This is a funny romance full of chaos and laughter . A light hearted read that I would recommend this Christmas

I love Haf and her approach to life and could see she ws an expert in getting into tricky situations. Ambrose was a likeable friend and strong character who said it was it was and the fake boyfirend/real girlfriend part added the right level of rom-com to the book.

Haf deserves to find her partner in life and as a reader you are willing her on. A great cosy read that also celebrate love in its many forms and leaves you will the feel good factor. Perfect for Christmas.

A good book for light reading and a few laughs but not really my cup of tea. Took a while for me to get into and never really got engrossed.

Really enjoyed this light hearted festive romance novel!

All characters are likeable which is refreshing, usually festive romance love novels start with the characters hating each other or one being a horrible person, but this was the case, made it enjoyable from the start!

I enjoyed this book - its a hallmark movie but with a properly diverse case of characters, hurrah. Other than that - which is awesome obviously - it was full of the usual lovely tropes of this type of story and was enjoyably predictable.

thank you to netgalley for my earc! i have zero regrets about reading a christmas related story in the middle of august and let me explain why —

‘make you mine this christmas’ takes a commonly loved trope (especially by myself) and adds a twist, the protagonist haf isn’t falling for christopher, the guy who she’s currently in a fake relationship with, but his sister kit. set at christmas time, the book has a cozy and warm feel to it, with some genuinely comically moments to make you laugh and a storyline filled with love to make you smile.

i found all the characters likeable, which made then all their interactions interesting. kit and haf have chemistry from their first meeting in a bookshop (which, by the way is possibly the best place for a meet cute) and from there they are easy to route for and that accumulates in the last chapter in a sweet manner, particularly with the last few lines of the book. christopher and haf’s friendship i adored too. their natures are polar opposites but they find that they have a deep understanding of one another that is lovely to see play out. it’s the kind of friendship that everyone deserves to have.

to end this review, here’s some more things i loved that i haven’t spoken about just yet — the main character being welsh! my little welsh heart was ecstatic to see it. haf’s love for paddington and her being totally correct with her take on paddington 2 (it’s absolutely one of the best movies ever made.) ambrose’s twitter polls. and just ambrose in general, with their copious amount of care for haf and vise versa. the ‘carol’ references. i think i’ll end this by just saying that.

and also, to definitely read this book when it’s released.

This was a very warm Christmas read with some brilliant characters who break stereotypes very well to create a Hallmark type read in a totally modern style. It’s incredibly rare to have mainstream reads like this and I admit I found it took a bit if getting my head around Ambrose’s pronoun purely because it’s an ingrained thing that ‘they’ is plural however it’s fantastic that the author didn’t feel the need to explain this and we do need more norms like this. Haf was a great character, kind hearted and has learn to be unapologetic about who she is yet there’s still parts of her that dragged her down which added great balance. I loved Ambrose especially the cheeky polls, they absolutely deserve a book of their own, I’d love to find out more about them. Overall this is a very uplifting read, especially great for Christmas but good all year round too. 9/10

There were bits of this book I liked and bits I didn’t. I liked the concept of the story but couldn’t come to grips with Haf using the plural for Ambrose.
I know some people embrace the word “queer” but for historical reasons I find it a bit offensive.
Purely a matter of taste and the outline of the story was good

Sorry to say that this just wasnt my sort of book, so after trying toread it I gave up after the first quarter. Other reviews give it very good feedback, which is wonderful, but the subject matter just wasnt for me.

It's been a long while since I've read a sapphic romance, and this was a perfect way to get back into them!
Make You Mine This Christmas is a laugh-out-loud romance with all manner of kerfuffles, including rude jumpers and rescuing reindeer. Oh, and falling in love with your fake boyfriend's sister in the middle of a charade set up to make life easier...!
Haff finds herself in Oxley with Christopher, a relative stranger, having only met by chance at a party she has crashed, pretending to be his girlfriend to stop his parents with their matchmaking efforts as he nurses a bruised heart and a bit of an identity crisis.
Thing is, she hadn't expected to meet a woman who could turn her world upside down, only to lose her, then find her again, in the most complex of situations.
Haf is a fantastic heroine, and kudos to Huxley-Jones for all the representation in this book! So, Haf: well, she's a plus-sized, bisexual woman about to spend her first Christmas alone, not through any choice of her own.
Then you have her flatmate and good friend Ambrose, who has carved a career out for themselves as an influencer, and they are the most straight-talking friend you could ever have.
Christopher, the fake boyfriend, is a sweet guy who is being pressured into following in his father's footsteps rather than following his own dreams.
And how could I forget Kit, the aforementioned fake boyfriend's sister? Kit is a tall, beautiful, strong woman with a fantastic career, a potty mouth, and a disability that makes everyone think she can't be capable of all she can.
There are plenty of other characters that help make this story a joy to read, but if I detail them all, you would find everything out in the review, and that is not what I want to happen at all!
A really fun read, where I did laugh out loud. several times and I was so happy with the ending. We all need supportive friends, even though they can interfere a bit too much sometimes!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton, Hodder Studios for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

<i>make you mine this christmas</i> asks the question of ‘what happens when you fall for your fake boyfriend’s sister when spending christmas at their family home?’ and sends you on a delightful journey full of bad decisions, laughter, christmas spirit and sapphic romance. it has hallmark written all over it, and whilst the overall romance is nothing new, who wants that? as a lesbian, i want fake dating tropes galore and all of the cheesiness possible. lizzie huxley-jones delivers.

huxley-jones’ prose is full of warmth and is enough to make anybody, including myself currently sitting writing this in a 30+ degree heatwave in england, crave christmas and all the magic that comes with it. the lgbt representation centred throughout the book is nothing but incredible; includes an autistic bisexual plus-sized woman, a disabled lesbian, a non-binary person, and a bisexual man. in a refreshing change, each character has their own identity beyond this but the importance of the range of inclusivity is never lessened.

overall, a delightful read and one i cannot recommend enough.

<i>”’you’re my christmas wish, haf hughes. you’re always going to be my christmas wish.’
‘not just for christmas?’
‘after all the chaos we went through to get here?’ kit says and leans down to give her the sweetest promise of a kiss. ‘i’m never letting you go.’”</i>

<i>thank you to netgalley and hodder & stoughton for the arc. it was a pleasure to be welcomed into the world of haf, kit, christopher, ambrose and laurel.</i>

Fab light hearted read, couldn't put it down, loved the storyline and the characters were brilliant especially Hev and Christopher, and Ambrose with their wise words and sarcasm

Hallmark romance , Christmas decorations , reindeer , snow fights and a life completely spun round in a cluster of white lies for the greater good. Everything happens for a reason , even if it seems utterly bizarre at first.

What happens when your life is just spiraling down, you have no one to spend Christmas with and you have been dubbed someone's girlfriend but don't come clean? Well a cunning plan is what Haf thought. She pretends to be Christopher's (a friend she just met) fake girlfriend and agrees to spend Christmas with his family. She gets not to be alone at Christmas and he gets everyone off his back. Finally not setting him up with more random dates. What Haf didn't expect was a Christmas in the Hampton's (not literally) and his sister to be hot, hot , hot.

This was a very enjoyable book, which at times had me laughing out loud. I love the main MCs back and fourth banter. I really liked the side characters you met who, even though being well off (rich) come across like down to earth, nice people and not the typical stereotype,

I enjoyed the chemistry and how tastefully it all pans out. There was no really big drama which normally I find in books like this.
The pace was perfect and it just left me feeling good.

Lizzie Huxley-Jones thank you for the extra comment of Haf's autism at the end. I'm sorry that at some point in time you had the chaos Haf was feeling (or something similar) at the start of the book. I do hope you have had a happy ended we all deserve.

Thank you Hux, for this great read and I will look forward to anymore WLW books you release.

If your looking for a holiday romance I suggest picking up 'Make You Mine This Christmas'

Thank you to Hodder and NetGalley for this eARC of 'Make You Mine This Christmas' by Lizzie Huxley-Jones.

It felt weird opening a Christmas novel in August but honestly, this book was worth it. Main character Haf (She's Welsh!!! I love her) is the sweetest and funniest main character for a Christmas romance I have ever seen. She snoops into a party owned by someone she's never met and meets Christopher. He's a strange little fellow but I grew to love him throughout this book.
And then there's Kit. Kit is Christopher's oldest sister who kinda has a thing with Haf. I loved this plotline and I love Kit. There is some sexual content in this book but it wasnt without context and it was brief which made me feel comfortable with continuing to read. Honestly, I just really loved this story and I would read it again and again.

Make you mine this Christmas by Lizzie Huxley-Jones.

Thank you Netgallery for a ARC e-book copy for an unbiased review.

Well that was a total blast! Hallmark could learn a thing or two on how to write a queer Christmas movie from this book. Once I started, I could not put it down.

That opening sequence with Haf's parents and technology? Let's just say a lot of us have been there, and I was hoping the rest of the book continued in a similar vein. I wasn't disappointed. If anything, the book hit its stride and just got better.

Is it full of tropes? Yes. God, yes. But done in such a way they didn't feel stale or boring for me. And it's all the better for it.

Was it full of the feel good factor? Yes. Totally. I realised about a 3rd of the way through I was genuinely smiling! If a book it making you subconsciously smile, then it is definitely doing something right.

Was it laugh out loud? I did totally laugh out loud. More than once. Drawing looks from both our cats and my husband, who then shrugged as they saw I was reading as I carried on sniggering to myself.

On the note of my husband, we are both bi (he is also trans) so the representation was great to see.
I was also glad to see how disability was represented. As someone with multiple chronic illnesses and disabled myself, it was heartening to see it broached in a way that meant it was there in an extremely realistic manner.

The e-book and audio book come out ahead of the printed version (I haven't checked but wonder if the issues publishers have had with paper shortages have delayed the print version?)
Whatever the reason, pre-order this if you want a fun, delightful, queer rom-com book, as this one is for you!
Even if you're not LGBTQIA+ I feel this book could easily be read by others outside of the community, and that is probably as good an endorsement I can make about it. Because although it is written with specific groups in mind, it is good enough to be read beyond that.

But don't make the mistake I did of beginning to read it later in the day. 3am was not a fun existence for my eyes, as I desperately clutched my tablet, trying to continue reading that last 12% of the book.
Make sure you start on a day where your schedule is clear, and start early. So you can savour this in one sitting.

I was sad to see this one end. I didn't want it to end. But unfortunately end it must, so here I am writing this review and wondering how quickly I can read it all again.

Bravo Lizzie. Bravo. A book that will definitely become part of my regular read again pile, particularly once Christmas approaches.

5/5 stars was easy to give.

✨Falling gay ass over heels for your fake boyfriends sister? Sapphics approve of this message.✨

Sometimes you find a little of yourself in a book and it makes you smile like mad. This book does that.

Idk how to express my love of this book.

A WLW romance with plus sized and disabled mc’s? Hell yes!

First of all this is totally Christmas hallmark movie vibes and I’m here for it. It serves up that cozy and wholesome romantic feeling, that makes you want to download tinder again and pretend like it’s a ‘good idea’.

Representation wise: MC is Bisexual, autistic & Welsh. Love interest is a lesbian, cane user (with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.) We also have Bi and Non-binary SC’s. The romance is WLW centric.

As a neurodiv, lesbian cane user let me tell you I was SCREAMING for that rep.

Plot wise I really enjoyed it, it’s nothing wildly fresh but with romances I don’t want fresh. I want corny fake dating tropes I will devour like my life depends on it and this was exactly that.

The humour was on par too, some seriously decent laughs in this so if you want a romance with a comedic edge this is for you.

It also does have spice, though it’s brief and not massively descriptive. This is probably one you could get away with reading in public without a tell tale blush.

It’s honestly just slowburn goodness that will leave you grinning like a bloody idiot. I loved it.

Pacing wise I felt the start was a little slow otherwise I had no issues. Occasionally the plot was a bit too cheesy and dramatised which is why I marked it down a star, however this really didn’t bother me much.

TW’s listed below please skip if you don’t want any vague spoilers//




Tw//CW// Alcohol mentions, sex mentions (briefly described)

4.5 stars

*eARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

i really enjoyed this! despite reading it in july, i got really into it - the characters were the real strength of this. i grew to love haf and was really rooting for her, and the side characters were equally strong. ambrose has my whole heart and i adored how there was casual disabled/nonbinary/fat rep that felt authentic and not tokenistic. also got quite emotional reading the author's note that mentioned how haf was intended to be written with undiagnosed autism/dyspraxia, and i really related to haf's confusion about her place in the world (this is not explicitly discussed on page, reflecting the author's experience of living as an undiagnosed adult). also loved how it was a very hallmark-y romance but set in the UK, so i was able to relate to the Christmas traditions more than i normally can in the hallmark christmas romances i love and actually feel seen as a queer person in the traditional family Christmas environment. also there were a lot of great references to contemporary pop culture that made the characters feel more relatable in their speech.
what detracts from this being a 5 star read for me is that the last quarter is quite chaotic - the writing style is very compelling and i couldn't put it down but this meant everything was happening very quickly and while i liked how the characters developed emotionally and how the story resolved by the end, i felt like this conclusion and development was a bit rushed.

This is the LOVELIEST cosy Christmas book with the most gorgeous characters, fabulous representation, and enough tantalising food descriptions to have you drooling. I loved loved loved this - looking up from the page to realise it’s still a roasting hot July day and not a snowy December evening was a shock to the system! More queer, joyful Christmas books pls!!!!!

A gloriously, feel good Christmas romantic storyline. With great characters and a story full of lots of Christmas sparkle and joy. I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder and Stoughton for allowing me to read and arc of Make You Mine This Christmas!
This was a truly magical read and the only book I’ve ever read where I felt zero anxiety that I’d come across ableist slurs, homophobia or size shaming, this book was such a safe space for me and made me so unbelievably happy while I was reading it.
I’d recommend (and have) this book to everyone and I’ll be rereading it every Christmas!
There were zero triggers for me in this book and just full of queer joy and disability pride and I wish I could rate it more than five stars because if any book deserves it, it’s this one!