The Most Fun Read of My December. Cute, but also a bit dark. Witty banter, check. Grumpy vs Sunshine, however fake, check. Locked room mystery with a mansion full of authors during Christmas. Clue meets Younger.

I have read this author before and enjoyed her books. This one was TOP NOTCH!

I enjoy a holiday read that has a little mystery. This one combined that with romance and oh was it fun!

Maggie and Ethan are definitely enemies, at least in Maggie's eyes. They end up invited to the home of well known author Eleanor Ashley. But they have no idea why. Then Eleanor goes missing and things really take a turn.

The banter between Maggie and Ethan was so much fun. And there was such a delightful cast of characters.

Highly recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

You know, I can’t claim it’s my favorite book of the year but I also have no notes. It’s a fantastic book as is and I read through it enjoying every moment until the very end, so therefore a rare 5 star rating from me!

Okay, a few buzzwords and phrases to actually give this review merit…

Highly entertaining with some thrills and mystery along the way. Great set-up and excellent follow-through. Escalating tensions mixed with emotional depth and adorable interactions. I loved Maggie and Ethan and how they grow over such a short book, everything we learn just makes me love them more. The author packs a lot in to such a concise locked-in mystery. It felt like a great counterpart to the super-sappy romances of the holiday season. Crime solving for the holiday reading win!

This book was super fun. I love books about writers, but having the mystery writers solving a mystery element is always something I enjoy. The characters are fun and this was such a quick read. Definitely see where the Knives Out comparisons are drawn and I like that style a lot.

This book was a wonderful ride from start to finish! The murder mystery elements with a romance that had me giggling and kicking my feet?! I mean I couldn't ask for more!

A total fun Christmas romp! Very reminiscent of when Agatha Christie went missing, fellow mystery authors Maggie and Ethan end up playing real detectives when they are invited to stay at a famous mystery author’s English estate over the Christmas holiday. Romance blossoms between the two of them as they get to know each other between poisonings, shootings, and finding clues between books. It was the perfect cozy holiday mystery, and gave Clue vibes as well.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was so fun and a perfect combination f mystery and romance. I fell I love with mystery stories through reading Agatha Christie so I appreciated all the references to honor her. My favorite romance trope is enemies to lovers so this was just the perfect book for me.

When rival mystery authors Maggie and Ethan are forced to spend the holidays together at the home of a fan, they're both shocked to discover that the fan is none other than the most prolific mystery writer of all time, Eleanor Ashley, and her home is really a secluded mansion in the Scottish countryside. When a snowstorm hits and their illustrious host vanishes, Maggie is sure this is a test: Eleanor is finally ready to retire and either Maggie or Ethan will continue her legacy. But when another guests is almost killed, the pair realize that things are more serious than they thought, and they may be the only two they can trust.

Rivals to lovers to crime-fighting companions has gotta be one of the best microtropes of all time, no? Since I was a kid, I've loved Ally Carter's books, and her turn to adult romance-mystery-caper novels has please me so much. Its great for the author to grow with us, her millennial fandom. This book was even better than The Blonde Identity, with both great romantic and mystery elements, a holiday spin, and many, many nods to Agatha Christie. It's not the most, shall we say, original plot, with a few points reminiscent of The Mousetrap, but it's got enough original charm and romance to make it a fresh spin on some old tropes. I love this book so much and can't wait to see what else Carter has in store.

Thanks to Avon for my eARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

5 stars - 10/10

Words can’t describe how much I loved this one! A great cozy winter romance, a fun snowed-in murder mystery, and so much complicated history between Maggie and Ethan. It winks enough at other mysteries while doing its own definitive thing, and I loved the way Ethan’s POV slowly emerges throughout the narrative. A terrific read, particularly for this time of year.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this edition from the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I've been a fan of Ally Carter since the Gallagher Girls series, and I think this book might be my favorite yet!

This book is a delightful blend of Cozy Mystery and Romance, and I think readers who similarly enjoy both genres will also like the blend. There's a solid mystery plot with classic mystery tropes, such as an Agatha-Chrisitie-like country house party set during a snowstorm. There's also a solid enemies-to-lovers romance plot. I really appreciated how well this book balanced both genres.

I would highly recommend this book to fans of Cozy Mystery Romances looking for a fun Christmas read!

4.5⭐️— Humor, mystery, romance… this book’s got it all. Seriously just so fun & such a unique holiday read. Absolutely loved it! Thank you NetGalley & Avon Books for this ARC!

4⭐
G🌶️

If you're over the sappy Christmas books set in places like Evergreen Mistletoe Falls, why not try this little romp of Christmas falling in love meets murder mystery? Honestly the perfect book to curl up with by the fire while you're visiting family I've tried holidays so you can figure out which of your cousins is most likely to kill you for your fortune.

Maggie is the cozy mystery queen and is shocked to receive a Christmas invitation from her idol, the famous mystery writer Eleanor Ashley. When she arrives Maggie finds Ethan, a popular thriller author, and her rival is also invited. When Eleanor disappears overnight Maggie and Ethan team up to solve the mystery of what happened and figure out if Eleanor was murdered.
This mystery was a fun twist on my usual Christmas rom-coms. I’ve seen a few reviewers say reading this book feels like a game of Clue and that is so spot on. This book is entertaining, the mystery keeps you guessing, and Maggie and Ethan have stellar chemistry. This book was so much fun to read!
Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

4.5 stars

finally, a holiday book that didn’t disappoint me! i was a diehard ally carter reader growing up, but hadn’t read a book of hers in at least a decade. i’m happy to report i’m fully back on the ally carter mystery train after reading this gem. this was one of those rare reading experiences where i started this book intending to just read a few chapters, but before i knew it, hours had passed and i had finished the entire thing.

the mystery plot was really fun and definitely kept me guessing— i loved that our two main characters were mystery writers who got to put their hypothetical crime-solving knowledge to actual, practical use. the clues eleanor left for maggie to find were so clever. i don’t think this was a perfect mystery, but i had so much damn fun reading it that i didn’t care. same goes for the romance— it is a bit insta-love-y, but i found ethan so charming and endearing that i truly didn’t mind that. the banter between the love interests was excellent. i also thought the epilogue was a nice touch to wrap up this story.

overall, this is not a perfect book, but it doesn’t take itself too seriously and has such fun leads that you’ll have a blast reading it either way. highly recommend checking this one out this holiday season!

*i received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.*

Ally Carter never misses! This was such a fun romcom with a mystery twist. What I love about Ally's writing is how deep the character development is and how she casually interlaces one line zingers through out the prose. A stellar holiday romcom!

Merry Bookmas! This is my favorite festive new release I've read so far this year. Ally Carter's writing was sharp and witty and the banter was excellent! This locked room mystery was fast paced and I definitely enjoyed the ride. Growing up, Carter's Gallagher Girls series was a key part of my personal library so I'm so happy to see her doing adult fiction now!

Thank you Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fun mystery-rom-com mash up. I liked that it was a destination party during Christmas and it didn't feel like a hallmark movie. It was very different and I really enjoyed the journey

I tried. I tried so hard. I put it down and came back three separate times in case I was just not in the mood, but this book just didn't grab me. I'd heard some amazing things about Ally as a writer and I love a christmas story and a mystery. this should have been a slam dunk for me and idk why but i just could not connect.

This holiday romance delivers the perfect blend of mystery, humor, and enemies-to-lovers energy. Set against a cozy, Christmas-themed backdrop, it follows two rival mystery authors, Maggie and her counterpart, as they travel to England for a getaway that quickly turns into a thrilling whodunit. The two are forced into close quarters when a beloved author is murdered, and they must work together to solve the crime. The plot is engaging and the mystery keeps you hooked for the first three-quarters of the book, though the final reveal left me feeling less satisfied with the culprit than I expected, despite the solid build-up.

The romance is the real heart of this story. I loved the slow burn between Maggie and her love interest, who turns out to have been secretly pining for her since their first meeting. Their dynamic, filled with sharp banter, forced proximity, and detective work, adds a delightful layer to the mystery. Maggie's backstory—having recently escaped a toxic relationship—adds depth to her character, and her growth over the course of the story is both empowering and relatable. The book’s holiday atmosphere, combined with witty dialogue and a fun, fast-paced plot, makes it an ideal pick for getting into the festive spirit. With dual POVs and a charming audio narration by Saskia Maarleveld, this is a standout holiday read for 2024.

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year was a super fun romp with some hilarious moments, excellent main characters, and an interesting twist. For whatever reason I really kept thinking that it should be Ethan and Maggie should be the ones DOING the crimes, not solving them - that's just what the title really suggested in my head, which is not the case. This isn't a detriment to the book by any means, but it was an interesting preconceived notion that was hard to shake.