"Honestly, I'm so used to being alone now I don't know if I'll even like it when I find someone I do want to be with. I'm not sure I know how to bend like that anymore."

As long as the highly-specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong. Haven't we all thought that specific thing at least once in our lives while travelling around the holidays, or literally any other time? Airports are breeding grounds for chaos.

Holiday Romance however, was the exact opposite. *This* is the bread and butter of a true rom-com. The banter, the holiday season, the background of friendship but nothing more... give it to me. All of it. I simply couldn't get enough!! Reading this novel was like a Christmas gift bound in paper.

Holiday Romance was published on October 4, 2022. Thank you to Bookouture, NetGalley and the author for the ARC (Advance Readers Christmas ;))

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

Holiday Romance
by Catherine Walsh
Pub Date: 04 Oct 2022

Oh, this book grabbed my heart! The relationship of Molly and Andrew (my new book boyfriend!) progressed so naturally over their ten years of mutual holiday flights. I loved seeing their past as well as their present selves, flaws and all. I enjoy friends to lovers trope when done right and this one was done to perfection! I am smiling just thinking about this book. I will definitely be listening to the audiobook on this as well.

5 Stars!

This story follows Molly, born in Ireland, but lives in Chicago. She went to college and then graduate school in Chicago and then remained there to work. She flies home to Ireland every year to be with her family for Christmas, although they don’t have a lot of Christmas cheer. Andrew is Molly’s friend’s boyfriend and they ended up next to each other on their flight home. Molly finds out the friend is cheating on Andrew and she tries to stop him from finding out which causes a weird interaction and Andrew not liking her much, cue awkward 7-hour flight. The following year they don’t sit together and then every year after they get seats next to each other and have become best friends. The book goes back and forth between present day (flight 10 together) and each previous flight, beginning with flight one. I am somewhat hesitant about stories that have split timelines, but I really enjoyed this one!
 
They were so excited for their flight and Molly had even upgraded their tickets for the flight, but the flight was cancelled to a bad storm that rolled in. Molly, with the help of her friend and coworker, Gabriela, figure out what they need to do to get Andrew home for Christmas. They have to hurry to the other Chicago airport, wait hours at airports between flights, sleep when they can and so much more, but in between all the chaos and crazy stress of it all they are also able to explore the places where they have layovers and overnight waits. It is magical. This trip ends up being the best one of them all and so many wonderful things happen.
 
If you are into holiday romances, this is a must read! I know I will definitely be rereading this one come December!

Molly and Andrew are "swoon-worthy" in this fast-paced, holiday romance! Through a mutual friend/girlfriend, Molly and Andrew find themselves traveling together by plane back to Ireland each Christmas season to visit family. This tradition occurs for TEN years! Even though they both live in Chicago, they rarely see each other, other than the holidays. One year throws travel obstacles at them, and through their partnership, they realize that maybe there's more romance to this holiday tradition than they realized. A perfect holiday read!

This was a sweet holiday read. I loved their banter and chemistry. Following the growth of their friendships to relationship later on, was adorable.

This is a rom-com for those who love the sub-genre and even to those who don't. It gives major butterflies and get us ready for Christmas.

I managed to read to 43% of this book before finding the lack of story line development tedious. It could well just be me not in the right frame of mind for this book but I found it very light and fluffy - perhaps I needed to be on a beach or indeed even a plane myself!

The perfect feel good holiday read! I am a total sucker for Christmas themed books and this one did not disappoint. Molly and Andrew take the same flight from Chicago home to Ireland for Christmas every year, but on the 10th anniversary, the snow rolls in and what could go wrong?! I love the one day a year meet ups and friends to lovers trope. This definitely will not be my last read by Catherine Walsh!

Out now! Thanks NetGalley for the eARC!

Perfect way to start the Christmas season.
I loved the two main characters, Molly and Andrew were great to read about. Their families were fun to read and seeing their journey/friendship grow from the flashbacks was also unique.
I really enjoyed the love story itself. If you love the below tropes this is a definite must read:
- friends to lovers
- forced proximity
- one bed
- travelling

Big wow from me!

At the start, I knew this is going to be a cute one, even if later it didn't keep up.

It's sort of friends to lovers but they don't really meet that often except on the flights they take home during the holiday season. They are friends online. So it doesn't justify it being friends to lovers it's more like: you have become so comfortable with this person that not meeting them every day is okay/ you imagine the person to be a certain way and they are exactly like that and y'all fit together like two pieces in a puzzle vibe. I don't understand this but just somehow, with the benefit of the doubt, it seems to work. There is also underlying miscommunication going on. Which I don't enjoy.

The side characters: When I read Molly had an identical twin I was scared. Why? Because if she was an evil one I would have read the book very half-heartedly. Thankfully she wasn't, and I liked their bond, even if it was briefly described.
Gab is like the perfect work friend to have. Even Molly doesn't confide much in her. Well, she doesn't confide in anyone unless urged to do so. Their friendship works.
The parents seem cool and so do Andrew's siblings.

Now, Molly. She is a typical main lead. The works too much and wants to do something else but there are things to stop her, the main lead that doesn't celebrate Christmas 'traditionally'. She is also Ms. Thinks a lot unnecessarily.

Andrew is okayish. He might be cute, and sarcastic (me likes this) sometimes, but from the ten years of travel buddy experience, Molly has he doesn't seem to be a bad travel buddy.

The story is sweet and I enjoyed the ten-year thing, the before and present. It was proportional. It didn't feel like I was missing something. A few parts of the story were cringy: the making out scene in London, the taking her to the place he first kissed and making out there, and Molly asking Andrew repeatedly if it was okay if she accompanied him even if it was her idea!

The confession in the end is pretty good too. I didn't like the fact that the conflict came literally at the end. Maybe that's why the book was losing its charm a little. The last two chapters had all the fun.

The writing style was easy and simple it was smooth to read. It didn't feel confusing with the back and fro happening and it all fit in storywise.

such an awesome romance story. A telling tale of love whilst flying home every year, a story that reminded me of You and Me on Vacation by Emily Henry this was two friends who build up their relationship on one transatlantic flight, people who share little other time with each other in between their flight and the back and forth from each previous flight and the current disastrous journey home currently is something that truly give you butterflies and made me aching to see their happy ever after. Such fun to read and felt so romantic. A definite read for fans of Emily Henry and Christina Lauren.

There's some kind of chemistry between these two. I fell in love with their relationship and just kept saying awwwww why Lord whyyy am I not in love like them! haha! Great read! I can't wait to share it with my sisters who are also HUGE book lovers!

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

A big thank you to Netgalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read this book. Here is my honest review.

Molly and Andrew are friends. They have known each other for 10 years. Every year they spend 7 hours together on a plane from Chicago to Ireland when they fly home to spend Christmas with their families. Other than that they don’t have much contact. This is their 10th year anniversary on the plane and nothing goes as planned. There's a snow storm coming in and their flight gets canceled. Molly knows how important Christmas is to Andrew so she will try everything possible to get him to Ireland and we now get to follow them on this disastrous trip that starts with a kiss under a mistletoe.

We get to know Molly and Andrew when the story goes back and forth at present time and all the other 9 times they have been on the same plane. We see their funny banter and their wonderful chemistry which I love.


I truly loved this book. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me warm inside. I could not put it down. I just had to stay up and finish it. I could even relate to Molly when she talked about taking photos.

I will recommend this book to all my friends.

If you need a feel-good festive romance then diving into Holiday Romance is exactly what you need.

Molly and Andrew are friends that have been travelling home from Chicago to Ireland together for the holidays for 10 years. Except, this a chance encounter under mistletoe shifts their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and loved the reflections of their past journeys together.

This would make a fab Christmas rom com movie!

This was such a sweet story! Theres something so special about a holiday romance! The banter was wonderful and the couple was even better. This got me in the holiday mood and I loved every minute of it!

Okay, this book was adorable! It’s like a warm cup of holiday cheer and I loved every second of it. It’s a great friends to lovers holiday romance! I loved Molly and Andrew and I was rooting for them to make it! I loved the flashbacks! The banter, chemistry, and sexual tension were great!! I was also a fan of how serious topics were also incorporated and discussed. If you’re looking for a sweet and light hearted rom-com to read over the holidays this book is it!!

Wow talk about a perfect Christmas book that will literally give you all the warm fuzzies you could ever need in a holiday romance (lol perfect title)!!! Not to mention I was giggling/laughing pretty much throughout the entire book. The banter between Andrew and Molly is so great!! Its such a feel good romance EEEEK!!! I am officially feeling the holiday spirit...who cares if its a couple months too early heh

I have read every single one of Catherine Walsh's books and I love them. I will forever read EVERYTHING she writes. She is wonderful. And they are always set in Ireland which is so amazing, and may or may not convince me to go visit one day.

Tropes:
Friend's Ex
Holiday romance
Best friends to lovers
It's always been you

Is there anything better than a holiday romance? Yes: a perfect written holiday romance with two adorable characters to fall for. That sums it up pretty good for me. I enjoyed this book immensely and dived deep in the Christmas spirit, even though it is ‘just’ October.

The idea behind the book is original and makes the read very fun with a lot of hysterical and comical moments, which makes you laugh out loud. I love the throwbacks to previous flights, which give you an idea of the history between Andrew and Molly and everything they’ve been through the last decennium. But the way they slowly figure out what they mean to each other? MY HEART!

This book has everything you want in a lovely, warm and romantic holiday story. I already recommended to several people while reading, but I will keep doing this the next couple of weeks, because everyone deserves this cute holiday romance!

Rating: 4,5 stars

I fully enjoyed every moment of this story. Even though it's a Christmas book and the story centers around Molly and Andrew trying to get home for the holidays, it feels like the kind of book you can read year-round (and I'm sure I will).

Everything about this book checked the right boxes for me--the incredible characterization, the witty banter/dialogue, the storytelling (how the story jumped from present day to each of their previous flights together in chronological order, showing how Molly and Andrew got to where they are today). I was smiling the entire time I read this book.

Needless to say, cannot recommend this one enough!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

i’m not generally one for christmas romcoms but when i first read the blurb for holiday romance i couldn’t help but be intrigued. i’m so glad i decided to pick this up, it’s such a fun and heartfelt read with all the witty banter and shenanigans you could ever ask for!

I absolutely loved this book. Watching the relationship between Molly and Andrew develop both in real time and in flashbacks was so sweet. The way that they stayed connected through their Christmas flights/travels, and became a constant in each others lives was endearing. I especially enjoyed Andrew's family dynamic. I will definitely read this again closer to Christmas!