oh. my. GOD. I loved this, I LOVED THIS!!

what starts off as a coincidence turns into a tradition, TURNS INTO CUTE ASS LOVE. genuinely my heart was going to burst reading this. I just want to say that im a grinch and I usually hate holiday romances but this is >>>>>>>>> so so good

I’ve yet to read a book with a story line like this and it was so refreshing to read, watching them fuss over each other every year is so heartwarming.

The characters separately are amazing, I love each of them equally and its easy to remember the side characters. the love and chemistry that brews between them and basically blows up in their face within three stress-induced days. I LOVE IT.

I cant wait to order this when it comes out.

There's something very special about Christmas time: how you get to see people you haven't in months or even years, how the time seems to melt away once you get chatting again and how the magic of the holidays adds a certain something to the rekindling of friend- and relationships. It's a wonderful time for most, especially those who live away and come home to celebrate with those they love.
And thus we meet Molly and Andrew - Irish expats who live in Chicago but have been getting the same flight home to Ireland at Christmas for the last ten years, developing a unique friend(ish)ship in the process.
This year their flight is grounded by a freak snowstorm, and over the course of the following days they start to figure out just how to navigate outside of the boundaries of their normally once-a-year meeting.
Molly is sweet, clever but guarded, not wanting to let herself open up too much and, while glad to get home to her family, has zero interest in the sentiment of Christmas.
Andrew is witty, pithy and absolutely here for the Christmas glitz, magic and any other holiday trapping he can think of. He is the perfect antidote to Molly's steadfastness in relation to the Holiday spirit (or lack thereof).
They work so well together, but also understandably clash, making this story of them forced to spend time together even more adorable, and as they get to know each other you can't help but fall for them.
A sweet, fun, sexy Christmas Rom-com; Cat Walsh can do no wrong!

If you read one festive book this coming Christmas, then this is the one to pick up! The frantic hustle and bustle of the lead up to Christmas and the different family traditions that are depicted are so on point and will resonate with so many.

Catherine Walsh has done it again, landing a brilliant romcom full of nostalgia, craziness and love. This had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions as all her books do. I loved the flashbacks to the previous ten years at Christmas as we are allowed to witness the beautiful development of Molly and Andrew's relationship.

This is my new favourite festive book and I thoroughly enjoyed this reading experience. I will be recommending this festive book to everyone as the perfect Christmas read!

Be still my heart. It feels impossible to condense everything I loved about this one. There’s simply so much I want to gush about! Following an adventurous journey to get home for the holidays, this friends-to-lovers romance was absolutely delightful.

Molly and Andrew aren’t your typical friends. Both incredibly busy, their relationship is mostly maintained online. But for the past ten years at Christmas, they’ve taken the same flight home to Ireland—their moment to reconnect in person. When a snowstorm cancels their flight, Molly will do anything to help Andrew get home to his family.

On top of their fun shenanigans in present day, you also get flashback chapters! With a glimpse into each of their previous flights, you can truly feel the love slowly building underneath their ten-year friendship. Oh my goodness, it was precious. Andrew and his festive sweaters stole my heart.

Filled with witty banter, pestering siblings, genuine humour, and many heartfelt moments, I simply cannot recommend this enough. Chapter 27 left me on cloud nine!

Holiday Romance is just what it sounds like, and it put me in such a winter holiday mood, despite the heat wave irl. This was my first book by Catherine Walsh, and I’ll definitely be checking out her other books because I had so much fun with this one! Holiday Romance has all the crazy energy of Christmastime and romcoms, with the friends-to-lovers romance and the adventure Molly and Andrew go on in making it home to Ireland from Chicago despite the huge storm over the Atlantic. I smiled through so much of the book and chuckled a couple of times; Molly and Andrew’s banter is silly and sarcastic and deadpan and teasing and fun, and the side characters make some hilarious quips as well.

As one would expect of any self-respecting holiday romcom, the themes of love and family are strong throughout. I particularly loved getting to see how Molly’s perception of her family parallels her perception of the holiday as she transforms from grinch to semi-reluctant Christmas-lover. She goes from thinking that her family wouldn’t miss her presence at Christmastime since they don’t really make a big deal of the holiday to realizing just how much her family loves her and loves having her home. The crazy long journey they take of various connecting flights circumventing the Atlantic storm starts because Molly knows how important being home for Christmas with his family is to Andrew, and she (obliviously) only wants what will make him happy, pushing aside her own excitement at spending Christmas with Andrew in Chicago in favor of making this happen for him. It was at that moment that it became abundantly clear how much she loves Andrew, and I wasn’t disappointed when I got to see all the ways Andrew loves and appreciates Molly as the story unfolded. I was pleased to see that he understood it too, when Andrew’s feelings were made known.

I love that we get to see each of their past nine flights leading up to this one from Molly’s (first person) POV interspersed with their present timeline and tenth flight back to Ireland for Christmas. From witnessing the awkwardness of their first flight, what with Molly’s attempt to protect Andrew’s feelings from day one, to seeing the gifts they got each other, to the way Andrew takes care of Molly, to the way they’d both do anything for each other, I loved getting that insight into their past and present. The building blocks of their decade of friendship, the little ways they understand each other and read each other’s moods, their unconscious habits. I love a good friends-to-lovers romance for the solid foundation that paves the way for the transition to romantic partnership, and Molly and Andrew’s long friendship truly shines.

I couldn’t stop smiling at how adorable they both were. Every time Molly felt a burst of happiness at making Andrew happy, I felt it too. And the way Andrew understands Molly’s anxieties and fears, how well he knows her personality, and how he calms Molly down and puts her at ease every time warmed my heart. Molly’s fears are so relatable that I couldn’t help but empathize with her, and while it was at times frustrating because I wanted to shake some sense into her to get her past those fears (don’t worry, the other characters will get to do that for you, and Molly realizes important things along the way and learns things about herself), I ultimately rooted for her to earn that HEA.

Also can I just say: Andrew’s speech in the midst of his fight with Molly made me swoon so hard because!! The things he said and remembered about their whole friendship up until the present point, where we get to see how he felt about their yearly trips home, it’s everything. Molly only knows her side of each encounter, of course, and she didn’t see what was there all along until this Christmas, but that glimpse of Andrew’s perspective! This man is so romantic, I love him. The buildup of the romance and sexual tension, the confusion of feelings and realizing things were changing and growing, the strong friendship, I love it all. The boisterous and quirky family members and the charming settings and Christmas vibes, the humor and heart, the personal growth and new beginnings all make Holiday Romance a lovely Christmas read.

Big thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

A delightful and compelling christmas love story! I Love the friends to lovers trope, and with all of that beautiful backgrund of traveling through Chicago, Buenos Aires, Dublin , Paris and Cork has made the narrative so wild yet cozy and enjoyable.

I fell in love with this adorable friends-to-lovers romantic comedy. This book has lovable main characters, clear chemistry, witty banter, sweet moments, and a playful yet supportive friendship. I mean, come on! I smiled so much while reading Holiday Romance.

For years, Molly and Andrew have been taking the same flight home for the holidays. Each year, they catch up on each other’s lives at the airport and on the 7+ hours long flight from Chicago to Dublin. Written in two timelines, we see their friendship grow and outlast their various other relationships.

On their 10-year anniversary of being flying friends, a huge storm across the Atlantic grounds all flights. Andrew loves Christmas and is sad to miss being home for the holidays. Molly loves Andrew (as a friend, of course) and is determined to fix this. Here is where the fun travel chaos begins: She is going to get them to Dublin in time for Christmas no matter how many planes, taxis, trains, and ferries it takes. During their long way back to Ireland, they finally figure out how they truly feel about each other.

I adored Molly. She's a bit grumpy, very overworked, and afraid of deviating from a plan. When she finally figures out what she wants for a career and for love, it was so satisfying to see her take a chance on herself. Andrew is a swoon-worthy hero who is creative, loves his family, witty, and is so supportive to Molly. Even the side characters were fun to read. Whether you’re into holiday romances or not, I recommend picking this book up; It’s such a good time!

OMG I ADOOOOOORED THIS BOOK.
Holiday Romance is such a lovable, sweet, cute, and enchanting story. (Give me another synonym for "adorable" and I swear I'll use it to describe this book! No kidding!)
I really loved this super cute friends to lovers story. My heart melted while witnessing Molly and Andrew slowly falling for each other. It was amazing watching them build an unusual but completely honest friendship by always putting the other first, by always being there for each other in every possible way, and by defying any obstacle just to be together. Once they started being attracted by each other, I literally found myself screaming "Yes, go for it! Just kiss already!" That can only mean one thing: the author did an excellent job in describing each character's feelings, fears and hopes. And there's nothing I love more!
I need Holiday Romance to be adapted into a movie, so that every year on Christmas Day I can reread the book and watch the movie. Right now, I really can't think of a better way to spend my next Christmases.

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

What a cozy holiday romance! It was fun to see the relationship grow through the years. I fell in love with the characters. The actual current travel day seemed rather long written. The steamy scenes were very well written and fun to read ❤️ 3.75 out of 5 stars.

For the last 10 years, Molly and Andrew have been travelling back from Chicago to Ireland to spend Christmas with their families. They’re not “together”, but they are friends. The chapters alternate between present day and some of the journeys over the last 10 years and give us a glimpse as to how their friendship has bloomed over this time! The cover of the book immediately caught my eye, and I loved how fun this story looked! It perfectly encapsulates the essence of the story and, although there were some serious moments and topics throughout the book, the majority of it was fun, flirty and fabulous!

Molly and Andrew are great characters! Our first meeting of them when Andrew is about to get dumped by Molly’s friend sets the scene for the rest of the book. I loved how the next year when Molly realises again, she is sitting next to him, you can actually hear her mouth hitting the cabin floor, but then year after year it just becomes better and better! Andrew is a great character, so likeable and, let’s face it, who wouldn’t want to be sat next to him! As the book moves on and we stay more in the present day, the story does become a little bit more emotional and not as flirty as it was. This does however let you see the characters in a different light, which was lovely!

This is a great Christmas themed read and if you’re not in the Christmas spirit by the time you read it, you certainly won’t be far behind! The characters are all likeable, the locations are wonderful and it’s a fabulously heart-warming and easy to read book! Filled with love, family and friendships, this book comes highly recommended by me!

Can I rate this more than 5 stars? This had all the right ingredients for being exceptional. Perfect romance, comedy and writing. I haven't laughed out loud this much while reading in such a long time.

Andrew and Molly were perfect. To be honest, everything in this book was perfect. It just made me so happy. I finished this feeling well and truly content. Plus the chemistry was off the charts. The build-up was *chef's kiss*. There was no way I could put this book down.

I'm so glad I read this and I honestly can't wait for more by Catherine Walsh!

Thank you to the publisher for kindly providing me with an ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Wow. Just wow. This book was spectacular. 10/5 stars. I will never stop recommending this book and I will support Catherine Walsh for the rest of my days. I loved this book (if you couldn’t tell) and could not put it down. I loved every single character in this book which is usually rare for any book. But I loved them all.

My new book boyfriend is Andrew. He is dreamy and super sweet and a total sunshine guy. There is the sunshine/grumpy trope here with Andrew being the jolly Christmas guy and Molly never celebrating (and hating) Christmas.

Not only does the book follow the present day, but it also has some scenes from the past in it. Specifically, all of the years that Andrew and Molly have been traveling home and wound up on the same plane. I loved this addition to the book because it made it seem like their relationship was 9 years in the making and their feelings for each other weren’t just sprung on us.

I could probably talk all day about how much I love this book, but I’m sure most people have signed off by now. When Holiday Romance is released, I will be buying a copy immediately.

I fully expected this book to be a typical, cheesy holiday romance. You know the kind, the book version of a Hallmark movie. Wow, was I wrong.

The book follows Molly and Andrew as they try to make it to Dublin from Chicago, despite everything going wrong. We get flashbacks spanning over ten years as their friendship builds.

It's a friend's to lovers trope, which usually isn't my favorite, but wow did it work in this charming romcom.

If you are looking for a cute, romantic holiday book- this is definitely it. Even if you aren't into holiday themed books, I'd still recommend this.

✅ Festive Vibes 🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄
✅ Original, Well-executed Premise 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
⚠️ Romance Radar ⭐⭐ (Irreparably Faulty towards the end, unless you like Super Sweet)
⚠️ Likeable Characters, until they are Flattened ⭐⭐⭐


Holiday Romance is a case in point of when a potentially solid story starts going downhill midway through the book -- and the trouble, of course, is with the faulty Romance radar. The premise, though simple, is initially developed into a thrilling to-and-fro between past flights and the Now: the yearly airport encounters between Molly and Andrew, who travel from Chicago to Ireland in order to spend Christmastime with their respective families. This build up serves to reconstruct the burgeoning intimacy, honesty, and closeness of their friendship, only to then miserably fail the elemental transition -- the friends-to-lovers trope -- in the second half, when their enjoyable dialogue and the comfortable pleasantness of the story exit the pages, taking with them my interest in finishing the book.

Sure, the story does have some redeeming qualities, even beyond the intriguing chapter alignment. What is particularly successful, I would say, is the investment in 'a Christmas spirit' -- even through the amusing cousin, Oliver. Andrew's family also reminded me of the Weasleys, which is always a good thing. But it was rather heart-warming to assist to Molly's -- not Weasley, the Molly of this book -- own change of heart and perspective on her family.

In what I am here referring to as Part 1, Walsh also proved to be fully able not to succumb to unappetising, over-sentimental, unidimensional relational exchange. Which therefore begs the question: why the unnecessary OTT-ness of part 2? Why hollow out her characters and their romantic experience to that extent? What makes it all the more frustrating is that this book has all the makings of a romance right from the outset, which means that the sweetness intoxication taking over by the end of it was ultimately unproductive and completely avoidable. It also regrettably reframes the perceived enjoyment of what at first seems to be a decently well turned story.

In other words, the happy ending did not need to do as much as it forced itself to.


Thanks go to NetGalley and publisher for the ARC of this book.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. Holiday Romance is the perfect Rom-Com y’all need to start holiday cheer early!

Catherine Walsh does it again! In Holiday Romance Molly and Andrew are two Irish peeps living in Chicago who end up taking the same flight home for 10 years in a row - over which time they become friends.

The comedic banter is off the charts and you will find yourself laughing out loud several times throughout the story. I read this one in one sitting and did not want it to end. Ever.

Hoping this gets made into a movie (think The Holiday) - as I would love to see this up on the big screen!

Catherine Walsh is a must read author for me, and she proves it once again with Holiday Romance!

Thank you NetGalley, CW, and Bookouture for this ARC - all opinions are my own.

I can't express how much I loved this book! It had my favorite tropes - Christmas romance, friends to lovers. I stayed up way too late reading this because I couldn't get enough of Molly and Andrew. #chefkiss

This adorable Christmas story follows the relationship between Molly and Andres - past and present.

Molly, an Irish woman going to college in Chicago, has a seat next to Andrew, a fellow Irishman, who is Molly's soon to be ex-friend's soon to be ex-boyfriend. Both Molly and Andrew are heading home to Ireland for Christmas, but have very different traditions. Molly's family is very low-key - no decorations, cash as gifts, where Andrew's family goes all out - ugly jumpers, big dinner, lots of presents.

Molly and Andrew have kept in contact throughout the years, emailing and texting, with occasional face to face lunches. However, they always fly back to Ireland together.

This year is their 10th flight anniversary and their flight is grounded due to a massive storm. As they scramble to find alternate transportation to Ireland, they find themselves attracted to each other. Will they be able to maintain a romance after the holidays?

This is my perfect example of a Christmas romance - perfectly cheesy, lots of Christmas cheer, snow, mild drama, happy families. This is funny without being over the top, and I really enjoyed reading it with a smile on my face. There's slow-burning tension, in both a sweet and sexy way. Molly and Andrew are both great, and I loved all the interactions with their families. This book is like a great Christmas hug, highly recommend if you love a sweet, low-drama, holiday fill read. Thank you to Bookouture and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very entertaining story about friends, Molly and Andrew, who met every year whilst flying home from the US to Ireland for the Christmas holidays.

Molly and Andrew initially met when Andrew went out with one of Molly's friends (it didnt' last), but over the years have kept in touch through various relationships, always staying just friends, and sharing their flight to Ireland at Christmas every year. This year though a storm nearly puts paid to getting home, but Molly decides that no storm is going to stop Andrew getting home to his family for Christmas. Molly can take or leave Christmas, but Andrew is full-on Christmas and celebrates a lot with his family.

There follows various flights, boats, trains, etc. in order to get back to Ireland in time for Christmas, during which time their relationship takes a turn when they are sharing more time with each other, and they start wondering what if there was more to their relationship than just friends.

This was very entertaining read with great characters that I thoroughly enjoyed.

This was friends to lovers PERFECTION. I absolutely love Catherine Walsh’s writing style, it’s the perfect mix of witty and cozy. This was exactly the feel good holiday romance I needed. Also, I loved the minimal third act conflict.

Oh this one gives all the feels! It has adventure, and family, and holidays, plus a little bit of grinch and toss in a little added international fun for this Christmas Romcom. It’s truly a breath of fresh air. It makes me want to turn on the Christmas lights, turn on some Mariah Carey, and cuddle up with a blanket to reread this one! Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy…. Everyone needs this on their Christmas list.