Cover Image: Home for Christmas

Home for Christmas

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Member Reviews

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, BooksGoSocial and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

Cute, fun characters in a charming story with a sprinkling of romance.

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A comedy of errors results in an accidentally-shared Christmas vacation with two large families crammed into one 4-bedroom cabin. Author Riven and playwright Wendy definitely have a spark, but it's not immediately certain whether that spark is irritation...or interest. When they're forced together for much longer than anticipated, they're both going to need to work through their pasts if they want any chance at a future.

This unexpected group getaway actually sounded awesome--it was fun and entertaining to read about. There was a lot of great humor in this story. I laughed out loud several times, especially at the escalating prank wars. The central romance had great chemistry, so much so that I was surprised when it wound up being firmly closed-door! The central conflict did seem to be something that could have been worked out with some much-needed communication, and it resolved pretty quickly given the extended time the couple spent apart. Still, this was an enjoyable, good-hearted tale that made for a lovely pick-me-up!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

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Retreating to a Utah cabin in the snow, Riven is both stepping away from his divorce proceedings. As well as attempting to work on his latest novel, which is not going well. Suffering from a bad case of writer’s block. His sister strong-arming him into agreeing to come home for Christmas much to the delight of the local real estate agent who has a last-minute family booking for Christmas week – wishing to sublet his cabin whilst he is away.

Up to her eyes in rehearsals, for her first play to hit Broadway, Wendy answers a call from her sister. News that their mom doesn’t want to host Christmas, cook Christmas dinner or even decorate the house. Deciding that they need to do something they opt to plan a week away as a family. Wendy reached out to her best friend and travel agent to find something for the nine of them – it would have been ten but her boyfriend Brandon says he can’t possibly leave work for a week.

Between the bookings Riven cancels the sublet as his family are now going to head to the cabin for Christmas but the admin at the office doesn’t realise that the other booking has already been placed. Three weeks late both families arrive at his once quiet cabin and with nowhere else to stay they have to make the best of the situation. First impressions between Wendy and Riven doesn’t go well despite the attraction between them, not helped when they have to share bunk beds in the new sleeping arrangements. Thankfully the festivities go well and the two families bond but a ski accident means that Wendy will need to extend her stay at the cabin for 6-8 weeks.

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I loved this book! It was sweet, fluffy and enjoyable.
It is a sweet romance.
And should I say this was my favorite tropes, enemies to lovers😍😍
The banters between the Riven and Wendy was funny and I liked the friends.
Sometimes I felt the pacing was a little slow but it made me smile a lot 😊😊

Thanks to Netgallery for this ARC.

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Thank you to NetGalley and Camilla Isley for providing me an e-book copy of HOME FOR CHRISTMAS to review.

I loved this book! I think it's a nice, cozy romance for January - come on, everybody is missing Christmas already, am I right? Don't you have the countdown to next Christmas already set on your phone?

Anyways, Wendy has the absolute worst boyfriend who has nixed going with Wendy and her entire family away for the holiday. This is disheartening because they've been together for two years. They booked a house in a snowy town.

Riven is a novelist on a tight deadline. Due to family pressure, his entire family will be joining him at his house in a snowy town.

Needless to say the house in a snowy town is double-booked. Both families end up spending Christmas there.

In an enemies-to-lovers way Wendy and Riven get to know each other. Thanks to a bad mishap on the slopes, Wendy is stranded with Riven in his cozy house for two months.

Both are trying to get over their fears from past relationships. I thought their chemistry was palpable AND I loved how they both played pranks on each other and laugh with each other.

My only regret is not reading this during the holiday season.

I give HOME FOR CHRISTMAS four out of five stars.

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I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This book is well written and the characters are described well. I enjoyed the main characters Riven Clark and Wendy Nichols. This book is the perfect enemies to lovers romance book. Would I recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone, I absolutely would. This book is set between New York and Utah. This ebook will be in stores on February 22, 2022 for $3.99 (USD).

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A holiday themed, enemies to lovers and forced proximity romantic comedy. Would highly recommend this feel-good read to anyone looking for something light and happy. While the original premise for the forced-proximity would likely never happen, it was an enjoyable work of fiction nonetheless.

More positives:
- perspective from each main character, instead of the typical one-sided
- the pranks had me chuckling
- a mistletoe scene (needed in every holiday romance)
- grump/sunshine trope
- sassy supportive characters
- cozy romance (spice level 0.5/5)

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This is a fun book with twists and turns all the way through it. I actually stayed up all night reading this, I just didn't want to put it down. 5 stars and well worth them all.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this e ARC

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I was able to have the opportunity to read Home for Christmas and I honestly really enjoyed it. While it was nothing that evoked dramatic emotions, it was a heartfelt read that gratefully lacked a lot of the cliche themes I would have expected to see in a book of this calibre. The enemies-to-lovers plot immediately drew me in and the interactions between the main characters and their families were so cute and wholesome. It was also refreshing to read a contemporary romance with such cute banter and interactions between Wendy and Riven, compared to the spicy romance books that seem to be everywhere I turn. Overall this Christmas story made my heart warm and the way the ending came together was everything I could have wanted.

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Cute Christmas book! I had just finished reading one of her previous books a couple weeks ago, so was thrilled to see this on here. Great storyline, great chemistry, think I am a little burned out on Christmas books now!

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This book was so cute! Even though it's past Christmas and the holiday season is over I still really enjoyed this book! I think Riven and Wendy had great chemistry and the overall story was great. Can't wait to read more from this author in the future

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2 out of 5 steam level- kissing and closed door sex scenes

Wendy Nichols is a successful playwright from New York who is planning a Christmas trip for her family. Riven Clark is a famous novelist from California who is holed up in a cabin in Utah after his wife left him for another man. When Riven's cabin gets double booked, he finds himself hosting not only his family but also Wendy's- that's sixteen people in one place for a whole week! As the families make the best of a seemingly impossible situation, Riven and Wendy find themselves drawn to each other. Will their attraction be just a holiday fling or something more?

I enjoyed this book so much! The premise of the book is of course a bit crazy, but it really worked for me. I enjoyed the dynamic between the two families and how they came together to make a bad situation work out for the best. Riven and Wendy had great chemistry, and I enjoyed the dual POV. They're supposed to be enemies at first, but it honestly lasts for a whole five seconds before it turns into flirty banter and fun pranks that had me smiling the whole time. I liked the plot twist in the middle that turned Wendy's one week stay into a much longer trip, and I enjoyed seeing Riven's book come together with Wendy's help. The ending wrapped things up nicely without being too predictable, and I loved how multiple characters got their happy ending when it was all said and done!

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.
Follow me on Instagram @readwithsuzie for more reviews.

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This was such a cute, festive read that was a perfect read on a chilly winter day. I love Isley's humor and characters!

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Loved the chemistry between Wendy and Riven. It was the first time I had read a book by Camilla Isley, and certainly not the last!

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Really enjoyed this book. First time I have read a book from Camilla Isley but will deffinately be reading more!

Liked all the characters and how they were presented.

I would definitely recommend this book!

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The premise of Home For Christmas is perfect: two large families end up double booking the same cabin over Christmas, and instead of fighting over it, find a way to make things work. The relationship between the two families is immediately delightful, and I loved everything from working out the odds of sleeping arrangements to seeing one family's mom and another family's dad (both widowed) flirt like crazy, to the easy instant camaraderie of the college-aged brothers.

The romance itself is between the cabin's lease holder, super famous author Riven, and mixed-up sublet holder, super successful Broadway playwright, Wendy. They immediately hate each other, but are also somehow stuck sharing bunk beds. This set up should be perfect. Enemies to lovers! Bed sharing! And at times the tension and feelings between them is as addicting as you'd hope, but in general, it all fell a bit short for me.

The writing is extremely surface level and very straight, like the equivalent of a Hallmark movie. You like it, but also cringe because the peak of beauty is a woman who is blonde with bright blue eyes and always wearing white and smelling like vanilla. And then to top it off, the sex is fade to black, which felt like being cheated.

It's definitely a fun, quick read, but if you're not into Hallmark movies, you should probably look elsewhere.

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I truly enjoyed this book. This is the first book that I have read by Camilla Isley, and it won’t be the last, that’s for sure.

The book is beautifully written, the pace is steady, and the characters are all well developed, funny and lovable; the banter between them is to die for. Also, the chemistry between Riven and Wendy is off the charts. It doesn’t hurt that it is an enemies-to-lovers book, which is one of my favorite tropes.

I loved both characters, and it was great to see how their relationship evolved. Both characters are sweet and funny and they make the book really enjoyable.

I recommend this book with all my heart. <3

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Even though it’s a bit late in the season for a Christmas read, I really loved this book. Everything about it is perfect: the characters, the setting, the love story. I could not put this down. It makes me ready to pack up my stuff and rent a cabin in SLC…

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3.5-4 stars

Overall I enjoyed this book. It was a cute and fun Christmas-themed enemies-to-lovers romance.

I loved all the characters (except for the exes because they're just plain douches). Despite their minimal page time, the best friends were 100% the best characters in the book. Get yourself a best friend like Danny or Mindy. I also loved the banter between Riven and Wendy. The banter wasn't a tension-y like banter. It was more of a cute and funny banter that made me smile...a lot. I'd catch myself unintentionally smiling a lot throughout the book.

Thank you, NetGalley and BooksGoSocial, for the arc.

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Riven and Wendy meet when his chalet is double booked over Christmas. Their two families end up spending the time together, and Riven and Wendy don't get on at all. When she ends up having to stay longer, will it give them a chance?

A great festive read, hope we see more on the characters from this book and get a series!

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