Member Reviews

This was such a fun story! I loved getting into the Christmas Mood in October and this was the perfect way. Groundhog day loop isn't my favorite trope, but this was done well! I found myself giggling and routing for the couple the whole way through.

Was this review helpful?

It’s Ground Hog’s Day meets Christmas Day in this delightful holiday romantic comedy. Gwen Baker returns home in hopes of holiday cheer after losing so much in her life: her boyfriend, her job, her happiness. Gwen doesn’t want anyone to know her failures, living in denial, and is in hopes to just ignore and power on in her life. Greeted by her caustic sister and twat of a brother-in-law, her overworked mother, her father who is living vicariously through her career, and her judgmental grandma, Gwen wants nothing better than to be the fixer of the family and make everyone happy. Things go awry at Christmas dinner when the traditional Christmas pudding with the sixpence for luck is served. As Gwen has had enough, she flees hoping to just make it through. But for some reason, Gwen awakes the next day as if Christmas did not happen and then Christmas Day keeps repeating itself. Gwen sees this as a chance to grant everyone’s wish to make the family happy, but every time makes it that much worse. The only great thing about reliving the day over again is Gwen’s chance to become reacquainted with the neighbor boy whom she fell in love with at age 13. Reliving each moment does allow Gwen to learn more about those who matter most to her and yet she hopes that her childhood crush, Dev would remember as well. Will Gwen finally be able to discover a tomorrow with Dev and find her happiness? This was a delightful read with great characters (loved Nan), full of cheer and discovering what really matters. Lots of feel-good moments and affirmation that it’s never too late to find lifetime happiness and to follow your dream. It’s a magical story, perfect for the holiday.

Many thanks to #netgalley, #thechristmaswish #harper360 #lindseykelk for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

This was my first time reading Lindsey Kelk's work and will not be my last!
While the setting is at Christmas time, this was more than a Christmas novel. This was a novel about reevaluating your life and all the decisions you make along the way. This was a novel about our closest relationships in life and asking ourselves how well we really know them and what is happening in their world. I loved every page! Thank you for the opportunity to read.

Was this review helpful?

Ahh I absolutely love anything Lindsey Kelk writes and a fun Christmas groundhogs day book?! Yes please!! If you love main characters learning more about themselves, fun, albeit sometimes crazy family dynamics & a rekindled crush on the boy next door, pick this one up! I don’t wanna say too much about it but was exactly what you’d expect from Lindsey Kelk - hilarious, sweet & swoony. The perfect holiday read!!

Was this review helpful?

this was a good one from the start. must read and really enjoyed this from page one. I am loving this author more and more. Every book does it for me.

Was this review helpful?

As soon as there's a new Lindsey Kelk novel, I know it's a book I want to check out. Kelk's blend of repartee, charismatic characters and satirical situations provides audible gasps while reading in public.

From the first chapter, readers will be drawn into Gwen and Manny's road trip to celebrate Christmas with their family. While it's a time for festivities, Gwen's world looks like wrapping paper after the party. Finding a lump of coal in her relationship and career, she's not living in the present but wishing things had turned out differently.

After a disastrous Christmas, Gwen awakes to find that she's reliving the day until she gets it right. Will she be able to unravel the truth or continue celebrating Christmas 365 days a year?

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #TheChristmasWish in exchange for an honest review. Once again, Kelk kept me awake until early hours of the morning until I finished the epilogue. I couldn't leave Gwen stuck in the past while I slumbered. Get ready for a Groundhog Day mixed with the reason readers heart Lindsey Kelk.

Was this review helpful?

I didn't care for this book. It took me a while to read because I couldn't seem to care about the characters.

Was this review helpful?

Lindsey Kelk outdid herself with this heartwarming, hilarious, and relatable read. I laughed so hard that I cried, and I felt this story on a personal level.

Down on her luck Gwen Baker ends up stuck in a ‘Groundhog Day’ Christmas loop while visiting her family over the holidays. She is forced to dig deep, connect with her family members on levels that go far beneath the surface, reconnect with a childhood crush, and find her true self in the process. But what will it take to finally stop reliving the same Christmas Day on repeat?

This festive read addresses family chaos that tends to perpetuate itself during the holidays, letting go and moving on from things and people that no longer hold value in one’s life, and finding love in a variety of forms along the way.

I give this read 4.5 stars! The ‘Groundhog Day’ type time loop can sometimes feel overplayed and strung out, however Lindsey delivered it a refreshing way that allowed for new events and fresh perspectives that kept the story moving along at a beautiful pace. This book is lighthearted and deep all at once, and it is the perfect addition to any holiday reading list!

Thank you to Lindsey Kelk, Harper 360, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

The Christmas Wish begins with Gwen Baker going home with her cousin Manny to the family home for Christmas. Gwen has been dumped by her live-in boyfriend, lost her place in their shared apartment and is on disciplinary leave from her job as a lawyer in a prestigious firm, so she is not feeling so eager to celebrate the holidays. The Baker family is raucous, oftentimes vulgar and seems to have very few personal boundaries, Perhaps this was meant to be the comedic aspect of the story, but it was unpleasant. There was a lot of screaming, shrieking, shouting and so on. As a result I have a love/hate opinion of this book.

The repeated Christmas Days happen as a result of the wish made on the sixpence hidden in the Christmas pudding. The events of each Christmas carried some pretty intense lessons for Gwen. The lesson experiences were interesting but, by Chapter 13 I was getting as tired of them as Gwen. Over the course of her 10 or so repeated Christmases Gwen engages in some dodgy behavior like confronting her ex with his new love in a restaurant, breaking into a local estate house with her childhood sweetheart and trading insults with an old man on the side of the road after blowing her car horn repeatedly at some loitering sheep. I guess these were all examples of Gwen breaking free of her good girl behavior.

Overall, this book was a disappointment for me personally but it was well-written and plotted. I thank NetGalley, Lindsey Kelk and HarperCollins for the opportunity to read The Christmas Wish and give my review..

The story resolves in a happily ever after ending for all of the characters from Gwen down to Grandma Nan

Was this review helpful?

I’ve always enjoyed books written by this author. I wasn’t sure if I would like this one as the “groundhogs Day” type stories aren’t my favorite but I really liked this one. Through a series of strange and stranger events throughout Christmas we learn more about Gwen’s family and her role in the family dynamic. Some wild and crazy things happen but with no consequences as Gwen’s day starts over again with lessons learned. Gwen is able to learn more about herself and also her childhood neighbor who is also home for the holidays who is her first love. Heartwarming, funny, zany Christmas story.

Was this review helpful?

The Christmas Wish was lovely, hilariously funny, and full of heart. Gwen is stuck a Groundhog Day-ish loop on Christmas Eve and is trying to figure out whose dreams she needs to make come true in order to break the cycle. She has never considered that perhaps it's her own dreams she needs to follow to find true happiness. The Christmas Wish is a lighthearted, holiday read that carries a deeper message. Nothing too heavy - just a fun holiday read!
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper 360, HarperCollins for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to Net Galley, Harper 360/ Harper Collins, and Lindsey Kelk for the eARC for The Christmas Wish

“Loneliness is how you know something is missing. Feeling lonely means you haven’t given up hope.”

A very merrier meet cute, boy next door, friends to lovers, slow burn, time loop holiday romance.
This book was everything I could want in a romance. Gwen was stuck in a Christmas Day time loop trying to figure out her work, family and love life. There was great character development and I was laughing and crying right along with her the whole time! Such a feel good holiday read,

Was this review helpful?

Magically charming and laugh out loud funny in a do over and over and over again (and again) Christmas day.

Oh my gosh. This story, from the beginning, grabbed tight and held me, enthralled, in its cozy embrace. Gwen, her family, Dev - I loved these characters and I loved Gwen’s journey throughout this to find her own happiness.

Utter enjoyment from this title, an absolute recommendation.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book!

First off, I love Christmas stories, especially Christmas romance, and I love second chance love even more!

At first, I was a little iffy. I'm not a huge fan of repeating days/the groundhog day loop, they can get really boring but this one was well done. The characters were well written, it was witty and funny, the dynamics in the relationships was also done very well.

It's a good, festive romance for the Christmas season and it's a quick read once it grabs your attention!

Was this review helpful?

I received a free copy of, The Christmas Wish, by Lindsey Kelk, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Gwen is in a real life groundhog day situation. She keeps reliving the same day, Christmas, Day. This is a quirky book, a nice idea, a different take on a Christmas book, I did not care for some of the language though.

Was this review helpful?

This one started out a little slow for me but picked up and turned out to be a cute read! The main character learned a lot about her self and learned some good life lessons we all need reminding of.

Was this review helpful?

The Christmas Wish was a heartwarming, magical read. You follow the main character, Gwen, a newly single lawyer back home for holidays. She gets stuck in a Groundhog Day situation and slowly starts to realize things aren’t always what they seem, especially when it comes to her family members. You will not be able to put this one down as its full of laugher & love.

Was this review helpful?

Wow, I think this was my favorite holiday romance I have read so far this season, and I have read a lot. I just finished this book early this morning after staying up way too long! The humor was A+ and the romance was heartwarming. The cover is also so cute. Will possibly add to my physical shelf!

Was this review helpful?

'The Christmas Wish' is a really sweet book, and it's a perfect story for the holidays. In the book, a lawyer named Gwen has just been dumped by her boyfriend, and she is not handling it well. After an outburst at work, she's at a crossroads in her career. She heads home with her cousin, Manny, to celebrate Christmas with her parents, grandmother, and sister and her family. When she goes home, she keeps waking up on Christmas morning. Each day, she has to determine how she can break the loop that she is stuck in.

Gwen can't figure out how to get out of the time loop. She tries different things each day, and she struggles on how to get to a new day. When she wakes up on Christmas morning, she focuses on her relationship with different family members. She discovers that she doesn't know as much about her family members as she thought that she did. Through the repeating of Christmas Day, Gwen grows closer to her family, and she learns more about herself in the process.

Gwen reconnects with her childhood crush and next door neighbor, Dev, and she still has feelings for him after all of these years.

I really enjoyed all of the personal growth that Gwen went through. She learned so much about herself, and she was able to see her family in a different light. I loved the sweetness of this book, but it was also really fun! I found myself laughing out loud at several points.

I would recommend this book to anyone look for an adorable holiday story about family and what it means to grow up and discover who you really are and who you want to become.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper360 for an ARC of this book.

Was this review helpful?

I think the only things I love more than christmas are christmas books! I was a bit wary going into this book because the groundhog loop is super common in books but I was very impressed! This book was hilarious and I loved getting to see every character develop throughout the story. I do wish we could’ve seen more connection and chemistry between the characters and see more of their past for context but overall a super great christmas read that i’m 100% obsessed with!

Was this review helpful?