The Christmas Wish is a cute, romcom Christmas groundhog day type read. It’s fun, has a lot of humor and was much more meaningful than i anticipated it to be. It offers such a strong story line that a child is being semi-forced into a career they don’t want and having the adult realization that they actually do not love what they’re doing.

I thought this novel was cute. It has me laughing quite often and i loved the meaning behind the novel, but i found myself quite bored for 30-45% of the novel.

It seemed super repetitive and I feel like quite a bit of the repetition in the middle could have been removed and fleshed out and would have been a much more enjoyable read.

WITH THAT, i adored the HEA that we gain in this novel and the freedom that our FMC gives herself.

Thank you Netgalley & the publisher for supplying an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Christmas Wish
by Lindsey Kelk
5 stars
This is a great quick little Christmas read, I finished it right before 7 pm on new years eve. The last book of 2022 and it made my night. I love groundhog day stuck in a little loop and have to figure out how to stop it. Also, the love story added in made all the feelers go crazy I absolutely loved that in it. The family gathering around for the holidays and everything that can and will go wrong does it is great and reminds me of my family time together.
Highly recommend

I give it 3 stars.
After so many groundhog days it gets to be a bit much. Great if you want a light hearted book to read.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

Christmas Groundhog Day adventure wrapped up in love and family. Gwen comes to gripes with her life when she relives Christmas day over and over connecting with he child hood crush, What will she learn from this repeat . Will her dad stop living life through her?

Groundhog day but for Christmas… This was a fun read and a sweet romance all in one. Gwen wakes up repeatedly on Christmas morning to find that she must change something in her day so that the next day actually comes. It’s a fun look at examining one’s life and family and not only realizing you have needs, but you can also help your family with what they need. Self examination, humor, love and of course, CHRISTMAS!
Thanks to Net Galley for this advanced copy.

Thank you to Lindsey Kelk, the author; and Publisher Harper Collins, Harper 360; also, as always, NetGalley, for a gifted advanced digital copy to read of THE CHRISTMAS WISH.

Gwen is a struggling lawyer who returns to heal at her roots and with her family (who mostly see her as a little la-te-da these days). Instead, she has the worst Christmas imaginable, including enduring humiliation in front of Dev, her crush from girlhood, whom adulthood has treated quite well. The best thing to happen to Gwen that day is falling into bed. But she wakes up in the morning to discover maybe the most predictable thing ever-- it's Christmas again! And her life still stinks.

I like the time loop trope (or Groundhogs Day trope) in all kinds of stories. One or two of my favorite movies ever uses it. Kelk's story was fine, just maybe a little nondescript. I thought all of the conflict that occurred almost forced this trope into place, and most of the conflict that held it up and kept it going also seemed forced into place. It made me dislike most of the characters, so I started to wonder if Dev was too good for Gwen. Ouch. One reason why-- he didn't get enough space on the page!

I loved the concept of this one though, so my interest in what came next carried me through to the end. Time loop is a great trope, I'll read any time loop story. It was fun watching Gwen unravel the knots she had tied and figure out what she wanted.

Rating: 🍗🍗🍗 / 5 ruined holiday meals
Spice: 🌶 not memorable
Finished: December 2022
Released: 11/15/22
Read this if you like:
⏳️ Time loop / Groundhogs Day trope
🎄 Holiday stories
😍🤣 Romcoms
🙃 Sarcasm and wit
🌇 HEA trope
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family drama

Single and a little lost, Gwen Baker comes home for Christmas with her family hoping to relax in the comfort of familiarity and the holiday. She ends Christmas Day with some family drama and kicked out of her bedroom. When she wakes up, it’s Christmas Day all over again. As she works to find herself, she always gets to know her family and reconnects with the boy next door.

This was a joy to read Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. This was closed door romance and the family relationships stood out to me front and center to make this so heartwarming. It was zany, laugh out loud funny, and the touch of magical realism elevated this holiday read for me.

I wasn’t sure what to expect with this book, the Groundhog Day theme doesn’t usually work for me. But I really enjoyed this one! This book has great character development. The author absolutely nailed the dysfunctional family dynamics (especially during the holidays). I found myself loling A LOT. Loved all the pop culture references. This is an entertaining and comical read with the cutest second chance at love.

I loved this Christmas reimagination of Groundhog Day (despite utterly dialing that movie!). We see so much growth in each character, things of hilarious hijinks, and plenty of heart-string pulling moments. Will definitely recommend this to friends!

🌲 BOOK REVIEW 🌲

The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
Rating: 5/5 ⭐️

“Newly single lawyer Gwen Baker is hoping that a family Christmas-countryside, a mountain of food and festive films-will salve the sting of her career hanging by a thread and her heart being trampled on. Because everyone else has their life sorted: even Dev, her boy-next-door crush, is now a tall, dark and handsome stranger with a fiancée. She can't help wishing her future was clearer.

Then Gwen wakes up to discover it's Christmas day all over again. Like Groundhog Day but
with eggnog. And family arguments.”

I have to admit, I was a bit skeptical about how much I would like this one. I love a good holiday romance book but feel like Groundhog Day trope can be a bit cliched and is overdone. Well, I take all that back. This time loop was perfect!

Gwen is going home for Christmas single, (almost) jobless and not in the best spirits. She was recently placed on a leave from her fancy corporate job after a very-unlike-her explosion of anger on a difficult client. She REALLY doesn’t want to tell her family, especially her dad who sees her career success as the ultimate achievement.

She immediately starts butting heads with her family and find herself reliving the same Christmas Day over and over. Each time, she builds connections with her family, learns more about herself and reconnects with an old crush.

The tension between Gwen and her family is SO palpable and it was easy to get pulled in. Gwen’s journey from an angry, follower, shove-all-her-feelings-down person into someone who knows who she is and what she wants was absolute perfection. I would say this book has more family dynamics/being true to yourself than it does romance - but I particularly loved that!

Highly recommend if you like:
🌲Slow burn, non-spicy romance
🌲Complex family dynamics
🌲A “be true to yourself” story
🌲Interesting side characters
🌲 Time loops
🌲 Childhood friend-to-lovers

Thanks to @netgalley, @harpercollins360 and the author for access to the ARC!

Published: November 15, 2022 (out now✨✨)

#netgalley #thechristmaswish #lindseykelk #holidayreads #christmasreads #books #bookreview #arcreview

Gwen Baker is heading home for the holidays, with a lot of secrets. She has broken up with her boyfriend, has moved into a terrible apartment and is on leave from her job. It’s wasn’t her choice to be on leave, it was a forced leave, where they are reviewing if she can come back. She is hopeful that heading home will be the vacation she needs. Time with her family, traditions and friends. As much as she wants to go home, she is nervous to let her family know all that is going on. Will they be disappointed? Will they support her new life? Christmas comes and the day is ok.. but fortunately or unfortunately, when she wakes up the next day, it’s Christmas Day again. This will happen many times. While in this Groundhog Day time loop, she tries to fix her relationships with family members. Starts to think about a new life and even reconnects with her next door neighbor, Dev. Will this time loop drive her mad? Or will she be able to make changes that will help her life move forward? This was a well written, fun story. I love the Christmas storyline and the honesty of families. This was a four star read for me. I want to thank Netgalley & Lindsey Kelk for my copy of The Christmas Wish, for an honest review. It was my pleasure to read and review this one. If you are looking for a light hearted read.. this is your book..

This is one of my favorite Christmas books this year. It’s funny and also thoughtful. Gwen is newly single lawyer after her boyfriend cheated on her. She’s got no place to live and she’s on leave from her job after an “incident” with a client. She goes home for Christmas and wakes up to find she must relive Christmas Day, the good and the bad, over and over.

We’ve all read books that use Groundhog Day as a plot device, in this case it’s very well done. Gwen is trying to rekindle a romance with her old neighbor Dev, but it’s difficult because he doesn’t remember her from day to day.

Gwen realizes the only way to get out of the loop is to take a good hard look at herself and make some changes.

I highly recommend this book, 5 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

I was seeking out Christmas books as they are very popular in our library for the month of December, but unfortunately this one didn't blow me away. I'm personally not a romance/holiday reader, but I don't think this would be a winner with our readership.

Perfect light holiday reading equivalent of a Hallmark Christmas movie. Gwen Baker has had a rough few months with problems at her high powered law firm endangering her partnership topped by the unceremonious dumping by her boyfriend and kicking her out of the house. So she heads home with her cousin/brother for a family holiday. There a wish over the Christmas pudding leads her to repeat Christmas day over and over woth disastrous results.

Gwen is a newly single lawyer who just wants a normal family Christmas. What she gets is a Groundhog Day-esque adventure where she discovers what she truly wants in life.
This book has everything I want in a Christmas romcom. A fantastic cast of characters- Gwen’s family is charming and relatable. An adorable small English town. A childhood crush. And many moments that made me actually laugh out loud.
Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for this ARC to review!

This was such a fun, page-turning Christmas read! I’m very glad it was my last Christmas book of the 2022 holiday season. I didn’t even realize until just now that it had some similarities to “In a Holidaze” by Christina Lauren since both books have a Christmas time-loop. They are different enough that each is good on its own merit! I would definitely recommend this book to someone who was looking for a fun Christmas story. It was also quintessentially British, which I loved.

Thank you to the publisher - I received a complimentary eARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This may not be the first Christmas take on Groundhog's Day, but it is the funniest one yet! A Christmas Wish will be a welcomed addition to your festive reading.

The Christmas Wish introduces us to Gwen Baker -- after potentially losing her job and definitely losing her boyfriend a Christmas at home may be just what she needs.

But a Christmas at home that keeps repeating every day? Not so much!

Faced with the problem of living (or reliving) Christmas Day on loop, Gwen uses this as an opportunity to spend each day focusing on each of her family members, convinced that by granting one of them their Christmas Wish that the spell will break.

The family element is what sets this book aside from other's that have utilized this charming concept. The family interactions is also where much of this book's comedy comes from. While I found the story to be long at points, it was the comedy that set it apart and kept me reading.

I adore all Lindsey Kelk books! This book had me in stitches with all of the one liners and Gwen reliving every bite of her bacon butty day after day. 

Instead of a typical rom com, this book focuses more on family dram. I loved how Gwen was able to spend time with a different family member each day that she re-lived Christmas. There are so many hilarious scenes (when Gwen ripped her dress! or when Gwen and Dev broke into the stately home!), but also sweet moments (the heartfelt convo between Gwen and Manny during his vulnerable moment or when Gwen brought out the home videos of her grandparents and Uncle Jim...definitely shed some tears there!). As much as I wanted more romantic scenes with Gwen and Dev, the family scenes were so lovely and so enjoyable. A great Christmas read!

I have never met a Christmas book I don't like, and this one is no exception!

I loved meeting Gwen and her insanely stressful life and terrible boyfriend. It was such a surprisingly deep book that I loved moving through. There is a huge cast of characters along for the ride with Gwen and I loved meeting each and every one of them. I enjoyed the family drama, and of course the endless Taylor Swift references.

TIme travel normally isn't my favorite, but this author did it in such a wonderful way. I was laughing along the entire time and it really kept my interest! I can't wait to see what this author does next!

Thank you so much for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This story was cute although I found myself getting bored. The time loop stories just seem repetitive and there was just too much going back in time. But I did enjoy how Gwen discovered herself and how she realized the life she was living was not the life she wanted and was able to change that.