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.

Hannah and Finn have spent every Christmas together since college. Their tradition of offbeat holiday adventures only grows more outrageous with time. When they move to NYC, they add Priya and Theo to the group. This Christmas may be their last - Finn is moving to LA, and Hannah is terrified of losing the family she’s built for herself, even as her boyfriend nudges her toward commitment.

I really enjoyed this! I listened to the audiobook, and I would recommend it. It’s not a true romance - it’s about friends who become family. This is a Christmas book with all the holiday spirit and none of the Hallmark movie cheesiness.

I snagged an early copy of this book thanks to the Bad on Paper Facebook group!
Initially I grabbed it because I was excited to support a first time author and have been loving an easy uplifting read. However, this book really surprised me! It has everything you could hope for — romance, friendship, self-discovery, and NYC holiday bliss. It is a sweet story and I see so much of my own friends in each of these characters. Totally an enjoyable read and made a wonderful Christmas in July.

This book was so fun! I loved seeing a glimpse into these friendships and how they evolved over the years. I also was delighted to read the inside gems from Becca sprinkled throughout the book. I can’t wait to see what she writes next.

The Christmas Orphans Club is the perfect book to cozy up with around a warm fire and your Christmas tree. While it's not a tried and true romance, the romantic elements of the story bring our main characters, Hannah and Finn, to life. Having lost their respective families, Hannah and Finn create a family of their own.

The Christmas Orphans Club explores the nuances of found family, lost love, and Christmas cheer. Set in a wintery New York City, the four friends find that even in life's ups and downs, love of all shapes can flourish.

As a longtime fan of @badonpaperpodcast (as in a day 1, episode 1 fan!), I’ve been dying to get my hands on a copy of THE CHRISTMAS ORPHANS CLUB. I’ve loved listening to Becca talk about the writing process. Although an ARC landed on my Kindle back in July, I wanted to wait to savor all of the holiday goodness.

Once the clock struck December, I knew it was CHRISTMAS ORPHANS CLUB time. I devoured about 75% of this book in just one sitting on a rainy Sunday with the yule log going in the background and every single Christmas light in my apartment lit up because that’s the ambiance that my new favorite Christmas book deserves.

I know everyone (including myself) keeps calling this a Christmas book, but it’s honestly SO much more than that. It’s a book about friendship and found family and growing up and figuring out who you are, which are pretty much all literary buzzwords for me.

Hannah and Finn, Christmas orphans, have spent every holiday together since college. Hannah’s parents tragically died, while Finn’s disowned him when he came out. Now, as adults in New York City, they’ve expanded their Christmas orphans club to include Theo and Priya. Every year, the group spends Christmas Day getting into one legendary adventure after the next. When Finn gets a job in Los Angeles, Hannah is determined to make this final holiday the best yet.

When I tell y’all I adored this — I ADORED IT. It’s a Christmas book that feels seasonal but not cloying, sweet but with the perfect dose of sass. This book is littered with pop culture references that felt like they came out of my own brain, and is truly a love letter to New York City over the holidays, the greatest place on earth during the most magical time of the year.

Where this book truly shines is in the HEART. These characters are grappling with some heavy things and the balance of humor and thoughtful commentary on growing up and moving on was pitch-perfect. A Christmas miracle, honestly. This is a book that NEEDS to be made into a Christmas movie because I need some holiday viewing that doesn’t feel like a sugar plum fairy threw up all over it.

Obviously, I LOVED. Have you read this yet? If not, get on it!

This is one of the most wonderful, Christmas books I have read in awhile. It is about the people in our lives we love, about chosen family, losing family, and reconnecting with family. It was refreshing to read a novel about friendship and maintaining friendship while growing up and finding love. What happens when your best friend gets a job across the country? How do you keep up traditions, and adopt new ones?

This book felt so much like real life, I had so much empathy with the characters. Their worries, dreams, passions were so palpable and relatable. And like life, all of the conflicts, the concerns are resolved when everyone communicates.

If you are looking for a Christmas-y story that's not a romance, but still fairly light, I highly recommend The Christmas Orphans Club.

I already liked Becca Freeman, and her first book didn't disappoint. This book was a charming read exploring friendship and the shifting that occurs as we age and look at our priorities. I can't wait to read her next book!

Offers a heartwarming and unique premise and is a cozy holiday read.

On the positive side, the portrayal of the holiday spirit is vivid and engaging. The theme of community and belonging is strong.

However, the book fails is in its character development. Despite potential, many of the characters feel underdeveloped at the expense of cutesy references to time and place. While the novel attempts to tackle loss, grief, and redemption, it often does so as an afterthought, and fails to bring the reader closer to the characters.

The sweetest, most precious Christmas book there ever was! No notes. It was perfect. Five jingle bells. Not a bit of smut-bit I still loved it!

Thank you to Penguin Random House for an advanced copy of this book.

Overall, "The Christmas Orphans Club" fell flat for me- perhaps it was the hype I experienced around it and the corresponding high expectations I developed before I read it....I was frankly annoyed with the characters' dialogue and the lack of their development. I appreciated the fun tour of Christmas in New York, but it wasn't enough to keep me hooked- a key ingredient in an enjoyable holiday read. I rate this read a 2/5 for unlikeable characters and flat development.

This was such a cute Christmassy read, and I’m hoping we get to see more of these characters! The friendship felt real and the stakes really hit home.