Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for allowing me to read this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed this title. It was filled with Christmas shenanigans, competitiveness, and love through the generations. You expect a happily ever after and you know it's coming, but the third act break up will make you worry for a few minutes. Thankfully there are plenty of strong female characters to tell our MMC to get it together and make everything right, and he does! Grab a blanket and snuggle up with your favorite Christmas playlist while you devour this book in one sitting!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

This was such a good book. I really enjoyed it. More than I thought I would. I loved the writing style. This book had me hooked from page one. This is a first for me by this author but will not be my last!!

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Charlotte has had feelings for her brothers best friend Hayden for years. She needs prepare for this meeting. An enjoyable read.

I love reading books by different authors. I never know what to expect. I especially love reading Christmas books all year long. I plan on reading more books by Jaqueline Snow. This one was steamy, romantic, and heartfelt. I really loved the ending. I'm grateful that netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

Two immature main characters with zero communication skills and a reminder several times per chapter that they kissed once years ago and she never got over the heartbreak of him rejecting her. Combine that with cringe worthy dialogue and this was DNF'd at 40%.

4 1/2 stars.

This book was adorable. It was a holiday romance with a single dad and best friend’s sister tropes in the best possible way. Shenanigans and banter made for a wonderful first act. The book did lag a little bit in the middle, mostly from lack of communication frustrations between the main characters. But it finished strong and will make a great addition to any holiday book stack.

* I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for my honest feedback.

Christmas Sweater Weather by Jaqueline Snowe
PUB DAY: October 8th, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley, Jaqueline Snowe, & Publishers
5 ⭐️’s

Brothers Best Friends

Absolutely fell in love with the main characters Charlotte and Hayden!!
Jaqueline Snow sure does know how to put a romantic Christmas storyline together that engrosses you and not only makes you fall in love with the main characters but also all the side characters!
I could totally see this adorable read becoming a Hallmark movie!

#NursesWhoRead #AutisticBookWorm #TeachersWhoRead #ChristmasReads #ChristmasRomanceNovels

Christmas Sweater Weather was a cute and surprisingly deep read. Yes while it is fun and light at times some of the deeper issues that Snowe includes in the book really gets the reader to think. I loved seeing Hayden and Char grow even if their initially rush to romance felt a little insta-lovey. Most of all I love the supportive relationships depicted through out the book not only between the two leads but the whole cast of characters. The book's setting was cute and made me want to dive into their world and take part in the contest. Overall, it was a fun read that leaves the reader not only feeling the warm fuzzies but also thinking about some bigger issues in the world.

This was a cute fast paced holiday read. Charlotte and Hayden were childhood friends to strangers, who are forced to spend time together for Charlotte’s brothers ski trip before his wedding. This novel had all the nice tropes from forced proximity, single dad, dual pov, and childhood crush. Thank you for allowing me to review

This was such a cute holiday read - like a hallmark movie in a book. With a little more spice! I don’t tend to read books with too much spice but this one was okay for me. Loved the setting and the characters felt well developed. I liked this one!

Loved this book and series. New author for me. I enjoyed this book. Especially books that are holiday themed. Looking forward to more books by this author

I have yet to read a book by Jaqueline Snow that I didn’t become obsessed with and make my entire personality. I won’t be starting now. She’s an auto-read/auto-buy author for me.

Hayden and Charlotte used to be great friends but now, he’s just her brother’s best friend and the dad of the little girl she dotes on to her hearts content. Hayden is a single dad to Gwen, the cutest and sassiest three-year-old. Hayden and Charlotte used to be close for years until she kissed him while drunk, he panicked and broke her heart, and then avoided her for 3 years. Now, they’re at a ski resort to prepare for her brother’s wedding and they’re forced together to talk and hash out their feelings.

What could possibly go wrong?

I loved Hayden and Charlotte so much but what I loved more was their journey back to each other. As with most second-chance and brother’s best friend romances, there are some hiccups to be met with and dealt with. There were spots I definitely wanted to smack Hayden upside his head. But they figured it out in the end.

Honestly, the coolest part of this book was showcasing the extensive amounts of love and support that everyone had for each other - not just Hayden and Charlotte (though, him helping her prep for an interview?! ) but their entire group of friends. This was truly a found family dynamic and their love for each other was so evident.

This was the perfect holiday romance/feel good read. Of course there was some angst but overall, this book was super cute and well done.

Unfortunately, this is a DNF for me. I loved Snowe’s holiday romance from last year (Snowed In for Christmas) so this was highly anticipated for me. I didn’t really love the characters or their “second-chance” story and had a hard time following what the heck was going on with the Christmas competition/bachelor(ette) parties/ski weekend.

It felt like the plot was just trying a little too hard to be earnest and charming.

Read until 60%. Here are the TW/CW I encountered: abandonment, car accident, sexism, misogyny

This is a great book for fans of Sarah Adams. Unfortunately, I’m not really the biggest fan of Sarah Adams. But this book reminds me of the RomCOM cheesy, mildly immature style combined with barely there reasons keeping them apart, mega miscommunication, and some every-2-seconds-reactions towards the other person. The characterization is similar, the writing style . . . if I didn’t know this was Jacqueline Snowe, I would’ve guessed Sarah Adams.

This is friends to lovers, single dad, forced proximity, Christmas themed open door, dual single POV book.

I loved the Christmas vibes and Hallmark movie style-ness of the whole thing. I generally enjoy Ms. Snowe’s writing style, but the characters in this one were more what ruined it for me.

Friends to lovers isn’t normally my jam (especially not when it’s falling in love over a weekend/week. All of your previous reasons go out the door the fast??). Single dad isn’t normally my jam. If this hadn’t been Jacqueline Snowe, and if I hadn’t been invited to read and review it, I wouldn’t have requested it, and anyone reading this review should know going in that me being the best reader for this book was going to be an uphill battle, but here's the thing: my gripes don't even have to do with either of those though I am going to discuss them.

This book is a highlight of why I don’t love friends to lovers though. There’s a barely there reason keeping them apart ("I can't be with them!") but the whole time they interact, it’s thoughts about how attracted they are but they can’t make a move. It’s exhausting to keep reading “I love them, but I can’t be with them for stupid reasons and I’m going to get stupidly obviously jealous when someone else even breathes at them, but I love them.”

The timeline of the book feeds into my annoyance at the friends to lovers tropes because they go from near-strangers to agreeing to being friends to sleeping together in the spam of like, maybe, 24 hours??? Where were your reasons for avoiding each other? It feels unbelievable and inauthentic in a way I can’t get past, even in fiction. But then, like I said, they essentially decide to be together around the halfway mark, so it just felt . . . off? Not right? Even more silly with their reasonings for not being together?

MMC is a single dad who “doesn’t have his shit together” so can only offer FMC a one night stand. Are we ever shown how he doesn’t have his shit together? No. We are shown a stereotypical dude who allows his self-consciousness dictate hisself as a dad. His parents are moving away and they’re his main help with his daughter so of course that somehow means he can’t date??? He gets over that around 45%, so then I'm left still very confused as to why he didn't make a move for the last three years.

He also is a little dim. “I wonder what she thinks of that.” “Why is she blushing.” And then also caveman. “I’m glad she doesn’t want to date him.” But equally matched with our FMC, so I guess that’s fine. She tells MMC she could kiss him, he leans in, and after they’re interrupted and she’s thinking about it later, she’s mortified because obviously MMC doesn’t like her. Honestly, it just made the pacing feel off to me because the back and forth was so childish. He goes down on her, then wants to talk (wut), and she’s like, frick he’s rejecting me again. GIRL WHAT. After they kiss, after they have some sexy time, they’re tentatively together, and then thing that keeps them apart is that they need to talk. SO JUST FUCKING TALK.

I'll be honest, I read until 35%, skipped ahead to where they kissed for the first time (around 45%), and I feel like I missed nothing.

Which brings us to . . . Oh Lordy. The Third Act Breakup. So obvious—that’s fine. So weak—that’s not. And then hardly a grovel? Break her heart once, shame on you; break it twice, no third chance without heavy groveling. She takes him back because he kept notes about her in his phone??? And he makes his best man speech about how much he loves her after talking about the groom?? I just . . . no.

Super minor, but this is the second book I’ve read by this author. Both set in Illinois. Both having blizzards blown through before Christmas. Which isn’t really a thing in any part of Illinois. And the author is from the state, but unfortunately so am I, so I couldn’t suspend that bit of disbelief. (As a side note, they’re from IL and one of the guys has never heard of Normal???)

Overall, if you're a fan of Sarah Adams, you'll like this one, and I'd recommend it. If you're not a fan of cheesy, more immature, back-and-forth miscommunication and weak tension, then this book is not one I'd recommend to you. Which pains me to say. Jaqueline Snowe has a special place in my reader's heart, so I'll still be on the lookout for future books of hers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the concept of this book, but it just felt like it wasn’t really going anywhere and was a bit too mushy for my tastes.

A cozy Christmas book mixed with friendship and love. When single dad Hayden and his best friends little sister meet up again sparks start to fly. Charlotte has tried to avoid Hayden because he is her brothers best friend but she can't anymore.

Reading a Christmas book in August is both weird and kind of fun. This quick read was cute and had two of of my favorite tropes...brother's best friend and single dad. Charlotte has always loved Hayden but was shot down by him when she took a chance a few years before our story begins so she desperately tries to ignore the fact that she has to spend time with him for her brother's pre-wedding trip at a ski resort. Of course, she can't...but neither can he. And so begins their ever-increasing attraction to each other, their fun banter, and their attempts at making a relationship work. I enjoyed Charlotte and her fun inner monologue and, although I liked Hayden too, he was a bit frustrating at times. There were elements of this story that I wished had a bit more depth but, overall, this was an enjoyable read that has me longing for the holidays and some romantic Hallmark Christmas movies.

Friends to lovers? Check
Brother’s best friend? Check
Single dad? Check
Holiday competitions? Check
Getting to be with the guy you’ve crushed on forever?? A million checks.

This book has fun, banter, amazingly crazy moments. But it’s so enjoyable to read. When two people just gel it works. They couldn’t really fight it because they’d always been friends in a way so they clicked. Plus they love they both have for that little girl!? Yuppppp. Gwen was adorable and just made their puzzle pieces fit even better.

I absolutely LOVED this sweet Christmas romance!!

The car scene, YES
The Christmas party games....ohhhhh yeah!!
Steamy scenes--hard yes! FIRE

Their love for each other was contagious and I can't wait to read more by Jaqueline Snowe!!

Charlotte ends up stranded in a snowbank on her way to her brother’s joint bachelor and bachelorette party. Unfortunately, her only hope for rescue is Hayden, her brother’s best friend (and a single dad). She’s harbored a crush on Hayden since childhood, but after her previous confession didn’t go as hoped, she’s been avoiding him. The thought of spending the weekend with him is far from appealing. Yet, the close quarters of the weekend ignite a surprising new bond between them. Hayden assists Charlotte with an important job interview, while Charlotte helps Hayden find a nanny for his daughter.

Charlotte gains confidence throughout the book and it is it a true pleasure to read. She’s standout character with her loyalty. On the flip side, Hayden’s inconsistent behavior was a bit frustrating, causing a major third-act conflict. Thankfully, his genuine affection for his daughter helps to offset this.

All in all, this book offers a charming and heartwarming read, especially for the holiday season. I highly recommend it, and it will be available starting 10/8/24.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publishers for this arc