Is it ironic that I read this entire romance while on a cross country flight? It was such a cute read. All the Christmas vibes, dual point of view, fake dating, cute nicknames and more!

Publishing date is 11/26/22 and it would be perfect Winter read!

“If you were mine, you’d never wonder how perfect you are.”

I 1000% adore this book! Juliana Smith’s debut novel “I can fix that” put her on my auto buy list and although this is an ARC you can bet your butt I’ll be buying a hard copy!

It’s the perfect holiday romcom with fake boyfriend included. Finn(land) and Olive are hilarious- their mocking banter make for a lighthearted fun read. Olive used to love Christmas until 3 years ago when it all changed- Finn is determined to give her the best 12 days of Christmas to get her back into the Christmas loving spirit. I loved walking through all their dates with them. Smith did a great job making you feel like you were really there.

I did see the “twist” coming and it made me just as mad as it made Olive- I mean seriously I’m with her why not just say something first?! Ugh that put a bit of a damper on my whole Christmas love vibe but have no fear Finn to the rescue to give you all the warm fuzzy feelings and the book boyfriend heart eyes. I devoured this book in a matter of hours and it’ll definitely be on my to read again every December list!

This was just the cute, quick, holiday themed romance I needed! Olive moved to Florida and after 3 years of not being home for the holidays, she finds herself seated next to an over enthusiastic, holiday loving, hot guy on her flight back to Aspen. After telling her family she's bringing home a boyfriend, Finn volunteers to show her how amazing Christmas is and be her "boyfriend." Finn had me swooning over him instantly (but why am I never seated next to a cute guy on planes?). While I personally love Christmas, I can totally understand why Olive is the way she is around the holidays now and love how she came around.

If you need a book to curl up on the couch with during a snow storm enjoying the ambience of your Christmas tree with some hot cocoa, this is the one! All the stars from me.

Read if you like:
- reverse grumpy/sunshine
- he falls first
- Christmas romance
- Fake dating
- Hot ski instructors in Aspen

Rating: 4/5🌼

Publication Date: November 26th 2022

Author: Juliana Smith

Review: Tis the season for Hallmark books. This book was perfect, the fake dating, the back and forth banter between Olive and Finn. I really enjoyed the cutesy aspects of this book. Very easy to read you will zip through it within days. I’m not normally one to read Christmas books but this was had the perfect mix. Very enjoyable.

This was a sweet fake dating holiday romance that read like a Hallmark movie.

During the first 40%, I was really enjoying myself - the banter was funny, the plot was established quickly and seemed to hold a lot of promise. And then, for whatever reason, once I hit the half way point, my interest was lost. I think it started to become apparent that there was a bit of insta-love going on. Due to the timeline in which the plot takes place, Finn and Olive's love story was put on the fast track and I think I just struggled to believe in it.

Also, the reveal and conflict that came towards the end didn't hold much impact since it was fairly easy to predict.
Though there were elements I enjoyed, Baggage Claim felt underwhelming overall.

Lastly, there were some pacing and file issues that I struggled with. The conflict was resolved quickly probably it could have been avoided with one conversation (psst: not every romance book needs a third-act breakup) and then there were a few time jumps that felt misplaced and unnecessary.

Thank you NetGalley, Juliana Smith and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

“ I would gladly claim all your baggage if it meant you would be mine.”

“I think you might just be my favourite person.”

“ If you were mine, you would never wonder how perfect you are.”
- Finn Beckett

Thank you so so much to the author, and netgalley for my ARC of BAGGAGE CLAIM! This holiday romance publishes November 26!

FOLIVE FOREVER 😍🎄 (yes, this is my ship name for these two in my head 🥰)

I read this book in October during spooky season, and let me tell you friends, it out me right in the holidays spirit and made me want it read allllll the holiday romance books 😍 This is the PERFECT holiday romance! I adored Juliana’s first book, I Can Fix That, but this one is top notch. You can really tell how much Juliana’s writing has strengthened in BC. Even though I have never been to Aspen, Colorado, I felt like it was there.

There wasn’t a single thing I didn’t like about this one. There was the best meet cute, witty banter, a grinchy FMC, a cinnamon role MMC, family drama, lots of skiing (the only part of winter/snow/the cold) I like 😆, and some great sexual tension/steam for a closed door romance!

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🎄 dual POV
🎄 fake dating
🎄 reverse grumpy/sunshine
🎄 holiday romance
🎄 Aspen, Colorado setting
🎄 strangers to best friends to lovers
🎄 forced proximity
🎄 cinnamon role hero
🎄 “ I wish I could see you the way I see you.”

Olive and Finn have their own baggage from their pasts that haunts them, but two weeks spent in Aspen, 12 dates of Christmas and all the Christmas cheer and family drama being resolved has the power to change everything. I LOVED this book and highly recommend adding this to your holiday TBR when it publishes November 26!

Cute, predictable, feel-good story to put yourself in a holiday mood! It was a slow start for me and a little unbelievable at times, but I enjoyed it overall and would recommend it to friends.

Very cute! I really loved Finn. But could have done without all the fatphobia Olive projected. Overall, an easy read for Christmas season!

adorable!! I loved getting to watch Finn & Olive’s love unfold, especially during the holidays. they really proved that you can meet someone and just click, and also that you have to accept the good and the bad of your significant other, and their family. 10/10 would read more from this author.

I absolutely loved this book! I’m going to be 100% honest here. I read Juliana Smith’s debut novel I can fix that and I didn’t love it. I saw Baggage Claim all over Instagram and the blurb on goodreads was intriguing. I decided to give it a try and I am so glad I did.

This book was just so freaking cute. Reverse grumpy/sunshine… a Grinchy Heroine and a golden retriever Hero?! SIGN ME UP. I loved Olive and Finn. Olive opening up and enjoying herself because of Finn’s sweet persistence and his 12 days of Christmas. There was lots of tension between them and so many swoony moments.

I didn’t love the conflict between Olive and her sister. It felt a bit icky and just awkward.

The pacing at the end was weird. Olive and her sister finally talked it out a bit and then the next (final) chapter jumped to three months later in Finn’s POV. Then the epilogue (Olive’s POV) was one month later. I don’t know. It just felt weird like maybe the epilogue should have just been dual POV instead.
There were a couple things that should’ve been caught in editing. Chapter 37 being repeated being the biggest one.

“I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”🥹 This book was one of my more anticipated books this holiday season and it did not disappoint! I loved how Noah brought Olive out of her shell and made her feel like her old self again. Noah’s twelve days of Christmas was adorable and I loved the nickname he gave Olive 💚🥰 I really love how the deeper topics of this book were handled, it definitely made the story and characters feel a lot more realistic. Overall, this book is perfect for you if you love reverse grumpy sunshine and fake dating!

This is a really good Christmas romance. Really good. There are so many things to enjoy: fake dating, CHRISTMAS, flight conversations, banter, text messages, just a lot of awwwww and a cinnamon roll love interest.

Finn and Olive were fun characters, but poor Olive. She has been put through the wringer. After avoiding her family for three years due to a fallout with her sister, she returns home for Christmas.

On the flight she meets Finn. He's an amazing guy, who may have just a tad too much confidence (especially with the ladies). The two fake date for various reasons while Olive is visiting her family (no spoilers!). And, of course, they fall in love for real.

I enjoyed the story so much I finished it within a day. I had a couple of qualms with it: I did not like how the family was basically OKAY with what happened between Olive and her sister. Olive was made to feel that she was at fault, when, no ma'am, it was her sister's fault. I'm not saying the family should have shunned her sister, but they seemed to not understand why Olive had distanced herself and put the blame on her.

I also had mixed emotions regarding Olive's physical transformation. The story focused a LOT on her looks and her weight loss. Whether she was analyzing her diet and workouts, how she looked in clothes, how Finn kept commenting on her looks ... it was a bit overboard.

There was a chapter 3/4 into the book that was a repeat of Finn's viewpoint, which I think it was supposed to be Olive's chapter. I'm not sure if we missed anything relating to Olive's viewpoint or if Finn's was accidentally duplicated.

This is a cozy closed-door romance perfect for a Christmas read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Juliana Smith for an e-copy of BAGGAGE CLAIM to review.

I rate BAGGAGE CLAIM four stars out of five.

After three years of avoiding it, Olive finally agrees to return to her hometown to spend Christmas with her family, including her estranged sister. In an attempt to appease her mom, she lies about having a boyfriend. On the red-eye home, she meets Finn, a charming ski instructor who is more than willing to take up the role of fake boyfriend. You can guess where this is going.

There were a lot of great things about this book. It was a super quick read. It was fake dating and grumpy/sunshine. The setting was super charming and the love interests had great chemistry. I loved the fun banter, and the nicknames the MC's gave each other were so cute. It also had just the right amount of Christmasy vibes and felt like it could easily be a Hallmark movie.

I did have a few issues though. There were moments at the beginning of the book where Finn gave me the ick because he just came off so full of himself. It got better fairly quickly, but I was very concerned at first. I also found the big reveal at the end to be very predictable and I guessed it after just a few chapters. It was fine, but it did make the whole thing feel a little anticlimactic. Lastly, the ending was a little rushed. The book wasn't all that long and I feel like a few more pages to resolve everything would have been helpful.

3.5 rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for my honest review.

I kept seeing this book everywhere, and was so excited to read it! I absolutely loved Finn and Olive's romance. She is definitely the grump to his sunshine. After having something not great happen to her on Christmas years ago, she is not a big fan of Christmas. Finn calls her Grinchy and is determined to give her the 12 days of Christmas and make her fall back in love with the holiday. I love these two and their romance!
This is a fade to black romance though, which I was not expecting.

I was not a fan of the conflict. Not only was it extremely predictable, it was dragged out through the entire book. I also didn't love how even though they were sorry for what happened, they kept excusing it at the same time, saying that there was just a special connection there.

3.5 stars
I received this book for free in return for an honest review.

I fell into this book from the very first chapter, and I couldn’t have loved it more. Finn and Olive were both extremely relatable, and I could feel their chemistry. I honestly think i fell in love with Finn the very first time his name appeared. The family drama was something I could see coming, but reading it and watching it unfold the way it did made it that much better.

Strangers to lovers is one of my favorite trope, especially when fake dating is involved. Baggage Claim captured it perfectly, and blew my mind. I felt like I was tagging along with them, and feeling everything they were feeling.

I absolutely loved this.

4.5 stars {rounded up}

“I would gladly claim all your baggage if it meant you would be mine.”

Thank you to Xpresso Book Tours and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Y’all this was so freaking good and adorable! What a great book to hit that Christmas/ holiday romance spot. I could not put this down!

Olive Moore is headed home for the holidays after avoiding it for almost 3 years. Her anxiety about seeing her family and Christmas has her dreading her 4 hr flight. Finn Beckett happens to be in the seat next to her and notices right away that Olive is anxious. He makes quick work to try and distract her. After Olive spills that she told her mom she has a boyfriend, Finn offers to help her out and show her that Christmas is really great afterall.

I absolutely loved the reverse grumpy sunshine situation— Finn is a bit full of himself on first impression, but really he is an extroverted, optimist with such a sunny disposition. Olive had a grumpier personality masking some insecurities. I really liked how the author made us feel her hurt in the beginning and throughout the book—just the awkwardness around the family getting together was palpable on page.

Finn and Olive’s relationship was really cute. They quickly built trust for one another and the ‘12 Days of Christmas’ that Finn implements to uplift her spirits in her situation was so sweet!

I will say, there was a lot of mention of brands, TV shows, social media platforms by name in the beginning. Usually I don’t mind a few here and there, but it kinda takes me out of the story at that moment. Additionally, I did find the 'big event’ that shaped Olive those 3 years ago was pretty predictable.

Juliana did a great job balancing humor with more serious, emotionally developed conversations. Olive and Finn’s contrasting personalities were written well and the dual POV really helped us connect better with both MCs. Pacing was pretty perfect and it is such a bingable holiday read.

The cover is amazing and I have already preordered my physical copy. Baggage Claim is set to release November 26th!



Potential TW: body image discussion, cheating (not by MCs)

The setting for 'Baggage Claim' is Aspen Colorado, and it swept me away to a winter wonderland! I love winter, and I love a book that highlights the beauty of the season. Olive is traveling home to Aspen, Colorado for the holidays, but she hasn't been home in 3 years. She is worried to see her family again, and she tells her mom that she will be coming home with her new boyfriend. The problem is... Olive doesn't have a boyfriend! When she is on the plane ride home, she is seated next to a sexy stranger named Finn. Olive and Finn start talking and drinking, and Finn suggests that he pretend to be her boyfriend. When Finn finds out that Olive doesn't like Christmas, he plans to show her how much fun Christmas can be. Olive turns down his offer, but he shows up that night and joins her family for dinner.

Everyone in Olive's family immediately loves Finn, and Olive agrees to fake date him for the 12 days that she is home. Finn plans to give Olive surprises for each day of the 12 days of Christmas, and it is so sweet! Olive might have some baggage in her past, but will Finn be able to help her claim it?

I read this book in a few hours, and I stayed up way to late to finish it. i couldn't put it down! I would recommend it if you love the following:
-Reverse grumpy/sunshine
-forced proximity
- fake dating
-strangers on a plane
- He falls first
- Winter romance
- Dual POV (This added so much to the story!)

Thanks to NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for an ARC of this book. I definitely recommend it! Perfect for the winter!

In my mind it’s already Christmas so I am all in for any book that gives me Christmas / Winter vibes. This was a really quick read if you’re looking for a winter season book!


I felt awful for Olive, no one should ever have to experience what she did. The whole situation and tense vibes made for weird family interactions.

I will say that the “plot twist” was super predictable, like I got it a couple chapters in. When twists are so predictable it makes for the read to be pretty anticlimactic most times. It also makes you question every other character’s behavior super early on in the book two.

I will say my favorite part is how cute Olive & Finn actually were. Not going to lie… but he gave me the ick starting out. It’s easy to get over pretty early because he was so sweet. His mission to bring Christmas joy back to Olive? Literally the most enjoyable parts of it all. I really wish we had more details of these cute Christmas dates and that the book really highlighted that. Would have reaaaally hit in the cute Hallmark vibes way.

I wish there was more depth to the story. There was definitely opportunity with some of the things that Olive struggled with, and I feel like she didn’t get a chance to emotionally tackle any of it by the time the book finished.

Overall a good easy time with some fun scenes. If you’re looking for a holiday read with reverse grumpy x sunshine and fake dating then this is a good option for you!


Thank you Netgalley and Juliana Smith for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

-3.5 stars

That's actually 3.5 stars.

Olive Moore meets Finn Beckett on a red-eye on the way to Winter Wonderland - but it's actually a holiday with her family that she's dreading because of baggage she hasn't dealt with since she left home 3 years ago. So Finn offers to pretend to be her boyfriend, all the while trying to reignite her Christmas spirit by taking her around Aspen, Colorado ala twelve days of Christmas.

The set-up alone is charming and festive, and the reverse grumpy-sunshine is something I enjoy because I can relate to the FMC more. All the references to Christmas and the holidays made me wish for my very own white Christmas in snowy Colorado.

The best part of this was Finn - he's a dream boyfriend. He was sensitive to Olive's emotions, respected her, genuinely liked her and just wanted her to have fun. Although he did show up unannounced at a family event. Their banter was funny and I loved the pop culture references.

I enjoyed this novel up until the very last part because I did not like how Olive's family dealt with whatever happened in the past - the excuses she was given felt too much like gaslighting.

There was a repeated chapter (thirty seven and thirty eight, which was supposed to be Olive's POV) and I'm not sure if it's just this eARC, but maybe you should double check that.

The premise and buildup were great, the resolution was a bit lacking, but it was an overall enjoyable holiday read.

This book was exactly what I needed to ease myself into the Christmas spirit! I loved that it hinted at christmas time without shoving the holidays down your throat.

This book starts out with a scenario every person dreams of; meeting an attractive stranger on a plane who convinces you to let him be your fake boyfriend. I loved reading about Finn breaking down the walls that Olive built up over the past three years. He was so caring, understanding and gentle with her and it made him such an instant fictional crush. Their connection really reminded me of Sam and Percy from Every Summer After; you just fall in love with their love.

I wish this book did have some spicy scenes in it, but not having them didn't take away anything from the book. I also really liked that Olive stood her ground with those that betrayed her. I hate when character just get over these traumatic events and move on to make for a happy ending. It felt extremely authentic. Something else that felt authentic was the relationship between Olive and Finn. Their love felt right and I never questioned how they could say they love someone so soon.

I absolutely loved the ending and the epilogue. I want to thank Juliana SO MUCH for not rushing the epilogue into a future state that took away from there rest of the book; what was written was so perfect.

I loved this book a lot and will be recommending it to any one who asks me for a romance, not only around the holidays, but any time of year! Thank you NetGalley, Juliana, and Xpresso Book Tours for allowing be to read this book before it is released!