Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney
#onehundredandtenthbookof2024 #arc #xmasbreak #novella #adventbook

CW: death, murder, Santa cutouts

From NetGalley: When Isla reluctantly accepts her estranged sister Clara’s invitation to spend Christmas at a luxury mountain retreat, she expects awkward family tension – not a fight for survival. After years of silence following their mother’s death, this holiday reunion seems too good to be true. And it is. As a brutal snowstorm cuts them off from civilization, dark secrets begin to surface. With time running out and nowhere to run, two sisters must put aside years of mistrust to survive the night. But in a house full of lies, how do you know who to trust?

My thoughts: I loved the format of this book—25 chapters that you can read one day at a time leading up to the holiday. I read this in two sittings though. The chapters were short and the story was interesting enough that I kept going. I do wish the characters were more fleshed out and we knew more backstory. The sisters were estranged and when we find out why, it’s pretty flimsy and I wish there was more meal to it. Same for the motivation of the antagonist. It was obvious but not enough. I wish the ending had more…something. Just more. Overall, the book has a nice sense of dread and I was pretty curious to know the backstory they kept dancing around. It’s worth the short amount of time it’ll take to read, and I am realizing just how much I love horror novellas lately, so I will be seeking out more.

Thank you to Little Fox Publishing and @netgalley for the advance copy. (Available now, pub date was 11/22/24)

#littlefoxpublishing

This was a thrilling and cute Christmas story to get you started with the season! When Isla’s estranged sister invites her and her husband to a remote cabin for Christmas, what could go wrong?

The sisters find themselves in a fight for survival, cut off during a snowstorm. When the truth comes out, will the sisters band together? If you’re looking for a quick Christmas themed story, give this one a go!

Xmas Break by JE Rowney is a domestic thriller with a unsettling Christmas backdrop. The story follows two estranged sisters, Isla and Clara, who reunite at a remote mountain cabin for the holidays. A snowstorm traps them and their companions, forcing buried family secrets to surface as the atmosphere becomes increasingly tense and danger approaches.

This fast-paced thriller, though brief, maintains a gripping tension throughout. Structured into 25 short chapters, it can be read as an advent calendar or devoured in one sitting, as I did. The characters are well-developed, and the seamless plot keeps readers hooked from start to finish. The author masterfully crafts a suspenseful and engaging story that keeps you on edge until the final page.

Fast paced and loved the book, but didn’t love the ending, wish the ending was different. Super atmospheric though.

Xmas Break is no ordinary holiday story!!
Perfect for anyone trying to get into the Holiday spirit.


It's an easy but very satisfying read and perfect for a cozy night in!
J.E Rowney captures the joy and challenges of Christmas with family, blending holiday warmth and festive charm with suspense and mystery.

At the beginning of the book it is suggested you could read it as an advent with it having 25 chapters.
This is an awesome idea, however once I started reading I couldn't stop until it was finished!!

As holidays generally leave us with not much spare time, it really is the perfect book to fit in a chapter a day, inbetween cooking/other holiday activites or even just to wind down after a busy days gift shopping!


Thank you to NetGalley, BooksGoSocial and J.E. Rowney for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

I received an ARC of this book via Netgalley and also saw this book posted in a Facebook group.

This is a quick and easy read. I love that it is 25 chapters- so it can be read as an advent calendar of sorts. I think this book could have gone darker in the storyline given the scenario and environment the characters were in. Parts did feel a bit unrealistic, but I did enjoy it and was eager to see what was actually going on in this mountain home.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

A short easy read, I liked the general premise and I was intrigued enough to want to see it to the end. The writing felt a bit clunky in parts, but the final few chapters with the reveal flowed well in particular.
There was some unnecessary repetition of descriptions. For example “the Christmas tree, so magnificent earlier, loomed in the darkness” then a couple of pages later “behind her the Christmas tree loomed in the darkness”.

Overall, I enjoyed the story but I had thought a thriller would be a nice change of pace for a Christmas themed story, and while it worked in general, I think I’ll stick to cosy Christmas reads moving forward.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the copy of this book.

Perfectly written fast paced Christmas Thriller! I absolutely loved this book!
This is written like an advent calendar so you can read one chapter a day leading up to Christmas. However, this book drew me in and I had to finish it in one sitting! Suspenseful, heart pounding and keeps you guessing. I recommend this for all my thriller fans to get you in the Christmas spirit!

I received an E-ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review:

I really enjoyed this short little Christmas/thriller novella.
I feel thrillers are extremely difficult to write in so few words because of the lack of space to build up that suspense and plot, so this was very well done! I enjoyed the plot and characters and the ending was perfectly cozy for a Christmas read

I found this to be a fun novella! I found it to be suspenseful and had my heart pounding, I absolutely had to know what happened and refused to put it down until I did (I couldn’t have read this as a chapter-a-day advent read, impossible). It’s a nice little Christmas themed book, the author got the chill of the season and scenery perfectly. The tension between sisters was palpable, there were secrets and unknown motives which kept me guessing as to what was going on.

Billed as a quick, 25 chapter advent calendar of a thriller, J.E. Rowney's 'Xmas Break: A Christmas Thriller'---much like Santa---delivers.

Isla and James need a break. Badly. It's been a rough year---for reasons unknown---and when her estranged sister Clara invites them to a Christmas getaway at her mountain retreat, it seems like a perfect opportunity for rest, relaxation, and reconnection. Isla is skeptical. James is giddy.

Once they arrive at her sister Clara's mountain retreat, a gorgeously appointed cabin with halls decked to the extreme, her worries---previously a simmer---roil slowly to a boil. Old tensions die hard and there's something not quite right even amid the beautiful holiday decor.

Without spoiling anything---the novella is a speed read---Rowney's Christmas is packed with well-paced clues and tone shifts placed carefully throughout like, well, a thrilling advent calendar. Is it particularly innovative? No. But, like unwrapping socks on Christmas morning, it hits familiar beats and tropes that lead to a satisfying ending.

It's out now and great for a quick evening read with a cup of mulled wine or as a chapter before bed for the entire month of December.

What drew my attention to this book was the cover. I think it has the perfect cover art. I'm so glad I read it because the storyline hooked me almost immediately. I couldn't put it down, I needed to keep reading because I couldn't see where the story was going (in a good way). This was my first book by J.E. Rodney, and now I'll be looking into her other books.

This was my first read by J. E. Rowney and I was pleasantly surprised. I loved the introduction that encouraged reading one chapter a day as a nail biting count down to Christmas. The festive and scenic descriptions were phenomenal and really drew me into the story. I felt that the dialog could be unnatural and cliche at times. It should be noted that the thriller would have been more effective had it been shorter and limit repetitions. However, overall, Xmas Break was a quick read and pallet cleanser in preparation for the Christmas season. Rating: 2.5/5

This was a fun read. I liked the family dynamic that took place throughout the story. While I could see the direction the novel was going, it was exciting to see how and why things ended up happening. It’s worth noting that the author was very good at describing what was happening in the scene, there was quite a bit of repetition in phrases, that at first helped me make connections, but then took me out of the story a bit. Still, an enjoyable read and I would absolutely read from this author again.

Quick, engaging read!

Definitely suspenseful and heart pounding, this novella kept me turning pages way past my bedtime. I had to know what happened and refused to put it down until I did. It’s a nice little Christmas themed book that’s not a sappy Hallmark movie romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

I had a good time with this novella. The winter cabin setting was great. The author did a nice job of describing the freezing temperatures and desolate setting.

The characters were okay. I thought the dynamic between sisters was particularly accurate. The ending lost me a little bit. The motivation of the antagonist was so basic and predictable. I wanted more.

This would be a good choice for someone looking for a quick Christmas thriller. Cute cover too.

I really liked the idea of this book & how there was 25 chapters so you can read 1 chapter everyday until Christmas, but the plot and the writing just weren’t for me.
I know that authors can only do so much when it comes to novellas, but I thought this one was very predictable & the writing was so cheesy! I just didn’t like it at all..
However, if you don’t mind cheesy & predictable, and you need a short book to catch up on your reading goal, maybe this one *is* for you! 😂 It’s out now!
Thank you to NetGalley and Books Go Social for this advanced copy!

Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

J.E. Rowney's Xmas Break is a thriller novella following a broken apart family's Christmas gathering.

Family reunions are often awkward, and sometimes deadly. This novella gives readers a view into a Christmas dinner that gets violent.

Barely over 100 pages, this lets readers enjoy a quick and easy Christmas thriller. The atmosphere is my favorite part of this book. Rowney gifts readers all the Christmas vibes they could ever want. The descriptions pull you into the story and let you feel like you're there with the characters.

With thrillers, especially a novella, there can easily be too much background for the characters. This book does not have that. Each character has just enough of a backstory to make you care, but not to distract you from the thrill aspect of the story. Rowney managed to find the perfect balance between the characters and the plot. Every aspect of the book mixes together well.

As fun as this was, I did have a couple issues with it. First, some of the dialogue felt a little ridiculous. There were some conversations that just felt unnatural. If you read this out loud, it might be harder to enjoy. Also, I wasn't in love with the ending. I think if the big plot twist had been handled slightly differently I would have enjoyed this more.

Xmas Break is a fun, and very quick, thriller for the Christmas season. It's atmospheric and bingeable. Reading this with a mug of hot chocolate, some Christmas music, and a tree lighting the room would make for a pretty wonderful night.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 11/21/2024

A quick read or can be read a chapter a day in December as a 25 day advent calendar. Maybe a little predictable but a good festive read nonetheless.

This book was such a fun and fast read, I flew through it! A great example of how to tell an interesting story without making it too long. There were times when I was waiting for certain things to be revealed it felt like forever. When everything eventually came out, I was left slightly disappointed and confused. The sisters in this story are estranged and you're waiting the whole book to find out why and I still feel like I don’t know why, or that I do know but it doesn’t feel realistic/logical. I do love all the Christmas analogies and comparisons though! 2.75/5 stars for confusion and Christmas chaos!