About the Book
Synopsis from Goodreads:
Some people are Christmas people, but Jill Jacobs is most certainly not. She hasn’t been ever since her hometown love broke her heart on Christmas Day three years ago. After that, Jill moved to L.A. to pursue her dream of becoming a screenwriter. She hasn’t been home in years to avoid her ex, but this winter she finds herself back in drab, suburban Illinois for the holidays.
After one very hazy night, Jill wakes up to a hometown that's filled with jolly neighbors, covered in pristine white snow, and shimmering with the smell of nutmeg. She realizes that this is more than just a bad hangover… she's stuck in a Heartfelt movie. One set in her town, starring real people from her life, including her family, her high school crush (uber perfect, owns a bakery, and definitely a Christmas Person), and of course, her ex —handsome as ever and now exclusively clad in plaid flannel.
The only way out of this bizarro world is to complete the plot of the movie, including a holiday bake off and a cookie-sweet love story. To get home in time for Christmas, Jill must act out a picture-perfect holiday romance with the one that got away, all while her ex watches on. Fa la la la freaking la….
My Review
Christmas is not Jill Jacobs’ favorite time of the year. Not by a long shot. Three years ago the love of her life broke up with her on Christmas Day. He went to pursue a culinary career in New York, while she went off to Los Angeles to be a screenwriter.
To avoid seeing her former lover ever again, Jill hasn’t returned to her hometown in Illinois for the Christmas holidays. This year, however, she returns home with no job prospects in sight. Her parents suspect things aren’t going well for Jill, but they are so happy to have her home, they welcome her with open arms.
Unfortunately, things don’t go well for Jill and she ends up getting very drunk. When she wakes up, she finds that everything has changed. It’s as if she’s in a Heartfelt movie. Her hometown has suddenly become the perfect Christmas town.
Jill doesn’t know how or why this is happening, but she has no choice but to go along with it. In fact, she suddenly finds herself between two men, including her former lover.
The premise of this book is quite unusual. I can easily see this as a Hallmark movie. The cast of characters are well-written and fun. I could picture each one in real life.
My one problem is that sometimes I loved the heroine and sometimes not. There were a few times she made me want to shake some sense into her. She spent too much time making wrong assumptions about people instead of just talking through things. However, it didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book. I love the idea of finding yourself in the middle of a book.
It’s fun, light-hearted, and it made me laugh. It’s a “feel good” type of book. I’ll keep an eye out for future releases by this author.
For reading challenges:
Literary Escapes Reading Challenge 2025 (Illinois)
FTC Disclosure: I voluntarily reviewed a free Advance Reader Copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
What a dilemma she got herself into somehow, it sounds like a fun read.
ReplyDeleteI love when they sort of feel like a hallmark movie
ReplyDeleteGreat review. I need to add this to my Christmas reading this year. I love when I want to shake some sense into a character, but they figure it out.
ReplyDelete