I loved this so much! OMG! This was entertaining from the beginning.

The writing is extremely well done and the book is so atmospheric. You can truly picture yourself there.

WELL DONE!

Yes!! This was the perfect book for me! The mix of rom-com and Agatha Christie was amazing! I loved the locked in a house in the middle of nowhere in a snow storm with a murderer trope. The clues were clever and I loved every minute of it. Highly recommend!

Entertaining is just one of the many adjectives you could use to describe this book. A closed door mystery with a couple of unusual twists. Maggie doesn't "do" Christmas. She's had too many bad/sad holidays to look forward to lights, trees and presents. As a mystery writer, she'll just stay home and write for the holidays. When she receives an invitation from a fan to join them in the UK, all expenses paid, Maggie lets herself be talked into accepting. BUT.....when she arrives finds that her fan is Eleanor Ashley, a mystery writer icon and Maggie's favorite author. Just when it looks like she'll have a great Christmas, along comes Ethan Wyatt, a thriller writer who Maggie finds boorish.
When Eleanor disappears with no trace, it's up to Maggie and Ethan to solve the mystery and save the day. While the mystery is the main focus of THE MOST WONDERFUL CRIME OF THE YEAR, there's plenty of room in this entertaining plot line for romance to creep in. Ally Carter has just added another fan to her club.

4.25-4.5 rounded up

This was in one word, fun. I had a blast reading this! It’s just as described, Knives Out meets a locked door mystery.

I must confess that I am not a big holiday book/romance reader or watcher. This book is a thriller/romance set during the Christmas season and it works so well. It’s also kind of meta, as Eleanor Ashley is a best-selling mystery author who has disappeared from a locked room, leaving a nearly finished novel about (you guessed it) an author who takes her death and disappears from a locked room!

Maggie is a character that really doesn’t know her own strength. She’s been reliant on herself for a long time and struggles to allow people in, and also kind of suffers from thinking that people are better off without her. Not in a depressing way, but more so in a way where she has been used by the most important people in her life and can’t see how amazing she is.

Ethan? He is a quintessential man written by a woman but I am OBSESSED. I loved the inclusion of his POV, but I also liked that it didn’t come into play until ~50%. So you’re reading and assuming you’re only getting Maggie’s side of the story, only to be shot into Ethan’s perspective where he’s been secretly in love with Maggie for years.

I also must say I couldn’t figure out who the bad guy was, and I was genuinely trying to predict the twist!

Was it kind of surface level and light? Absolutely. But it was just what I was in the mood for. And Ethan and Maggie are both authors, so there are so many little reader/book lover quips that had be laughing out loud.

Also? I just love Ally Carter’s writing and storytelling. You can tell she loves what she does, and it translates really well onto the page. I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a teen, so I am genuinely thrilled that she is writing Adult now!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon books for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

A holiday themed romance / who-dun-it/is trying to murder you all wrapped up? A perfect way to start the holiday reading season.

I wasn't sure what to expect when two competing mystery authors Maggie and Ethan both surprisingly are invited to the isolated home of renown author Eleanor Ashley.

Then when someone disappears, a real life mystery begins. Disconnected from the rest of the world due to snow storms... Maggie and Ethan have to figure out who they can(not) trust, and solve a mystery as their lives depend on it.

I really enjoyed this mental escape! Thank you to Netgalley, Avon and Harper Voyager for the ARC.

Maggie dislikes Christmas as the haunts of her youth ruined the holiday. An author, Maggie is offered a trip of a lifetime, only her nemesis must come too. Wyatt is literally the bane of her existence, and her name is not "Marcie."

Together, the arrive at an english mansion days before Christmas, and find themselves investigating the disappearance of its owner, Maggies favorite author.

The book reads like a game of clue as Maggie and Wyatt solve the mystery of near-death experiences happening throughout the mansion and its guests. Then along way these enemies become lovers. This book is a perfect holiday read.

Thank you, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon

Did I expect to read a cozy Christmas mystery romance in September? Absolutely not. Did I enjoy it? You bet I did 🤭 I’m an absolute sucker for rivals to lovers & this had just the right amount of tension & romance (although the romance was more of a subplot) while still keeping me on my toes & playing detective along with the characters to solve the mystery 🕵️‍♀️

Maggie is a cozy mystery writer who has suffered great loss around Christmas time & has a really hard time when the holiday comes around. Close to Christmas time, she’s invited to a party in England hosted by a fan & when she arrives, she realizes the fan is none other than Eleanor Ashely, a mystery writer and Maggie’s Idol. One person she didn’t expect to find at the party? Ethan Wyatt, a fellow writer & Maggie’s rival. But when Eleanor mysteriously disappears & a guest is poisoned, Maggie & Ethan must team up & work together to figure out what is happening at Eleanor’s mansion.

Thank you NetGalley & Avon books for the ARC!✨

"'Sometimes I lie in bed at night, thinking of ways to kill you and make it look like an accident.' 'So what you're saying is, you think about me in bed.'"

From the author of I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You comes a heartwarming, funny, and engaging adult romantic mystery novel. This festive tale feels like an Agatha Christie novel with a lighthearted tone. Maggie is a successful author who is dreading spending yet another Christmas alone. But that changes when her favorite author, Eleanor Ashley, invites her to spend Christmas at her mansion in the English countryside. The only problem? Her rival, the ever-charming and slick Ethan Wyatt, along with a quirky cast of Eleanor’s relatives, are also invited. But when Eleanor disappears from her locked office and someone is poisoned, Maggie and Ethan realize they are snowed in with a potential killer - and they may be the only two people they can trust.

Characters:
Our leads, Maggie and Ethan, were both well-rounded and fully developed. It was easy to see why they fall in love, and how they are similar. I LOVE when we can see the pieces of two characters fit together like this. Maggie and Ethan each had interesting backstories that were woven nicely throughout the primary plot. I was cheering for both of them!

Plot:
As you’d expect from a mystery novel, the plot was fast-paced and I easily flew through this book. The ending surprised me - I thought I had figured out the killer, but I was wrong! And the switch to Ethan’s POV in the middle of the book was an absolute game-changer. His first chapter and his perspective of Maggie is what made this a 5 star read for me. Plus, we got not one, but TWO “Who did this to you?” moments. LOVE.

Writing Style:
Carter had me laughing out loud from page one. The novel was really well balanced: funny yet suspenseful, lighthearted yet serious too. The writing was easy to digest without being repetitive or too elementary. I would recommend this book to anyone!

4.5 stars

Two RIVAL writers get invited to meet a mystery author! This just so happens to be our FMC Maggie’s favorite author! Then when they get there they get stuck in the manor a few days before Christmas!

This was so fun, it was filled with tension, clues with lots or twists and was very fast pace! I would say the romance is more or an added bonus. This is somehow also packed in with some topics that pack a punch. I loved seeing Ethan and Maggie’s pasts but somehow staying perfectly in the present and how well they worked together to solve this mystery!

There were a lot of quotes that I loved in this book and I will share a few


"You know, if mankind has one universal superpower, it's gaslighting women into thinking they're the problem."

“It's about a young woman who was so terrified she decided to just be dead change her appearance and her name and disappear--because, sometimes, being dead is the only way to stay alive."


Overall this book has sprinkles of Christmas but it’s not huge and would be the perfect fit for someone who wanted a holiday read without all the fluff!

I loved this one!! Thank you to Avon & Harper for my complimentary ARC. This book is the perfect mash-up of a locked-room mystery and an rivals to lovers romance.

Rival mystery writers, Maggie and Ethan, are invited by their idol to a reclusive estate for the Christmas holidays. Carter away by a private jet, the two are blown away by gorgeous castle-like estate in the English country-side. However, soon after their arrival, their idol is found missing, another guest is nearly murdered, and a snowstorm blows in isolating them from authorities. The remaining guests are now all suspects, and Maggie and Ethan could be the next victims. They team up to follow a series of clues to solve the mystery and hopefully rescue their idol.

Mysterious tunnels, cryptic clues, tense suspense, and insane amounts of witty banter and physical attraction make this page-turned an absolute delight. Sprinkled in between chapters are post-Christmas police interviews and flashbacks from the last 5 years of encounters between Maggie and Ethan. As they work together, and learn more about each other’s pasts/careers, it is revealed they might have misinterpreted one another.

Y’all. Ethan has been ‘down bad’ for Maggie for YEARS. Watching him patiently wait for her to realize his feelings, AND see herself the way he sees her was so swoony. I absolutely love the ‘he falls first’ trope, but this gem of a book also has forced proximity, only one bed, and a hero with big protective energy (and his incessant begging her to ‘make out’). Both Maggie and Ethan have past trauma to work through which added depth and vulnerability to the plot. The mystery was propulsive and the danger was genuine! But overall, it was the humor, banter, and setting that will set this mystery rom-com apart from other holiday reads this year! I highly recommend this one.

I simply could not read this story quick enough! The mystery kept me guessing and the budding romance fit perfectly. This cinematic, fast paced novel is the perfect holiday read!

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was a delightful mix of holiday romance and locked room mystery.
Maggie and Ethan are both writers who happen to hate each other. They receive separate invitations to the home of Eleanor Ashley, who is Maggie's idol, to spend Christmas there. The two meet on the private jet which will be bringing them to their destination and it is evident that they have a history together and it is not all good.
While at Eleanor's mansion with Eleanor's family and a couple of other unrelated characters, a blizzard occurs and on the first night Eleanor disappears seemingly out of a locked room.
Ethan and Maggie than spend the next couple of days trying to solve the mystery of her disappearance finding out that there is more to her idol than meets the eyes. The mansion lends itself to the creepiness with power outages, greenhouses with poisonous plants and secret tunnels galore.
All the while the sexual tension between Maggie and Ethan increases and you wish they would just hurry up and fall in love the way you know they will. Maggie has had heartbreak in her past and through this adventure she learns to trust again and better yet to believe in herself.
I loved both of these characters and was cheering for them to get together. I hope that this is not the last we have seen of Maggie and Ethan.
This book was well written and kept me guessing the whole time!

Thank you to Harper Collins Canada, NetGalley and Killer Crime Club for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me this book for free in exchange for my review! All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book. It had a little bit of everything - romance, suspense, mystery, drama. This book was very well written and super creative. This book will most likely be on my list for the best holiday-themed books in 2024. If you are looking for a cozy mystery that will give you Agatha Christie vibes, but will also put you in the holiday spirit, I definitely recommend this book. I devoured it! I am also looking forward to the audiobook being released soon!

5 stars!


Many Thanks again to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with this book in exchange for my honest review.

********


If you are interested in seeing more of my reviews and other content feel free to connect with me here <3:

https://linktr.ee/bookreviewsbyjules (links to my Instagram, Goodreads, TikTok, Storygraph, My blog and Substack newsletter, etc)

If you are a publisher or author who has questions about my reviews (as well as questions about my stats, reach or engagement), please free to email me. I am also open to requests for book reviews from authors or publishers. Thank you again for taking time to read my review, and I hope you have a wonderful day!

ACR Review ✨3 Stars✨
Thank you NetGalley and Avon and Harper for the ARC of The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year! I can definitely say the book fits the title. If you like a good game of Clue or drooling over Chris Evans in a cable knit while watching Knives Out then this book is for you. Awesome banter and a very fun Christmas mystery will keep the pages turning.

This was my first Ally Carter and it was pretty much exactly what I was looking for in a Christmas-time, mystery rom-com!

Here are some of the specific things I really loved about this book:
1. The mystery was front and center, and it was a good one! I loved the mystery, I loved the twists and turns, and I loved watching two “enemies” work together to solve it knowing they were the only two people they could, begrudgingly, trust. I loved even more that I could not piece it together myself! I seriously had no clue and I’m usually pretty good at figuring out the ending quickly. Loved this challenge!

2. I loved Eleanor Ashley. From everything she represented to playing games until the very end, she was a fantastic character even with the little page time she got. I also adored her faith in Maggie and Ethan; especially in Maggie. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the bond these two women had when they didn’t even know each other was incredible!

3. Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-lovers, especially set during Christmas time in England?? Absolute perfection!

4. I quite enjoyed the flirty banter and back and forth between Maggie and Ethan. The book was closed door spice, so definitely one I could see recommending and bonding over with my mother, which are always good options to have.

5. I loved how the house and estate were so large that we truly got to explore so many different places of it. The best part was all the “tricks” the mystery author implemented into the house to make it exactly how you would envision a mystery writer would: hidden safes, trap doors, secrets exits and rooms, etc. Super fun to explore these areas with our MCs.

6. I enjoyed the evolution of Maggie’s character and how much Ethan supported that journey. Maggie started as a meek woman who was gaslit for so long that she questioned her own sanity and ability to be right. However, in basically leading the charge on solving the mystery, we saw her come out of her insecurities more and more as time went on. Ethan had such a supportive role in this too, always encouraging her to keep going with her train of thoughts and telling her constantly that she wasn’t wrong or crazy.

I also really liked this line in the story:

“You know, if mankind has one universal superpower, it’s gaslighting women into thinking they’re the problem.”
And it was spoken by Maggie after she got her confidence back. Absolutely screamed “YOU ARE THE WOMAN!” when I read this.

7. Along with the above, there were so many other great lines in this book. Here are some of my favorites:

“I’m not offended that you’d accuse me of murder. I’m offended you’d think I’d be bad at it.”
--

Maggie started doing Party Math in her head.

If she hid for thirty minutes, then waved at three more people on her way to the elevator, maybe no one would notice if she spent the rest of the party hiding in an empty room, reading her Purse Book and eating her Napkin Cheese.
- I MEEEEEAN, are we the same person?!?!

--

Ethan: You know, some women think I’m chivalrous.

Maggie: Some women think the earth is flat.
--

“He needed you to be less than him, and you were always going to be more. There’s no way, no universe, no reality in which you aren’t the brightest star in the whole damn sky.”
- And this is when I fell for Ethan *swoon*

--

“If you were mine, I’d carry you through the storm. If you were mine, I’d fight the sky.”

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon, and Ally Carter for the opportunity to read a copy of this book. The thoughts and opinions expressed above are honest and my own.

Christmas at an English country house hosted by famed mystery author, Eleanor Ashley, who happens to be cozy mystery author Maggie Chase's literary idol. A perfect outing for Maggie who is celebrating her first Christmas since her husband left her for her best friend. Christmas seems to be when bad things happen to Maggie. It seems that this year will not be different because also attending Eleanor's get together is Maggie's nemesis, Ethan Wyatt, famed thriller author.

As more guests arrive, a snow storm descends and Eleanor Ashley disappears from her locked office. Could this be a locked room mystery game or something else? The stakes are raised when a guest is poisoned and someone shoots at Maggie. Maggie and Ethan reluctantly begin to work together to get to the bottom of this mystery. We learn about their past and watch them fall in love.

This is an excellent romantic mystery, great dialog, humor, wonderful characters, and a perfect cozy Christmas setting. Once you start reading you won't want to stop. Ally Carter, please give us more of Maggie and Ethan!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Avon and Harper Voyager, for an ARC. The review is my own.

I felt like I was inside a holiday episode of scooby-doo, but instead of the usual gang solving the mystery, it was with a hot rival 🔥

First of all, I’m usually iffy about holiday books because sometimes they go OVERBOARD, but this one had the perfect balance! The holiday elements were sprinkled in just about right, and the fact that everyone got stuck inside a manor a few days before Christmas was perfect (not too much, not too little 🎄❄️)

quick summary: two writers who are rivals get invited to spend Christmas with a famous mystery writer. Maggie Chase is thrilled because this author is her favorite... but guess who isn't her favorite? Ethan Wyatt, who she despises (he even calls her "Marcie," which isn't her name smh). After the first night, a winter storm hits and Eleanor goes missing. Who better to trust than two writers who make a living solving mysteries in their novels? 🔍

I’m not usually a big mystery gal myself, but this book was full of fast-paced scenes, tension, and a lovely subplot of romance between the two characters 😍 I also really liked how the clues and twists were introduced which btw I totally didn’t solve the mystery 🕵️‍♀️ 😂 I was blindsided tbh hahah!

The romance definitely felt like a subplot since they’re busy trying to solve the mystery, but it was the perfect balance to keep me reading nonstop! If you love mystery and the whole "someone is trying to kill me let's solve this murder" this book is THE PERFECT holiday book for you!

Thank you Netgalley and Avon books for giving me this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon and Harper Voyager.

I actively disliked this book for the first entire half of it, only starting to like it in the second half, once the "enemies to lovers" portion had been settled and the actual mystery starts unfolding (not that we get much of that with all the relationship stuff). Which is where most of my problems with this book arise - the author, I think unintentionally, in setting up Ethan as the "enemy" does a little too well.

I'm going to not to get into spoiler territory here because I am just so. mad. I hated how Carter wrote this relationship and these two people. She makes us HATE the male lead from the start - he's entitled to her personal space, he never calls her by the right name, and he constantly teases and belittles her. She, rightfully, hates him for his behavior and attitude. Rightfully! He's been actively hurtful towards her.

Now imagine reading an entire first half of a novel where the author makes you hate this man, and you know he's also the male romantic lead. Well, I had to finish the novel just to see if she could turn it around.

She certainly tried but was she successful if I'm cringing at the two leads getting together, and rolling my eyes whenever they kiss, and full on gagging when they have sex? I don't think you could make me hate a couple coming together as much as I disliked Maggie and Ethan hooking up. And we're made to root for Maggie and be upset at all the people who have abused her, and then you want us to root for an asshole who also abused her? OK, he's not as bad as the ex, but that's not saying much. Waving the rudeness away with some blithe dumb meet cute that made no sense, not that any of their relationship made sense. Maggie could do better.

The story itself is written ok, but I found the bits with the inspector interview unnecessary and overly goofy. Just, like, this whole novel is goofy. I don't mind goofy, it can be charming, but I just found myself constantly annoyed with this one. The mystery was ok, kind of fun, and the reason I'm giving this any stars. But the mystery is second fiddle to the relationship drama.

I'm sorry I didn't enjoy this because the premise, the summary, had me so excited. This seemed like something I would love, or at least enjoy. How disappointing. I really wanted to like this.

Thank you NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager and Ally Carter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year is a mystery “who done it” with the self discovery and enemies to lovers of a romance.

The first 10-15% I really struggled with the MMC but as the book goes on you learn more about him (and the backstory that explains his behavior) and then he’s literally the dreamiest.

The story is written in dual POV and then has flashbacks to previous encounters over the years. I enjoyed picking up pieces of the story along the way.

I will say the guilty party was suspect to me from the start but the reason why (and the rest of the fallout) was a twist.

This story truly filled me with joy! Clue becomes a rom-com vibes that made me giddy. This was my first Ally Carter book so needless to say, I will now spend the rest of the day adding her other works to my TBR.
Maggie and Ethan are rival authors that hate each other, so she believes. When they are both invited to spend Christmas with, not only best selling mystery writer, Eleanor Ashley but, also the author of the only real steady presence throughout Maggie's life, Maggie can't believe she's spending her least favorite holiday with her life's inspiration and role model. Only there's one problem, Eleanor disappears from a locked room and Maggie may be the only one who can figure out what happened to her. Can she trust her archenemesis, Ethan, to help her find Eleanor and most importantly, find herself?