Sample provided by Netgalley.

This seems like it may be one of Laura Jane Williams’ best stories. From what I read in the sample except, this is a charming and angsty romance. Probably a classic enemies to lovers but with an interesting backdrop (a film set!).

Laura Jane Williams does a fantastic job of transporting you into the holiday season with Just for December. Her easy to love (and despise at times) characters have you turning pages hoping and swooning for the best.

While the story, at times, paced a little slow as a whole it was quite enjoyable and gave me all the holiday feels i craved.

Thank you, Avon and NetGalley for my eARC.


3/5

I've read a few books from Laura now and I always love them

This books gave me all the feels and set in Bavarian Germany it just sounds so beautiful. With the descriptions it feels like you are right there. I loved it.

This is a heartwarming enemies to lovers Christmas story.

3⭐️

This was a cute story, but it didn't succeed in holding my attention as well as I had hoped. The characters' attraction wasn't significant to me, and at times I found both Evie and Duke to be annoying. However, this book raises several serious issues, like how society's standards can affect one's self-worth and confidence, as well as abuse in the entertainment world.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

This book really had me Christmas ready in September. 🙃
The Bavarian Germany setting was absolutely stunning, I loved read about the castle and markets, it made me feel so cosy and I was just longing to be curled up with a mulled wine.
I loved the Hugh Grant-esque Britishness of Duke and reading his and Evie's exchanges and banter. Evie's at first outright refusal to even speak to Duke irritated me at the start but as I read on I understood her a bit more. Magda was an ICON and I think we all need a best friend like her to be upfront with us when we're in the wrong.
Overall, a heartwarming enemies to lovers Christmas story with an important message, perfect for reading by a log fire.

Thank you netgalley for this arc!

1.5 stars.

The synopsis for this book had promise, but I think the execution sadly wasn’t good.

I had a difficult time liking the characters. I found Evie almost throughout the whole book, to be childish and annoying. She did get better towards the end.
Duke, I liked a little better than Evie.

The writing style didn’t work for me either.

Sadly, I'm not sure that this was the book for me. Though I loved the synopsis and the cute cover art, I found the plot fairly slow and the writing wasn't overly engaging.

Still, it was an easy & light read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon. for the ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed this book.
I've really enjoyed Laura Jane Williams' previous books and was so looking forward to this one. Sadly, there was almost nothing I liked about it except Magda, the best friend. Her back story sounded so much more interesting, and when she gets together with another side character (no spoilers as to who that is), it really held my interest for the first time in the book. The main character of Evie was so unlikeable and there was zero chemistry between her and Duke. I never understood what Duke saw in her - she was so mean to him for no reason. And I didn't particularly like him either. Enough with the Hollywood name-dropping already, it was so distracting. This won't stop me from reading future work by this author, but this one just didn't do anything for me.

I went back and forth with this novel. At times I thought it was good and at others I was ready to put it down. I found the lead character, Evie, hard to warm to, and I didn’t feel like the reasons that she behaved the way she did were substantial enough to cause this behaviour.
Evie is a well known writer, and is contractually obliged to go to the set of the movie where her book is being filmed. There she meets the leading man and is ridiculously and unnecessarily rude to him. This is the beginning of her perplexing character.
The novel was ok, the plot was interesting, just couldn’t get my head around the characterisations.
Thank you to Avon books UK and Netgalley for an ARC of this novel.

Enjoyable Read

Following the lives of Evie a struggling author and Duke Carlisle, a famous actor. One of Evie's book is being brought to the big screens and Duke has requested the presence of Evie, being a big fan of her books. At times a frosty relationship on/off the set.

Overall a good read, at times a slow burner.

Sadly I just don’t think this book was for me. It sounded like it would be right up my alley but it just didn’t connect with the characters and I think the writing style didn’t work for me,
I found Evie rather immature and a frustrating MC. Duke was a bit better but I still didn’t really feel invested in his story as I should have been. I liked the little side characters like Magda more than the main characters. I appreciate the chance to read this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I love a good cozy Christmas read and was excited to read this. It did its job of a winter beach read.

Really liked this book and Laura Jane Williams had me into it. good story and good couple. I liked it alot and will read more.

Just for December by Laura Jane Williams🎄

Evie is a romance novelist who… doesn’t believe in love? Until dashing Hollywood actor Duke comes along that is!

Evie and Duke meet on location in Germany while filming the movie adaptation of Evie’s Christmas book. The setting is wintery vibes all over, with German Christmas markets, hot chocolates and snow for days.

I enjoyed the pacing of this book and how the author didn’t give in to romance novel clichés. I enjoyed how the male and female protagonists were both independent people and were both seeking to heal themselves, rather than searching for somebody to save them.

The ending was just lovely and I won’t say anymore in case of spoilers! This is a gorgeous December read🎄to be enjoyed with one hot chocolate☕️💫

Thank you so much to Netgalley, the publisher (Avon books UK) and of course the author for this ARC! This book will be published on 24th November, just in time for the festive season!🎅🏼

*I will post this review on my Instagram in late November ahead of the publication date*

#wintervibes #justfordecember #irishbookstagram #bookstagram #festive #christmas #netgalley

I’ve said this before, and I’ll repeat it, I love Hallmark movies. This book was not a Hallmark movie, but the setting was one of a Christmas movie (and it wasn’t a Hallmark movie, but when I see Christmas and movie, my mind immediately jumps there).

This book has a slow burn, enemies to lovers, and fake dating. Wrap those up with Christmas, and I’m over the moon. My main disappointment with this book was that I was anticipating a Christmas book, and it wasn’t really a Christmas book. But despite that, I did enjoy it. The setting was beautiful (at least what I was picturing in my mind).

I enjoyed reading about winters in Germany, it seems like such a nice place to go, and although I had never really thought about it, it seems like an excellent spot for a Christmas romance. Between the food and the location, it made me think and now it’s being added to my list of dream vacations! Another part of the book I enjoyed was the friendships in the book, Evie and Magda’s friendship and Evie and Daphne’s friendship were so enjoyable to read about! Having people like those in life are so important. I like that this story was realistic about friendships (at least, I can relate to it being realistic).

Although the story was enjoyable, there were some points that I was a little unsure of how they wrapped up or why they were included in the first place. These points didn’t take away from the story but at some points, it felt like I was waiting for the shoe to drop after something happened or was mentioned, which never happened.

Just for December may not be the perfect Christmas book, but it’s a cute read that will be perfect to curl up with this December!

I was drawn by this cover and title, and was excited to dive in. However, I struggled with the writing style.
Despite a few attempts I did not finish the book. Thank you for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

The book description was one I could not wait to read. The whole fake dating theme is always a fun one for me. But this one just couldn’t make me feel like they were actually even friends let alone dating. There was no chemistry between them and for me the story just fell apart at that point. This was a quick read for me but one I won’t read again.
Thank you NetGalley, Laura Jane Williams and Avon Books UK for the ARC of Just for December. This is my personal review.

Unfortunately this was a DNF for me. I'm not sure why I didn't love it, it could just never get myself into the story. Maybe I will pick it back up again a little closer to the festive season and in a physical copy to see if that can spark my love more.

The style of this is just impossible. 3rd person present is terrible for narration - it's like reading a script. Besides the tense, the vocabulary itself is too conversational and choppy, like someone talking to themselves or daydreaming.

Evie is a writer, and she's not the kind making waves on Booktok. She doesn't even have any social media accounts, nor does she do signings or interact with her fans. She writes books and goes on with her life. Until one of her books is made into a movie, and they require her to join them on location in Germany. She gets off on the wrong foot with the leading man, Duke, and somehow, they fake date to make things better. Duke manages to thaw her frozen, cynical heart, but is it enough to bring these two opposites together and pull off a Christmas miracle?

This book had so much potential that I was thrilled when I got an ARC copy of it. Enemies to lovers, fake relationships, and a celeb-normie paring? Sign me up! But two things had me slogging through this like I was breaking a path through 3ft of snow. The first, and bigger thing, is Evie. She's not just brusque or introverted, or bad at communicating. Oh no, Evie is downright mean and cruel. I couldn't stand her at the beginning of the book, and later on, when she was facing a broken heart because of a (fake dating trope required) misunderstanding with Duke, I thought to myself: oh, that serves her right. ((I am aware that is not very kind of me.)) -2 stars for an unlikable heroine.

The second thing that I couldn't stand, is that the author doesn't seem to have done any research on Germany (or perhaps Europe?), because throughout the book, she calls the freeways in Germany the "autostrada" which is Italian, and in Germany, they're called the Autobahn. A very particular thing, but as someone who has lived in Germany, I know that people around the world know what it's called, because I often got asked about what driving on the Autobahn is like. -.5 stars for a lack of Google skills.

I wouldn't recommend this book, which makes me sad, because the book was well written. 2.5 stars out of 5.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.