This book is such a treat! Molly & Andrew have 3 things in common:

1) They are both from Ireland
2) They both are going to college in Chicago
3) They have a mutual terrible friend/girlfriend

On their first Christmas flight home, Molly ends up seated next to Andrew as he is in the process of being dumped by their mutual friend. We follow this unlikely pairing over the next 10 Christmas breaks while alternating with their present day situation. This year, however, a major storm hits and threatens to ruin Andrew's Christmas with his family. Molly makes it her mission to get Andrew home on time and while it takes days, their friendship deepens and they start to realize what's been right in front of them this whole time. Sparks fly and I'm going to leave it at that. The rest is for you to discover in this absolutely hilarious and adorable "opposites attract" rom-com.

The story
For the past ten years, Molly has flown home from Chicago to her her family in Dublin for Christmas. Andrew, the boyfriend of a former friend has flown at the same time. Initially by co-incidence but then as friends. This year, when the flights over the Atlantic are cancelled because of a storm, the two pull out all the stops by flying for three days to get home. The trip brings them closer together in so many ways that neither expected.

My thoughts
I adored Catherine Walsh’s debut One Night Only, and second book The Rebound, and sat smiling throughout the sheer joy that is Holiday Romance. This story feels like a “classic”, charming Irish characters and setting, it’s Christmas and there is newfound attraction pumping. I love the two slightly imperfect people that Molly and Andrew are, and the way that they care deeply for each other, even as friends. There is a mad travel dash interspersed with flashbacks, but the story remains fast paced and the lows are easily overcome by the love story. It’s a must read ❤️

4.5 ⭐

• Friends to lovers
• Two friends desperate to get home for Christmas
• Great banter and chemistry

Like a Hallmark movie, and in the best possible way. Perfectly wholesome, easy on the tropes.

These guys had great chemistry, friendship-based bonds and the best banter ever. I really enjoyed their story, they were perfect for each other and so easy to like and root for.

However, the book was steamier than I expected. There were only a couple of scenes and they weren’t too bad, but I do get easily uncomfortable. And especially for a sweet holiday read, I expected it to be as clean as they get.

Other than that, this book was fun, entertaining, romantic, emotional, full of character growth, and I really liked it.

A huge thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh in exchange for an honest review.

Holiday Romance is a true heartwarming story. Catherine Walsh had me excited to turn every page in this friends-to-lovers romance.

Holiday Romance follows Molly and Andrew over ten years of friendship in a then and now format showing all the moments they felt and all of those they missed. Read this one when you want a light, makes you smile while reading, love story.


Posted to Goodreads 9/22/2022

Well that was ADORABLE! Molly and Andrew have shared ten flights home to Ireland for Christmas with the 10th flight being a crazy and fun ADVENTURE!
I loved this! It was sweet and the build up of their relationship had me a giddy mess!
The flash back to each flight was perfectly sprinkled into the story and I appreciated that the flashbacks were quick and to the point and weren’t overly dragged out. Instead the focus being on the current! Molly and Andrews days long trek to get back to Ireland was so much fun and watching them figure out their MORE was for me perfection!
Friends to lovers is not my favorite trope but this one was done so well for me! There wasn’t a lot of angst which I appreciated! And Andrews confession (IYKYK) was probably one of my favorite love confessions I have EVER READ! Like I was tearing up and squealing like a school girl!
This to me was a perfectly sweet adorable Christmas romcom!
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book for my honest opinion! Releases 10/4

What a freaking adorable story.

This was the friends to lovers holiday romance I didn’t realize I needed already here in September.

Molly and Andrew live in Chicago, but are both from Dublin. They first meet on a plane ride home one Christmas, where Molly takes his phone in order to protect him for a holiday breakup.

Every year they spend their 7.5 hour Christmas flight home together, talking, eating and drinking. But, they rarely ever see each other in Chicago besides this yearly flight together.

This story flashes forward and back to the present day flight, year ten, too important milestones building up to this.

Flight ten is a disastrous snow storm, in which Molly will go through great lengths to make sure Andrew gets home for Christmas because it means so much to him.

The adventures they take together bring them closer and ultimately obviously it’s a romance so friends to lovers commence.

The ending is perfect and I loved this, my first holiday romance of the upcoming Christmas season!

I really wanted to wait until the holidays to really take this romance in but honestly it got too tempting to wait. In the first few chapters, I wasn't finding myself very drawn into the storyline and the characters but it really did switch around for me. I really enjoyed this book, it even made me tear up a little. The travel issues were actually realistic, I can also relate to the living abroad and the nightmare of travelling home at peak holiday times.. I unfortunately have never had a plane buddy that falls madly in love with me...!! I will definitely be recommending this book as the perfect holiday read this winter!

Did you love cute rom-coms? Do you love the holidays? Do you want to read a book that will make you swoon and squeal because of the adorableness? Then you will ADORE this one!

For 10 years, Molly and Andrew flew home to Ireland for the holidays. Molly hates the holidays, and only goes to see her family once a year. Andrew loves Christmas, so much so that he wears cheesy holiday sweaters.

They have built a strong friendship over those 10 years, both growing to understand each other on a deep level. But this Christmas, on their “tenth anniversary,” a huge snowstorm grounds their flight home.

Molly and Andrew then go on a crazy journey, trying to get home for Christmas while also exploring new romantic feelings that have come up after being caught under the mistletoe.

This is a book that I cannot wait to reread during the holiday season. It was absolutely adorable, the sexual tension was TENSE, and I have never been so obsessed with two characters. They were the cutest couple I have ever read. They gave me all the feels and by the end I felt all warm and fuzzy inside.

And I loved how real this was too. Molly hates her job, but feels lost on what she should do instead. And Andrew is newly sober and trying to keep it that way. They both supported each other without a moment of hesitation, so they are a couple that I know are for forever.

Seriously. READ THIS BOOK. You won’t regret it.

This book is a must-read for the holiday season. The characters have real depth that is displayed over a ten year time frame. The timing, jumping back and forth between present-time and events over the past ten years is so well-done. Molly and Andrew have such chemistry and I love how they slowly figure things out. The slow-burn is real with this book, and I felt like these were truly adults and handled their relationship as such. I felt like I was in the holiday spirit with this book, even though I read it in September. Excellent read that I highly recommend. 2/5 for spice

I was really excited about this book and heard so many wonderful reviews, (there are endless 5 star reviews here and on Goodreads), so I was excited.

Fast forward, and this book was a big disappointed for me. Maybe the hype was too much? Maybe my expectations were too high? Whatever the case, this book was a big no for me. I didn’t much like Andrew or Molly. My full review will be up on Goodreads. This one just wasn’t for me at all.

I love Christmas, and I love romance, so you can imagine my excitement when I got to pick this one up. And it's just as enjoyable as it sounds! I love friends to lovers. LOVE. And I LOVE chapters that switch between then and now. And this book had both! Honestly, it's one of the best friends to lovers/then & now books I've ever read, like, I'm so serious. Not only did it have two of my favorite elements, it was soooooo funny. Like I giggled. A lot. Which is how all good romcoms are made!

It was also such a quick & easy read. I found myself waiting for work breaks & waiting to get home just so I could read more of it, that's how good it was. Like, I can't even explain how good it was, because it was just that good.

A million stars. 10/10.

𝘚𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴, 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴...

My oh my did I catch some feelings!
Catherine captures the friendship between Molly and Andrew wonderfully, and draws you right in to their very real feeling fairytale.

This book really resonated with myself- my husband and I was co-workers/friends for 5 years before our relationship bloomed into something more - much like Molly I hadn't realised what, or should I say who, was waiting right in front of me the whole time. We're now almost a decade into being a couple.

I loved how the story flitted between the present and the previous nine flights, but kept in order and sense. There was never a confusing moment and the flow was very smooth.

Whilst intended to be a Christmas feel good romance, I can safely say that this book is a romance novel that can be read whenever the mood takes you.
The Christmas side of it all adds the the warm fuzzy love story unfolding between two friends destined to spend their lives together.

My new favourite story, I cannot wait to read more by Catherine Walsh

I went back and forth between 4/5 stars for this book. I wanted to give it 5, but there were a few moments in the book that felt dragged out to me so I ended up going with 4 stars. But that being said this was still a wonderful Christmas romance.

Every Christmas for the past 10 years, Molly spends her flight home with Andrew, the guy she met on the first flight where awkward circumstances had them ignoring each other. Andrew was dating Molly's frenemy at the time and this so called friend tells Molly she plans on breaking up with man that is currently sitting next to her.

The two eventually move past this encounter and begin an adorable friendship where they both look forward to their flight back home to Ireland. Until year 10 when there is a large snowstorm in Chicago and their flight gets cancelled. Molly, who isn't really into the whole Christmas thing, isn't overly sad about missing Christmas with her family, but Andrew lives for the holiday. Molly makes it her mission to get him home to his family for Christmas by any means necessary.

This was a cute friends to lovers romance and I did like both of the main characters. Andrew seems like a dream man. He's got the dimple and everything. They both have adorable, quirky families and the banter in this book is great. Some of the travel scenes felt a bit long to me, but seriously if you love Christmas and romance this book is for you.

Holiday Romance is a lovely read. I liked the main characters and really became invested in their story. The Christmas romance was everything you would want and who wouldn’t love to read about a big family Christmas in Ireland.

Molly and Andrew are best of friends
Being from the same country and living in a whole new world both of them find comfort and home in each other.
Granted their friendship is more of travelling back home only during Christmas 🎅
But the care concern and love they share remains the same.

It’s about time they realise that this is not a regular friendship and move forward with their relationship

🍟 Molly
- Molly is successful in her life and she has worked really hard to achieve all she set her mind to.
But off late she is feeling burnt out with her work.
While I agree there must be a work/ life balance, I do not subscribe to the idea that you should LOVE your work.

Your work should sustain you and help you with the other aspects of your life.
I honestly feel like loving what you do is overrated anyway!

But that’s my perspective, nevertheless, I do agree that your work should not consume your whole life.

Unfortunately, our FMC is a workaholic and it made me hate her. But I was still invested in knowing her story.
👏🏼Kudos👏🏼 to the author on that


📸Andrew

Andrew is a man written by a woman.
He is perfect - loves his family, feeds our FMC when she is Hangry, he is mature when he sees her with other love interests and yes ofc takes care of her when she is on her period.

I am glad that he was not a complete cliché with a brooding hero template 💆🏻‍♀️

I loved him!

It really was a cute love story!

Read this if you
- love friends to lovers trope
- love Christmas 🎄

This book gave me all the holiday feels! The plot being told in flashbacks reminded me of people we meet on vacation by emily henry. Watching our main characters go from friends to more was so enjoyable and i’ll definitely be rereading this holiday season.

Super cute holiday romcom! The beginning felt like a movie, like planes trains and automobiles but on a much smaller, manageable scale. I really enjoyed both characters, Andrew was dreamy and Molly was relatable. Their banter was excellent and I really enjoyed their families.

The plot moves between flashbacks of the past 10 years of Christmas flights and how their friendship progressed, and present day as Molly does her best to get Andrew back to Ireland for Christmas. Persistent flashbacks always sort of distract from the present day plot for me but if you enjoy this plot device I'm sure it's excellent.

It did stall out for me around the midway point and I lost interest a bit as the rush to get to Ireland ended, but it was still overall an enjoyable holiday read.

Two friends. Ten years. One very important flight.
8.5⭐️
Tropes | Friends to Lovers, Christmas/Holiday Romance, Road Trip
Heat Level | 🌤💕 sweet & steamy, no 🌶, open-ish door
______________
Holiday Romance is exactly what I want in an end-of-year read. Irish ex-pats Molly and Andrew have great chemistry and witty banter that keeps the story fresh. This is a deeply romantic story about the real nature of a relationship based in friendship that’s charming as heck.

Friends to Lovers romances can be a little anti-climatic. You meet two characters and ten pages later it’s like “Duh. Get on with it, dummies.” To fix that problem, many writers start throwing insane obstacles in their path. There’s only so many times a moat full of alligators and flaming arrows can make up for the lack of story and it gets exhausting.

Molly and Andrew have obstacles thrown at them in Holiday Romance too. However, I can attest as a native their travel troubles are a very realistic fact of life for Chicagoans in December. Even more important to the story, these issues are not used to keep two people apart as a cheap plot device.

All the obstacles serve the same goal: Molly and Andrew are able to demonstrate how deeply the other person’s happiness matters. What a lovely foundation on which to build a relationship.

The use of flashbacks is necessary, but very little time was spent in the past. Just the right amount to give an important fact and then back to the present day. There are some lines in here that were laugh out loud funny. Others that really hit the feels.

The pacing on this 318 page read feels quick like a novella. I polished it off in one night.
______________

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Expected publication Oct 4, 2022.

Although early to be reading Christmas novels, I’m gathering my favourites to share in December and this is one of them.

A funny, witty and heartwarming festive read, I really enjoyed this book. Both Andrew and Molly felt real and relatable, and Andrew was super charming - it’s a warm Christmassey romance. I also love the travel issues/hyjinks trope.

If you’re starting to make a list of books to read this upcoming holiday season, be sure to include Holiday Romance!

This book is the perfect holiday read! This is Catherine Walsh’s third novel, but the first one I’ve read by her. Her writing voice is warm and comforting but with a sharp wit that keeps the story fresh and engaging.

Molly is a driven, ambitious, hardworking lawyer who has somewhat detached herself from her deeper emotions to avoid confronting her self-doubt and more difficult things. Though her character could be a little frustrating and hard-headed at times, those came across as the realistic flaws of a well-rounded person. Andrew is a very fun, sarcastic, warm, and charming romantic interest. I enjoyed their interactions and seeing their dynamic change over time.

The travel hijinks and the constantly changing backdrop of this novel were so fun and unique. I also loved learning a little bit about Ireland!

This book will make you feel like you’re snuggled up under the coziest, softest blanket with a candle lit nearby while snow falls gently outside. And that’s really saying something, seeing as I read this book while wearing shorts in 85 degree weather!

I recommend this book to everyone — lover of the holiday season or not!

“Holiday Romance” will be out next month, on October 4th, 2022.

Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.