🎄 Happy Christmas, everyone! 🎄

The Christmas List was super sexy cute and the perfect addition to the Strawberry Hollow series of festive romances written by Moore. If you enjoy extremely Christmassy romances, the single parent and second-chance romance tropes, precocious kids, and no third act or miscommunication because they are Adults™️, then I’d recommend checking this out!

Josie and Wyatt grew up together and became high school sweethearts, only for him to break her heart before he left for uni all those years ago. Unbeknownst to either, it seems they never got over their love, so when they meet again as Wyatt picks his daughter up from Josie’s class, it all comes rushing back to both of them. I don’t read many second-chance romances and don’t feel any particular way about this trope but I enjoyed this one! There was just the right touch of angst for it to be clear that they still yearn for each other, but also enough exploration of their feelings in the present to see how it would work out now that Wyatt’s back with his adorable daughter. Wyatt and Josie were likeable and drama-free characters who were easy to root for—it helped that Lucy, Wyatt’s daughter, was so adorable and great at unintentionally pushing these two adults together. This also had so much Christmas/festive cheer that it was infectious!

Despite the pining and clear sexual chemistry between Wyatt and Josie, they don’t get together immediately and the build-up to that was nice. Moore always writes some fun and incredibly sexy steamy times and this was no exception! It’s not as steamy as the previous book in the series but it fits their relationship more. Overall, this is another Christmassy romance I’d recommend, particularly if you’re looking for something short to read over the holiday season!

I’m still trying to decide whether Jackie Lau is an author for me and I’m still not entirely sure but I thought this was a fun holiday novella overall. It’s full of Christmas/holiday spirit with a barbershop quartet singing all the festive songs, getting snowed in, and all the festive preparation for a Christmas at home. The thing that brought me here was the *one-bed trope* and I enjoyed the set-up of it! Wes was a total goof and absolute sweetheart. He’s been madly in love with Caitlin from the moment she knocked him over with a door three days into uni and having her be with him during the holidays makes him so happy. If your love language is acts of service, you’ll love the way he dotes on and cares for Caitlin. He has wonderful golden retriever/cinnamon roll energy and it was very cute! Caitlin never saw Wes in a romantic light but now that she’s seeing his zest for life and infectious free-spirited energy, plus, she’s noticed how handsome he is, she starts to realise that maybe the perfect man is right in front of her. This had a great balance of wholesome and steamy scenes!

Since this is a novella, I’m trying not to be too picky because we obviously can’t get a deeper exploration of feelings and relationships, but I wished Caitlin’s realisation was more fleshed out. It honestly felt a bit forced to me (and I obviously thought Wes deserved better than that, lol). Another moment that I found incredibly awkward was Christmas day with Wes’ family. The dialogue was a bit of a mess and I mean, I get overbearing Asian parents but this was a little intense. Lastly, I was kind of bummed that this had a “third act” considering it was so short. Thankfully, these idiots weren’t idiots for too long and I have to admit the T-Rex moment at the end was adorable and put a silly smile on my face.

If you’re looking for a holiday novella to wrap up your reading year, I would recommend checking this out!

Have you read either of these holiday romances or are they on your TBR?

• Follow me on Goodreads!
• Follow me on Bluesky
• Follow me on Instagram!
• Follow me on Twitter!