This was a lot of fun! Not too serious, but a cozy, mysterious romcom. I liked the blend of different genres. I haven't read a romance book like this, or a mystery book like this before. I really enjoyed the two main characters; they felt fully developed. Both were flawed and working through their past traumas, and finding common ground when thrown into the novel's main plot events. If you're looking for a cozy mystery mixed with romance, I definitely recommend!

Oh what fun! Loved this newest adult mystery/romance book by Ally Carter. ABSOLUTE PERFECT use of "Who did this to you?"
A fabulous locked room setting with flashbacks to previous Christmas times. The mystery and the romance were both so layered and clever and they had me turning the pages as fast as I could. The Blonde Identity was great but I adored The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year even more.
Can't recommend this one enough to fans of Knives Out, the guy falling hard for the girl and pining for years, and creative cozy mystery writers who don't like peopling.

This book blends just about everything I love reading all into one book and I couldn't put it down. Maggie and Ethan are rival authors and enemies (or so Maggie thinks) and she's coming off the worst year of her life and has been invited to the house of "one of her biggest fans" for Christmas, but what she doesn't know is that 1. Ethan is coming too. 2. She's the biggest fan of her biggest fan. 3. There will be a mystery to solve.
Ethan and Maggie must work together to uncover the truth of what is happening in the house and who is the real suspect. As they do, they begin to get closer than she could have ever imagined and he starts to reveal that he has not ever hated her.. even a little bit.. even at all.
You can see how much Ethan cares for her and takes care of her right from the start, but when we got some of his POV my heart ENTIRELY melted. I am a sucker for books like this and I couldn't stop reading because I had to know whodunit and what the outcome would be.
Thank you to Avon, Netgalley and Ally Carter for this early copy!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter in exchange for an honest review.

Set in England during Christmas, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year reads like a classic whodunit and is filled with humor, cleverness, wit, and surprising emotional depth. There are plenty of twists and turns that keep you guessing until the very end, making it an absolute joy to read.

The first half of the book is told solely from Maggie's point of view. Maggie (or is it Marcie? 😉) is a mystery writer who is recently divorced from her very toxic, cheating ex-husband, Colin. She is sad and lonely and harbors a deep hatred for Ethan, a rival mystery writer.

About halfway through, the narrative shifts from single POV to dual POV. This shift allows us to see Ethan's private and mysterious side. Initially, I found it hard to like Ethan, but once his perspective was introduced, I was completely swept away.

The banter between the Maggie and Ethan was absolute perfection. The pacing of the plot, exposing of the twists, and details was absolutely on point.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is beautifully written with real, relatable characters, witty banter, and a plot that keeps you guessing. It's an engaging holiday mystery that I highly recommend.

5 stars ⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVED this book, holiday vibes, cozy murder mystery, rival mystery writers, like watching a live action game of Clue, a whodunnit with banter. I smirked and giggled on more than one occasion. This book was everything I wanted in a Christmas Murder mystery and more. I cannot explain to you how much I loved Maggie and Ethan. I will more than likely be reading this again a time or two before Christmas on vibes alone. Please do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ally Carter and Avon and Harper Voyager for providing me with an ARC in exchang

I read Ally Carter religiously as a teenager and am so happy that she is back and writing in the adult space. Last year's Blonde Identity was a blast, and The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is equally fun. The book is a successful blend of my favorite genres--romance and mystery. It follows two enemy mystery writers, Maggie and Ethan, from the same publisher who are summoned to their biggest fan's estate in England for Christmas. Their biggest fan is Eleanor Ashley, the most important and successful mystery author, who disappears without a trace two days before Christmas, leaving our two protagonists to find her, while trapped in the estate with a wild cast of characters. The chemistry and banter between Maggie and Ethan was great. Highly recommend this book for your holiday reading list, its like drinking a great cup of hot chocolate in front of a roaring fire.

Mystery, romance and set at Christmas, yes please!!

Maggie Chase and Ethan Wyatt are rival mystery authors who are invited to the estate of legendary author Eleanor Ashley. When Eleanor vanishes from a locked room, Maggie & Ethan have to work together to solve the mystery.

I really enjoyed the story line and loved the banter between Maggie and Ethan. It was a great mix of romance and mystery that kept me guessing the whole time.

Thanks to NetGalley, Harper Collins and Killer Crime Club for the chance to read an ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

This was such a fun read! If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries, books about authors, and Knives Out you NEED to check this book out.

I’ve loved Ally’s writing since I was in middle school reading the Gallagher Girls series, and I still love it now! I read this book in a day—it was fast-paced and I loved it!

We’ve got a mansion owned by a famous mystery writer, rival authors (to lovers?!), attempted murder, and within all of that we have a main character that’s learning to trust herself after a divorce from her scummy ex-husband.

This book was a riot & I definitely recommend you putting it on your holiday list!

Maggie and Ethan are both mystery writers who write for the same publishing company. They both get invited to the mysterious Christmas party that their publisher encourages them to attend. Soon after they arrive, the host goes missing. Maggie and Ethan find themselves in the middle of a real mystery that needs to be solved.

This book was so much fun. I think mystery rom-coms are going to be one of my new favorite sub-genres. I loved the evolution of Maggie and Ethan's relationship as it developed from rivals to partners to something more. The bickering and bantering at the beginning was top-notch. I love that Ethan recognized that Maggie had been hurt in the past. He wants to help her move forward. Maggie recognizes the same in Ethan and wants the same for him.

Although there are some tension-filled moments, the romance is pretty much fade-to-black. Although, I never felt like the mystery was super high-stakes. The combination of the romance and mystery made for a fun, holiday read that I will be recommending.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a fun, easy to read, layered Christmas mystery and love story. It’s like if Knives Out and Gosford Park had a baby who loved love.

The first half of the book was a little confusing with the cast of characters and how everyone fit together. Plus, I just had so many questions! Then we got Ethan’s POV for the first time and the book really hit it’s stride. The character and relationship development really hits. That leads to a great balance between the moments of relationship growth between Maggie and Ethan and their working together to solve the mystery.

Moments I loved:
When Maggie finally says “Yes” to the question Ethan keeps asking!
When we find out what happened in Tucson.
And of course the scene in which we find out how everything fits together. Well, almost everything.

This book finishes in a strong satisfying way and all the questions I had at the beginning are answered. Do I want more? Always!

I would absolutely recommend this book! Especially to those who love fun mysteries, the Christmas season, romance, Hallmark or any mix of those.

i had so much fun reading this book! the meta-ness of mystery authors solving a mystery was excellent, i'm not normally a mystery fan, but throw a romance in it, and i'm all in. the knives out with kissing marketing is absolutely spot on. i'd recommend this to any contemporary romance fan!

Ally Carter is an auto-buy for me and this book is no exception. What a fun Christmas mystery set in the UK with some romance mixed in! Highly recommend!

This mystery from Ally Carter was Clue meets Agatha Christie and they fall in love and have a romance baby. I ADORE this book. Maggie and Ethan are authors with the same publishing house - Ethan is the golden boy, while he never seems to remember Maggie's name and she trucks along to reassemble her life around her. After a missing invitation to a Christmas party (hello, Clue!) they need to set aside their differences to solve the disappearance of a legendary author.

I am in love with Ethan Wyatt. The end.

That could honestly be my review. He is a boy obsessed and I'm here for it.

But seriously - a 5 star read that's going to be perfect for the 'bers. The social commentary on gaslighting, believeing in oneself, and surviving his incredible. What seems like a low-stakes locked door mystery is a charming and poignant exploration into gaslighting and how you can write your own story and be supported through every step of the way. I'm still just in giggles over how much fun this was to read and I can't wait to get my hands on the physical copy.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the chance to read this book. Thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've never read Ally Carter before, but now I am a Fan. I can't wait to read more. I wish I could give this book 10 Stars. It's absolutely perfect. I will be recommending it to everyone this year.

Maggie is done with Christmas. She doesn't want to do anything but stay home and sulk until her Publisher hands her a Christmas Invitation. The Invitation ends up being from her favorite Author, the woman she aspires to be. The downfall is that she is traveling with someone she hates. Cue the Enemies to Lovers Trope. Done Beautifully.

Until her idol disappears from a locked room, everyone is now a suspect. Let the Mystery and Romance begin.

Thank You to Net Galley, Ally Carter, and Avon Publishin

I loved this book so much! If I could give it more than five stars, I would. It has everything I love but didn’t know I needed jam-packed into one delightfully fun story. There's a locked room mystery set in an English manor that's full of intriguing characters, hilarious situations that had me literally laughing out loud, and a swoony rivals-to-lovers romance. Yep, I was sold. What's not to love? I’ve been a big fan of Ally Carter since her Gallagher Girl books, and, I’ve gotta say, this is my new favorite.

Maggie and Ethan were so fun together. Their banter was hilarious. There was a definite spark between them, which had me rooting so hard for them. Maggie had a bit of a hard edge about her, but the more I learned about her and the more I discovered about her past, I understood her and was cheering her on. Ethan was a bit of a mystery himself. Very little was known about him, but I loved the slow reveal of getting to know him. I don't want to say too much, but, wow, what a swoony guy!

This story wasn't all laughs, though. I appreciated the fact that important and sometimes heavy topics were addressed.

I thought the mystery was excellent. I never knew who or what to trust. The ending was such a brilliant twist!

I need more books like this. I need more funny, mysterious, and suspenseful rom-coms. This was absolutely delightful, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

NOTE: There was a little bit of language, and while there was heavily implied intimacy, it remained behind a closed door.

I received a copy of this book and voluntarily reviewed it. All thoughts and comments are my honest opinion.

I received an arc copy of my first Ally Carter book and I am absolutely planning to read more of her books now. This book had great banter and was well written that I didn’t want to put it down. I was hooked on this story of Maggie and Ethan and the mystery they needed to solve.

I really enjoyed reading this so thank you for this arc copy!

I loved this. A Christmas mystery/romance is something I didn’t know I needed. The story with the mystery was great and i loved getting to watch an enemies to lovers romance blossom.

Accidentally stayed up way too late completely bingeing this book, and I loved it!! It very much has Agatha Christie// Clue type vibes, and I ate it up. Ethan and Maggie were so much fun and I loved their banter! For some reason, Maggie has hated Ethan. Can’t stand him. When they both end up invited to the same mysterious Christmas celebration, they’re forced to spend time together and we start to learn why Maggie has hated him. Ethan himself turned out to be such a big surprise, and I absolutely love that man. I really don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just leave it at the fact that there is so much more to him than most people realize, and between his backstory and everything between him and Maggie…my heart. But that’s just the two of them! The mystery itself was SO GOOD! Twists I didn’t expect, so many hidden clues, secret passages, the laughs and banter, someone trying to take out Maggie…*chef’s kiss* I loved it. It was everything I was hoping for after I read the description! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a holiday rom-com/ mystery!

[ARC fromNetGalley//Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for an honest review]

This !!!! That prologue wow. This is such a great book, funny , entertaining and definitely different. I like both characters they are hilarious together. The whole set was really good and well the mystery so good . Definitely recommending

This was a lot of fun! I feel like that’s going to be the most said thing about this book, but it’s true. Maggie is a writer that’s been more or less a recluse for the past year. So when her publisher insists she goes to England for Christmas, she reluctantly accepts. She when the flight takes off, her archenemy, Ethan, appears. He’s also a writer and is going to the same house party. Starts off with great banter between, and the whole enemies to lovers vibe was spot on. Throw in some unsavory characters, a missing beloved writer, some killing attempts, and a little mistletoe……you have yourself a fun Christmas romp.