So, This Is Christmas by Tracy Andreen

Information

Goodreads: So, This Is Christmas
Series: So, This Is #1
Age Category: Young Adult
Source: Library
Published: 2021

Summary

When Finley Brown secretly updated her hometown’s official website to make the town look more impressive to the students at her fancy new prep school, she never imagined that anyone would book a stay there. But her classmate Arthur does–and he is expecting the perfect Christmas experience from Christmas, Oklahoma. Too bad the parade with the dancing goats and the opportunities to feed reindeer were made up! Now Finley has to provide Arthur and his aunt with the holiday of their dreams, or risk Arthur revealing the deception to their classmates.

Review

So, This Is Christmas reads pretty much like a Hallmark Christmas film, so I was not surprised to learn at the end that Tracy Andreen actually writes screenplays for Hallmark. From the enemies to lovers trope to the small-town Christmas experience, the elements of a familiar, feelgood story, are all here. Andreen does try to modernize the formula a bit by focusing on the pressures of growing up in a town where everybody knows everybody, as well as by introducing a lesbian romance. But, rest assured. There are very few surprises here. Just cheesy Christmas comfort.

Reviewing So, This Is Christmas actually feels a bit difficult because, really, what you see is what you get. If you like watching Hallmark Christmas movies, you are getting that–just in book form. Yes, the main protagonists are teens instead of adults and, instead of seeing a big city woman learn about the charms of a small town, we see instead someone who grew up in a small town come to appreciate it. But it’s the same. Finley and her crush go on a reindeer sleigh ride, make cookies, attend the holiday parade, and do all the other elements probably on your Hallmark Christmas movie Bingo card–all before breaking up over a misunderstanding, only to reunite once more in time for the annual Christmas party.

What I liked about this book is that readers actually get to see a few romantic relationships in various forms, across generations. So while teenage Finley and her crush Arthur are the main couple undergoing the standard holiday romance, there is also the evolving relationship of Finley’s parents–people in their 30s who might be considering a divorce. And there’s the romance of a lesbian couple, with one partner out to everyone and the other hesitant to make the relationship public. Romance does not happen only one way, despite what the movies say. Romances grow, change, die, and reignite once more. The path to true love never did run smooth.

So, final verdict? If you love a comforting romance where everything is predictable and everyone is happy in the end, this book is for you! It provides the right amount of holiday cheer and romantic hope to keep one’s heart light. It’s the kind of comfort read we all probably need now and then. No thrills. No suspense. Just a bit of Christmas magic.