I absolutely adored this book. It was a beautiful Christmas rom-com that gets you in just the right mood for the holiday season. The characters were easy to love and to understand. It was easy to connect to both of them, especially as I also lost a parent to cancer at a young age.

The author really hit the nail on the head for what it's like to lose a parent at young age - how people fall into roles they think they need to fill, how families all react differently to grieve, and how much a family will change due to the loss.

Our FMC, Gwen is closed off to people with good reason. It was easy to see where she was coming from in her reactions to everything in the book. Our MMC, Caleb is now my new book boyfriend. Love everything about him.

I would highly recommend this book, especially for this time of the year. I read it every second I got a chance to in one weekend. I will read anything by this author now.

See more at my instagram (including my own personal connections to the book) @bookish_starry_skies

𝐻𝑜𝓁𝒾𝒹𝒶𝓎 𝒮𝓉𝒶𝓇 ⭐️ 𝑀𝑒𝓁𝒾𝓈𝓈𝒶 𝒟𝓎𝓂𝑜𝓃𝒹
************** *******************

Release Date: 1st November 2023
Page Count: 378
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One doctor. One movie star. One house.

One month until Christmas.

What could go wrong?

Wow! I really enjoyed this book! It was a page turner for me! The anticipation of what will happen between Gwen and celebrity Caleb was just too much! I just couldn’t put this down!
This book has the perfect mix of spice, love, tension, chemistry and adventure as we follow the journey between Gwen and Caleb and the struggles they face to achieve love 💕
This book has left me looking forward to reading another Melissa Dymond!

Thank you to @netgalley and @melissadymondauthor for allowing me to read a copy pre-release.

#melissadymondauthor #melissadymond #bookreview #5stars #review #books #christmasread #christmasbook #bookrelease #holidayread #holidayreading #readingaddict #reader

This is so fricking good! I literally could not put this book down and finished it in a day. I was very surprised by the layers of the story and the chemistry was off the charts!

Dr. Gwen Wright is taking a month off to spend the holidays with her family and to work on a research paper. However, upon arriving to LA she finds out her mother and new stepdad are leaving and she will be alone…until celebrity Caleb Lawson shows up unexpectedly because he needs to hide from his life. As they spend more time together and slowly get to know one another, sparks fly and their chemistry is undeniable. But how can this ever work when the return to real world? She is a doctor that works nonstop in NY and he is a famous actor constantly traveling…

Because the author would like to appeal to all readers, this book will be offered in TWO different versions:

A spicy/open-door version with mild explicit language and sex scenes

A sweet/clean/closed-door version with no language and only kissing.

The author is also donating 10% of her proceeds to colon cancer research.

5 BIG ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me!

A big thank you to the author, Dr. Melissa Dymond and NetGalley for the advanced digital copy of this book. I cannot wait to check out her new book next September!

3.5 stars.

This story gave me all the warm tingles. I very much enjoyed the growth of these characters. It goes to show that an accomplished, successful person can still be in the depths of struggles. That person shouldn’t be forgotten. Change is okay! I found Gwen’s relationship with her mother very relatable and I couldn’t help but want to give her a hug throughout the book.

I enjoyed this book from the start and then it got a little slow. The chemistry between Gwen and Caleb was very cute but I felt the story was a little dragged on at the end. I adored their support for one another despite their busy schedules.

I would’ve loved to have this book in my younger years. I think a lot of people can relate to the characters.

Overall, a very cute read and amazing of the author to donate proceeds to colon cancer research.

Thank you netgalley and Dr. Melissa Dymond for this arc copy!

Lovely little Christmas romance. Thank you netgalley for the ARC
I haven’t read any books by this author before, but will be keeping an eye out for more

I was lucky to receive this book as an advanced reader copy thanks to Netgalley and the author! This book is out now and I definitely suggest that y’all pick it up for a nice December read! This book is not only a wonderful story, but it’s full of complex emotions, real life (and dream worthy) situations, a bit of spice and two characters that you won’t stop rooting for!! Gwen and Caleb are two of my new favorite romance couples and I can’t wait for book two!!!

Thanks to NetGalley and Melissa Dymond for providing an eARC of Holiday Star!

Christmas romance novels are my comfort genre, sue me.

The first half of Holiday Star was great, but the pacing after the halfway point was so off. Gwen and Caleb getting to know each other over the holidays was fantastic, but then Christmas happens and then BAM.

I also just get "ick" vibes about step-family type relationships? Like I KNOW a stepdad's nephew is so far from being blood-related, but like.... something about them technically being family still makes it weird to me.

I think if you are into celebrity romance novels, this might be a good holiday read!

A lovely Christmas romance that develops into so much more. It is a story about dealing with loss and how it impacts your life. Family dynamics, good bad and ugly, that shape how you see the world and people. Learning to trust people and your instincts. Exploring friendships and forgiveness. Learning about yourself, your dreams, expectations and acceptance. Once I started reading this book I could not put it down.
It has everything and I would highly recommend this book to everyone.

I really loved this book. It had spice, but it also had these real moments of heartbreak, joy, and anger as you walk through each character's development and their journey to be together. Melissa Dymond wasn't satisfied with simple characters in a simple Christmas story -- she added complexity and relatability. Bravo!

A new author for me , I really enjoyed the story and I am looking for her next books .
Gwen is a doctor who has lost her father from colon cancer when she was teenager and she still grieving . When her mother after years remarries her shepfather's nephew is Caleb Lawson one of the biggest movie stars in the USA . Their first meeting at the wedding wasn't very pleasant . When Christmas comes and she goes home she believes she will be alone because her mother and stepfather are in Japan for his new job and now she has to stay while to house is being under construction . Then Caleb decide to stay for few day at his uncle place . Gwen at first is very angry with him but living with him she gets to know the real Caleb . Caleb is having his own demons after years on working in showbusiness but with opening up to Gwen he has a real reason to fight and win them . Will their love be able to survive ?
I received this book from netgalley and the publicer as an ARC . Thank you . All thoughts and opinions are my own .

Gwyn Wright isn’t having a great Christmas. Her mother surprises her by moving to Japan with her new husband, leaving Gwyn by herself for a month in their house in California.
At least she THOUGHT she was going to be alone until Caleb Lawson claims time in their home too.
What happens in that month brings the two of them closer to finding the happiness and healing they both need.

I thought this was going to be a fluffy Christmas rom com. And it was but I wasn’t expecting the deep tackling of grief and loss and finding yourself.

I had a hard time right in the middle feeling like it was kinda going in a circle but it picked back up really quickly.

I’m in the minority for my rating of this book. I feel this story could’ve been cut by half the length. The first half of the book was fun and kept my interest. Then it just started to drag on and on.

I’m not a fan of insta love which happens in less than a month. The “whole world is ending” for months over a quickie fling is also not for me. Plus those mothers are both extremely rude.

Loved the holiday theme in the beginning but it wasn’t all wrapped up in the holiday season which would’ve been cute.

This author does offer two versions of this same story, steamy or cutesy which is a great concept and wished others offered books this way.

5 ⭐️

Thank you NetGalley and Melissa Dymond for giving me a copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
What a book! This was such a well written, interesting, and surprisingly deep book which I wasn't expecting from a Christmas book. This book had me laughing, kicking my feet up the air, crying, angry, and so much more. As soon as I started reading, I just didn't want to put it down, and the short chapter might have been a part of that. The book is full of deep and real struggles that made these characters feel real. This story is not only about romantic love but also about self-discovery, healing, forgiveness, grief and loneliness as well as about the courage it takes to overcoming fears and move on. Holiday Star has a celebrity romance, opposites attract, forced proximity and is filled with angst, tension, humour, passion, chemistry, spice (unless you read the close door version (yep that’s right this author gave us both so that everyone could enjoy it)), grovelling and a HEA. 🥰
Gwen is an ER doctor who lost her father very young, she is going home for the holidays to spend time with her family and to finish her research paper. But when she finds out that her mother and stepfather are moving to Japan and them along with her brothers will not be home for Christmas she is devastated. Alone House-sitting Gwen feels lonely but when an unexpectant guest arrives to stay with her everything changes. Caleb is a Hollywood start who has lost his passion for acting and decides to hide in his uncle’s house for a while not knowing that he was in Japan and that Gwen was staying there. Slowly, this two build up a relationship that goes beyond just friends and learn how to heal together as well as on their own.
This became easily one of my favourite books of the year, and so if you are looking for a easy to read, fast paced book with incredible and real characters with deep stories then this is a book for you and I cannot recommend it enough. 💚💚💚

I haven’t read any of Melissa's books before, but after reading Holiday Star I’ll definitely be reading more!

The story follows Gwen (an ER resident) and Caleb (an actor), who meet for the first time when her mother remarries his uncle. They are both complex characters who have their own emotional baggage to work through, they are flawed and make mistakes, but they still push themselves to be better people. I also really appreciated that both Caleb and Gwen have family, friends and careers separately to their growing relationship. The book deals with multiple serious topics such as grief, alcoholism, depression and anxiety with incredible sensitivity. Their relationship seemed a bit too instalove for me in the beginning, so it was refreshing to have a drawn out reunion thrown in, where you see them working together through their issues.

If you like forced proximity, opposites attract, tons of chemistry, he falls first, and a happy ever after, this book is definitely for you!

I absolutely love that you can buy this book as a sweet closed-door romance, or a spicy open-door version. I read the spicy version, but both are available on Kindle Unlimited so make sure to double-check before reading!

Something else worth noting is that Melissa has pledged to donate 10% of her profit to cancer research which I absolutely adore!

*I received an advance review copy for free (thank you Dr Melissa Dymond and NetGalley), and I am leaving this review voluntarily.*

okay, I need to start by saying I really wanted to like this book. I was excited by the reviews, and excited to read my first holiday book of the year but…it just missed the mark for me in a couple of places. I feel like the bar is so high for holiday romances, and I need to feel all the warm and fuzzies to really love it.

for starters, about halfway in I was still wondering if anything was ever going to happen. it was all one setting pretty much (her parents under construction house), and just plain cream cheese boring? it did ramp up a bit in the second half to be fair.

also, I’m not a fan of the insta-love trope so I didn’t like how quick the word girlfriend was thrown in, or how quick “what’s mine is yours” was said…barf. they were “together” for less pages than a single spicy scene typically lasted, and it just made it feel false for me. redeeming factor being that even the main characters best friend called her out on the “insta love trope”, which was kind of funny.

If you are looking for a spicy Hallmark movie than this is the book for you.

While the timeline does revolve around Christmas and how they initially meet, you can read this book any time of the year and still enjoy it.

Unlike most hallmark movies that are one note, this has so many layers from grief & addiction to celebrity gossip. This was the perfect book to warm you up this holiday season.

A fab wee read for the holidays.

I really loved the fact that you got to see the characters grow and develop away from each other. I’m not a huge fan of insta love and was worried to begin with that was the way this book was heading, but it took a turn and I loved it all the more for it.

Looking forward to reading more from Dr Melissa Dymond.

Thank you to NetGallery and Dr Melissa Dymond for the ARC. This review is my own view.

I like how the story develops around the holidays but isn’t just centered around them. The puzzle hobby was cute and makes me want to do that with my family. This was a cute heartwarming story!

This book has the perfect setting for the holiday season. Family turmoil, forced proximity and celebrity romance. Great choice for this Christmas season!

When main character Gwen’s mom marries the uncle of a celebrity actor, Caleb, Gwen is not impressed by Caleb’s fame. Gwen sees him as a mere human, but he is a very attractive, award-winning actor adored by many and often swamped by paparazzi and fans.

Dr. Gwen Wright is in her residency in a busy NYC hospital while also dealing with the emotions of her mother’s second marriage after her father passed away years before, as well as coping with a broken engagement.

If you like the celebrity-meets-regular-person aspect of Nora Goes Off Script, you’ll like this one, but the protagonists are younger (Gwen is 28). The close proximity during the holidays part of the story is my favorite.

While there are a couple of steamy, open-door scenes, much of the story includes personal growth as the characters reflect and make changes. Grief, friendship, family, fame, careers, love, lust, and therapy are woven in this romance.

Also, the book is available in both an open-door and closed-door version. I recommend Holiday Star to readers of contemporary romance and women’s fiction.

This review is posted on Instagram and Facebook @beginandendwithbooks and also on Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks