A cozy, warm read perfect for Christmas! This book was such a delight. I loved all of the characters and their holiday traditions. This book felt like a big hug.

I am a huge fan of Becca's from her podcast "Bad on Paper" 0 this book was a treat!! This book makes my heart happy. Friendship, love, hilarious hijinks, it’s all there. The story unfolds through rotating timeframes and POVs, not necessarily linearly, but in a way that makes perfect sense. I don’t want to give any plot points away, but if you want a feel good holiday story, this is it. SO GOOD!

The Christmas Orphans Club by Becca Freeman. Pub Date: September 26, 2023. Rating: 3 stars. This novel centers around Christmas traditions of 4 people who are a "found family." This novel was packed with emotion, friendship, support and the lesson that your family does not have to be blood related to matter. I liked this novel, but did not love it. Thanks to #netgalley and #penguingroup for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

I've been hearing about Becca's book for ages on the Bad on Paper podcast and was excited to finally read it.
I was glad to see a story mostly centered on friendship and set in New York City, so rom-com adjacent but without the romance focus which I often find cheesy.
Much like in Meant to Be Mine by Hannah Orenstein, I enjoyed all the NYC references and liked that although this is certainly a Christmas-themed book, it didn't go overboard. I also found it satisfying that when the main character was being illogical or annoying, the other characters weren't shy about setting her straight. The romance aspect was sweet and I found it fun to piece together the drama that severed the friend group during the most recent Christmases, as the timeline is non-linear. My only wish is that I wanted more time getting to know each character to truly feel the magnitude of the 10-year time span of the tradition, and feel more connected to the success of some of the B plots like Hannah's music passion and career growth and Priya's connection to Christmas despite not growing up celebrating the holiday. I can see myself easily returning to this as a comfort read next holiday season, or even for Christmas in July!

I love a found family story!! I appreciate that this was a solid holiday book without being "just a romance". I'm a huge romance person, but it's a nice break to read more about friendships and growth as we grow up. Can't wait to read Becca's next book!

4.25 stars overall

This was an entertaining and sometimes sad story of found family during the holidays. And truth be told the holidays always seem like the saddest time of year for some. The core group of MCs Hannah, Finn, Priya, and Theo were a fun bunch. Hannah was def self obsessed at times and really didn't take interest in her friends lives if it wasn't around their annual Christmas tradition of getting together. Throughout the entire story I felt like I was going to be upset if Finn and Theo never crossed the line and took their relationship from friends to something more. CLEARLY they both wanted each other badly! No matter what these four supported each other through the good times and bad and that's what life is all about. I do wish the epilogue was slightly longer but I was still happy seeing the 4 of them months down the line. Def a good book to add to your holiday tbr. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5⭐️

This was a sweet, touching and often times very hilarious “found family” story. There were so many fun pop culture references that made me nostalgic for my college days (oh Limewire, I loved you!) and classic Christmas fun too. Each of the 4 friends had such lively and unique personalities and it was fun getting to know each of them. This would have been a solid 4-4.5 star read except that the first 50% of the book fell flat for me. Normally I love a book that jumps in time, but this one felt a little too choppy. So many different things were happening that I wasn’t able to connect with the characters very well until the second half. All in all, I really enjoyed this one and it made for a very enjoyable Christmas read!

Thanks to Penguin Books for the gifted book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sweet book, more focused on friendship and family than romance, which I appreciated. Not perfect, but great for Christmastime.

Such a heartwarming, sweet Christmas read!

I loved learning about these 4. I wish we'd all all POV but the 2 we did get were wonderful. The back and forth timelines took a minute to adjust to but then it was needed in order to get the whole story out. I did love the dinner - can you imagine all the food and wrappers?! I loved it!

Just what I'd wanted in a winter read!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I loved this holiday book that had more than the usual amount of depth. It's a testament to the power of found family and the power of that love.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

This was a good Christmas book!! Had a bit of everything and easy to read. I love books like this between heavier one. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher!

Like a warm hug - an absolutely delightful edition to the Christmas canon! Just the right amount of cozy - plenty to love between friendship dynamics, NYC exploration, and a touch of romance.

The sweetest and hilarious found family Christmas story by one of the co-hosts of my favorite podcast, @badonpaperpodcast. This book was truly laugh out loud funny! I adored all of the characters in the book and their holiday tradition that they started together. There is so much to love about this book. I'm a sucker for a multiple POV and timeline novel, and this one is executed so well. Also, Christmas in NYC? Hard yes. Found family? Hard yes. A great romance B plot? Also a hard yes. I loved this fresh Christmas book with a focus on friendship. Highly recommend for someone wanting a holiday book but something different than the traditional romcom.

This book was just the perfect read to get me into the Christmas spirit. How all of these friends still get together to celebrate eachother time after time. It really makes you want to call up your college buddies just to tell them that you miss them.

What a delightful book! I love that it was not the typical cheesy hallmark-type christmas book that we come to expect. It had a lot more depth and I love the character growth. I think the flashbacks were used really well and the pacing of the book was well written. I felt invested in every character's story which is hard to do when you have more than one person you are following. I felt like I genuinely didn't know what direction the romances were going to go and it was a fun surprise to see how they ended up. I've already recommended this to friends and family!

It was good. I like the characters and the book but I expected more. There was a lot of build up and the ending felt a bit flat for me.

I’ve been a long-time listener of the Bad on Paper podcast, so as soon as I heard Becca was writing a book I knew I would need to read it! I enjoyed Becca’s writing style and the friendships in this book. I can’t wait to read what she writes next!

I had reservations about Becca Freeman's The Christmas Orphans Club. Could she pull off a good holiday romance novel? Yes, yes she can. More about the romance of friendships and the ideas of found family, The Christmas Orphans Club is a wonderful way to get into the holiday spirit and makes the reader want to create new traditions of their own.

I absolutely loved this book. I’m been a huge fan of the @badonpaperpodcast for a few years and I was so excited to read @beccafreeman book as soon as she announced it. I really felt like I could have written this book myself. There were so many references that were just spot on to my own life. I went to college in Boston, moved to NYC right after, struggled to find myself in my late twenties and even dealt with the grief of losing a parent.

I love that the book was more about friendship and found family than romance. Hannah had difficult teen years after her parents both tragically die when she’s 15. She sort of raised herself with the help of a 21 yr old sister, but has no real other family. She meets Finn at Boston College during Christmas when he realizes there’s someone else alone. This is the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

The book goes on to discuss each Christmas they have and how a few more friends join their crew. I loved that the story is told a little Christmas by Christmas and it jumps around to explain different parts. I really understand Hannah’s mentality when she has a serious boyfriend and worries about leaving her “family” behind for his actual family. Each person does have some romance and I loved the grand gestures towards the end. I also like that each person had their own reason for not celebrating with their family or lack of.

The Christmas Orphan’s Club by Becca Freeman is a fun Christmas story set that focuses on the themes of friendship, tradition, and found family.

The story centers on Hannah and Finn, two friends who met in college and started spending Christmas together every year. Hannah, because her parents have passed away and her older sister has started a family of her own. And Finn, because his Dad didn’t exactly take him coming out very well and going home isn’t a desirable option.

Over the years they build on their Christmas tradition and others join the group. Priya, Hannah’s roommate who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. And then there’s Theo, a dashing and mysterious new friend who Finn wakes up next to in the morning one year on Christmas day.

There’s a lot to like about this story. Both Hannah and Finn are lovable characters, if not a little immature. I didn’t really buy them being almost thirty, or whatever age they were. Both Hannah’s relationship with David and Finn’s crush on Theo felt a little childish.

But the author makes up for it in her snappy prose (so many great pop culture references! It felt very reminiscent of Meg Cabot, another fabulous NYC author) and fun activities. I loved reading about all the Christmas activities the Christmas Orphan’s Club participated in over the years, whether it was bar crawls or escape rooms or dressing up in matching outfits or eating absurd amounts of french fries.

To me, the book felt a little disjointed at times. I would have preferred that it be only from Hannah’s point of view, and not Finns. Dividing up the story between so many characters made the story feel rushed and like I didn’t really get to know the characters all that well. Plus at the end of the story Priya points out how nobody asks her about herself, as she’s kind of the neglected friend. And it’s true of this book too. I wanted to know more about Priya and yet we got nothing.

Overall though, I really enjoyed this story. It made me happy in the way that all Christmas books and movies make me happy. It reminds me of my favorite season and how it’s fun to these times with family and friends. I enjoyed Becca Freeman’s writing style and hope to read more books from her in the future.