Synopsis: When Olive travels home for the holidays for the first time in many years dreading all of the questions about what her future holds that so many times comes with being around loved ones during this time. She might bend the truth when she tells her mother that she is bringing home a boyfriend, but when she gets on the plane she is faced with a decision that might not make this the holiday that she is dreading so much.

Thoughts: I LOVED this book. It was the perfect travel meets home town romance. This was one of my top holiday reads this season and highly suggest it. I loved the characters and their connections. I enjoyed the characters and their fun Christmas dates that are so often overlooked during the holiday season and simply checked off a list rather than enjoyed. If you are looking for small town romance with family ties and taking the time to enjoy the little things in the holiday season than you definitely dont want to miss this!

This book was the perfect Christmas romance! There were so many Christmas activities included in this book, it had all the Christmas vibes that I wanted. I also really enjoyed the characters. I loved seeing their relationship develop throughout the story. Finn was really thoughtful and romantic.

Very early on we know that something happened between Olive and her family, but we don’t know what. After the reveal, I feel like Olive was completely justified in her anger.

Overall, if you’re looking for a fun, cute Christmas book, this one is perfect!

The "twist" in this book is so obvious, it makes it difficult to invest in the plot. But, the warm, cozy, Christmastime romance is very sweet!

Looks like I slept on this title for a little too long and missed the release date! Oops :(

This looks really cute and has a fun premise. Just the kind of book I’d love to curl up with on a cold dreary day… I just happen to live somewhere really warm and haven’t had the cold dreary day reading vibes for it yet. Excited for this cute book for when that day comes however!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

A cute and lovely Holiday read with some of the best tropes like grump vs sunshine and fake dating. Lots of holiday activity fun in this story as well as an adorable nickname (Grinchy). It has a decent amount of drama (definitely an interesting and unique take on some things) and is a closed door romance.

Let me tell you. This book has been HAUNTING ME on Instagram and I was so excited to finally get my hands on it. Overall, this was a cute Holiday romance book to read this past month, definitely, a Hallmark-esque type read for someone who loves to dive into those movies during this time of the year. I enjoyed Finn’s personality more than Olive’s. You get the cutest meet-cute ever, grumpy meets sunshine, a fake relationship, and a holiday in the mountains. What more could you want with this book?
I really did enjoy seeing someone write a book with a GRUMPY FEMALE and a sunshine male. If you’re looking for a quick read, this is the book for you.

Thank you to Netgalley and Juliana Smith for the early ARC in exchange for an honest review.

SO GOOD! One of the best reads of 2022!!! Swoon worthy with a grumpy FEMALE and sunshine male! Sold!

This book was overall a cute holiday romance read! The Colorado setting was beautiful and I always enjoy a good fake-dating plot. I think what I noticed the most that hindered the story from its full potential was the writing style and plot development. Both of these I felt relied too heavily on what people tend to look for in a romance book and therefore lacked originality and made parts of the storyline feel forced. Along with this, the love interest Finn came off as a little conceited because of his tendency to have a sweet side but at the same time a lack of care towards women in the past. The story overall portrayed realistic issues which I appreciated but in my opinion what happened between Olive and her sister was not something forgivable and was something brushed over by the family. This book was a great read to pick up before Christmas, all the holiday vibes were there and it definitely had what people look for in a Hallmark-type romance. Despite the minor issues with the plot and characters I did enjoy this one and it reminded me a little of the Disney movie Cloud 9 which I absolutely love, so that was a plus!

goodreads review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5096321900?book_show_action=false

instagram review:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CmorEgJrJTj/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY%3D

Lovely Christmas story with fun fake dating and a great "12 days of Christmas sequence." I read an early copy from NetGalley, but I'd also preordered this from Amazon - so happy to see the addition of a content warning in the final version, which was truly the only thing missing from the early copy. This story helped get me in the festive mood, coming out at just the perfect time. Can't wait to read more from Juliana Smith!

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

✔️reverse grumpy meets sunshine
✔️dreamy holiday mountain setting
✔️airplane meet cute
✔️fake relationship

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

I really enjoyed Finn and Olive! Finn is a children’s ski instructor with a dream Aspen home and all the Christmas spirit! I wasn’t quite sure what to think of the ending, it was a little cringey! Otherwise an amazing book!

I read this in one sitting and loved it! One of my top holidays books I’ve ever read. I loved the grumpy sunshine and fake dating trope. I also felt like I could see myself in both main characters which is just nice to connect with. It was a fun, little bit spicy, cozy read for Christmas season!

The cover is adorable and a friend of mine suggested we buddy read it together. While I liked the bones and premise, the execution didn't quite work for me. I struggled to be invested in the MCs and their connection from the beginning. I personally prefer a little more backstory and deep dive into character.
Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the advanced copy. All thoughts are my own.

Perfect holiday book in my opinion! Finn was so loveable and the writing was really funny! Really loved!

I had another friend that read this and didn't enjoy it as much as me, but I found it to be a quick and fun read! I definitely recommend checking it out if it sounds interesting to you.

If you love fake dating tropes, this is the one for you!!!

I spent the whole book guessing what the drama with her sister was and honestly, the author did a perfect misdirect to throw me off the trail because I thought I had it figured out!

This was so cute and had the perfect HEA!

Juliana Smith’s Baggage claim is my tenth Christmas/ holiday read of this year. It is a true 4 star read. Smith delivers everything you could ever want and more from a holiday romance.

We all enter relationship with some sort of baggage. Our deepest fears if we are being honest, is that “our person” won’t be able to accept or understand said baggage. This book beautifully captures how fragile and vulnerable new love is. But, when we find the right person, they are able to overlook it and provide us with unconditional love.

I thoroughly enjoy this book! The following are some of my favorite aspects:
-grumpy/sunshine trope (but female is the grump)
-realistic look at family, love, and how we internalize rejection.
- disordered eating was handled perfectly (little to no triggering).

Special thanks to NetGalley and Paperback books for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

4/5 stars

I really really enjoyed this book! Olive and Finn are such unique and fun characters. The airplane scene at the beginning is hilarious and can totally picture this happening. Olive's growth from the beginning to the end is amazing and I'm so glad Finn was there for it all.

You would like this book if you like:
-fake dating
-enemies to lovers
-Christmas dates
-grumpy/sunshine
-Aspen, CO
-complex family dynamics.

Such a great Holiday rom com with depth and amazing side characters!

Smith’s writing style is right up my alley. I was sucked into the book immediately because of this. However, Finn was not a likable character for me. Immediately he calls the flight attendant “honey” and I was like nope already don’t care for him. Because of this I didn’t enjoy the book as much as I think I would’ve had his character been toned down a bit.

We’ve got a grumpy, beautiful podcast editor, Olive, who’s on her way to visit her family in Aspen after not visiting for 3 years (for a mysterious reason) who meets a hottie ski instructor, Finn, who’s on his way home to Aspen from visiting his family in Florida. Olive is clearly dreading reuniting with her family and reveals that she may or may not have told them she had a boyfriend she was bringing. Finn, of course, offers to be her pretend boyfriend for the visit. Olive denies, but when she’s drowning in family drama at dinner the first night Finn comes to the rescue anyway.

This was such an adorable and unputdownable (is that a word?) cozy, Christmas romcom read. I really felt the chemistry between Olive and Finn and loved that we got both point of views. The chapters were bite-sized which really made you want to keep reading. If you’re looking for a sweet, funny, Hallmark Christmas movie vibes story with a mild third act breakup, this one is for you!

I received this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. ARC provided by Xpresso Book Tours and Juliana Smith.

Adorable & sweet rom-com! Olive is heading home for Christmas to Colorado for the first time in years. She told her family she was bringing her new boyfriend home with her; however she doesn’t have a boyfriend. Enter Finn…who is a sexy ski instructor who sits next to her on the plane. The two hit it off & agree that Finn will pretend to be her boyfriend over the holidays. However the more time they spend together, the more they both seem to be falling for each other. But Olive’s past with her family is tricky, and things get complicated. LOVED this holiday romance! Sweet & adorable! Highly recommend! Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for this ARC!