Tag: Groundhog Day

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

SATURDAY SMORGASBORD: In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Gallery Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. This book will release on October 6, 2020.]

Summary

Maelyn Jones and her family spend each Christmas with her parents’ college friends and their families. Maelynn has been coming to this cabin since she was born. The rest of the “kids”in the group are her younger brother, Miles who is 17; the twins, Kennedy and Zachary who are five; Theo, who is Mae’s age, 26; and Theo’s older brother, Andrew, Mae’s lifelong crush, who is 30.

This Christmas, Mae and Theo enjoy too much eggnog and end up making out in the mudroom. Now, Mae is mortified. She doesn’t have those sorts of feelings for womanizing Theo. Thankfully she halted things before they went too far. But Theo is being a jerk about it all. And to make it even worse, Andrew saw them. He’s clueless about her crush and teases her about Theo.

The final straw to this awful 24 hour period is hearing that Theo and Andrew’s parents are going to sell the cabin. The one happy anchor in her life is going to disappear. So she asks the universe to show her what would make her happy. Right after that, the car she is in with her family is blindsided and everything goes dark.

When Mae wakes up, it is December 20th – again. She’s in the airplane on her way to the Christmas she already lived through once. As Mae’s personal Groundhog Day plays out, she’ll have to figure out what the universe is trying to show her.

Review

This is a fun holiday story with some laugh-out-loud moments. Mae and Andrew are great, especially together. They felt young at times compared to their stated ages. Maybe it’s because they are the second generation of this extended family group. I enjoyed the rest of the cast, too. The whole Christmas week at the cabin together was a fun set up for this.

The Groundhog Day story hits hard and fast, but then it almost disappears. Mae has 2 false starts at her do-over, but on the third it shifts from more do-overs to just anxiety about a reset coming and losing the progress she has made. It felt a little off balance.

The ending was good, and I enjoyed the epilogue that ties everything together in a satisfying way. If you enjoy the author’s other work or are looking for a Christmas romance, give this one a try. (Language, sex, LGBTQ+, references to tarot readings)

Rating: ♥♥♥½*

*♥♥♥½ = Good+

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

REVIEW: Pretty in Punxsutawney by Laurie Boyle Crompton

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Blink in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Andie’s family moves to Punxsutawney, PA the summer before her senior year. And Andie spends her summer break at the movie theater. At first it’s because she’s a huge movie fanatic. But then she meets Colton there. And she manages to return each time he’s at work so she can spend more time with him.

Andie’s first day of school finds her asleep on her mom’s new stunningly pink couch in a pink polka dotted dress, while the theme music from Pretty in Pink plays from the DVD she was watching when she fell asleep. Colton is supposed to be picking her up. This is her chance to make some more inroads with him. But she’s running so late she has to wear the awful polka dotted dress to school. And that’s only the FIRST disaster of the day. Nothing goes the way Andie hopes, least of all her plans for connecting more with Colton.

When Andie wakes up for the second day of school, everything is the same. Pink couch. Polka dotted dress. Pretty in Pink. What is going on?! Once she warms up to the idea of getting a do over for her awful first day, Andie’s feeling optimistic. But as the do overs stretch out over weeks and weeks, Andie wonders just what she has to do to break out of this time loop.

Review

This was delightful! The voice is fantastic. I loved Andie. And there are so many laugh-out-loud moments. The movie references are also a lot of fun. This was a treat to read – from start to finish. Yes, there were awkward moments as Andie tries to find the “perfect” day. But they weren’t any more painful than any other teen rom-com. And the awesome moments – for Andie and for a lot of the other terrific characters – made it all worthwhile.

I loved the Groundhog Day story line. There are several references to the movie itself as well as some other more subtle nods that I enjoyed. But the story was really an original, even with the other movie tie ins.

I’ve read a few books from this publisher, Blink, before, but this is my favorite of the bunch. I could hand this book to any tween or teen – from upper elementary/middle school students to college students – without reservation. The characters are three-dimensional and fascinating – and so fun! The story is engaging. This hits all the right notes for me. I would have loved another couple chapters to see how things play out for Andie and her friends. Highly recommend!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½