Dr. Gwen Wright's quiet holiday season takes a surprising turn when Hollywood heartthrob Caleb Lawson crashes into her life. Alone in her mother's house for December, Gwen finds herself sharing her space with the enigmatic movie star. Sparks fly as they navigate their differences and discover that love may be the greatest gift of all. A heartwarming Christmas tale of unexpected romance.

What a sweet story. I was pleasantly surprised that this wasn’t a quick surface level story, but the characters deal with a couple heavier topics and the author presents them with such care and respect. The story was multi-layered; adolescent family dynamics, their connection, and there careers/dreams. Past, present, and future. I also really enjoyed the pacing of the story. Maybe I’ve just recently read too many slow burn stories, but I appreciated how it was other elements that carried the story forward. The Christmas elements are obviously also so adorable. You’ll definitely want to add this to your holiday reading list!

The author created a spicy/open-door and sweet/clean/closed-door version of the book. I read the sweet (closed door) version. Both are available on Kindle Unlimited so make sure to double check which version you’re selecting.

Perfect for you if you like:
Author Sarah Adams
Characters with impactful pasts
Mid-paced romance (not slow burn but not insta-love)

Similar to:
Wrapped with a Beau by Lillie Vale
When In Rome by Sarah Adams
The American Roommate Experiment

⛔️I read the closed door version
⚠️previous death of a parent, mentions of previous car crash, grief, alcoholism

I believe this is this author's debut novel. What an awesome job! This was a really fun, engaging enemies to lovers, forced proximity and movie star Christmas romance. The characters were very well developed and the banter between them was exceptional.

Gwen (a doctor) is having issues with feeling abandoned by just about everyone in her life. Caleb (a movie star) is the polar opposite. He can't seem to get a moment to himself. He's come to his uncle's house to hide out. The only problem is Gwen is there to house sit and oversee some construction in the house while her mother (who is married to the uncle) is away. It's bound to get a little rocky...until it doesn't.

I loved the vulnerability of each of the main characters. Their feelings were really put out there and that's what draws you in. A lovely story! I can't wait for another book from this author.

Thanks to NetGalley for the gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC via NetGalley for an honest review.

I struggled with this book, to be honest. 60% of it was irritating and simplistic. But the last 40% or so was better and I did almost enjoy it. The mental health and therapy becoming involved in the characters’ development was crucial for this section, though I wish that there was more separation from actual therapy sessions. The characters, both main and side, were hard to relate too and only getting the story from Gwen’s perspective did the story a disservice as Caleb seemed to have more within him in terms of observations and personality than we got to see from just Gwen. Gwen, in my opinion, struggled for most of the book to reflect on herself or other people, but her character does improve.

The chapters and the development all feel extremely short. For a little under 400 pages, 73 chapters is too many. And it seems to speed up the story a lot. A slower feel would help make the romane and development more believable since it would distract from the short timeframe of the whole story. And it meant that important moments really did feel rushed, not given the weight that they needed in order to resonate with the reader enough. I really enjoy spending time with my romance characters so that there is more to the journey than attraction to other people. And slowing down the pace would also benefit the side characters, who all feel underdeveloped. Many of them seem to have really out-of-character moments or decisions, but that is more because we don’t get to know them outside of their relationships with the main characters. Also, the intimate moments would benefit from a slower pace to feel that Caleb and Gwen are involved in the moment.

Also, the description (and Gwen in the beginning) labels Caleb as moody. But from the changes to his physical appearance and attitude plus the little we know about his personal life at the start of the book, depressed feels way more accurate. Again, this is something that feels like Gwen should recognize or consider in the slightest since she is a medical professional. But I can excuse that in the beginning since they don’t know each other well and that is not her specialty.

Minor ick with the book: Caleb smelled her hair multiple times because of her shampoo scent. This is after too many mentions of Caleb’s “scent” which turns out to be his toothpaste. My toothpaste only smells that strongly for one minute after I’ve used it. Both of them kept bringing up these smells throughout the whole book and I couldn’t understand it.

Honestly, I have some reservations about Caleb and Gwen’s relationship. I think that by the end of the novel they have reached a good place to be together, but I can’t be certain. Their love and just their relationship did not give me the confidence in love that I usually get from romance novels (and the strained platonic love with side characters did not make up for it). For instance, halfway through the book, they have only been spending a few weeks together and Gwen thinks she has the right to invade his privacy because he hasn’t told her every aspect of his past. Has she? No, and even if she had, it still isn’t an excuse. And as Caleb points out, she hasn’t initiated any conversations about the topics she is apparently so worried about. She puts a lot of the weight of the relationship on him, without seeming to make it an equal partnership. And then he immediately forgives her, saying all of his is hers. He is trying to find himself and after only a few weeks with someone that he is still getting to know, he doesn’t want to establish any boundaries. This does continue through the end to a lesser extent. But they are seemingly happy together and communicating more.

I want to believe in Gwen and Caleb, but I struggle to follow their love story. I appreciate the cancer and therapy angles very much, but would caution that the pace of the story takes away from much of the development that would strengthen this book. I do intend to read more from this author, as I believe she has the bones of a good story.

I initially requested this book because I saw it was written by a doctor, and I thought that was really neat for romance novel. The depth and writing of this book really blew me away. Gwen and Caleb are certainly put into a forced proximity situation, but I love how they become tentative friends, and then how the rest of their journey unfolds. I thought the plot of the book was really interesting and unique to a romance novel. Even though some of the romance aspect seemed very deep and very quick I think the author belts that out really well throughout the entire book. Both characters were on their own journey throughout the book, and I loved seeing how they worked on the cells individually, but also how it led to them working on them selves as a partner. Overall, I can’t wait to see more from this author because this was a book. I didn’t want to put down and it is certainly excellent for the holiday season. 5⭐️, 2🌶
Also, the option of spicy or sweet?! This book was literally written for everyone!

Ooooo!! I really liked this one. It gave me all the holiday feels, but also had some deeper themes and didn’t feel like just another superficial quick read.

We love a celebrity romance, but seeing the underbelly of celebrity life for Caleb was sobering and I love how Gwen really came into her own around him and was able to help him realize his own dreams and potential at the same time.

The big theme that I really related to was the idea of how we/society/our friends and family put us into boxes and we live with these expectations of who we are. But, we’re all more than those boxes that we’ve grown up in and it’s okay to step outside of them and realize we can want other things and let other parts of ourselves shine.

I can’t wait for everyone to read this once it’s released! Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy!

This was a fantastic Christmas read. I loved the romance and the theme. The plot flowed smoothly, and I enjoyed this book so much!

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

what more could a person want than to spend christmas with her family.... after a brutal time in the e.r that is exactly what gwen is looking forward to....and then she gets the phone call from her mother, they are moving to japan and not spending christmas with her not only that she is going to be the only one at the family home as everyone else has other plans

to say gwen is devastated at this but she also has to do some work on a planned published article she has going on so it was always going to be a working holiday

so not only is she spending christmas alone but also house sitting as the builders are still working on the house right up until christmas day

what else could go wrong...

a sudden noise from downstairs....

have to say that i thoroughly enjoyed reading this book... it has a lovely christmassy feel to it but its more than that and it will give every loved up person that extra feeling of love , its funny and sad and heartlifting

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5

Holiday Star is a great read for the holiday season (I’m so thankful to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to get a head start on the holiday reads in exchange for my honest review!

If you want a ton of Christmas elements, this may not be for you, but the references to the holiday season are there and I personally enjoyed it! I super appreciate how Dr. Melissa Dymond wrote two versions (one for the spice lovers and a clean version) this was such a personal way to cater to different audiences. In addition, 10% of the proceeds for this novel go to colon cancer research which is so special and is a great way to give back especially during the holiday season.

I found this binge worthy, the descriptions helped me to really visualize the whole story as if I were watching a movie. We have forced proximity (one of my faves), heartbreak/second chance, and enemies to lovers. I really enjoyed the growth of Gwen and Caleb and their growth over the course of the novel. I was so invested in how things would turn out!

Such a cute holiday book, perfect for Christmas time and cosy feelings, super cute romance , loved it

Is this a holiday book that has the same general plot as several others? Yes. Did I still read this and enjoy it? Also yes!

Enters Gwen, a hard working doctor who was burned by her previous fiancé and has struggled to open up again. She meets a famous movie star at her mother’s wedding and doesn’t see what everyone else is enamored with. After her mother suddenly moves to Japan right as Gwen comes home for Christmas, she ends up temporarily becoming roommates with the actor. They spend a month together, learning to heal, to be vulnerable, and to love. The holiday comes and things take a bad turn. Will Gwen and her famous man make things work?

I am a sucker for a good Hallmark movie, and this book gives me the exact same feels. The author creates characters who have real flaws and issues. To find someone to love and support you through the flaws is what these characters have discovered and it warms my heart.

I enjoyed this a lot- I mean, I was horrified on Gwen’s behalf at the beginning that her mum could be so heartless and abandon her on her first Christmas without work! But clearly it set the stage for Caleb and her to spend time together. I thought they had good characters and although we all know the ending is inevitable, the journey of them getting there was a good read.

This was a very well written holiday romance that extends well beyond that time frame. The characters are multi-faceted and beautifully flawed. The book deals with real challenges that many face such as grief and addiction. It also gives much needed hope! I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommend it whole heartedly. I read this book on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book! I couldn’t get enough! Can’t go wrong with Christmas, forced proximity and spice 🌶️! The writing was amazing and grabbed me from the start. So entertaining! There were hard moments too which the characters managed to work through. This book just made me so happy 😊. Highly recommend! 5 stars!

What’s better than reading a Christmas book? Reading one in October! Ok, the whole book doesn’t take place at Christmas, but a good portion of it does. You will love the story of Gwen and Caleb, the ups and downs, the craziness, the meet cute. I devoured this book, total binge read. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and the steamy love scenes are perfection. I love that their story isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, there are definitely some hiccups along the way. Can a doctor living in NY and a movie star from California make it work? I highly recommend that you find out!

the book started out SO good, so promising. however, after about 50% of it some things started to bother me: the way that Gwen was acting towards Caleb when they got together was a bit much - considering they’ve only known each other a short while (wedding in the beginning not withstanding), Gwen always insisting that he pursue singing (it was meant to seem like she wanted him to overcome his obstacles, but it came off as very pushy), her picking a fight with Caleb over nothing, just to add some unnecessary tension. maybe it’s just me, but I wasn’t hooked by their love story.

there are a few touches that I really liked, specifically the Christmas decorating scenes and Caleb’s relationship with Pip (it was adorable! 🐶)

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of this new to me author. It was definitely a cute read. I loved the storyline....or at least most of it and loved how open Caleb was with Gwen throughout. If you're looking for a super Christmas-y Christmas book this one probably isn't what you're looking for. The book happens to expand over the time of two Christmases but there are not a lot of christmas elements throughout the book's entirety. I still loved the Christmas scenes incorporated in the book and would recommend to Christmas lovers and those that love plot lines involving falling in love with movie stars. I did like that the author wrote two versions of the book...one spicy and one without the spicy scenes so readers of all preferences can enjoy it. I'm curious how the other version was.

Dr. Gwen Wright is not having a good Christmas. She tries to escape her busy life with a month off to visit with family over Christmas, but finds out that her mom and stepfather have gone abroad for the month she'll be home for the holidays. Alone, apparently. But enter her stepfather's nephew Caleb, a Hollywood heartthrob who is looking to hide from the paparazzi. Gwen decides to let him stay, and woot! Things get 🌶️🌶️🌶️ hot.

This book is so much fun to read. Both Gwen and Caleb have things to deal with, and they are dealt with in such an emotional way. Beautifully written. This book is a great romance, but it also deals with real life issues. The author is donating 10% of proceeds to cancer research. Fantastic read, both sexy emotional and deep emotional. ❤️❤️❤️

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Dr. Gwen Wright is an ER resident. Caleb Lawson is a famous actor. They meet for the first time at Gwen’s mom’s wedding to Caleb’s uncle. They meet for the second time at 3am when Gwen mistakenly thinks Caleb is an intruder and whacks him on the head with a wrench.

This book has forced proximity, doctor x actor love, spiciness, heartbreak and reconciliation. It was enjoyable to read and you really feel for the characters. Gwen deals with numerous things in a healthy way which is a breath or fresh air as that’s not the case in some books. You see her and Caleb’s characters grow and develop throughout the story.

The one thing I wasn’t sure about what the Twilight references (New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn) between chapter blocks. I’ve never read nor seen Twilight so I’m not sure if it as completely necessary to have that included. There were also a few grammatical/spelling errors.

If you love Holiday romances I definitely recommend you give this book a chance.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the eARC in exchange for a review.

I started this book and had such high hopes that it was the one book that would what I was needing to read. I read a few reviews after I finished it, and I am for sure not in the group that loved it from start to finish. For me it just had way too much going on with the storyline with some and not enough of others. I think I will have to ponder what I read and try it again when my mind can sift out the story.
Thank you NeyGalley, Melissa Dymond and Melissa Dymond DO for the ARC of book Holiday Star. This is my personal review.

This was freaking AMAZING.
I love Christmas (used to hate it actually) but god damn this made me want to jump RIGHT into Christmas trees, snow ball fights and hot cocoa.