Evie is a writer, and she's not the kind making waves on Booktok. She doesn't even have any social media accounts, nor does she do signings or interact with her fans. She writes books and goes on with her life. Until one of her books is made into a movie, and they require her to join them on location in Germany. She gets off on the wrong foot with the leading man, Duke, and somehow, they fake date to make things better. Duke manages to thaw her frozen, cynical heart, but is it enough to bring these two opposites together and pull off a Christmas miracle?

This book had so much potential that I was thrilled when I got an ARC copy of it. Enemies to lovers, fake relationships, and a celeb-normie paring? Sign me up! But two things had me slogging through this like I was breaking a path through 3ft of snow. The first, and bigger thing, is Evie. She's not just brusque or introverted, or bad at communicating. Oh no, Evie is downright mean and cruel. I couldn't stand her at the beginning of the book, and later on, when she was facing a broken heart because of a (fake dating trope required) misunderstanding with Duke, I thought to myself: oh, that serves her right. ((I am aware that is not very kind of me.)) -2 stars for an unlikable heroine.

The second thing that I couldn't stand, is that the author doesn't seem to have done any research on Germany (or perhaps Europe?), because throughout the book, she calls the freeways in Germany the "autostrada" which is Italian, and in Germany, they're called the Autobahn. A very particular thing, but as someone who has lived in Germany, I know that people around the world know what it's called, because I often got asked about what driving on the Autobahn is like. -.5 stars for a lack of Google skills.

I wouldn't recommend this book, which makes me sad, because the book was well written. 2.5 stars out of 5.

I was provided an ARC copy of this book through Netgalley. My thanks to the publisher and the author for providing it to me.

This was a new to me author so I was excited to try this book! While a little slow to start, I found the romance to be sweet and swoon-worthy. Great holiday read and just what I wanted out of a romance!

Soo I have read this book in less than a day because I LOVE Laura Jane Williams books and this book was no exception.
Where do I start?
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
I had high hopes for Just for December, having read all of Williams' previous books, and I was not let down at all! This book is my favourite out of all the books she has written -so far!

To start off I didn't fully like the main character, Evie as she was cold to everyone and really kept to herself and I felt she got annoyed too easily, however knowing she doesn't interact much with people it seems normal to be annoyed with somethign you aren't very used to. Enter Duke. Duke is an actor, and all round dreamy guy. Both Evie and Duke have secrets they would rather not have the world find out, and once they start to get to know eachother their secrets become more apparent to them, as well as allowing them to form a deeper bond. I liked how one thing Evie was keeping from others was mentioned at the start, and I was worried it would never be mentioned again, but it does closer to the end which was satisfying.

Tropes!
If you know me you'll know my favourite trope of all is fake dating, and behold Just for December has exactly that! There is also, forced proximity, some-what-enemies to lovers,

Despite being set in December, the book doesn't focus on Christmas time and winter, though both play a part in it, and reading it during a very hot day in August it was nice to escape somewhere cooler, so yes this book can definitely be read at whatever time of the year.

I am giving this book 5 stars and I am very excited for the next book by Laura Jane Williams!

This book was good! It was cute and romantic, light, and easy to read. I can’t wait to come back around to it for Christmas!

Evie is a writer and one of her books sent in Bavaria is being made into a movie. She's been told she needs to go there. She meets the leading man Duke and they don't get on. Wonderful descriptions of the different area. Made you feel that you were there

There is so much to love about this book. The cover is adorable and caught my eye right away, I loved the premise and most of the characters are great! Magda, Duke, and Daphne are all really fun to get to know, but I struggled so much with the main character Evie. The setting is so fun to read about and the author does a great job of describing all the villages in Germany.
Evie is a romance novelist, she likes her privacy and doesn't do book tours, social media, or press. She writes books, puts them out there, and that's that.
When her latest book gets picked up for a movie contract, she is thrilled, until she learns she has to be on set. She has a deadline to meet, and doesn't have any interest in movie sets and stuck up actors.
Duke is a die hard fan of Evie's writing and he is thrilled when he is cast in the movie, he can't wait to meet her. Things don't go exactly as planned however and the movie set is full of drama and bad press. To re-build their image, he and Evie are tasked with fake dating. Will sparks fly or will everything fall flat?

Overall, this book had a lot of great characters and I enjoyed Duke. I wish Evie could figure things out a little earlier in the book so we could enjoy her character, but if you enjoy the misunderstanding trope, this is for you.

Thanks to net galley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Every time I start reading a new book I have a very important rule:
1. give the main characters a chance even if at first I feel they are acting in a "bad way" without an explanation and are stressing me out.

Unfortunately, as much as I gave Evie a chance, I couldn't understand why she was so rude when Duke didn't deserve it.

This is the first Christmas-themed book I have read and although I liked the basis of the story and some of the character traits, this book just didn't live up to my expectations.

I think having such high expectations because it was my first Christmas romance is the reason I didn't enjoy this book and that's my fault.

(Thank you NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review)

This book has such a cute cover and blurb and frankly that is why I'm giving this another star but the plot is medicore at it's best. The tropes and the Hollywood setting was good but I couldn't connect with the characters at all. Evie was just plain rude and impulsive which annoyed me. And the way things escalated so quickly which lead Evie & Duke to fake date was so unrealistic. I wanted to like this book but I just couldn't bring myself to enjoy it somehow. I know that some readers would love this book if you're a fan of the author's writing style but unfortunately this didn't work for me. I mean, it did have some cute moments and Duke was a different guy than the typical brooding heroes we get so read about. He loved reading romance books and just overall was a sensitive person who still stood up for the people he cared about. But as the book progressed, I started to skim through some pages because some conversations felt irrelevant and I couldn't figure out where they ended tbh.

I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review

Ugh. I hate it when I don’t love the book. I feel all awkward and squirmy inside. Now I have to find a way to be constructive and pull out the positives, remembering to not be unkind.

Big thing I should say is that just because I didn’t love it, that doesn’t mean I didn’t like it. It was just a bit lacking.

I so wanted to put it down and not finish - I didn’t really like the characters. Evie just seemed a bit of a knob. I see where the author was going with Duke, and we are all supposed to want a man in touch with their emotions blah blah blah, but I wanted him to take control and be a bit more rugged and bookish.

It just felt a bit like a weak cup of tea.

Weirdly, the acknowledgments written by the author gripped me in and had more personality than the rest of the book. The author finding herself and changing her life - now that is a story I want to read!

In summary, it was a fairly middle of the range rom com, not bad, but not amazing.

Such a cute, light hearted read perfect for the holiday season! This book gave me all the feels with the right amount of romance and swoon worth banter. New to me author that I’m glad I found!

If you are looking for a nice quick holiday read this is for you! It ticks all the boxes of popular tropes, and can keep you interested for a few days! I found the characters a bit lacking though. I almost didn’t like them enough to care what happens, but the plot kept me going. It wasn’t bad though, and I’d definitely pick up another book by this author.

Just finished this book - in August!! Overall I enjoyed it but I felt that Evie was just so miserable and sulky! She did not deserve someone as lovely and Duke to give her time of day but for some reason he did! She mellowed out towards the end but I did have to give myself a kick to carry on reading at one point as I was fed up with her! Glad I did carry on as I enjoyed it by the end x

Wow this was an unexpected book! Christmas in August? Sign me up!!!!

This book gave us all of the best tropes:
- Enemies to lovers
- Grumpy Sunshine
- Fake dating

I read this book so fast and enjoyed the ride it took me on. Author Evie has written a romance book that is becoming a movie starring well-known celebrity Duke Carlisle (who also happens to be extremely attractive). When Evie and Duke meet there is an instant attraction and the media starts taking note. So the two of them begin to fake date in order to gain publicity for the movie.

I REALLY liked duke and the pacing of the book. However, I did not like Evie's character. She was unnecessarily rude and grumpy for no reason at all. She almost ruined the book for me but I am glad she did not.

Overall, this is a cozy book perfect for winter.

I <b> really </b> really wanted to like this book, but I just couldn't do it. It has such a cute premise and the hopes were so high going in. Grumpy sunshine? Check. Fake dating? Check. Enemies to lovers? Check. Those are three of my favorite tropes, but yet this one just wasn't it for me. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but there were a couple of moments that happened towards the beginning that just were a downhill slide for me. For starters, the way that Duke roped Evie into having to be on set was just WEIRD. He is a professional actor in his thirties. I was genuinely shook to my core. Next, Evie is just MEAN. Like, I am all for a frump in a story, but there are times where she is just downright rude for no real reason at all. Lastly, there was a moment where are two characters are discussing a song that has been in the Top 40 (and was there for a LONG time). Evie was SHOCKED to find out that Duke likes pop music because he knew what the song was. It was a moment where I had to put my Kindle down and just take five minutes before I had to start reading it again.

I know that this book is definitely for others, and I feel like there is a chance that I would enjoy this book a second time around or even other books by this author. Her writing was so descriptive, and it really was beautiful imagining all of the scenery and characters. I just wasn't a fan of this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for providing me with an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for this eARC. All thoughts are my own.

It's barely August and I'm already reading Christmas romances. So what? You can't tell me that you don't think Christmas romances have something more, that sparks that makes everything more magical around this time. Well, I'm always down for a Christmas romance novel, so I was ready to dive in Just for December.

Evie is a writer who doesn't know her worth and is not too fond of men. Duke is a famous actor who has fallen into the rabbit hole that is Hollywood. So when the two of them met on the set of Evie's movie as Duke's is the lead male character, they can't avoid butting heads. They are the opposite of each other, and they can't seem to have a conversation with our arguing. Bur are they really so different? Spending a few weeks together around Christmas time in German villages, might make them open up to new feelings and maybe find love.

I thought this was a cute story, but it wasn't able to grab my interest as much as I had wished. I couldn't feel the attraction between the characters, and at times I thought both Evie and Duke were annoying. However, this book brings to light some heavy topics: one self worth and confidence being impacted by society's standards and abuse in the entertainment industry.

I'm a fan of Laura Jane Williams, and this novel does not disappoint! Evie Bird is an author who is determined not to be a celebrity, she doesn't want to be involved with hollywood and does not partake in celebrity worship so being contractually obliged to attend the filming of one of her novels as it's converted into a film does not sit well.

The story is engaging from the start; it's not massively groundbreaking in terms of plot (although I like that in a book of this genre!) but it is a nice bit of escapism and a wonderfully festive read. The characters are developed and relatable and Williams masterfully manages to weave both his and her perspectives throughout the story.

It's one that'll warm your cockles and Christmas and have you hungry for some German food! I think I'd quite like to see the film they make in it too!

I need to read the rest of this book ASAP. I sat and read this sampler in an hour. I enjoy the fact that it's told from a dual POV and I'm liking both characters. Looking forward to reading thebthe rest of this festive treat of a book.

Having read the whole book, im updating my feedback and slightly changing the rating. I did enjoy the book, it gave me a few Christmas feels and it was certainly romantic. The grand romantic gestures were lovely. What annoyed me was Duke's constant name dropping and Evie was so rude at times. Laura Jane Williams has a great way of creating these flawed characters who really work on themselves as the book processes. She is a great story teller with a wicked sense of humour.

Wanted to love this book, however it didn’t flow well for me. Wasn’t sure who was talking at times and where the conversations ended and began. The characters had a lot of emotional baggage, so relationships were hard for them. When they had their revelation of how to change, they expressed their feelings to other people and not each other. It felt like it was never resolved and they just wanted to be together at the end so they were. Glad Evie was there for Duke when he needed her. Evie shared her problems with her best friend when she should have at least mentioned them to Duke for him to understand her. It did have some cute moments in the beginning with the fake dating and flirting between them but as it continued it just felt discombobulated. I received this book for my honest review.

If you love Christmas movies like The Holiday and The Christmas Prince, this is the read to warm your heart with this December.

I received an ARC of, Just for December by, Laura Jane Williams. Faking a relationship between actor and actors, should not be that hard, they act for a living. For Evie and Duke its very hard, can the keep up the charade?