IN A HOLIDAZE Book Review

In A Holidaze¹ by Christina Lauren, physical, 304 pages Synopsis from GoodReads: It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions. But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.

BOOK REVIEW: This is like Groundhog's Day, which is referenced and Mae doesn't know the movie and I say that her parent's failed her on that one. She ends up having multiple do overs with the previous one always ending with something terrible about to happen to her (Queue Supernatural S3 E11 Mystery Spot). We don't actually find out how or why she is sent back time and time again but I have a theory. The first few times she goes back to the beginning, she tries to keep the events as similar as possible to the first time around. I think this is why she get's sent back. She wasn't happy that trip and she wanted to be shown what it would be like to be happy...so why keep things the same. I do want to share a quote from the book that seems to be when things kind of click for her. She is in church for Christmas Mass and thinks,

"I've spent years not trusting my ability to make decisions and quietly letting life just happen to me. It can't be a coincidence that the moment I stopped being passive and followed my instincts, everything seemed to fall into place."

She stopped LETTING life happen TO her and took control! I give this book 5 out of 5 stars. Even though I think the ending was a little rushed, it didn't FEEL rushed.

5/5 Stars

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