I had really high hopes for this! The premise is cute and it has all the makings of a fun holiday read but in the end just fell really short for me. My biggest problem is that the POV characters sounded too similar. I got mixed up with whose POV I was in and that's a reading red flag for me. I'm very picky about first person so it could just be me. I also wasn't feeling particularly invested in any of the characters. For a story with a lot of inherent emotion, there wasn't a whole lot of emotion on the page. This isn't bad, just really not for me.

The lead up to Christmas is one of my favorite times of the year! The weather is cozy, you're coming off that turkey or tofu turkey glow and feeling thankful after Thanksgiving. One of my favorite thing to do starting December 1st was to watch Christmas movies with my cousin. She absolutely loved the Hallmark channel but I loved movies with a little more..substance and drama! This book reminded me of the perfect blend of Elf and Love Actually. It really gets you into the holiday spirit but also centers around friendship, love, and has that substance.

There is a friend group that reminded me so much of my friends from college. Hannah and Finn meet in their freshman year. I related to and had some much in common with Hannah. She is a Jersey girly and loves music, the movie Garden State, and read Goosebumps as a kid. She is also fiercely loyal and quite the worrier. Finn loves fantasy novels and the tv show Parks and Rec and is a bleeding heart. They both are alone on Christmas and come together to celebrate every year. Later on they meet Priya and Theo and their holiday adventures become more outrageous!

While this book revolves around this quirky and endearing friend group celebrating Christmas each year, there are more deeply layered themes surrounding found family and how friendship can change over time. I really can relate to this and to be honest, struggled a lot like Hannah.

“Lately it feels like we have so much less time for each other. It used to be a given that the four of us would spend our weekends together. We didn’t need restaurant reservations or concert tickets to bind us to a date and time. If we didn't have something to do, we’d find something to do. But now it takes thirty emails and a Google Calendar invite each month in advance to lock in a date, and even then there’s a fifty percent chance at least one person bails.”

Like Hannah, Finn, Theo, and Priya, I spent nearly every day with my friends from college and my early twenties. They were more than just my friends, a lot of them have become my family. As we have gotten older and life has become more complicated, the shift of time spent and getting together every day has changed. I think so many people go through these changes and I love the way Freeman explores this. I also really enjoyed her writing style.

There is so much funny banter, alternative points of view, and a non-linear timeline that really keeps you laughing and invested in the story. I also loved all of the pop-culture and music references. Freeman also explores sexual identity and grief in a relatable way. There were so many sweet and funny and also more serious and heartfelt moments in this amazing book!

If you’re looking to get into the holiday spirit with a little more depth than a Hallmark movie, this one is perfect and one I highly recommend!

Also I did not know Becca Freeman has a podcast, Bad on Paper, but I do now and WOW! I started listening on my way into work today and I now can't wait for Becca and her co-host Olivia Muenter to become part of my daily routine!

I heard about this book because i’ve been a listener of the bad on paper podcast for a few years. This book did NOT disappointment, had me smiling throughout and it was a pure delight to read.

As a huge fan of Bad On Paper podcast, I have been not-so-patiently waiting to read co-host Becca Freeman's debut novel. I was truly blown away by the humor, warmth, and brilliant writing. Becca is tremendously talented and I will be gifting this book to many friends this holiday season and beyond, as well as counting down the days to her next book's release.

5 Stars

I loved this book so much!

Becca Freeman truly had me at 14% when she mentioned Konstantine by Something Corporate which was the hyperfixation of my adolescence. And the great references didn’t end there! A Ben Affleck/Dunkin reference had me cackling through my welled up eyes because it was during a very climatic moment. I want to be her friend and need to check out her podcast ASAP.

The Christmas Orphans Club was a sweet story about growing up and friendship with humor, romance & grief all mixed in. I loved Hannah, Finn, Theo, Priya & David so much. I also feel like this would make a really good movie.

Thank you to Net Galley & Penguin Group for the ARC of The Christmas Orphans Club in exchange for an honest review!

This was cute and would be a great read while traveling for the upcoming November and December holidays. Most of the characters were pretty unlikeable - Finn reminded me of someone I know who drives me crazy, Hannah was extremely single-minded and self-absorbed (although I think she just really needs some therapy) - but their flaws made them all more realistic.

I don’t always love timeline jumps, but I think it worked for this book. I also didn’t need as many references to specific songs and pop culture pieces as there were, but I can see why most other readers would enjoy that.

Overall I liked this book, but I don’t think I would read it again. I hope to read more by this author, though!

Congratulations to Becca Freeman on her debut novel, The christmas Orphans Club. Add this to your list of Christmas reads for 2023. It's a story of friendship, family, and romance. Best friends Hanna and finn have spent every Christmas together since they were both alone on campus in college. They have made fun traditions and memories and over the years added two other friends, Priya and Theo to the mix. However, this year might be their last Christmas together and Hanna insists it must be the best one yet.

Expected publication date is September 26, 2023.

Thank you to Penguin Books and Netgalley for the electronic advanced copy.

I really loved this book! The writing was great--witty, thoughtful, and just fun to read. It was a realistic story about how friendships evolve, and had so much heart present throughout. The combination of the story being told from two viewpoints and the timeline jumping worked really well; it kept me wanting to continue to the next chapter and overall gave a full picture of the group's dynamic. I laughed and cried and really enjoyed the ride. Will read anything Becca writes in the future!

I love stories about groups of friends. Throw in friends from all walks of life, and you got a page turner. Alternating chapters where we get to know each friend on their own is icing on the cake. Their traditional Christmas together, and how hard they tried to keep the traditions alive while their lives go in different directions.

The story does start to drag in the middle, but picks up in the end. Overall a cute story.

I picked up The Christmas Orphans Club as a Bad on Paper listener, who was excited to read the book Becca's talked about for a while. It had an interesting premise but it had a bit too much going on for me. Though it gave us some background, I didn't feel that the jump between timelines was necessary. I was also disappointed by the multiple uses of the word "lame" to mean uncool. I did find some of the characters and situations relatable.

I have been a fan of Becca Freeman’s since the inception of the Bad On Paper Podcast and became a fan of her writing after listening to the fiction podcasts Rom Com Pods and Bone Marry Burry. In her podcasts, Freeman employed plot beats and witty dialogue expertly, and I was excited to see how that would translate to a long form novel. The Christmas Orphans Club highlights Freeman’s distinct voice and shows how seamlessly she can shift between mediums.

The Christmas Orphans Club follows a group of friends in New York City across a decade’s worth of holiday celebrations. It’s told in a non-linear format which worked due to Freeman’s ability to cement readers in each time period using clothing descriptions, music selections, and hilarious pop culture indicators. Many of the analogies and metaphors were laugh out loud funny, and there were a plethora of Easter eggs for loyal BOP listeners.

Main characters Hannah, Finn, Theo, and Priya are the beating heart of this story and I became smitten with all four of them. This is not a romance, though there are romantic moments intertwined. This is a touching story about chosen family and fierce platonic love. Despite the plot involving Christmas traditions, this novel didn’t emphasize the holiday as much as it did carving out space and time for your loved ones. It was a truly delightful book that has me excited to see what Freeman will give us next.

Thank you to Penguin Books, Penguin Group, and NetGalley for providing me with this e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As a listener of Bad on Paper, I will read anything Becca writes! I thought this story had a wonderful message behind it and could find little similarities between myself and many of the characters. However, I did find a few lulls throughout the book between the long chapters and stories of past Christmases that just seemed to be there to build history. Overall, it's a touching friendship story and has a ton of great references that millennials will love. Can't wait to read what Becca writes next!

I'm a huge fan of the Bad on Paper podcast - and of Becca Freeman - so have followed along on her journey of writing this book with great interest and excitement. Of course I pre-ordered a hard copy of the book, but was thrilled to get an advance copy of the book from NetGalley so I didn't have to wait. Enjoyed this thoroughly - the best combination of witty and heartfelt - the story of 4 friends who have become each others' chosen family and their enduring tradition of celebrating Christmas together - and what may be their last Christmas as one of them is leaving NY for a new job in LA. Loved it!

This is not a romance so don’t go into it expecting one. Also this isn’t really about Christmas, everything just happens on Christmas day in the past and in the weeks leading up to Christmas in the present.

✅ Set in NYC
✅ diverse group of friends who are family
✅ dual timelines
✅ genuinely funny
✅ Harry Styles easter egg. A+ pop culture references (which double as the most delightful easter eggs if you’re also a Bad on Paper podcast listener)

Reading this book will make you nostalgic for all your friends you haven’t talked to in a while 🥰 This is a big, cozy hug of a book.

Becca Freeman has knocked it out of the park with her debut novel! The Christmas Orphans Club was everything you want to read in a holiday book! Hannah and Finn started a Christmas tradition in college when they realized neither had a family to celebrate the holidays with. As they move to New York City after college and their group grew to include Priya and Theo, the Christmas Orphan's Club was born and over the course of a decade they have had some amazing celebrations, and also some very hard Christmases. When Finn gets a job that's going to send him across the country Hannah is determined to make this Christmas the very best one yet! Told by both Hannah and Finn over the course of 10 Christmases you will absolutely fall in love with this quarter of "orphans." I finished reading a few hours ago and I miss them already!

This was such a fun chosen family story! I loved the focus on friendship and the complexity of a friend group rather then just two friends. I thought this was a really interesting premise that isn't often explored. The characters were all fun, unique and diverse. I do wish Priya had a bit more depth. I felt like she was on the periphery of the group compared to the other characters. I also had a difficult time relating to Hannah because she seemed a little whiney and naive to me. I did appreciate her growth and her epiphany moments at the end but she was difficult to connect with early on.
I loved the flashback to past Christmas' and the dual voices because it created a really comprehensive story. I love understanding characters in the past because it allows me to better connect with them in the present.
Overall, a delightful, heartwarming holiday read for anyone looking for a book about friendship

I loved this chosen family story, including the shifting timelines. I am in my thirties and enjoyed the changing friendships and all the pop culture references that line up with my experience. A perfect Christmas read!

Oh.my.god. This book is DELIGHTFUL. I am a loyal BOP listener and was so so excited to grab an ARC- I have loved the behind the scenes look into the book writing process and it is such a treat to get to read the finished product. Right from the beginning I was sucked into the friend group. The NYC landmarks really make you feel as if you're there and the book wasn't "too Christmasy" that I felt weird reading it in September. I love a book truly about friendship; it is so difficult to find a book that isn't secretly a romance in disguise (although there is some love in here). 5 stars and I cannot wait to see what Becca does next. Review will be posted on Amazon on pub day!! Thank you a million for the galley.

The premise of this book sounded great. This book came highly recommended by several book friends who have read and loved it. Unfortunately, this missed the mark for me. I just wasn't interested in the characters or the back stories, their drama, etc. Maybe it's the introvert in me, I'm not sure. This just wasn't a book for me. It has nothing to do with the author or even the writing style. I may try it on audio eventually. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this e-ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

Full disclosure I have been listening to the podcast Bad on Paper since almost the beginning, and I've enjoyed getting to know Becca through the podcast and following her on Instagram. I figured I would solidly like this book, but I was blown away by just how much I loved it, especially the characters at the center of the novel, Hannah and Finn. I was struggling with how to describe this to people because it's not a romance, but there are some romance elements (which I think are well done but not spicy, it's very closed door) it's really more of novel about a group of friends, featuring one of my favorite things -- good banter.

I really liked the back and forth timelines between the present and past Christmases, and I loved the focus on found families, navigating the holidays as "orphans" and celebrating and making your own traditions. As the member of a friend group most likely to try and start an annual tradition, and the one that will want to cling to any tradition the most I really related to Hannah's struggle to think through the foursome's Christmas traditions in light of changes in their lives. Once I stopped I could not put this down and had to finish it immediately because I was so wrapped up in it. Would be a perfect Thanksgiving/December read and I highly recommend it!

Many thanks to NetGalley, I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.