This was a fun, quick paced Christmas in July read! I was sucked in from the beginning but midway through I started to lose the plot. Overall, I didn't hate it, but it wasn't my favorite. I think I'd have enjoyed this more as an audiobook.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
3.5 ⭐️

I grew up loving Ally Carter’s YA series and kid-me would have been so excited to know adult me would be reading ARCs of her adult books! Thanks, @netgalley

This book sits squarely in between Mystery and Romance and I loved the combination. The first half was a little bit too cheesy and overt for my taste, but once the mystery got going I really liked it. If you need something different at Christmas time, definitely pick this one up!

I put off reading this one because it appeared to be Christmas theme and indeed it is but I wish I would have read this before now!! I loved everything about this one I think I finished it in under 24 hours.
When your biggest fan invites you to spend Christmas with them of course you do it! A woman goes missing right before Christmas and a group of strangers and family are trapped in a house together trying to figure out what is happening. I was so annoyed with Ethan calling Maggie the wrong name but once I figured it out I loved this book even more!! I highly recommend and will definitely be finding more books from this author!! Thank you NetGalley for the arc!!

4 stars.

Christmas in July! Normally, I don’t gravitate towards holiday books until November/December, but the idea of a mystery involving writers at a mansion sounded original and compelling. I’m a huge romantic suspense fan so a little dash of mystery and a lot of romance is just what I need in a Christmas romance. I love how the story jumped right into the plot and the love interests are put together on a plane to London right away. If you enjoy Ally Carter’s other books such as The Blonde Identity, you’ll enjoy this holiday mystery romance! Will probably be doing a December reread!

What a cute locked door mystery! It reminded me of ‘And Then There Were None’ by Agatha Christie- I was kept guessing until the very end!

My only complaint would be that this book seems like more of a young adult mystery/romance- there was so much emphasis on kissing and making out, that I got the impression this book was for a younger audience.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy!

Quick dialogue, enemies to friends to lovers, remote manor of famous mystery writer, blizzard, and locked room mystery at Christmas! All the fun and sure to be a winner with romance and mystery readers.

Love a murder mystery at Christmas! Cute story, easy read, but felt a bit too drawn out in sections. Probably work better as a novella.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review.

A lovely Christmas in July ARC! One of my fave reads of 2024!

This is a perfect mashup of mystery and romance. Set in snowed in "Mistletoe Manor" - It gave vibes of Clue, Murder She Wrote, and Knives Out. There was a who-dun-it storyline with two (rivals-to-lovers) main characters who had wit and banter that made me smile and giggle. This was my first read for this author (Ally Carter) and I enjoyed how she teased bits of information and would slowly fill in the gaps as you read - which kept me eagerly turning the pages.

This is gonna be a hit. Throw on your cheesy Christmas sweater grab some cocoa (coffee or tea) and sit by a fire and devour this book when it comes out 09.24.2024! I'll need a copy for my bookshelf! Thanks to Netgalley, Avon Harper Voyage, and Ally Carter for an ARC of this book!

5/5 Stars
1/5 spice (but it's still good - just more closed door)

Ally Carter was an auto-read author for me in high school, and it's been exciting to now read her adult books and be reminded of why I always gravitated toward her books.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is a cozy read that gave me all the Christmas-in-July vibes I'd been wanting. I can't wait to pick this back up in December.

I loved the dynamic between Ethan and Maggie (what can I say, I love a reverse grumpy relationship because it makes me feel seen) and Maggie's character growth as well.

You've done it again, Ally! Can't wait to see what you put out next.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this arc!

What a good book!!! Such a good story and great writing style. This was my first by this author and will not be my last! Such a cute holiday mystery romcom!

Delightful. Tropey, adventure, fun.
I would 100% watch this as a movie. I hope this becomes a series.

This book was so charming and everything I was looking for. Endearing main characters, interesting locked-room mystery, swoon-worthy romance. I had fun every single step of the way. Their tension was impeccable, the mystery had me on the edge of me seat, and I absolutely devoured this book. Not every character is incredibly well built out but this was a fun read and PERFECT for the holiday season.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

This is quite literally the perfect cozy romance-mystery/Knives Out book to read during Christmas. Maggie & Ethan are both mystery authors who hate Christmas because they each have had terrible life mishaps on the days leading up to Christmas. They also have a history of deep hatred (well, one sided) because Ethan can't even remember Maggie's name and he's just skating through life on his charm.

Ally Carter manages to nail the Agatha Christie vibe perfectly - we have Eleanor (our Agatha) go missing, and Maggie (her biggest fan!) working to find her as people around them start dying and everyone has a motive...sound familiar? But what makes this book THE book to read this winter is the romance, which the cover captures perfectly. Ethan has secretly harbored a crush on Maggie for a long time, and everyone can tell - so when we get their slow burn romance, Maggie manages to remain a fun clueless character without being frustrating, and Ethan gets to have his big reveals and POVs midway into the book to explain his actions. This is the perfect combination of snowed-in house with a questionable will & a one-bed romance.

Definitely a must-read this winter!!

This was So. Much. Fun.

I may be dating myself here, but if you remember the ‘Saved By The Bell’ murder mystery party episode, this is a full length novel of those vibes but also set at Christmas and also real criminal activity, not just a game.

I really loved Maggie and felt for her with all she’d gone through. I admired her strength and resiliency that it seemed like everyone could see but her. She’d been conditioned to doubt herself and it was lovely to see her confidence grow. She was so intelligent and had fantastic instincts. As she gradually learned to believe in them and recognize her own value, I was steadfastly rooting her on.

Some of that confidence was aided by Ethan. Ethan who truly gives off epic Chris Evans energy. So charming. So competent. So down bad for Maggie even when she doesn’t realize it. His unwavering support and belief in her was exactly what she needed. He allowed her the space and backup to lead the charge and slowly learn how to trust herself. I was swooning just as much as every other woman over this man.

The mystery element was fun even as it felt high stakes. It led to great situations that brought Maggie and Ethan together. It forced proximity, it landed them in only one bed, it gave a “who did this to you?” moment—it served on the romance tropes and microtropes is what I’m saying here. It was closed door, but the tension and chemistry was still there.

Truly, this was such an entertaining read. I had the best time. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Ally Carter and don't think that she could write anything that I wouldn't devour. The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was no exception! It's a cozy mysterious romance. The plot is interesting and fast paced. The characters (even the not-so-good-guys) are loveable. We'll need more of Maggie and Ethan.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is fantastic! I made the mistake of starting it in the evening and could NOT put it down until I was finished. Brilliant plot with multiple twisty mysteries, the wittiest of banter, and two captivating leads. This book is a love letter to Agatha Christie and traditional locked room/closed circle mysteries. Enthralling, intricate, heartwarming, and thoroughly un-put-downable!

📚Book Review 📚
🎄The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter 🎄
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Let me just start by saying this book is 5-stars on top of my Christmas Tree! There, I said it!

Why do I love this book so much? I'll try to do it justice! In 'The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year' by Ally Carter, we meet mystery writer and hardcore mystery genre fan Maggie Chase. That's enough to already get me on board with Maggie, but there's more. Maggie finds herself in a position where she and Ethan Chase, another mystery author (whom she can't stand!) is solving a mystery from the queen of crime, Eleanor Ashley.

So, we've got an Agatha Christie-type epic author, who has two amateur sleuths who happens to be MYSTERY writers, who happen to also HATE each other, solving a crime in a mansion at Christmas.

SIGN. ME. UP.

Carter's writing blends humor and depth, making this a fun read that doesn't skimp on the character developments. The book manages to be mystery, christmas cozy, romance and funny all at once -- and excels at each of them!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter combines romance and mystery into one fantastic package that I plan on opening and enjoying every Christmas. Seriously. The three lamest Christmas movies that I watch every year are officially being replaced with this book. I will re-read The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year every Christmas.

Maggie Chase, the main character of this book, is a delightful mix of vulnerability and feistiness. Her relatable qualities make it easy to empathize with her and impossible not to root for her. She is a cozy mystery writer and book lover, and she's on a mission to solve a puzzling mystery. The perfect amateur sleuth.

I don't want to spoil anything about this book, so I will not go into too many details, but I will say that the setting was brilliant, the mystery was well-plotted and fun, and there was the perfect amount of kissing (not too much).

Above all, the writing was magnificent. This book will make you feel things. I laughed a lot. Ally Carter has a fantastic sense of humor, and she really uses it in this book. I also blubbered at one point because I felt quite touched.

This book has a heavy dash of will they/won't they and is also heavy on mystery. What I'm trying to say is that there is a nice balance. There is romance, but the book is not "smut," i.e., there is not too much action on the page.

This book would be fun for romance readers who like mystery and suspense. It would also be fun for cozy mystery readers who don't typically read romance. I highly recommend it to both groups.

I don't know if there is going to be a follow-up to this or if it is a stand-alone novel. But if this were to become a series, I would definitely read more.

Thanks to Net Galley and Avon Books for an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What a delight! I grabbed this thinking it was connected to The Blonde Identity (I don't think it is, though there were definitely some similarities when it came to the heroes), but I was not at all disappointed when it was something totally different. This is a modern take on the classic locked-room mystery (a la Agatha Christie) with a bit of an enemies-to-lovers romance subplot thrown in. Maggie Chase is a successful mystery novelist who has had a pretty rough year - she caught her husband cheating on her with their mutual best friend just before Christmas, almost exactly a year before the start of this story, and she's been struggling to make ends meet (for reasons that are explained later in the book). She gets talked into going to the annual holiday party that her publisher throws, where she crosses paths, unfortunately, with her professional nemesis. Ethan Wyatt is one of the most popular novelists with Maggie's publisher, and he writes what she calls "leather jacket guy books" (which I found very evocative - I'm imagining Jack Reacher/Jack Ryan type of stuff). Before she leaves the party, Maggie gets a very mysterious invitation that her publisher tells her will be life-changing. She can't resist the mystery, so she finds herself on a private plane - unfortunately with her nemesis - and eventually lands in England where she and Ethan are taken to Mistletoe Manor, which happens to be the home of prolific Queen of Mystery novels Eleanor Ashley, who Maggie idolizes. Eleanor has invited Maggie, Ethan, and one other author, along with various and sundry family members to spend the Christmas holiday with her, but it gets more complicated when Eleanor disappears... from a locked room. When their fellow author ends up getting poisoned, it's up to Maggie and Ethan to try to figure out what happened to Eleanor, which gets harder and harder as it becomes clear that there's a killer (or at least would-be killer) at the manor with them. They go from enemies to allies to friends to something more fairly quickly, but it reads pretty realistically in context - these seem like the kind of conditions that would accelerate a relationship. I loved the chemistry between the main characters, the twists and turns of the mystery, and the clear love that Carter has for the genre. Content warnings: references to childhood poverty, death of parents, other traumatic childhood experiences, cheating, MAJOR marital gaslighting, and attempted murder.

I loved this book so much. It was well written, entertaining and cozy. The characters were well developed and extremely likable. I have already preordered copies to sell at my store.