ALONG CAME HOLLY by #codihall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is the most sickly sweet Christmas heavy book yet and I was a sucker for it!!! You have sisters, MERRY AND HOLLY WINTERS who live in MISTLETOE where everyone makes Christmas their entire personality. I spent so much so this book just giddy laughing at these hilarious setting and circumstances. This is the ultimate enemies to lovers, and both Declan (thank god he has a normal name) and Holly can’t stand each other but also are undeniably obsessed with each other. This was such a fun read it was like the ultimate Christmas movie wrapped in smut. 10/10 must read before the season ends!!

What a sweet and sexy feel good Christmas love story! This is like a literary Hallmark movie- if Hallmark movies got a little bit spicy. Along Came Holly had all the things I wanted in a holiday read and it certainly had me full of the holiday spirit. And tropes I all adore-enemies to lovers/grumpy/sunshine contrast, the most idyllic Christmas-happy town, a lovable heroine, and all my favorite secondary characters. Declan was QUITE the Grinch, and the story moved a bit slower than the prior in the series, but I adored Holly, and I'm just obsessed with all things in Mistletoe. We have lots of banter and flirting, tons of Christmas fun, a bit of spice, and great townsfolk, all for a a great holiday, festive read!

Along Came Holly by Codi Hall is the third in the Mistletoe, Idaho series and features the remaining single Winters sibling, Holly. Holly runs a successful Youtube/TikTok where she has an Adventure Elf persona. She does all kinds of daring things and has become internet famous for it. She also runs a year round Seasonal Shop in downtown Mistletoe. However, her shop is right next to Declan Gallagher’s hardware store. Declan is a grumpy lumberjack looking type. So, of course, he clashes with Holly. But as you may remember from seeing him in the other two books of this series, there’s a definite spark there.

I am such a fan of the grumpy sunshine trope. There’s for sure more to Declan’s story and a reason why he is the way that he is — granted, I am thinking that learning coping skills and processing his parents’ divorce after he graduated high school with a mental health professional could really benefit Declan. However, I liked the balance he had with Holly. I also really enjoyed reading about Holly’s pivot that she wanted to make in her social media career. It was cute! Actually, this book was really quite wholesome and not at all overwhelming with spicy scenes. There’s two, the rest of the book is plot and character development and actually building the relationship.

ON A SCALE OF ONE TO BUDDY THE ELF, HOW MUCH CHRISTMAS SPIRIT DOES ALONG CAME HOLLY BY CODI HALL HAVE?
Along Came Holly really hit that holiday need for me. There’s the Black Friday sales, Christmas yard displays, and much more. I loved how wonderful the Winters family continues to be. Hopefully we get a few more books set in this same town with maybe some of the side characters getting a starring role. I think this was a lovely ending to Hall’s trilogy. Highly recommend if you need an infusion of Christmas Spirit.

🌟🌟🌟🌟✨ (4.25/5)

I love this series so much. Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist is my fav in the series but Along Came Holly is a close 2nd. Hence my weird rating.

I loved Holly and Declan. Their chemistry ⚛️ was so much fun to watch unfold. It was grumpy sunshine to the max.

I usually strike out with Christmas reads but I really had fun with this one.

Only thing I wish were a little different is the pacing for the first like 75-80% I really liked but towards the end I wasn’t as into the story. I don’t know what happened. Maybe some of the chemistry and sexual tension abated once the conflict got resolved. The rest of the characters I wasn’t vibing with although I liked them in their own stories. I’m not really sure. So I didn’t knock my rating much for that.

Overall a solid read that I really enjoyed. So obviously I recommend it. So I’m looking forward to the next book in the series.

I love this entire series — and you can read them in any order. They’re that well written! Codi Hall writes about small town Mistletoe, Idaho, and this installment brings Holly’s story. She’s been at war with her holiday business’s neighbor, Declan, whose father owns the hardware store. He hates Christmas and she’s all things holidays— so the prank wars begin when she plays her Christmas music too loud, but it turns into fiery tension. Declan and Holly soon discover they like each other more than they let on, but can they move past Declan’s grumpy demeanor and his goal to leave Mistletoe? This is a perfect enemies to lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance where we have a wonderful cast of background characters (checking on past romances and hopefully some future ones!) and a sense of humor between Holly and Declan that’s so much fun to dive into. The spice is perfect, as is their slower burn relationship, which begins tentative but has such a satisfying ending. This author has a knack for creating solid bonds with her couples, and this is no exception— it may even be my favorite of them all! This book needs to be on your holiday reading list, or just your rom-com list! All the stars and highest recommendation from me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 -Rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -NetGalley ARC

<b> Description:</b>
Holly Winters owns the jolliest holiday shop on Main Street and this season is shaping up to be the best yet. The only pit in her figgy pudding? Declan Gallagher, the owner of the hardware store next door. He's the scroogiest man in all of Mistletoe, Idaho. Then Holly's revenge prank escalates into an all-out war with her Grinchy neighbor, and the situation turns sticky when she realizes she needs his help.

Declan can't believe the nerve of his oh-so-cheerful neighbor hiring him to set up her holiday lights display, but the money is too good to pass up. Despite his utter loathing of excessive decorations, he throws himself into getting the job done, only to encounter sabotage at every turn. To his astonishment, Declan finds himself championing the very woman who used to get under his skin. Then one rooftop kiss has him thinking maybe the season's traditions aren't as heinous as he believed. Declan's heart has grown three sizes since Holly came along, but how can he admit he's falling for the one woman he shouldn't want?

<b>What I Loved:</b>
1. Leo the Cat
2. Grumpy/Sunshine Trope
3. Dual Points of View
4. Small Town
5. Close Knit Community and Friends

<b>What I Didn’t Like:</b>
1. The Dialogue: At times it felt unrealistic and awkward. I know friends rib each other, but it felt like they didn’t know how to communicate any other way.
2. The MMC and his anger at his parents divorcing, even though he was technically an adult at the time. In my opinion it was a stupid reason for hating Christmas, especially since he had such wonderful memories.
3. The Sex. I know. I’m beating a dead horse here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks

I would give this book at 3.5/5 stars. I have read the other books in this holiday series and I think they are all just so cute! The small town and Christmas tree farm just gives it such a holiday feel! I really love the Grumpy X Sunshine characters in this book and how over time the Grump turns soft. These books by Codi Hall are perfect for a sweet holiday book, full of laughs, romance and heartwarming characters.

Loved this. So very much! Holly is a Christmas enthusiast with her own seasonal shop, which means she clashes with the grumpy Scrooge in the hardware shop next door. A delicious enemies to lovers story ensues.

Too good. The opposites attract romance was perfectly executed. I was giddy reading this and waiting for these two to fall in love because it was so effin adorable, but also very spicy?! Loved the family set up in this as well. I actually haven’t read the first two books in the series, and I so wish I had! It did not hinder my total enjoyment of this, but now I can’t wait to get around to reading them! This was just a perfect festive romance though ❤️

What to expect:

- festive feels
- grumpy x sunshine
- enemies to lovers
- forced proximity
- pretty spicy

Along came holly is a cute holiday romance. Mortal enemies with stores next to each other Holly and Declan torture each other with pranks. Laugh out loud more than once while reading and now i need to read the other two books in the story.

The cutest coziest Christmas story I read this year . It was full of everything I love. I was so happy I got this early

Book Review:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A great conclusion to The Mistletoe Romance Series!!!

Christmas is always a special time of year in Mistletoe, Idaho, especially for the Winters’ family. After two back-to-back years of Winters’ children finding love, the third and youngest sibling, Holly is the last single one standing. Focused on trying to revive her Elf persona on YouTube and keep up with her shop, she has little time for romantic relationships. But when her grumpy neighbor, Declan, starts a prank war, the line between love and hate gets blurred. Will this be the year Holly gets het happily-ever-after, or will she continue to focus on her career?

Codi Hall saved the best for last when she penned Along Came Holly. While this story focuses on Holly Winters and can be read as a standalone, it features both Nick/Noel and Merry/ Clark from the previous books. Having read the entire series, I loved getting to catch up with the characters I have come to know and love.

Where the other books featured friends-to-lovers or single parent dating, Along Came Holly is an enemies-to-lovers romance. True to the trope, Holly and Declan had amazing chemistry. Their crazy antics (ie prank war) had me either laughing out loud at their banter or dying for them to hurry up and get together.

As someone who prefers closed door romances, I was excited to see that this was the least spicy book in the series. It is a true testament to how good Hall’s writing is.

While I am sad to see The Mistletoe Romance Series comes to an end, I am happy with the way Hall wrapped it up. To quote the book, “we all found love the same time of year, in the most unexpected places. I think the holidays really are magical for us Winters.”

Special thanks to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and Codi Hall for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved Cat Cafe Christmas so I was very excited to read about book by this author. It was very cute, but I’m not sure I bought that Holly And Declan had chemistry. It fell a little flat for me.

Holly is the owner of a holiday shop and gets involved in a prank war with her scrooge of a store neighbor, Declan. But in the midst of this prank war, Holly realizes she actually needs Declan’s help to set up her holiday lights display. He agrees to help, even though he hates the holidays, but the two face one mishap after another along the way. These challenges force them to come together and make Declan see Holly and the holidays in a different light.

The Mistletoe series has brought me all the holiday joy over the past few years and I was so excited to get Holly’s story. While this one didn’t capture my attention as much as the first two, it was still super cute and a fun read! This story had the steam, the wit, and the holiday sparkle I have come to love from this series and Declan was the perfect Grinch to Holly’s jolly. It was fun to see their relationship progress and even more fun to see glimpses of the relationships and characters from the first two books.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a cute read for the holiday season. It has all the makings of a cliche hallmark movie and that’s exactly why i loved it

I've enjoyed this Christmas series SO much,. This book was no different and Declan is FIRE as a Hero! Loved the catch up with the sisters and enjoyed the story immensely.

This was a such a sweet Christmas book. I really needed a little holuday pick me up. And this book did the trick.

This is everything you want in a Christmas book- it was joyful, light, fun, and full of Christmas cheer! The characters were likable and their romance journey authentic. I enjoyed my time with this one!

thank you to netgalley for the advanced reading copy. I really enjoyed this and will be getting copies for my shop.

3.5 ⭐️ rounded up. I’ve loved reading this series. This one did not disappoint. Even though, I’m not a huge fan of the grumpy/sunshine trope, this one just seemed to work for me. The prank wars were fun, the romance was sweet, just brought all the Christmas vibes. Definitely recommend reading the other 2 books as well.

Lovely Christmas Romance.
Admittedly this was a little long winded at times but overall i love the grumpy-sunshine relationship between Holly & Declan. Their chemistry and banter had me chucking, and swooning- and there’s a cat!
The friend/ family dynamic made this story the more enjoyable and makes want to find out the full story on the other characters.
The present day plot with Holly as a TikTok famous personality and Declan’s off grid reserved life make this all the more captivating.
Also, it’s really hard to get into 3rd person romance stories but I was craving something Christmassy and this tick all the boxes!
Good narration overall.