Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0

I read this book as an advent calendar book as it was designed. I really enjoyed the idea of reading one piece each day. Each Chapter ends on a cliffhanger , so I was genuinely interested in what happens next.

The horror story id describe as Lifetime TV movie horror/thriller.

What I loved 💕:
💕 The advent chapter / Calendar style of the book
💕chapters lengths were short. (Easy to stick to the reading pacing for advent calendar)
💕The estranged sisters
💕The invitation to a secluded place trope
💕The way family & partner dynamics played off against the horror / thriller


What was not my cuppa ☕️:
☕️ The motivation for murder wasn’t grounded in strong theory.
☕️ I personally would have liked the thriller dial turned up slightly.
☕️Ideally I would have liked each chapter sealed for actually opening like I’ve seen other book advent calendars do.
☕️Because of the nature of the book & cliff hangers not really reread material

Ideal Reader:
✨Someone looking for a Christmas read that is thriller instead of romance
✨Someone keen to try a book chapter adventure calendar
✨Some on who likes a HEA thriller

This book was a fast Christmas read. While I liked the length, the story kind of fell flat. It was obviously heavily influenced by the shining, but once our villain was found out so quickly everything else fell flat after that. I also didn’t love the wholesome family element incorporated in.

This one missed the mark for me. I found the FMC to be insufferable and infuriating, making unrealistic decisions just to keep the plot going. The ending was satisfying.

XMAS BREAK I found to be exceptionally intriguing, a layered cliffhanger which held me suspended from chapter to chapter. I read it in Advent fashion, one chapter per day from 1st December to Christmas Day, and many, many times I had to hold myself back from leaping to the next chapter. I am definitely going to read more from this very talented author!

Xmas Break by JE Rowney
Release Date: November 22, 2024

⭐️⭐️⭐️.75/5

I really enjoyed this holiday thriller! It’s just under 200 pages, which is perfect for this time of year. I read this on Christmas Eve which is actually when this story takes place so that was fun!

While some of it was a bit predictable I was also surprised by some of it. It kinda felt the basic thriller movie you’d find on like any streaming service but make it a family Christmas dinner filled with tension.

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I read this as an advent, one chapter a day which made it more suspenseful and fun. Overall a suspenseful snowed in thriller that I enjoyed. This review was posted on Goodreads as well.

As I was looking for some holiday thrillers, I came across this one, written as an advent book, meaning 1 chapter per day in the 25 days before Christmas. The cover looked very inviting too so I began reading on December 1st. As I am a rule breaker, I didn't read a chapter a day but finished the whole book in just a few days. It is a quick read but the story just didn't resonate with me. I wanted more suspense, more thrills, and a more satisfying ending.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC copy! First off, I love the cover, I also liked that this could be read as an advent calendar type book, Overall, I liked this book, it was a quick read and I finished it in a couple of days rather than just read one chapter a day. It did feel a little repetitive and the ending felt rushed. The twists were obvious to me. There was a lot of foreshadowing and suspense and I did enjoy the read all together! I look forward to reading more from this author

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy of Xmas Break. I really enjoyed reading this for one of my holiday reads.

I started out reading this book advent style, a chapter a day. But it just wasn't making me excited for the next days read so I just decided to finish the book. It was a quick read, but somewhat predictable. Although, it just seems like the villain came out of nowhere. This book is a slow burn thriller. It does have some very exciting parts to the story, but didn't have as many twists and turns as most thrillers do. Thank you to NetGalley for providing the book for an honest review.

There is honestly nothing a love more than Xmas horror. This was great! Can’t wait to read more by this author! Thank you Netgalley and publisher for allowed me to review!

A good, fast paced thriller. Very atmospheric which I really appreciated for the season. I did find that the author was more focused on descriptions than anything else in the story which was a bit distracting at times.

Isla reluctantly accepts her sister's invitation to spend Christmas at a luxury mountain retreat. They haven't spoken since their mother's death, and the holiday reunion seems too good to be true.

They are cut off from civilisation by a snowstorm and secrets begin to come to the surface. They must work together to survive the night. Will they manage to put aside years of mistrust to ensure they survive.

This was a very suspenseful and griping book for the first half. The second half was kinda disappointing. I feel that there was a lot that should have been explained that just wasn’t. And there was some aspects that were just not believable to me. But as always I’m thankful for the opportunity to get to read it.

This was a quick thrilling read. I loved the feeling of secrecy in this book. There is some dysfunction between the two sisters which adds I think to the creep factor in the book. Unfortunately, the plot twist felt rushed and the ending lacked something. It is a great book leading up to that. Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the ARC.

This book was a good mix of thriller and family holiday moments. It was a quick read and I was eager to find out how this will end. Totally was shocked at the end!

This book disappeared and reappeared on my bookshelf depending upon which device I was using to access NetGalley which made it a bit of a disjointed experience. But that isn’t the fault of the author, just an indication of why I’d forgotten much of the start of the book when I was reading the second half.

I found the story to be pretty unrealistic to be honest - many things happened that could have been resolved if anyone in the book had asked basic questions. The plot twist didn’t really make a lot of sense - why was that person doing what they did? It was never really explained properly.

Overall a nice Christmas read but pretty forgettable

I had high hopes for Xmas Break by J.E. Rowney, given its intriguing premise of estranged sisters reuniting in a snowbound mountain retreat, but I found it to be a mixed experience. While the setup and atmosphere were wonderfully tense and the short chapters made it an easy read, the story felt rushed and underdeveloped in places.
The twists were engaging, but some were predictable, and the dialogue occasionally bordered on repetitive. I also couldn't help but notice similarities to other thrillers, like The Shining, which made parts of the story feel less original. That said, the book captures the festive suspense of a holiday thriller well, making it a fun, quick read for the season, even if it left me wanting more depth and complexity overall.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing access to an e-arc for this title.
I was given the heads up about this title from a friend and I'm glad I was. I am rating this 3.5 stars as it was a shorter book with a predictable plot. However, it was a fun time and good festive thriller. I liked the family drama but would have chosen the villain to have been another one of the characters. Who the villain was predictable and the reason why they were the villain was different, but the reactions and realisation by the rest of the characters was not believable to me. The remote snow storm location is always a hit for me and I really enjoyed what makes the house unique too. The writing was pretty good too and I will be looking out for more from this author.

Thank you for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.

This book is about two estranged sister connecting over a short Christmas get away. Isla has not been on the best of terms with her sister Clara for some time. At the urging of Islas husband the accept Clara’s invitation for a short weekend get away to celebrate the holiday. When they arrive is apparent not everything is as it seems.

This was a quick paced Christmas themed thriller. I did not see the outcome of this book coming and was pleasantly surprised. The motivation seemed a little weak, so maybe that played a part:

Overall it is a quick read!!