brat. Spoiled city boy. Only child. Rich. Babied. Then he goes one step too far, bugs an island, and gets sent to grandma and gramp's house where he meets Hector.

What I didn't like was that this booked seemed so looong. I would constantly find myself thinking about the grocery list or housework to get done while my eyes continued to read. I'd snap out of it and find that I had no idea what I just read. Some of the descriptions and entire scenes could have been shortened or cut completely.

I also didn't like how Matthew was supposedly this young boy...but he's 22?!? There were some conflicting feeling descriptions for me in the book.

It's a good mental health book about facing your anxiety, and a sweet story between Matthew and Hector.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. The above review is my own.

What a perfect holiday read! I was a huge fan of Timothy's first book and this follow up did not disappoint. I enjoyed the MC's and loved all the side characters. Overall no complaints.

Matthew Prince seems like a shallow spoiled rich boy who is punished into spending the holidays at his grandparents' house. He quickly realizes he will not be able to just sit back and relax, and worse he needs to share a room with Hector, a student at the local college. Fast enemies to frenemies to... are those sparks? Matthew gets tapped to plan the annual holiday gala with Hector and sparks continue to fly. This was a thoroughly enjoyable book and I highly recommend for anyone interested in a Hallmark-style small town enemies-to-lovers story. I appreciated the depiction of Matthew's general anxiety disorder and the care with which Hector treated him. It was a fun, holiday read. Loved it!

The cool cover and "punny" title definitely helped draw me to this book but unfortunately, I did not finish reading as the plot didn't capture and hold my attention.

I really enjoyed this one! This queer Christmas novel provided plenty of feels. At first I really didn't think I'd connect to the main character but I ended up falling absolutely in love with them. We love when a mildly unlikeable character is redeemed.

I NEED MORE OF THIS AUTHOR. I started hating Matthew, but I ended up loving him by the end of the book. It was fun, emotional and heartwarming, perfect for Christmas!

5* Finally a Christmas story with LGBTQI* representation. I'M HERE FOR IT!

This is a queer holiday romance that has great character development, but also the cheesyness you expect from a Christmas-themed book. Very much enjoyed reading the book and would highly recommend. More from this please!

Timothy Janovsky is a wizard. That's the only way to explain how I could hate Matthew Prince with the fury of a thousand suns in the first 20% of the book but then love him by the end.

You're A Mean One, Matthew Prince has all the bells a whistles of a basic modern romance but let's just add on tackling mental health and wonderful LGBTQIA+ rep. I recommend this book to anyone who just wants a fun read. Read it a Christmas or any time because even though Christmas is a major theme, reading it out of season won't hinder your enjoyment.

I need more books like this. More queer holiday romances with good character growth! I really enjoyed reading this book during the holiday season and I had a great time watching these characters interact and their relationship develop, I look forward to reading more by this author in the future!

This was a great Hallmark read for Christmas time it had the small town setting and made me wish I was having a Winter Christmas rather than a hot summer. It kind of gave me Schitt's Creek vibes which is one of my favourite shows and can see that the author got some inspiration from David's character. I wish we saw a bit more growth from Matthew because it made it hard to connect to connect with his character throughout the book. I did like the anxiety representation and the conversations he had with Hector about, I thought it was very well done. As much as I liked Hector's character the amount of times he said dude wasn't needed at all and became very frustrating!

It did have two of my favourite tropes enemies to lovers and forced proximity. Although it was a really cute read it's not one I will read again.

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince was a fun grinchy holiday romance with all the grumpy/sunshine vibes. This book is perfect for fans of Schitt's Creek.

Matthew Prince is young, rich, and thoroughly spoiled. So what if his parents barely remember he exists and the press is totally obsessed with him? He's on top of the world. But one major PR misstep later, and Matthew is cut off and shipped away to spend the holidays in his grandparents' charming small town hellscape. Population: who cares?

It's bad enough he's stuck in some festive winter wonderland-it's even worse that he has to share space with Hector Martinez, an obnoxiously attractive local who's unimpressed with anything and everything Matthew does.

Just when it looks like the holiday season is bringing nothing but heated squabbles, the charity gala loses its coordinator and Matthew steps in as a saintly act to get home early on good behavior...with Hector as his maddening plus-one. But even a Grinch can't resist the unexpected joy of found family, and in the end, the forced proximity and infectious holiday cheer might be enough to make a lonely Prince's heart grow three sizes this year.

This was a cute holiday story. I enjoyed the characters and the premise. I'm looking forward to reading something else from Janovsky!

I loved this book so much! Matthew is a spoiled, rich kid who got into one too many pickles. His character depth and growth within the novel was so good and their relationship? YES. Absolutely yes. Can’t wait to read more from this author!