Zoey Andrews lives and breathes Christmas. As the holiday season approaches, she’s so excited to finally be directing her own Christmas film this year instead of someone else’s. She knows the perfect place for her movie and that’s right in Chelsea, Canada. The only issue is that once she’s arrived she’s immediately told NO by the mayor, Benoît “Ben” Deschamps.

After repeatedly being turned down, Zoey makes her way to Wakefield the town over whose mayor is fully onboard. After spinning out one too many times, who would find her sledding on her butt down a hill but Ben himself. As he prepares to get her to Wakefield, a severe snow storm is brewing throwing both of them off their tracks…and into one another.

Read if you like:
❄️ grumpy x sunshine
❄️ forced proximity
❄️ slow burn
❄️ enemies to lovers

The only *teeny* issue I had was the insta-love at the end. They went from hating each other for about 60% of the book to being in love within the last few chapters which wasn’t my fave.

I really liked this book, it’s got romance and suspense, and I learned about Le Réveillon de Noël (Christmas Eve) in Canada, I’d never heard of it prior to reading this. The characters are interesting and the book flew by. It’s also got my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers and forced proximity.
Zoey is a director of Christmas movies, ie Hallmark. She’s written a script set in Chelsea, Canada where she has happy childhood memories of Christmas. The town is perfect, but she needs approval from the mayor.
Unbeknownst to her, she’s already met him in a bar. He’s an extremely hot guy named Benoit aka Ben, who helped her out of an awkward situation. Unfortunately, he’s not interested in having a movie shoot in town. She can’t convince him, but there’s a neighboring town whose mayor would approve.
Theres’s a massive storm bearing down and Zoey tries to drive to the mayor’s house. Ben literally saves her and they have a life or death experience together. Sparks fly during the time they spend together, and they end up at a Réveillon de Noël celebration.
I enjoyed this book very much, 4 stars.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed as in this review are completely my own.

Zoey Andrews and Benoît Deschamps the mayor of Chelsea the cozy Quebec hamlet meet when she want to film a Christmas story there. An ice storm will give them a happy ending in this cute holiday rom-com story. I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Overall, a cute, Christmas story with a bit of spice, but I found myself skimming the story just to get to the end. The dialogue and general plot just felt unauthentic and choppy.

I appreciated the Canadian love and coziness of the small town. The little bit of angst at the end had me adding a star!

Well, I actually read this book in 24 hours. Super quick and easy read. It’s the classic grumpy-sunshine holiday romance. City girl has to convince small town grumpy guy to do something to help his town that he doesn’t want to do. This one happens to be getting permission to film a holiday romance Christmas movie in the small Canadian town of Chelsea. Some of the miscommunication in the last quarter of the book drove me a bit crazy but it was easily overlooked. Is is predictable? Yes. Did it have an instalove feel? Also, yes. But I really enjoyed Zoey and Ben and I was rooting for her to win him over. I recommend this to anyone needing a quick read to bring on the Christmas spirit.


Read if you like:
▫️grumpy-sunshine
▫️forced proximity
▫️slow burn romance

Thanks to @netgalley and @penguinrandomhouse @doubledaybooks for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It Happened One Christmas is an enjoyable rom-com, perfect for a snowy day in December!

That said, the story itself could have done with some editing. Why do I say that? Because it feels as though Guertin used every trope she could find. Small-town? Check! Forced proximity? Enemies to lovers?  Double-check! Grumpy-sunshine relationship? Obviously! Glamourous ex appearing in the third act? Yup, that’s there too! I’m sure there are a few others that I’ve missed, but you get the idea.

Ben is stuck in his ways, but not for the reasons you may think. He’s trying hard to keep things as his father wanted them, even though he passed away. Zoey is chasing the memories of the one perfect childhood Christmas, not realizing she could make new memories to replace all her negative ones.

Overall, It Happened One Christmas is an enjoyable read. Though it’s not one I loved, it was still one that many people will.

A super fun read…an ice storm in Quebec causing a couple a lot of adventures as their romance develops. A bit better than other romances…less run of the mill.

Honestly this was a cute romance and I love reading Christmas romances so much. I liked watching their relationship grow and change overtime.

Such a cute cozy read! Grumpy sunshine, enemies to lovers, and forced proximity tropes. Ben was a little too grumpy for me near the beginning but it got better. This definitely feels like a Hallmark movie which is perfect for the Christmas season.
This was the typical cute feel good story. I loved that it took place in Canada and made so many references to Canadian things!

This book started our strong for me. I loved the two main characters and thought they had great chemistry. However, the middle part dragged on wayyyyy too long and then the ending was super cheesy.

when you say it feels like a Hallmark Christmas Rom Com, well because it is, and I loved every bit of it. Grumpy vs Sunshine with Forced Proximity troupe. Zoey is rom come movie director who is Quebec to fill a holiday movie and needs a permit grumpy Christmas tree farm owner Ben. I mean it literally is a Hallmark movie and I am here for it!!

This book made me feel like I was watching a holiday movie at home curled up next to a fire! This was a quick and easy read. This will give you Hallmark vibes. You will get romance, some spice, laugh out loud moments and good old banter. I would definitely recommend this book.


Thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada for allowing me to read this ARC for my honest opinion.

3.5⭐️

There is nothing like getting into the holiday spirit by immersing yourself in a heartwarming story that reminds me of the many Hallmark movies I’ve watched over the years!

Set against the enchanting backdrop of snowy Quebec, the story unfolds with a delightful main character, Zoey, as she strives to bring her screenplay to life. A slight misunderstanding leads her to the picturesque town of Chelsea where she meets Ben.

This was the typical cute feel good story. I loved that it took place in Canada and made so many references to Canadian things!

I did struggle with the pace of the second half of the book as it seemed to slow down a bit.

A perfect read to embrace the holiday season but subtly done as it’s more about the journey to Christmas than Christmas itself.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Doubleday Canada for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

A perfect little holiday book. Insta love but in all the right ways.
Zoey was newly single, and wanting to produce her movie in a little town in Canada. Zoey had some of her most fondest memories in Chelsea, and she wasn’t going to let anyone stand in her way.
Zoey didn’t expect the mayor of Chelsea to be Ben! The handsome tree farm owner, who isn’t letting her get the film permit. What will Zoey do? How will she get the permit and purse her dream of making this movie.

I really enjoyed the book! I can’t wait to read more from the author.

5/5⭐️

This book was so adorable. It had all the vibes of a Hallmark Christmas movie, had tons of my favourite tropes (enemies(ish) to lovers, forced proximity, holiday traditions) and was just such a cozy, addictive holiday read. ALSO, as someone who lives in the Ottawa-Gatineau area, it was super fun reading a story set in/close to where I live (they even mentioned my university lol).

“I’m trying to convince the mayor of a small Canadian town to film my movie in his town when we get stuck in a snowstorm….”

💕 Enemies to lovers
⚡️ Forced proximity
✨ Opposite attracts
🏘 Small Town
🎄 Christmas
🥑 Open door (no spice)

This book is such a great example that Christmas can be cheesy but still so great and heartwarming ! I mean, I’m a fan of bad romance movies that make me cringe, so obviously, I wanted to read as many Christmas books as I could this year ! I was really surprised because I actually like this story.

Zoe and Ben are both lovers of Christmas, but in an opposite way. And how amazing to read about making their own traditions…. I really teared up… Anyway ! The story is quite simple, Zoey wants to film her movies (inspired by her own life and experience….) in Ben’s town but Ben doesn’t want to disturb his life. But there’s a huge snowstorm and they end up stuck with each other…. Alone, without power.. The plot is really straight up, but at the same time, there’s some twist along the way and that made the difference for me.

My only criticism is I didn’t feel the attraction and the chemistry between Zoe and Ben that much. Except in the very end. And for your information, my fellow lover of smut, it is an open door romance, but there’s not much to see unfortunately…The slow burn was not worth it…

I really liked this book, but I do have one major problem. It took 100 pages to get to the conflict mentioned in the blurb that drives the whole book. This was too slow for me and took me a week to read until. After that point, it was smooth sailing and I fell in love. This was a super sweet little Christmas romance and I adored the Canadian setting and Canadianisms.

Excuse me while I bask in my Hallmark holiday romance glory. Was it corny? Absolutely. But was it just what you needed in a Christmas romance novel? Absolutely. This was a light and fun read to keep me entertained. I actually loved Ben and Zoey was cute. Grumpy-sunshine AND forced proximity trope. Hallelujah!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC!

I loved this book! I devoured it in only a few sittings and wish there was more to read. The story line was paced very well and the characters were easy to love!

So I love me a good Christmas romance and I love enemies to lovers and grumpy/sunshine so I went into this book excited for a good time, even if it was predictable. However I had to not finish this just because it reads like the author was being paid by the word. Every person we are introduced to, we get a description of the color and pattern of their clothes, as well as eye color, hair color, and one other descriptor. I thought maybe she was trying to distinguish each person but it got really old real fast. I started skipping large paragraphs. The part that made me stop reading was a paragraph description of a deer in the road. She described it's flanks, its color, it's eyes, like it was just too much. Most people know what a deer is and if you don't you still don't need to know about its flanks. I didn't even get to the main love interest and I just couldn't take it anymore, I don't need every single thing or person she comes into contact with described in detail for a whole page. I'm sure there are readers out there who would love this but I can't make myself go on.