Meghan Quinn delivers again! Ho Ho Hoe - Storee and Cole are just the cutest former friends to lovers to reverse fake dating to perfection! I knew this book was going to be fantastic but I couldn't have predicted it would be this. I absolutely loved the banter between Cole and Max - a male best friend - the best. What I never expected was the poems at the beginning of each chapter - bravo, chef's kiss, these made it! Can't wait to recommend this to absolutely everyone I know this Christmas season.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Meghan Quinn has done it again. This was a fantastic book set in a town that is Christmas 365 days a year. Returning to her aunts after fleeing a decade previous, Storee runs into her teenage crush. Their contempt for each other soon turns to HEAT. I love a good happily ever after. Throw in Christmas and it is even better. This was a great read!

It was cute! Very funny! The rhymes were so good!
A really great holiday read. I would love to see it made into a movie. I think it would be so fun to watch all of the shenanigans come to life.
Loved the competition aspect! It was so intense but also full of the sweetest moments.
Loved the second chance / friends to enemies to lovers vibe and all of the layers getting peeled back while reading.
Loved the family aspect as well! Both the blood and found families and also the bromance between Max and Cole.

As his fellow citizens decorate their quaint town, brimming with carols and glad tidings, Cole wants nothing more than to hibernate the winter away. But his dreary plans are thwarted when his Christmas nemesis, Storee Taylor, moves in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Immediately, the new neighbor turns his life into a real nightmare before Christmas, especially when she decides to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest in honor of Cindy. And better yet, Storee is determined to win.

Over Cole's dead body, she will. With help from his friend Max, Cole decides to enter the competition as well, to beat Storee at her own game by pretending that this hometown grump's heart has grown three sizes this season and he's fallen for the girl next door. And unfortunately for Storee, she has to follow his lead to have a chance at the Christmas Kringle title. But the competition isn't the only thing that heats up. Cole and Storee's fake relationship becomes very real, and before they know it, they're attempting to hide it from Aunt Cindy. Things get complicated, the competition gets tough, and all it takes is one single night for someone to steal it all.

This was so much fun! I love Meghan Quinn books, and this is such a great Christmas story! Super spicy, lovely characters, fun plot, and Quinn's classic writing style. Pick this one up! It'll bring you the gift of the holidays!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

this book was exactly what i needed to get me through hurricane milton, in typical meghan quinn fashion its fucking hilarious and hot 🤭

i never thought i would be so excited for christmas in the middle of spooky season but here we are, this was a perfect enemies/rivals to lovers. storee had me cracking up from her very first sentence to open this book 😂 this will most definitely be a yearly reread moving forward as i think itll be the best way to kick off christmas next season!!!

Storee goes back to visit and help her Aunt after she breaks a hip. She reconnects with Cole, who is grumpier than when they were kids. They both compete in the local Christmas competition. This was a cute book, the first half I found both MCs annoying but the second half I enjoyed them! The supporting characters were great!

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas is a perfect holiday book, so much fun, and incorporates everything one loves about a story set during the holidays. There is a small town Christmas competition where both Cole and Storee enter, and that leads to some very fun banter, steamy moments, pure laughter, and so much more. But it’s outside of the competition when Storee and Cole spend time together fake dating as a part of a one-upping scheme to make the other look bad is when you really get to learn these two characters.

They talk about their past, their future, the miscommunication between them as high schoolers, and so much more! The competition is fun humor to the story, the dates are the moments when they fall more in love with each other.

Max and Taron are great side characters, I’m obsessed and cannot wait for Max’s book, but also these two are like the foils of the two main characters and it’s so much fun watching them interact as well! Overall, absolutely loved this book!

The girls that get it, will get it when I say:
-American Girl Dolls
-mashed potatoes
-crevices
-pineapple candy canes

That’s really all you need to know.

This one had me rolling! I’m obsessed with the Grinch and all things Christmas so a Meghan Quinn Christmas book based on the Grinch!? Get out of here.

Once again, we have the cutest small town with the quirkiest, most hilarious side characters that you can’t help but fall in love with.

To get real for a second- I love that Cole and Storee are just very open with each other and any miscommunication between them is handled like adults and that is just so refreshing to see.

Merry Quinnmas, everybody! This one has got to go on your holiday reads list!

Get ready to never look at a candy cane the same or watch/read The Grinch again without either laughing or having dirty thoughts. This book was an absolute joy to read. It had so many great elements that came together in what has officially become one of my go to holiday comfort reads. This was a great balance of kick your feet/augh out loud funny and sweet/heartwarming. The narrator was hysterical. I highlighted so many passages featuring the narrator, so I could relive those gems again. I loved Storee’s character and how she started out very reluctant before going all on in the Christmas competition. I also loved the exploration of her relationships with Taran and Aunt Cindy. This lead to great character growth and exploration. I also have to mention the friendship between Cole and Max. I may have loved their friendhsip/bromance even more than the relationship between Storee and Cole. Max stood by Cole through everything and committed to being a holly jolly helper just to make his friend happy. The relationship between Storee and Cole was truly special and you get all of the best tropes: enemies/rivals to lovers, fake dating, close proximity, and an entertaining competition. The rollercoaster these two go through makes for an absolutely incredible journey. The banter in this book deserves its own call out — not only do Storee and Cole have next level banter, the banter between Cole and the narrator is great as well as between Cole and Max. If anyone needs tips on banter, look no further than this book. Typically, I don’t love third act breakups, but this is one I’ll happily sit through to get to the big romantic gesture. Props to Quinn for flipping the script on that as well. Do not skip out on this book. Make sure to grab yourself a copy so you can relive the magic each holiday season.

This heartfelt, and hilarious holiday romance will have you in your feels and counting down the days till Christmas!

Storee and Cole have history but it doesn’t have a happy ending. When Cole discovers she’s back he will do what he can to make sure she doesn’t ruin the holiday cheer even if he hates the holiday.

This story is hilarious! Hands down one of the funniest books I have ever read. I would love to share all the ways it’s funny but I don’t want to ruin anyone’s reading fun but all I will say is chapter 29 will have you in stitches!

2.75 rounded up. Thanks to Bloom books and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

I love Meghan Quinn and she is an insta-buy author for me, but I think I need to stop reading her Christmas books.

This book does have a lot of the things I normally love with Meghan's books; whitty banter, laugh out loud humor, well written characters, and exciting and inventive spice. I also loved all of the classic Christmas movie references. Every time I was thinking about DNFing this book there was a fun reference to a favorite Christmas movie that kept me reading.

Unfortunately there was a lot in this book that didn't work for me. I think this is a case of trying to throw too many popular tropes into one story. This is a competition, a second chance (they were friends to annoyance to friends to lovers?), plus fake dating, but it's also a Christmas forward story. There was just too much going on so no aspect hit like it should have.

This book also had no reason to be so dang long. The pacing was so slow and it made the story really hard to get into. There were times that I was reading where it felt like the goal was hitting a word count rather than telling the story the way it should be told.

Lastly, the narrator thing didn't work for me. There is a narrator telling this story, but the narrator also breaks the 4th wall and interacts with the characters. I personally didn't think it added anything to the story, but it did detract a bit and felt like it was used as a way to stretch the book longer when it really didn't need to be stretched.

Overall this was a fun Christmas story that put me in a Christmas mood, but you don't need to read this book in it's entirety. I haven't listened to the audiobook but I feel like this would be a great book to listen to while doing something else. This book is fun, but you could zone out and not pay attention for entire chapters and not miss anything.

This book left me with mixed feelings. The male protagonist was repeatedly demasculinized throughout the story by the supposed heroine, which felt unnecessary and awkward. While the female lead is clearly meant to be strong and assertive, her interactions with him often felt more belittling than empowering. It created a strange dynamic that didn’t quite work for me. I hesitate to call her a true heroine because, despite her boldness, her character lacked depth and nuance. Overall, the story felt clunky and unbalanced, with moments of forced tension that didn’t flow naturally. It had potential, but ultimately, it didn’t quite hit the mark.

I received this ARC from Bloom via NetGalley for an honest review.

I am OBSESSED with this book! I didn't think I was in the holiday spirit yet. I am very much a "It's fall, let the fall holidays have their moment" kind of girl, but oh my goodness I can hear Mariah Carey warming up as I read this book.
This is the perfect holiday romance for those who love Meghan Quinn. This has mix of all of the card channel movies, the grinch, Kristoff energy, and the magic that is Meghan Quinn's mind.
We meet Storee Taylor who for reasons you find out, hasn't visited her Great-Aunt Cindy in the 24/365 Christmas town of Kringletown in 10 years, but when Cindy needs help, she moves in. One of the items she needs help with is winning the Town's Christmas Kringle contest, which Aunt Cindy has entered her in (against her will).
Then we have Cole Black, the grinch of Kringletown who has beef with Storee and plans to thwart her plans of becoming the Town's Kringle.

There is amazing banter, betrayal, so many laughs, some tears, and of course, some HOT HOT scenes.

I feel as though this just might be one of my favorite books of 2024 and think that if you like romance, funny banter, and hot guys in lederhosen, then you are going to want to pick up this book!

I really enjoyed this book. I love the books that Meghan Quinn writes. There is never a dull moment in them and you don't know what to expect, which is a good thing. This book was heartwarming, romantic, funny, and steamy. I had to force myself to stay awake so I can finish it. It was totally worth it. I look forward to reading more books by her. I'm grateful that Netgalley and the publishers let me read this in exchange for an review.

Meghan Quinn’s “How my neighbor stole Christmas” is a funny and festive contemporary romcom that takes place in a small town.

Cole and Storee used to be close friends and would spend time together during the holidays throughout their childhood. The day Cole is notified of his parents’ deaths happens to be the last time Storee is in town in years. So, after a decade of not seeing her he is told by his best friend that she is entering a local Christmas competition and he is set on avoiding her winning as she is an outsider who has no holiday spirit.

The animosity between Cole and Storee had me laughing as they competed on all the holiday silly contests. I enjoyed the rivalry that eventually lead to a slow burn romance being born between both of them.

If you are looking for a holiday romcom with spice, sass and a lot of Christmas spirit add this book to your TBR. It is a fun read to set the holiday spirit on!

Tropes:
* Holiday romance
* Enemies to lovers
* Neighbors
* Dual POV
* Small town

Thanks Netgalley and Bloom Books for allowing me to read the ARC ☺️

I’ve read a couple of Meghan Quinn’s books and I loved them, so I was excited to get an early look at this Christmas one!

Meghan Quinn does really well with the banter in her books which is probably the biggest reason I love them. I find myself giggling and smiling when I read her writing.

I liked the idea of a Grinch themed storyline, the Christmas Kringle competition and all the characters. It was a cute but still spicy, a Hallmark Christmas with some after dark vibes. 😉 “Thank you for showing me a different way to enjoy a candy cane.” - Storee

I think the book could have been slightly shorter for a Christmas themed book. I did like the concept of a narrator at the beginning of each chapter telling a fun portion of a Christmas poem (I read it to the cadence of ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas).

ARC Review✨

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

A Holiday romcom inspired by The Grinch, with lots of banter and spice? Yes please!

I loved this story, it was so much fun! The rivals to lovers vibe were great, and I loved how they progressed from reluctant fake dating to reverse fake dating (if you're wondering what that is, I did to before reading the story but it totally makes sense!). The Grinch callbacks are awesome, and so are the poem-like verses at the beginning of each chapter!

Cole was grumpy with a heart of gold, just how I like them, and I loved how his reason for disliking Christmas was because of his grief, and his growth towards dealing with those feelings was perfect.

Perfect for fans of Holiday reads, romcoms and The Grinch, add this to your tbr for the Christmas season!

Love, love, loved this!!! Everything I wanted from a Meghan Quinn Christmas story and more. It was heartwarming and, of course, hilarious. The spice SPICES!! I don’t think I’ll ever look at candy canes the same way again.

Also, I think I want to be Aunt Cindy when I grow up.

This was a funny spin on the Grinch. Storee has returned with her sister to take care of her great aunt during Christmas. It has been ten years since she has been back. Cole and Storee were friends and would hang out when she’d come every Christmas with her family. But this time she’s not getting the warm welcome from him that she used to. And when Cole hears that Storee has entered into the town Christmas contest he’s not about to let her win. And he enters too. This is a pretty light hearted, funny holiday read. I would live a story about Max!

Storee has to help her aunt Cindy with the Christmas Kringle contest while having to deal with her rude sister Taran and her aunt's grumpy neighbor, Cole.
This grumpy sunshine Christmas romance was so cute! Could it have been 100 pages shorter? Absolutely. But the banter and spice were great, and I liked the little poems Dr. Seuss-style at the beginning of each chapter (although the little skits with the narrator I could have done without), and I absolutely loved all of the references to How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Perfect Holiday read!
I received an adavnce review copy of this book for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.