Enemies to lovers- Christmas Sunshine & grumpy Scrooge.

Miss Holly Sunshine owns a Seasonal shop in Mistletoe, Idaho right next door to Mr. Grumpy Scrooge the hardware store owner. A prank war starts between the two and then sparks start to fly. I really loved this book. I laughed out loud numerous times and cried so many happy tears. I'll definitely be adding this book to my collection.

I love a good romance, and this one was wonderful! It had witty banter, and lovable characters. I was rooting for them the whole way through!

I didn’t love this but it wasn’t bad. I liked their banter and relationship with each other. However, there was a bus load of other characters and their interactions discussed. This always overwhelms me and diverts the focus from the main characters.

Holly was a very interesting female character and I really enjoyed reading about her. She was very dynamic.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

A holiday rom com where Holly, who owns a Christmas store in - wait for it- Mistletoe- finds a frenemy in Declan, who has come home to help his father in his hardware store, This is one trope after another but regrettably, at least for me, its also frenetic in spots and a bit annoying. I have a hard time believing that small business owners would engage in a prank war, among other things, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC,. This might make a good movie.

Along Came Holly" is a fun read in regards to it having components of the Enemies to Lovers trope and Sunshine x Grumpy trope. This could totally be a Hallmark Christmas movie, but in a good way! I loved the modern tech that's included in the story to make the story seem as if it really could be someone's story irl.

This is a 3.5 star read for me. I haven’t read the other books in the series and that didn’t have much of an impact except that I love the characters so much I’ll probably go back and read the others. If cheesy holiday romance is up your alley, this is definitely worth a read.

This jolly season read is sure to melt even the grinches frozen heart. Fun and flirty, Holly Winters is the spitfire you d woman we all never knew we needed.

She does it all — running. YouTube channel of wild stunts dressed as nothing better than an elf, and even running a storefront of seasonal gifts in her cozy town of Mistletoe, ID. Now Declan, returning to help his father, happens to be working the hardware store next door. He is the perfect definition of grumpy-sunshine as she does not like Christmas.

Their story starts when she happens to play her music too loud. It only starts a prank war between the two — which. I could definitely see happening. Between all of the pranks and jokes, they fall together, try to pull apart and fail miserably as they keep gravitating right back to one another. He’s the only handyman — she needs his help!

The maturity may not be 100% there but nonetheless I really enjoyed the story and the way it was written out as a whole to be light hearted, humorous and cute. This is the most recent in the series — I did not need to read the previous books to understand or grasp this novel.

A fun and flirty winter romance, Along Came Holly is the third book about the Winters siblings from Codi Hall. A definite treat to read that has me going back to read the first two. Four stars!

*I received an advanced reader copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you to Sourcebooks Casablanca and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "Along Came Holly" by Codi Hall in exchange for an honest review.

Eh, where do I even start?

Holly Winters, third and youngest of the Winters family of Mistletoe, ID, is looking for a change. She's made a decent amount of money as a YouTuber; her character Holly the Adventure Elf does Jackass-style stunts while she's... dressed as an elf. Now, she wants to rebrand, because she (correctly) believes that she can't maintain that shtick forever. Meanwhile, she ALSO owns a gift shop thing called "A Shop for All Seasons" where she sells seasonal stuff. Because of course she does. This girl can do it all, except for long-term relationships. She doesn't do those because they are boring.

Meanwhile, Declan Gallagher is also at a crossroads in his life. He returned to Mistletoe to care for his father after his dad broke a hip. He stayed longer because Dad is also in the early stages of Alzheimer's. So Declan shelves his career as an artist to run the family hardware store and do odd jobs around town to make ends meet. Also of note: Declan hates Christmas because "emotional baggage."

The gift shop and hardware store share a wall, and when Holly turns up her Christmas music too loud for Declan's liking, this somehow sets off a prank-style feud between them. Because as adults and business owners, that's the most logical and appropriate way of settling things. Over the course of this feud, they realize they have the hots for each other. They call a ceasefire and start hooking up (no strings attached, naturally). Then after some silly jealousy stuff, they decide to add strings and live happily ever after.

You may have gotten the impression that I didn't enjoy this story. You would be correct. The plot gets its jump start from the prank war, but once that ends, the story relies on a few other external events to move the plot forward. Holly and Declan progress through their relationship development NOT because they want to spend time together, but because they are constantly thrown together (He's the only handyman in town and she DESPERATELY needs his help putting up her Christmas display! They're in the same wedding party so they get thrown together over and over!)

There's no emotional maturity to be found. Anywhere. Not in Holly, not in Declan, and not in the enormous cast of supporting characters. The prank war is a pretty good example of this. It would be one thing to start off with this childish behavior and see emotional maturity develop over time, but that doesn't happen.

The big final conflict, the one that forces the couple into deciding to make things forever, is only that Holly's guy friend Sam decides to provoke Declan's jealousy. He gets extra handsy AND accuses Declan of only being after Holly's money. Holly is not aware of any of Sam's machinations; she's always been physically (but platonically) affectionate with him and didn't hear what Sam said. Declan gets ticked off and THAT'S what finally pushes him to decide to change his plans and commit to Holly long term. Again, just like mature, responsible adults. It's not (only) because he sees potential and room for growth in their relationship; it's because he's manipulated into confronting his feelings.

I wasn't a fan of the writing style either. I annotated a number of awkward bits, but here's a prime example. Holly is short (duh, elf) and Declan is tall (duh, romance novel man). In discussing her famous temper, Declan has this exchange with another character:

"Please, I can handle your pint-size sister-in-law." Declan held his hand up below his chest. "She comes up to here on me."
"Which makes her the perfect height to high kick you into a eunuch," Clark said, wincing as it pained him to even mention the possibility.
.
The phrase "high kick you into a eunuch" makes me wince too, but not for the same reasons. I wonder if an editor somewhere really thought this was the best to to say "Holly could still castrate you with a well-aimed kick."

At times, I was confused by the cast of supporting characters. I considered reading the preceding two books to have a better understanding of "Along Came Holly" but I decided against it. As always, I want to add that just because *I* didn't love this book doesn't mean that no one will. Preferences and priorities vary, so if you just want a wacky, no-thinking-required, holiday romance, maybe this story will work for you. It was just not my cup of cocoa.

Recommended for folks who enjoy prank wars, stories with boisterous friends groups, and fans of goofy holiday romances.

Read if you like:
🎄Holiday Romances
😠 Enemies to Lovers
🏘️ Small Town Settings
🥵 Steamy
😘 Flirty Banter
🌥️ Grumpy x Sunshine

Oh my gosh, I absolutely adore these books set in the charming made up small town in Idaho. The Christmas vibes for this small town are so well done and I was so glad to return to this series!

The grumpy x sunshine, the possessiveness, the banter, the enemies to lovers, ugh all of it together was absolutely perfect and I couldn’t have asked for more with my return to the series!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC of this one!

A cute holiday, enemies to lovers book. Holly and Declan are business neighbors and polar opposites when it comes to their thoughts on Christmas. Story dragged a little in the middle but there are many characters who help get you through it.

(3.5 Stars) Time to return to Mistletoe, Idaho for the third, and I am guessing final book in the series. Holly Winter loves Christmas as does her entire family. She owns a store called Shop for all Seasons. She also has a large YouTube following as Holly the Adventure Elf. She is successful enough to have her own home and money in the bank. Yay!.

Declan Gallagher is her grinch of a neighbor. He runs his father’s hardware store next to Holly’s shop. As the holidays near the two engage in a pranking war. But as Holly gets to know Declan she realizes there is more to him than meets the eye. Declan returned home because of his fathers declining health. He wants to teach others about art and likes handyman work but not being tied to the store. Declan is also in the friend group that includes her future brother in law. So again their paths often between work and her sisters upcoming wedding. When he has a falling out with his dad she is glad to rent him a room. Things get cozy.

This is probably my favorite book in the series. I’ve complained in the other books at the juvenile humor and that doesn’t happen here. The pranking doesn’t go too far. Holly especially is positive and confident in herself. Even when she is trying new things for her Youtube work she doesn’t mind making mistakes. And she is a sympathetic sounding board to Declan. I like catching up with her siblings Merry and NIck and their partners from the previous books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the ARC and I am leaving a honest review.

🎄 ARC REVIEW🎄

Along Came Holly
✍️ Codi Hall
(Sequel to There’s Something About Merry)

PUB DATE- Sept. 26✨

Along Came Holly was such a fun, flirty Christmas rom-com! I loved the silly banter between all the characters. Declan and Holly are the definition of opposites attract, and I love the growth they bring out of each other.

Read if you love-
✨Grumpy & sunshine
✨Sarcasm
✨Forced proximity
✨Enemies to lovers
✨All things Christmas

This novel was such a sweet continuation of the Winters family. I can’t wait to read more about these characters I’ve grown to love! Thank you NetGalley, SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca and Codi Hall for this advanced copy!!

I thought this one was super cute! I love an enemies turned friends to lovers story! And possessive men are IT in books. Love the ones who get jealous and know they have no right to be jealous so they start to lock that shit down. So much fun!!

Thank you Sourcebooks Casablanca for the advance copy!

Along Came Holly by Codi Hall was an anticipated read for me since I have read both Nick & Noel Christmas Playlist and There’s Something About Merry. I stalked NetGalley until it became available. I wanted to read it so bad.

Holly and Declan were featured in both books bickering as enemies do. Maybe I overhyped it in my head but I was a little let down. It’s a fun holiday story but fell a little flat.

Read if you love:
• enemies to lovers
• holiday cheer
• Christmas Elf vs The Grinch

Steam rating: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Closed door modifications: Chapters 28, 29, 31

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the eArc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute, I think I liked it overall compared to what I remember of the other two in the series. It was a bit confusing at first since a lot of the main characters are named holiday things, I kept getting Merry and Holly confused. But if you read the series in order I don't think that would be a problem.

Just like the other two, this is a cute holiday rom com. If you are in the mood for that then you wont be disappointed. Nothing too remarkable but I did appreciate the prank war between the two main characters. It gave a good enemies-to-lovers vibe. I found the ending a bit rushed and it left me wanting for more communication between the characters.

Along Came Holly was the 3rd book in the Mistletoe Romance series by Codi Hall. This book was great because you don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy this one. (Although, I do now want to read them.) But this is a splendid grumpy/sunshine, funny, and spicy Christmas rom-com. I was nervous about a 3rd act breakup, but thankfully, that was not the case!

There were plenty of laugh out loud moments. And I am so pleased to say that Declan and Holly both acted like adults! They talked! Even about difficult things. There was very little “miscommunication assumptions”.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the chance to read an early copy. ~I was given this book and made no commitments to leave my opinions, favorable or otherwise~

#netgalley #codihall #alongcameholly #holidayromance #books #bookstagram #booklover #bibliophile #sourcebooks #sourcebookscasablanca

Wow! This is 100x more better than any Hallmark holiday movie ever! Holly and Declan are such amazing characters and I feel in love with them. Also, all the side characters, I wish to have a group of family and friends just like Holly and Declan have. I’m so happy we got to see into Declan’s life and how it shaped who he was, and how with the help of Holly and their friends he was able to see more to life. I really enjoyed all the prank wars and would have loved to see some sweet and flirty pranks after Holly and Declan became a thing. It made me crack up how easily Declan could get jealous and how Sam New how to rile him up. Ugh, I just love this book so much!

The third book in a Christmas trilogy of siblings finding love. Holly and Declan don’t like each other…until they do. And enemies to lovers, slow burn Christmas tale. I loved it very much.

I enjoined Holly’s independent spirit. She knows what she wants, in some areas, and isn’t afraid to go after them. Declan has put his dreams on hold to help his family. He doesn’t know exactly what he wants, that is until it’s Holly.

This was a rewarding story from beginning to end. There is some spice but it’s a slow burn. So you’ve been warned.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Holly is the owner of the holiday shop on Main Street and Declan owns the hardware store next door and Holly starts a prank war with him. Declan is so grumpy and hates Christmas so of course Holly who loves Christmas would get on his late nerve. In a turn of events, Holly needs Declans help hanging her holiday light display and the more time they spend together, the more they both realize that the other isn't so bad.

This was a cute, easy read! I am a big fan of grumpy/sunshine romance tropes so this was a winner for me. There is some spice, but not too much and I loved the friendship they developed and how they respected each others boundaries. I did not like how Sam, Holly's friend was kinda manipulative, but he wasn't ah huge part of the story.