Review - In a Holidaze

In a Holidaze

by Christina Lauren

Release date 10/06/2020

307 pages

4 out of 5 stars

According to the publisher, "It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe."

This is my second Christina Lauren book (I really enjoyed Unhoneymooners) so I was definitely expecting a fun, quirky romance, and In a Holidaze did not disappoint!

Our heroine, Mae, joins her family and their friends who are like family for their annual Christmas tradition of spending time together in Utah.  This week is her favorite of the year, but things go awry when she shares an ill-fated kiss with one of the other guests, Theo.  Not only do things get super awkward, but at the end of the week, Mae and company find out the cabin will be sold and this was actually their last holiday together.  

Mae is devastated, not only that this was her last time in her favorite place, but that it ended on such an unpleasant note.  She asks the universe to show her what will make her happy, and boy does she get more than she bargained for!  In an even stranger turn of events, Mae's wish brings her the opportunity to re-live the past week.  

Determined to not make the same mistakes, Mae must figure out how to navigate the week without making time re-start.  In the process, she has to do more than figure out how to make the week go better, but how to be authentically herself and make choices that truly make her happy.

After many zany mishaps, of course our girl Mae gets her happy ending:  the perfect guy, the perfect job, and her beloved cabin being saved!  

In a Holidaze was light, funny, and festive.  My only criticism is that we never get any kind of explanation for how or why Mae gets stuck in a time loop other than she made a wish.  When the book ended, I was still hoping that we would have received a more detailed explanation.  That being said, it really did not take away from my enjoyment of the book.  

While Christmas may have already come and gone, you're not too late to enjoy this book!