If anyone were to tempt me into an early festive read, it would be Catherine Walsh! Another excellent read that is full of love, laughter and life lessons. Charming, fluffy and cosy, this was a lovely read to curl up with; now the evenings are getting darker earlier, and days are colder…I loved it!

Molly and Andrew are classic characters for this genre, and if you are a member of the friends-to-lovers community, they are the perfect match to bring a smile to your face.

Per her previous releases, this author’s writing style brings humour, compassion and emotional intelligence in perfect proportions. A magnificent read to get you ready for festivities - no matter your plans!

An absolute must-read and a well-deserved five-star review!

I squealed when I got this arc! This book had me laughing so hard. As someone who has been stuck in and ran through more airports than should be possible, and LOVES holiday romance, this read made me extra happy.

This was my first Holiday read of 2022 and I flew through it. Andrew and Molly provide expert level, hilarious banter that I couldn’t get enough of.

They have the most unlikely beginning to their decade long friendship and when their flight gets canceled for their holiday trip home to Ireland, Molly will move heaven and earth to make sure Andrew gets back in time for Christmas.

Full of chemistry, travel, holiday cheer and truly exceptional banter, this was such a fun read! I loved how the story hopped back in time to give you the details of this epic relationship in the making.

Thank you to netgalley, the author and the publisher for this ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
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"𝑺𝒉𝒆'𝒔 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔, 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔."
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I am one of the biggest christmas movie fans, I live for the anticipation of new releases every year! So having the opportunity to read Holiday Romance is something I could not miss out on!
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This book was an absolute delight to read! Not only does it have the cutest friends to lovers trope, the most intense close proximity trope and of course, the famous one bed trope, but the additional characters used creates such a fun reading environment!

I loved seeing how the relationship between Molly and Andrew grew - Catherine managed to jump us between timelines in this book in a very flawless manner in order to show us that there is more than just an ordinary friendship between these two characters.
Zoe (sister of Molly) and Christian (brother of Andrew) are my favorite characters after Andrew himself. I loved how the reader can relate to them in every sense, and how they, together with Andrew and Molly, create a sense of reality in this book by having their own flaws and perfections.

We also come across inner character development for Andrew and Molly, this made me so happy seeing how they could turn away from their fears and embrace their hopes and wishes for the future, together.
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The challenges in this story had me on the edge of my seat with my heart racing and me screaming 'go! You'll make it, you can do this!', this really was a good element into involving the reader in his or her own way.

I honestly loved this book so much and definitely would recommend it!

THE PERFECT HALLMARK HOLIDAY VIBES

I don't mind admitting that I am a sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies. So when I find a book that gives me the same vibes I am instantly a fan! I definitely found that in this book.

👍 What I Liked 👍

Hallmark: A Hallmark Christmas movie does two things: 1) Puts you in the mood for Christmas and 2) Makes you believe that romance is always just around the corner. This book accomplished both those things and I was so here for it! Add to it the hilarity of our main characters trying to get from the US to Ireland in time for Christmas during a snow storm and you have a Hallmark banger on your hands!

Andrew and Molly: Of course I absolutely loved our main couple, Andrew and Molly. They had a bumpy start, but through both flashbacks and present day scenes we see their relationship evolve into a strong and loving friendship. They were super cute as both friends and a couple, they had so much chemistry which mainly came to show in hilarious banter and lots of teasing.

Friends to lovers: This trope is one of my absolute favourites, and I loved how well it was carried off here. We really get a chance to see Andrew and Molly's friendship before Walsh begins to tease anything more happening between them. It was obvious to me as a reader, that there was an attraction, but I love how Walsh hid it from her characters. It made the journey very believable.

Characters: Aside from Andrew and Molly this book has a host of other great characters to fall in love with. I myself was a particular fan of Andrew's siblings, Christian and Hannah. I kind of hope Walsh decides to make a series of this, because I want to read Christian's love story next!

No drama: Too often authors decide to introduce an unnecessary conflict at the 3/4 milestone to introduce drama and tension. But Walsh was smart and went in another direction. I really loved how she decided to back up her couple and support their love in stead of tearing them apart for no apparent reason. It was refreshing.

What an amazing book this is!

Molly and Andrew meet every year, a few days before Christmas, at Chicago’s airport, to travel to Ireland to spend the holidays with their families.

The book is divided into two timelines. It begins by telling us about their first travel together. Then, it goes to the present, when they are celebrating their ten-year anniversary of traveling together. In the middle of the story we get, bit by bit, year by year, to know the story of all the other trips they had. They go from very awkward to two best friends having fun.

But what makes this trip so special, besides the anniversary part? Well, the flight gets canceled and they go on a crazy journey to be able to be home in time for Christmas. But, even crazier than the trip is the change in their dynamic. The more time they spend together, the more they want to keep together.

This story will get you glued to it. I only paused reading because life got in the way. I had to eat, sleep, and be with the family, … What I wanted was to stay stuck to this book from beginning to end. What an amazing journey that had!

I almost got angry at the end when I thought they would be stupid but it quickly got worked out and I stayed happy with it.

I loved both families, and Molly and Andrew are great characters.

I’m only starting this year’s Christmas books, but I can guarantee you this will stay on my top picks.

4.5*

If you're a fan of When Harry Met Sally, this is the book for you. I did not want to put this book down, and when I had to, it was all I could think about. What a perfect holiday read. Best friends figuring out their relationship while navigating a hectic holiday travel situation. This novel was adorable, and made me laugh and "aw" several times. This was the best cute, wholesome, lovely romance book I have read in a long time. I loved it.

I will absolutely be recommending this book to all of my friends this holiday season.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of Holiday Romance.

WOW JUST WOW!!!!! I'm just mind blown by how much I loved this book. Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh was just absolutely adorable. I'm a sucker for Christmas books as all of you know, but this is one of the best Christmas stories I have ever read. This book was just the absolute cutest, it had me laughing the whole way through, it left a smile on my face after the book ended. I want to thank one of my goodreads friend, Pink for reviewing this book because if it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have read this book. The banter between the two main characters was just absolutely hilarious, the characters were fantastic, the story was so easy to follow through with, I couldn't put it down. Once I started this book I never wanted it to end. Holiday Romance seriously had me laughing and smiling the whole time. Can we just take a minute and admire the cover? Absolutely beautiful. If you haven't read this book yet, please do yourself a favor and pick it up!!!!!

THANK YOU NETGALLEY AND BOOKOUTURE FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!

Molly is meant to be catching flights, not catching feelings..... Once a year for the past ten years, Molly and Andrew have spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to each other on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to their home country, Ireland. Holiday Romance goes back to every single flight for the past ten years, then it goes to the present of this flight before Christmas. Nothing romantic has ever happened between Molly and Andrew, they're just friends, and that's all they ever want to be, but when you read this book, is that truly want they want, to remain just friends? Despite how different Molly and Andrew are, it's the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up. On these flights, Molly and Andrew drink the absolute worst wine and catch up on each other's lives.

Molly isn't a fan of Christmas because her family never really celebrated Christmas, Andrew on the other hand is absolutely obsessed with the Christmas season, he always wears Christmas sweaters and brings on the Christmas tunes, and always wants to buy the best gifts for friends and family. Molly and her sister, Zoe have this Christmas tradition where they buy each other a small inexpensive present, Molly always buys Zoe the worst smelling perfume as a joke. In the beginning of the book, Molly is in this store looking for a perfume for her sister, but she sprays multiple scents all over her arms, this really stuck with me and made me laugh so much because it's exactly what I do when I go to bath and body works. Molly knows how much getting back to Ireland and celebrating Christmas means to Andrew, so she does something stupid and irrational.

Molly vows to get Andrew home in time for Christmas and in time for his mam's famous Christmas dinner. Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, but a crazy snowstorm grounds their flight. The clock is ticking to get home, but Molly always has a plan. But as long as the combination of planes, taxis, boats, and trains all run on the same time, nothing can possibly go wrong, right? In the time that their flight is cancelled so much goes wrong, Molly and Andrew end up going to the wrong airport for a different flight, Molly ends up losing her luggage, Molly ends up having a mental breakdown, but Andrew is honestly the sweetest always trying to comfort her. All in all, I just loved this book so much. It was fun, heart warming, cute, and the best of all, a Christmas book. After reading this book and loving it so much, I'll definitely read other books by this author.

Thank you NetGalley, Catherine Walsh and Bookouture for the ARC of Holiday Romance. This is my personal review.
This is one of best books I have read in a long time. I was enjoying the book from start to finish. The story was great – the characters in the story all fit together so well.
I love a good holiday romance and this one checked off all the boxes for me.
Molly and Andrew go home every year for Christmas, but this year had a little more adventure than either of them thought there would be for them.
They interact together so perfectly. This is a holiday romance that you will be so glad to read!

Holiday Romance is the perfect story to get you into the Holiday Spirit! It follows Andrew and Molly for 10 years, 10 flights from Chicago to Dublin, all at Christmas Time. The story transitions between past and present which I loved! You get to learn so much about Andrew and Molly. There is banter and tension and I love how Walsh touches on more serious subjects like work stress and sobriety. This book should definitely be made into a movie for the Hallmark Channel. I read this in one sitting and it is perfect if you love the friends to lovers trope!

4 stars

Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for the early copy

Molly and Andrew have been taking flights to get home to Ireland together for 10 years and their relationship has changed a lot over that time. From knowing his ex-girlfriend who dumped him over the phone on the plane to new relationships, they have experienced a lot together but this year takes the cake. A snowstorm grounds their flight and Molly knows how important it is to Andrew to get home for Christmas even when her family doesn't go all out for Christmas the same way. Molly uses all of her flight points to reroute them with the help of her boss to get him home in time. From taxis to boats to trains and planes, they finally make it to Ireland in time for all sorts of drama with Molly's family. Andrew stays with her for some and then goes to be with his family and they realize that somewhere along the way their feelings towards each other have changed.

I thought this was the perfect Hallmark Christmas movie style book. The right amount of stress and drama paired with the friends to lovers troupe.

I want nothing more than to experience Christmas in Ireland now.

𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 follows Molly and Andrew over the course of ten years as they annually meet to catch a flight bound to Ireland to visit their families for the holidays. On their tenth anniversary, however, their flight is cancelled but Molly knows just how much Andrew misses his family, so with a hundred detours, subtle flirting, mutual pining and some hesitation regarding the new developments between them they just about get home in time for Christmas.

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Reading Molly and Andrew's story was like sitting on your cozy window seat, a soft blanket draped on your legs, enjoying the mild winter sunlight and sipping on a cup of hot chocolate.

Like all of Walsh's female protagonists, Molly is also stubborn in her ways but Andrew is always there to appease her. They make a great pair, they made me laugh, swoon and cry, so simply perfect. See below for some instances:

"...𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦."
"𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦, 𝘩𝘶𝘩?"
"𝘞𝘦'𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 𝘶𝘱 𝘰𝘯."
"𝘉𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯."

and,

"𝘐'𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘺𝘰𝘶," 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺. "𝘐𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤, 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳-𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦-𝘮𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘺."
"𝘐 𝘸𝘰𝘯'𝘵," 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘮𝘶𝘳𝘴. "𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘦."
𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳.

Another thing I love about the author is her ability to construct pure familial settings including all the teasing, messing around and the love ofc. And her sibling relationships and banter are always supreme.

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4.31 / 5✩

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘉𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘱𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘐 𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 & 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥. 𝘈𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯.

A huge thanks to Bookouture for my complimentary copy and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Holiday Romance tells the story of Molly and Andrew, who always meet at the airport every year to go home for Christmas. Like every Christmas romance something happens on one flight that ends up with no flights available because of the storm but they find ways to get home. I love a Christmas romance and this delightful book delivered with enjoyable characters . Everyone should read this delightful Christmas romance.

Yes, it is time. Time to get some festive vibes going to put in motion gift searching. You can thank me later.

If you are looking for a Christmas mood, search no more because this one has it all, from kisses under the mistletoe to the worst gifts.

🎄In this story, we follow friends Molly and Andrew. They both live in Chicago. Every year they travel home to Ireland to spend Christmas with their respective families. How the tradition to go home together was born is a story on its own.

🎄This year, however, plans will change, as they are grounded because of the snowstorm. With help from Molly's friend, they find a detour that might get them home just in time for Christmas evening festivities. As long as everything goes as planned. Will it? While they find their way home, they also see each other in a different light. Could there be something between these two?

🎄I had so much fun reading this book! I liked how real characters felt, with their disappointments, anger, headache, compassion, annoyance, and all other challenges that come from sitting in an airport with a cluster of strangers. I also enjoyed flashbacks from previous years.
🎄The romance itself was rather predictable. I think it would have been better if there were one or two turns of events that would come as a surprise.
🎄All in all, a proper read for anyone looking for some holiday magic and loooove. Make sure you add it to your Xmas reading list!

Thanks to NetGalley, Catherine Walsh and publisher for providing an advanced copy in exchange for my review!

I love Christmas, but I don't belong to that category that decorates so early (end of November I think is good for me).
However, you will find the melomakarono from now on in greek bakeries and a little bit you will say, shameful with 30 degrees, but on the other hand secretly inside you would like to eat it.

So here is the melomakarono of books, which I only read with air-conditioning, but I got a taste of it and was sweetened and now I want more.

Our girl and boy have known each other for a long time and share a dozen or so flights - always on Christmas Eves (a decade of constant "baking") - stuck in the friend zone.
Until a bad weather that delays their flight, a mistletoe that grows everywhere and the right moment has finally come!

Lovers of <<People We Meet on Vacation>> and general romantic souls in here, grab a candle, grab a piece of candy, grab a blanket (even if you have to turn the air conditioner on) and enjoy!

PS. The girl dreamed of Christmas on a Greek island because she didn't like the cold of Chicago and Dublin at all. I'm doing a house swap if she wants, like Kate and Cameron. Have a nice month and merry Christmas!

This was such a cute holiday romance. I loved Molly and Andrew’s relationship and how it developed. I was surprised how much I liked this book and how quickly I was able to finish it!

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Molly and Andrew have known each other for 10 years. They happened to be sitting next to each other on a flight home to Dublin from Chicago right before Christmas. Every year since then, they’ve repeated the tradition. But this year a storm is threatening to interfere with their trip. Mollys family doesn’t really do much for Christmas anyway, so she isn’t too upset about the delay. But Andrew’s family has a lot of traditions that he would be very upset to miss. They set off on an adventure to get home for the holidays, including bribing cab drivers, lost luggage, and a trip completely out of their way. Oh yeah, and mistletoe. After 10 years of tradition, maybe they’ve been missing out on something more all along.

I LOVED this book. I’m a sucker for a cute holiday romance, but this one was so much more. Hilarious banter, plenty of charm, and Andrew’s Christmas sweaters were perfect. I was so close to giving this one 5 stars, but I really wish that more had gone in to Molly’s career choice. There was a little alluding to her interests, but I felt like it mostly came out if left field. More development toward that decision would’ve made it perfect. 4.5 stars, still highly recommend!!

Holiday Romance is an adorable friend -to lovers -romantic story. For the past ten years at Christmas time Molly and Andrew take the same flight home from Chicago (where they currently live) to Ireland to visit their families. This year a snowstorm cancels their flight. Molly works very hard to ensure Andrew gets home to see his family. We see these two develop their relationship and present day and through flashbacks into each of their previous flights.
This book was a cozy warm read which was well written and filled with interesting characters. Be sure to check it out!!

Who doesn’t love a Christmas read in October??
This book has loveable main characters, great chemistry, HOLIDAYS, cute moments. A good friends to lovers book! I like how Molly was the grumpy whereas the male is typically portrayed that way. Even though she was mildly so.
Andrew being such a family
man tugged my heart.
This book checked a lot of boxes for me. I really enjoyed it but I just needed a little more…

4.5 stars!

"Holiday Romance" is such a pleasant holiday surprise! It's super cute and sweet with just the faintest touch of pining.

Molly and Andrew are both from Scotland, but both live in Chicago. When her semi-friend breaks Andrew's heart on Christmas eve, Molly is stuck sitting next the way to Scotland. Ever since that fateful first flight, for the last ten years, they travel home together and are now incredible friends (even though Molly hates to love and loves to hate how much Andrew is obsessed with Christmas). This year, everything that can go wrong has gone wrong, and the pair find themselves navigating canceled flights, trains, storms, ferries, and snow-covered streets just to get him home for the holidays. Could there be more than just friendship between Molly and Andrew?

"Holiday Romance" by Catherine Walsh gave me Christmas-"People We Meet on Vacation" vibes. I was drawn into their relationship instantly! Molly and Andrew are terrific characters together and separately. They each have fantastic personalities and incredible banter with one another. Apart from the one really big potential declaration of feelings, Molly and Andrew have such an open line of communication when they are together. I really appreciated their friendship, and it made me excited knowing they might become lovers! This story is a Christmas story, through and through, no question about it. Swoon! I also appreciated all of the secondary characters, including Hannah (Andrew's much younger teenage sister), Christian (please, can we get a Christian book, Catherine Walsh!?!), Zoe (Molly's twin sister who is about to give birth), and both of their Mams. Loved the Scottish setting, loved the peril, loved the humor, loved the LOVE! Such a fabulous book that will make you feel warm and fuzzy this holiday season!

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Walsh, and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

“Now I’ve got your soul too,” omg these words just did me into halfway of this amazing holiday romcom.

Thank you to Netgalley for my Arc for Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh releasing on Oct 4, 2022!

Andrew and Molly have known each other for the past 10 years, catching up annually on their plane trip to Ireland for Christmas. They have had their own significant others, but this year something has peaked their interest in one another, or has it always been there to begin with?

Catherine gives us the perfect holiday romance in the month of October where only we see creepy stories and horror movies coming out but she paints us a wonderful picture of a loving time during Christmas to finally fall in love with your friend.

This book was just what I needed to begin my reading month in October. So cute and romantic, made me feel all gooey inside. Props to the amazing writing and storyline.