I adored this book! It was the perfect, fluffy Christmas read. It gave fake dating and the grumpy/sunshine dynamic, where she was grumpy and he was sunshine. I couldn’t put this book down! The dynamic between Olive and Finn was engaging and fun to read. This is my new favorite holiday read.

I received an EArc copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I thought that this was a cute little Christmas romance. Finn was my favorite character in this story. He was so funny and confident. I love his little smart ass attitude. He really made this story. I liked Olive too, but her character just didn't strike me the same way that Finn's did. The storyline was really cute. I love how Finn gave Olive the 12 days of Christmas. I do wish there was some more spice in this. It was pretty tame in that area. Overall, I enjoyed it!

Aside from a few nice moments (my heart grew three sizes when Finn quoted 'It's A Wonderful Life' to Olive), I didn't like the book and my main complaints are

a. The love interest is creepy and weirdly forceful about fake-dating a stranger. How am I to root for someone who repeatedly thinks things like, "what she didn't know is that I don't let up easily" and "this girl...she has no idea what's about to hit her." He does get less creepy as the book goes on but never likable.

b. The book treats the main conflict as a mystery, teasing it until the end, when really it's quite obvious. And then once the details are finally revealed, it's somehow even worse than I was expecting.

c. The protagonist's body image issues are shallowly written and abruptly resolved. If you're not gonna really write it, then don't write it.

This is a super cute closed door romance that takes place in Aspen around Christmas time. So the atmosphere is perfectly snowy for this time of year. I really enjoyed following Finn and Olive as they got to know each other and eventually fell in love. The way that they met was interesting and their banter kept me chuckling. I also really loved how kind and gentle Finn was with her.

One part of this book that didn’t work for me was the big reveal. While it’s pretty obvious what the author is alluding to during most of the book, I did find one aspect of it just too unbelievable. Did I expect that Sarah and Logan had cheated together? Yes. But after one night of meeting, they were caught sleeping together? That’s a bit unbelievable to me. I was also angry to read how the family handled the situation ( which I believe was the authors intention) and was glad to see Finns outrage at not just Logan but also the families treatment of Olive.

Overall a great story that I really enjoyed! Also, the cover is perfection.

First of all, the cover.. amazing!

Second of all.. fake dating? Another plus!

And to top it off, it is a holiday book? Amazing.
I think that it was a cute romance that I did enjoy and would recommend to my friends. It has all the right tropes for a fake dating romance. Loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley, and author, Juliana Smith, for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.If you love fake dating pick up this book now! Baggage Claim was recently released on November 24th and is available on Kindle Unlimited. I lovvvveed the romance in this cure holiday romance. The best character is Finn Beckett - he just makes your heart swoon. Olive and Finn are a perfect match and thus have fabulous chemistry. The cons of the book were the uncomfortable family relationship, but many people can relate to Olive's struggles with a strained family relationship. Be warned there is are body image, eating disorders and cheating sub-plot. I will definitely be checking out Smith's other works!

Such a cute holiday read!!

I loved how it was dual POV chapters going from Olive to Finn, Finn’s POV made everything better!

I wished there was more to it though, although I’ve signed up to Juliana’s email newsletter to get the extended epilogue of 12 days of Christmas a year later!

I loved the fake dating trope and I loved the whole “met on a plane” storyline! I cried my eyes out when Finn was so heartless and broke it off with her! But cried again in joy when he joined her on the plane!

I would honestly say that this is a cheesy, predictable Christmas novel, but in all the best ways. My only ick is that the dreaded HP was mentioned…multiple times, and each time, my eye roll got bigger.

Baggage Claim by Juliana Smith

Published on Nov.26.22


Synopsis:

Olive Moore has been avoiding her hometown for three years now. But a phone call with her mom has her agreeing to spend the holidays back home with her family, she lets it slip she will be bringing a boyfriend with her. The only problem with that is she has no boyfriend. That is until she meets a handsome—albeit annoying—stranger on the plane who makes her an offer she can’t refuse.
Finn Beckett has always had good luck, as demonstrated by the gorgeous blonde he’s seated next to on a flight to Aspen. One drink too many leads to Olive spilling her problems in his lap, and he feels compelled to help. So he makes her an offer: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend to keep her family off her back and make this the best Christmas ever.
Olive and Finn spend the next two weeks going on spirit-filled Christmas dates with her family. Their ruse is working perfectly, but Finn can’t help but notice Olive is holding something back. Something that could ruin everything.
Their relationship may have taken off smoothly, but with all this turbulence, will they ever make it to baggage claim?



My thoughts:

I want to start off by saying I was interested in the family dynamics in this story. The strain relationship olive had with her family had me wanting to read till the end to see what happened and why it affected her life in such a huge way.


I was so so disappointed when I noticed her family was more focused on her moving on rather than Sarah making things right. I felt like I couldn’t relate to these characters and how they handled the betrayal Sarah did, I couldn’t understand how the family was embracing Sarah and her husband like it was just normal.


Finn is swoon whether, such a sweet heart and olive deserves him and all the sweetness that comes with being around him.

All in all I would recommend this read to anyone who’s into:

- [ ] Fake dating
- [ ] Skiing
- [ ] Christmas vibes


My rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

❄️ Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐,4/5 (rounded up to 5⭐ here)

❄️ FAV QUOTE: "If there’s something you can’t control, it’s because you weren’t meant to control it. All we can do is manage how we react to what inevitable pain life brings us.”

❄️ REVIEW:
I'll admit I usually don't read a lot of Christmasy books (this is my second one tbh), but come December, I watch a lot (and I do mean a lot) of Christmas movies. And let me tell you, this book is the embodiment of everything you're looking for in a Christmas film! You got the city-ish girl going home for Christmas, the tall handsome guy, the adorable characters, the snow... The cuteness of it all is wow 😍😍
I read this book in like 2 nights I think! It was such an easy and quick read, and absolutely what I needed at the time: a little pick me up in the shape of a book!
So if your idea of a winter Sunday afternoon is you, rolled in a blanket, watching a Hallmark movie, a hot cocoa and/or a cinnamon roll in your hand, then look no further, this book is definitely for you ❤️

💁🏽‍♀️ Read if you like:
❄️ Holiday Romance
❄️ Grumpy/Sunshine
❄️ Fake dating
❄️ Cinnamon roll MMC

Thank you NetGalley, and @julianasmith for this eARC in exchange for an honest review ❤️

This book was amazing! Starting off with the adorable airplane meet-cute, Olive and Finn meet on the plane to Aspen. Olive, the Grinch and Finn, the sunshine on a snowy day. The fake dating, the buildup and watching Olive break down her walls, were all so well written. It was so so good! Such a swoon worthy holiday romance. The drama was excellent to see unfold before Olive and Finn when she brought home her fake boyfriend for Christmas. Finn is dedicated to make Olive remember how Christmas is a magical time. Finn is the perfect holiday book boyfriend. Ugh I just want to pick it up and read it all again!

Juliana's writing has this way of keeping you on the edge of your seat and swooning over Finn and the romance. I could not put this book down! I highly recommend checking it out for yourself this holiday season!

Thank you, Juliana, and NetGalley for the arc copy of Baggage Claim, in exchange for my honest review!

I was offered an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Such a fun read !

After having loved I Can Fix That so much, I just couldn’t wait for Baggage Claim. Thank you so much Juliana Smith and NetGalley for letting me read this one as one of your ARCs !

Baggage Claim is a fun yet emotional snowy romance, that you won’t be able to let down once started !
Olive has been avoiding her hometown for years, fearing to see her family, especially her perfect sister, and her perfect fiancé. But when her mom calls, Olive has no other choice than booking a ticket back home, for her and her new boyfriend. After all, what is a little lie ? She’ll only have to say the man couldn’t make it. That is, until she met a handsome yet annoying man on the plane. And that was until he made an offer she just couldn’t refuse.
And that is how Olive finds herself lying to her entire family, when arriving back home with Finn, her new perfect and shiny fake boyfriend. Except there’s a shadow in Olive’s past that could threaten everything they built during this week of fake relationship …

Olive was a very inspiring protagonist. She was cute and touching, yet fierce and savvy. Though her secret wasn’t that secret, it was still interesting to see how the author chose to reach that subject. She broke my heart on multiple occasions, especially when seeing how her family tried to excuse those who did her so wrong. I just couldn’t believe anyone would react that way, when learning of such an injustice. Fortunately, she met Finn who was so perfect for her.
Finn is patient and encouraging. Kind and very altruist. He tries on many occasions to help Olive outgrow her fear of commitment, and her despise for a certain member of her family.
He is a really nice person, and he does not even realise it.

Their relationship was so cute and so funny. They started on the wrong foot, and yet, their relationship grew so much during the book. They did a lot for the other, trying new and new adventurous (or not) things in order to thank the other for … just be there. They were there for each other, supporting each other through difficult times, making each other laugh and love new things. They fell in love.
It was really a beautiful relationship, and I loved reading about them !

The author did not hesitate to talk about hard topics, such as eating disorder or adultery. That is what made Baggage Claim different from a typical Christmas romance. In fact, I would rather say Baggage Claim was a romance happening during Christmas time, than a Christmas romance !

The writing of Juliana Smith is really great. It is fluid and nice, simple without being too much, or not enough. It is what I want to read in a romance. I don’t want to read too many details, I don’t want to read pompous words, I don’t want to see the author knows a lot of vocabulary. Baggage Claim is only her second book, but I feel like she already mastered the art of holding back the attention of her readers.

Though I didn’t like Baggage Claim as much as I Can Fix That (it’s gonna be real hard to do better than this first book), it was certainly a ride through Aspen’s mountains.
Juliana Smith is a revelation of my 2022 reading list ! I will enjoy reading her future books a lot !

Thank you NetGalley and Xpresso Book Tours for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Olive Moore travels from West Palm to Aspen to see her family back home for Christmas after 3 years of not going back due to an incident that had her running away from home. Before finding out what happens, she meets Finn, fakes dating and has all the great christmas-related activities.

Reading Baggage Claim was fun for the most part. There are all this cozy, Christmas scenes that do put you in the holiday spirit. A (mostly) great family that’s very united and caring.

Now, for the lack of stars… I’d prefer if the insecurities and eating disorders were deleted from this book. They are not needed for the plot and drama. However, when this personal challenges are included i’d like to see the characters reaching out for help, therapy, family helping out (or at least notice something). Considering Christmas is coming, reading about eating disorders by avoid having a slice of pie or eating your mom’s freshly backed pancakes (bc they’re your favorite) is a big trigger for me.

Half-way in, the plot “twist” is very obvious, which is ok if the ending delivers some great communication and working out of past traumas. This was not delivered and so I started liking this book and over the course of reading it I kept losing stars.

This book would’ve been a better suit for young adult book because of the nature of the scenes. There is really no intimacy and the brief discussions on sex could’ve been avoided since there are no actual sex scenes.

I gave it a chance because of the Hallmark romance vibes but I couldn’t overlook the eating disorders and lack of therapy and communication. Wouldn’t recommend.

⭐️ rating: 4 STARS ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 genre: romance, holiday romance
🔥 steam: PG - closed door
tropes: fake dating, instalove

This was such a fun read! I loved the 12 Days of Finn and how much he tried to make Olive find her love for Christmas again. I liked all the little references (it was like reading an episode of Gilmore Girls). I loved that I could practically feel the cold in Aspen. Olive's family was a lot of fun - it made me wish my family had more holiday traditions growing up (but there's always time with my own little ones)!

I did see the "twist" coming - but I enjoyed that the twist made the instalove a little bit more believable all around!

Smith did an amazing job bringing the city and the holiday to life. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Yikes….this book sounded good in theory, but in reality it was just not good. The best thing about the book is the cover. Maybe it’s just because the last few books I read were so good, but the writing quality of this book is just generally bad. It’s started off super cheesy and if this wasn’t an eARC, I would have stopped reading after the first couple chapters.
Neither of the main characters, but especially Finn are largely unlikeable. It talks incessantly in his chapters about how much of a ladies man (until he met Olive, of course), how everyone loves him, how he charms everyone he meets, etc. He is sweet to Olive, which redeems him a bit.
There really should be trigger warnings regarding eating disorders and cheating. It hinted at Olive’s eating disorder several times towards the beginning then completely drops it until the tail end.
There were several errors in logic; for example, it mentions they’ll go to a movie where they serve dinner, but a minute later says they’ll go to dinner afterward, then even later it just doesn’t mention them having dinner at all. The book mentions Olive is around 5’5”, then later Finn talks about how tiny she is standing in front of him in her heels (which considering how it describes how Olive dresses are probably 4 inch heels) and he’s only 6’2” (tall, but not that tall).
Similarly it mentions several times in different ways that she is tiny (but still curvy!) and he is huge (even though he is 6’2” and expressly says at one point that he’s not that muscular). I hate when the FMC is incessantly described as tiny/small/etc.
The airline they fly in the beginning is supposedly super cheap but has in flight entertainment and eye masks?
Finn gets angry with Olive because she didn’t tell someone she’d known A WEEK her most traumatic secret? Also….they fall in love in a week and he thinks she’s the most amazing person in the world when she wasn’t even fully acting like herself for the short time he’s known her?
The sister and her husband ACTUALLY say they fell in AT LITERAL FIRST SIGHT and try to excuse their behavior because of it? They’re not animals…even though they’re fairly young they should have the ability to exercise just a tiny amount of self control. It’s crazy they would ever expect forgiveness for her seeing what they were up to THE SAME DAY THEY MET. At least towards the end Olive admits she may never be able to forgive them.
Oh- and a small but annoying thing was the mention of playing 20 questions. I don’t think the author actually knows what 20 questions is (when you’re thinking of an object and the other person has 20 yes or no questions to figure out what it is). The description in the book is something completely different.
Overall there were just so many yikes aspects to this book. If it had been better written and edited, it would have had a chance to be something really good.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

" But Olive didn’t seem to care. She’s managed to look past all that to the real me. She didn’t see a shameless floor or a random guy to have fun with, she saw so much more than that, and I wanted to worship her for it. “

I really enjoyed this book! It had such a winter-y feel to it and totally put me in the holiday spirits! I loved Finn! He was so sweet and caring of Olive! I loved that he had this bouncy sort of fun energy to him while at the same time could be serious. He cared so much about Olive and how she was feeling with all the stress of going back to her family for the holidays. It was adorable! Olive is a bit of a Christmas grinch in this romance and Finn decides to show Olive all the joys of Christmas and that time of year. He makes a plan for 12 days of Christmas fun! It was so cute reading all the things he does with Olive. While I loved everything about Oliveand Finn’s romance, I did not like Olive’s fight with her sister. I found Olive too forgiving of what her sister did and I would’ve not been okay to be back with her. Overall though this romance is a great one and I can look over that little aspect!

Read if you like:
Dual POVs
Christmas romance
Fake dating
Reverse Grump x Sunshine
Closed door romance
Cinnamon roll hero
A bit of family drama

Synopsis: After years of avoiding home, Olive ventures to her hometown for Christmas, but in a panic to stop her family from worrying about her, she tells them that she has a boyfriend that will be coming. When a handsome annoying stranger sits next to her on the plane with an offer to help, Olive is tumbled into a festive romantic-filled 2-weeks. But there is a reason Olive has been avoiding home, and with secrets threatening to throw them into chaos, will the relationship be able to handle the baggage?

This was such a joy- It's short, sweet, and very festive! This is a perfect read to pick up while sitting next to a cozy fire, drinking hot chocolate! While I did find it predictable, it was still a fun and cheerful read!

Read this if you want:
-Christmas Vibes
-Fun and cheery read
-Fake Dating
-Family Dysfunction/Secrets

Thank you Netgalley and Juliana Smith for gifting me a copy in exchange for my honest review!

I liked the fake dating and reverse grumpy/sunshine trope. I especially loved that the MMC is all about the holidays! I thought the storyline was cute and the festive dates were a very fun addition.
But the romance wasn’t quite believable for me. I loved it in the end, but didn’t bit into it in the beginning or even through most of the book. The drama, which isn’t addressed until the very end of the book, is obvious from the beginning. I think I would have liked it more if it wasn’t kept a “Secret” from the reader for the majority of the book.
Overall, I had a few little irritations, but it was a fun, festive read that I didn’t want to put down!

I gave Baggage Claim a 5 out of 5 for the following: relatable characters with chemistry, smooth and entertaining commentary, suspense with the plot, and descriptive writing from the author.

To start off my Christmas reads I was glad I received a copy of Baggage Claim !
Fake Dating
Forced Proximity

Olivia hasn’t returned to her hometown in 3 years ever since she had a conflict with her sister. Her mom finally convinced her and Olivia isn’t excited to be heading back. On the airplane ride she meets Finn and he volunteers to be her fake bf for the trip. This is a grumpy / sunshine and she’s the grumpy one & he calls her Grinchy 🥰 awh my heart! The twist didn’t sit right with me but I seen it coming!

If you need a quick holiday read this is the one for you!