If you're looking for a feel-good holiday read, then look no further than Catherine Walsh's "Holiday Romance." This delightful novel tells the heartwarming story of Molly and Andrew, two friends who find themselves unexpectedly grounded in Chicago by a freak snowstorm on their way home to Ireland for the holidays. What follows is a charming friends-to-lovers romance, set against the backdrop of Christmas traditions and a snow-covered city.

Walsh's writing is romantic, funny, and heartwarming, making it impossible not to fall in love with her characters. She has a keen eye for detail, and her descriptions of the journey from Chicago to Dublin are impressive. It's clear that she has done her research, and her attention to detail adds an extra layer of authenticity to the story.

One of the things that sets "Holiday Romance" apart is the tension that Walsh manages to create. Molly faces a series of obstacles in her quest to get Andrew home for Christmas, and each one adds an element of suspense to the story. It's impossible not to root for her as she navigates the various modes of transportation required to get them to Ireland in time for Andrew's mother's famous Christmas dinner.

Overall, "Holiday Romance" is a charming and escapist novel that will leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside. Fans of Sophie Kinsella and Christina Lauren will not be disappointed, and anyone looking for a feel-good holiday read should add this book to their must-read list. Highly recommended!

I loved this book! What a fantastic Christmas rom-com. The banter? The setting? The characters? All perfection. This story had me smiling and kicking my feet. If I could best describe this book I would say it’s like a warm hug. I’ll definitely be recommending this book around the holidays.

Thank you to Netgalley for an ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

I can’t believe it took me this long to finally write the review for this book. I read this for the Christmas season last year and spent the entire month recommending this to everyone. This was an adorable and sweet holiday read! I loved how the characters cared so deeply for each other. A he falls first romance always hold my heart.

Such a cute christmas romance! I loved the characters and felt like it was a beach read even when read in winter. Solid 3.5 stars if you could give 1/2s!

Absolutely loved this book. If you like comedy romances you’ll love this too. Every book in this series is most definitely worth a read! Thoroughly recommend

I didn't read this book in its entirety, my bad, but I say give it a shot for anyone who likes a cute romcom

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

She’s meant to be catching flights, not catching feelings…

Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays, when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.

Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: they’re friends and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.

Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.

The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.

My Opinion

This is a sweet festive read. Molly and Andrew are friends, they both live in Chicago but travel back to their native Ireland for the holidays. 10 years later and a storm cancels their flight, will the fact that they are determined to get home in time for Christmas mean that they are able to find a way through the winter storm that has grounded most of the flights?

Catherine Walsh has written this book with the flights being told out of order, but it is so easy to follow, it just adds to the enjoyment. A lovely, must read this festive season.

Rating 4/5

Molly and Andrew keep running into each other. At the airport. Every Christmas. As they travel in opposite directions to visit their respective parents and family across the big pond. But this year is a little bit different. Because even though Molly mostly can't stand Andrew...or anything else in her life...it happens to be snowing. Like enough to ground all the planes. Andrew has just proposed they get a hotel suite and get to know each other, and what Molly could really use is a connection. Until her sister comes through with two miracle boats tickets...and she and Andrew are off on a globe-trotting adventure together, just trying to get home for Christmas.

This is a cute book. Wonderful snarky humor. Adorable, believable characters. Andrew is so likeable, and Molly is so authentic and relatable. Solid story and plot development, though I feel like the climax arrives just a bit too soon, and then the denouement drags on a touch. The instance of miscommunication at the end that carries the plot is a little rickety in terms of believability. But the ending is surprising and very satisfy, so despite the small structural issues, I gave this one 5🌟!

Rating: 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄 / 5 holiday trees
Recommend? Yes!
Finished: April 30 2023
Format: Digital, Kindle, Screen reader
Read this if you like:
💋 Contemporary romance
🎁 Christmas stories
❄️ Snowed-in stories
🗣 Miscommunication trope

This was a cute and fun holiday romance, perfect escape for that time of year. The narration was great for the audiobook and made it a fun listen! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.

I tried this book and it was a fail for me at first. I think maybe I just wasn't in the right headspace. I went back at it was great. I loved the banter and the characters in general. I liked the friends-to-lovers trope and how they did everything they could for each other for Christmas. Such a cute holiday story.

This book is absolute magic. Since reading this eARC I have: purchased and read the physical book; purchased and binged the audiobook; purchased and gifted a copy of the book to five friends; and purchased both a physical and audiobook version of every single other book Catherine has published and subsequently devoured them all.

This is not simply a favourite "holiday" read, but a forever favourite read. Catherine creates a nostalgic, cozy, heartwarming and heart-changing book about two beautifully unique and relatable characters, and their wonderfully hilarious families.

With the turn of every page it is incredibly evident how heartfelt and intentionally Catherine marries humour with meaningful storytelling to deliver a read that is equal parts charming as it is moving and impactful.

We promise to pour even more heart, thoughtful reflection and praise into the reviews we share on Goodreads, Amazon and Bookstagram because Catherine Walsh is tragically underrated and the world needs to meet Molly and Andrew!!!

My favourite romance book of the year! I really didn't want it to end. The perfect book to snuggle under the blanket with and read in one sitting. Highly recommend and rated!

Another cute Christmas romance that’s perfect for the silly season! Cup of hot chocolate in hand, you’ll love this.

Thanks to #NetGalley and #Bookouture for this arc of #HolidayRomance. I loved this ridiculous book! It was funny, annoying and adorable all at the same time. Andrew and Molly were such enjoyable characters and the banter between them was fun to read. I loved the overall setting of the book, it felt different enough to be a fresh spin on a Christmas romance but not crazy enough to be unbelievable. It was clear to everyone by the end of the first chapter that these two should be together but navigating the journey between them was a fantastic ride. Overall, a 5 star book and a must read during the holiday season.

On my top 5 list of Holiday Romances and honestly, might be my favorite! I love a friends to lovers trope and this did it for me!

Molly and Andrew spend years taking the same flight home to Dublin for Christmas with each in various states of relationships (or freshly broken up with) and that’s a part of what kept these two apart. But, do they finally figure out what was right in front of them? Can Andrew teach Molly to love and embrace more than just the holiday spirit?

Put this on your TBR to get you in the holiday mood this year!

Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Absolutely loved this one - if you're looking for a romantic christmas book, definitely pick it up ! It was funny, sweet, and everything I needed to cheer me up after a difficult month !!

This is my third Catherine Walsh book and I am definitely seeing an Irish trend.
Serendipity is the notion that a coincidence is created by fate for often positive things to occur. The first flight our two protagonists take together puts our two characters next to each other through serendipity, Molly and the dumped boyfriend of her room mate- Andrew.
With each flight Andrew and Molly seem to get closer together as friends. But this book goes through the age old question can two people who are put in meet cutes repeatedly, remain purely as friends or will they end up together?
This book was rather reminiscent of the film 'Leap year' with the book's main plot seeing Molly and Andrew trying to get home in a truly difficult trip home. However, I wanted something different to add to the story, more texture or personality rather than just a hard worker who has left home and visit their hometown back in Ireland.

This was such a cute read and I just loved it! If your the type of person that celebrates Christmas mid year or just wants to read some cute holiday romances then this book is definitely for you! The characters were cute, the romance was simple and nice. I really enjoy Catherine Walsh's writing!

I think this is the first book by this author I have read and I loved it.

The story was a lovely read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was great escapism. I loved reading Molly’s story and connected with her and Andrew so when they were facing their issues I felt for them both. I really enjoyed their stories and how they progressed. I wasn’t sure if it would end how I thought it would, but I wasn’t disappointed!

It was a sweet story but one that kept me reading and wanting to know how it ended. I got into the festive spirit and it was pure escapism that allowed me to escape into Molly’s world and forget about the real one. It made me laugh, cry and was a rollercoaster of emotions as their journey to get back to Ireland has ups and downs. When I wasn’t reading it I was thinking about it.

It was a great read and one I would highly recommend. I will definitely read more by Catherine in the future.

My second book by Catherine Walsh and another really enjoyable read.

Molly and Andrew have a strange friendship, but it works for them. Ever since they met on a flight home from Chicago to Ireland for Christmas 10 years ago, they have been friends and they ensure they fly home together, for Christmas, every year. However, when the flight on their 10-year anniversary of meeting is cancelled due to a bad snowstorm Molly and Andrew’s hopes of getting home for Christmas begin to disappear. Molly and her family aren’t big on Christmas, so this isn’t much of an issue for her, but Andrew is a huge family Christmas fan. Molly knows how devastated he will be not being with his family for the holidays and so she vows, no matter what, to get him home for Christmas one way or another. As the miles pass on planes and trains and buses and ferries Molly becomes aware of her feelings towards Andrew may not be as platonic as she once thought they were, will Molly manage in her mission to get Andrew home, and will Andrew get the Christmas present his heart truly desires?!

This was a great read and I really wish I had read it around Christmas time as it would have been the perfect seasonal read- lesson learnt! I really liked both characters, especially Molly and I loved the flanter between her and Andrew. The story was definitely a slow burn, but it was well worth it, and it made me feel quite warm and fuzzy particularly in the last quarter of the book. This is the first rom com to actually make me cry near the end (happy tears), which was very unexpected as this has never happened to me before with any rom com so great writing. I also really enjoyed reading about the previous flights Molly and Andrew had had together as it build up a fuller picture of their friendship over the years.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it definitely gave me the warm and fuzzies and I would recommend it to anyone who loves a rom com especially one set around Christmas. Very much deserved 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Catherine Walsh and Bookouture for my advanced reading copy. Out now.