I just got finished with the arc of Eight Days of Christmas which releases TOMORROW (10/19) and oh my gosh!! I am ready for cozy winter nights, hot chocolate, and all the Christmas feels after reading this!!!

This book follows Isabella Whitley as she returns to her small Colorado hometown after being away in NYC for ten years. Her sister is marrying her best friend/high school sweetheart’s (Leo) brother and the wedding happens to be on Christmas Day. The 8 days prior to Christmas are reserved for her family’s Christmas traditions which all happened to include Leo. Their close proximity brings up their past and gosh, you just have to read this!!!

Leo is such a good book boyfriend ahhhh! His love language is DEFFF physical touch and gifts because wow he is amazingggg!!

There are soo many of my favorite tropes like 2nd chance romance, forced proximity, grand gestures, and friends to lovers!!!

This book! I’m a Christmas fanatic, I’m talking countdowns starting December 26. This story is quite possibly the best holiday romance I’ve read. In true second-chance trope style, our main characters broke up due to forces pushing them apart, leaving them miserable. While they’ve both tried to move on, how can you do so when the one that got away is there for all 8 days of your family’s Christmas celebrations. From the start, you’ll feel the connection that Isabella and Leo have. Don’t even get me started on the fact that they were first loves/high school sweethearts because I don’t want to swoon too much.

If you love Christmas, second chance love, small town romance or romcom books, you’ll adore this. It’s the perfect holiday romance and I already know I’ll be rereading this whenever I want some Christmas nostalgia and this time next year.

A Christmas-themed romance that I really enjoyed. This one follows Isabella, who hasn't gone home for Christmas in the last 10 years. Her job writing for the New Yorker magazine has kept her busy in New York City and she just hasn't felt the need to return to her small town in Colorado. Until her sister decides to have her wedding on Christmas Day. She cannot miss that. And that means going back home, after her long absence, and seeing her high school sweetheart (and next door neighbor) Leo. Of course, you know how this will turn out, but it's always fun to have a book that reminds you of watching Hallmark Christmas movies.

Who doesn’t love a Christmas love story!? And this is a lovely story of exes being thrown together through the festivities and circumstances.
I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed the relationship between Leo’s brother and Izzy’s sister, it seemed a little off but never addressed.
Leo and Izzy though we’re cute and you definitely, as a reader, want them to be together, I knew what the reasoning for Izzy’s departure would be before it was revealed and whilst it was the most obvious it felt like a betrayal and a little unusual that it was an element that would never truly be resolved in a neat little bow for this genre of story.

After some spooky reads i was in the mood for something different and this was perfect. A charming holiday read about family, traditions, second chances and grand gestures. Sure there were lots of cliches but in a good way. If you are in the mood for some romance with a touch of Christmas then this is the book for you!

I got this arc in exchange for an honest review.

Well this was a good time! I thought it was a really sweet second-chance romance. It wasn’t too over the top cheesy (the dad’s enthusiasm for Christmas activities was a cheese fest, but in a good way), and it had a good balance of steam/tension/chemistry.

A few things for consideration: the description of a character in a wheelchair felt a little ableist, and there were some typos throughout e.g.

To / too
Jam / jamb
Ach / ache
Mago / Margo

A quality Christmas romance!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

5 *stars*

Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing an ARC copy of this book.

My thoughts:
I'm really liking this story. The tension, both angry and sexual, between the two main characters is so compelling despite the past. I'm in love with the idea of family tradition 8 days before Christmas. I'm eager to choose some of them and use them to start my family traditions. Reading about the family closeness and passion for keeping up the traditions is so heartwarming. Every word can influence our decisions, especially if it does not agree with your own opinion. Ten years have passed, but that does not mean that love can disappear. True love never ends, even if 10 or 2 years have passed. Everyone can find their true love by just listening to their heart.

Brief synopsis:
Leo tries to forget an old love when it comes to his life unexpectedly. Isabella broke Leo's heart and went to live in New York. It's been 10 years since Isabella was last home. It is difficult for her to return to where she broke the heart of her closest man. Isabella's sister Norah's wedding makes her return home. Isabella and Leo are forced to spend 8 days together. Does true love exist even 10 years after they last met?

My review is found on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4282559924
Review is available on 16th of october.

Thank you!
#EightDaysofChristmas #NetGalley

The story
It’s just before Christmas and Isabella is travelling home for her sister’s wedding. A journalist with the New Yorker, she has only been home to Colorado once in the ten years since she left for college. She left her teen love and next door neighbour, Leo without an explanation and her family won’t let her forget it. Her sister Norah is marrying Leo’s brother Landon, so there will be plenty of time for Izzy and Leo to reconnect now that she is back. But what happens when Izzy’s ex Harrison decides to try get back together?

My thoughts
This book is a real Christmas epic, second chance at love story. Each of the eight days before Christmas is filled with Christmas activities with the entire two families. I didn’t have a hard time picturing this a sweet holiday themed movie! Not too cheesy and just a few surprises to keep up the momentum. 🌲📚❤️

Thank you so much to City Owl Press and Starla DeKruyf for letting me read this lovely holiday romance early via Netgalley!

This book immediately hooked me on the first page! I instantly wanted to know all about Isabella, her family's eight days of Christmas, and what happened between her and her hunky ex-boyfriend. I finished this book in one night. You won't regret picking this one up. If you read "In a Holidaze" last year like I did, this is a similar read!

Why you should read: If you're looking for a cute, Christmas-y rom-com with a solid amount of tension, heart-wrenching moments, sexiness, and all-around adorableness, this is the perfect book for you. Isabella and Leo are both incredibly relatable narrators, and their romance is anything but simple. I was constantly turning the page to find out Isabella's secrets, to see more of their sass battles, and finally learn how they might make it work! There are also great, loveable side characters. You can definitely see the threads DeKruyf is leaving to set up future books in this series, and I'm excited!

Definitely check this one out for the holiday season! Or, you know, for whenever you need a little Christmas magic.

Christmas explodes in this book and I love it. A second chance love story wrapped up in a pretty holiday bow.

Izzy/Isabella/Bella starts off her first trip home in 10 years in the worst way possible. Running into her ex at the airport while stranded in the wrong state. What is supposed to be the start of her family's traditional Eight Days of Christmas leading up to her little sister's wedding on Christmas day turns into a nightmare of how to get home and avoid an incredibly awkward interaction with her very painful past. Naturally, she knew it was coming, her ex is the groom's brother after all she just thought she had more time before coming face to face with one of the most painful reminders of her life.

Leo was not prepared for the reality of facing his first love for the first time in ten years. She left for New York and never returned, he tried to move on he got married and divorced in the six years since they were last together. But even that wasn't enough to dull the emotional toll that this reunion has taken on his heart. Now he's facing a full eight days of constant interaction with the woman who tore his heart from his body and never even told him why. Surviving this Christmas will prove to be a lesson in patience and self-control he's not entirely sure he possesses. Because despite everything she's put him through, one look at Izzy and the passion they once shared flares back to life.

This book takes us through the Whitley Family Christmas, eight days of family fun togetherness with every Christmas tradition imaginable all while Leo and Izzy fight to remember why it's a smart lesson to learn from the past. Secrets revealed, new realities uncovered, is a second chance at first love really an option when all the hurdles they once faced are still very real and present?

Great characters, perfect holiday setting, well told story. An enjoyable holiday read.

Such a cute holiday story. I enjoyed Leo and Isabella a lot as characters. Loved seeing the chemistry right from the first chapter even when they are angry.

First off, I just loved the cover for this book. It’s so eye catching and fun! The story has everything I look for in a rom com and the small town Christmassy setting makes it even better. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

This was a very interesting book! I loved the tension between Isabella and Leo and the fact that she actually explained her motives for leaving preatty early on, so that conflict didn't drag on which I enjoyed!
I also loved her inner turmoil of trying to find out where she belongs and how to balance things in her life the best way.
If you love Christmas romances with happy endings, you should read this one!

Trigger warnings:
-Mentions of death
-Alcoholism
-Food and baking
-Sexual content

A Christmas second chance contemporary romance? Sign me up.

As soon as I saw this cover and read the synopsis I knew I had to read this book. And thankfully it did not disappoint. This book is a fantastic swoony Christmas romance. So many great elements to this book. It is a fade to black romance but is on the steamier end of fade to black.

Izzy and Leo have so much chemistry, sparks were flying off the page. I loved their relationship whilst at the same time hurt along with them for the pain of the past.

The Christmas elements were also fantastic. I love all of the traditions the Whitley family have. Some I definitely want to add to my own family traditions.

You do not want to miss this fantastic swoony Christmas romance.

I don’t like cartoon covers but the blurb and the hype around this book caught my eye. My first by this author and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

What did I like? So I love the name Leo because hello … visualizing this book is like having a relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio. It sets the stage and immerses me almost immediately. Second chance romance happens to be in my top ten of romance categories. Throw in the heat between Leo and Izzy on their eight days of Christmas journey and it’s a highly enjoyable read.

Would I recommend or buy? I really enjoyed this book and so will other romance readers. I’d recommend to pretty much anyone that likes romance! It was an easy read with some slow burn but a cute HEA!

I received a complimentary copy to read and voluntarily left a review!

Izzy and Leo were high school sweethearts and stayed together through college, until Izzy chose to stay in NYC for her dream career instead of head back to Colorado to be with Leo. Now, she’s back for the first time in 10 years for Christmas as their siblings, Norah and Landon, are getting married to each other. Izzy and her NYC boyfriend recently broke up and she is feeling a little lost. Is being back home the answer? Leo’s heart was broken when Izzy left last time. Can he trust her again?
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I enjoyed this book, though it felt a bit slow at times and it felt like there were too many side characters (maybe setting up for future book leads?) The chemistry between Izzy and Leo was great! 🔥 Dual POVs really helped me understand how they were each feeling about different situations, too. This is the first book in a new series and I’m curious if future books will also take place during the holiday season. I’d recommend it if you (like me) love to read or watch holiday romances. ❤️
⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 stars, rounded up to 4.
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Thank you to NetGalley and City Owl Press for an advanced copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

My Very First
wannabe_bookstagrammer Review
Rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam 🔥 🔥 🔥

I think I could just say Christmastime (& wedding) romcom with steam and that would get all the right people to this book. But, I’ll stick to my @wannabe_bookstagrammer plan A: a bullet style review using star-struck emoji, wish/dizzy emoji, and other helpful emojis along the way.

🤩 Second-chance romance.

🤩 Close proximity with ground rules.

🤩 Whiskey and frisky.

🤩 All the feels—from laugh out loud moments to cry baby loving ones.

🤩 Back and forth chapter focus on Leo and Isabella.

🤩 Hot mix of emotional bitterness & physical/sexual desire between the main characters. Did I mention steam in a Christmas book?

🤩 Gradual, clever, and heart-wrenching release of the past circumstances to help us really know and understand the main characters.

🤩 Spicy teasing, banter, and friendly competition.

💫 I wish I’d had a set of the mentioned holiday mugs (Santas, reindeer, bear, and wooden sled up against a tree) to sip all the coffee, cocoa, and spiked eggnog from as I read through this book.

💫 I wish Leo had some balls (sorry, I can’t think of a nicer way to really prove my point) when Harrison showed up. He was definitely my book boyfriend up until that point.

💫 I can’t wait to find out who will take the lead roles in the next two books of the Pineridge series coming in 2022 ♥️ 🍁 (Nora & Landon? Mr. Hoffman--I’m a big fan of how Jasmine Guillory’s Royal Holiday turned out?).

💫 I wish for some of my #bookstagram friends to read this whole series with me. 😁

🙄 Special thanks to my 16-year-old daughter for taking time to read my reviewer notes out loud in a mocking voice on several occasions so I could feel extra confident as I worked to find my reviewer style.

A cute and quick Holiday read. I enjoyed the characters in this book as well as the story. The characters felt relatable and the story was a little different than other romcoms I have read. I would read more books by this author in the future. I already recommended this book to a friend!

I love Christmas, so movies & books that center on Christmas time are some of my favorites. This book was right up my alley. The story was cute and realistic, and the characters were well-developed and likeable. I devoured this book in just a few hours and I would highly recommend it to any fellow Christmas-loving readers. I can't wait to see what else this author comes out with.

As a massive fan of Christmas and romance this book hit all the right spots
This was like hallmark movie in print.
A great warm story for this time of year