Ok I loved this book!!! I’ve read Catherine Walsh’s previous books and loved them, so I was very excited to read this - it did not disappoint. Such a cute, fun and fast paced read, it made me smile so much! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Would i recommend this book: Absolutely
Will I reread this book: Definitely, especially during Christmas season

I absolutely adored this book and was so happy I got to read it as an ARC.

This book is a perfect story about how two people became friends and then realise they have been in love with it each other for a while. It is a quiet friends to lovers story with not much fanfare which makes it an absolute delight to read.

One big reason why it is a story with minimum drama is because Molly and Andrew are very good at talking honestly with each other. When there's an uncertainty somewhere it never takes long before they communicate and there where several scenes where I was a little tense because in other Romance books they would have dragged the uncertainty out or let the characters linger with their issues but not in this book. In a way this book is the opposite of a misscommunication trope for me and I was very here for it.

I am usually not a big fan of flash backs, especially when they come in bits and pieces but in this book I didn't mind at all. I think this is mostly due to the fact that the author never left you hanging on a cliffhanger before changing timelines in either timeline, which was very good for not stirring my anxiety and another reason I would classify this book as a calm read (which I adore).

I also like that it didn't just fall into every cliche there is. I really enjoyed that Andrew and Molly stay in Chicago for examples because it just makes sense even though my romantic little heart was a bit sad they don't get to see their families more often.

Other things I liked:
- their really funny banter
- both of their family dynamics especially when Molly realized her family really enjoys having her there
- the being single because I want to rep with Zoe
- that there was the cancelled flight at the beginning of the book but they still make it back to Ireland and don't strand somewhere
- that the flashbacks give you a timeline because my forgetful brain can never remember stuff
- that it wasn't a college romance where she steals her friends boyfriend as I thought in the prologue because my brain is very forgetful even though I clearly read the blurb when I requested this ARC
- the sweet story with him taking her picture
- Ireland

Thank you so much for letting me read this ARC, I will definitely buy this as a paperback as well and dive into other works from Catherine Walsh.

This was a cute book! With a unique concept. I don’t think the chemistry was top tier but I love the friends to lovers trope. Overall, enjoyable if you’re in the mood for a Christmas-y romance without a lot of steam.

I am a huge fan of Catherine Walsh! She writes love stories that keep you hooked and engaged the whole time. As well as leading men who will make you swoon, Andrew is no exception! The way his and Molly’s friendship history is told throughout the book has you rooting for them from the start. My only complaint would be that the ending felt rushed but that may be because I wanted even more of the story of Molly and Andrew! Overall this is a great romance book and is PERFECT for the upcoming holiday season!!

I've never read this author before but i'm so glad I come across her. I love her writing style and her humour.

I literally didn't put this book down once. I read until 4:30am. I guess i seen a bit of me and my husband in it. His family don't do Christmas and mine do.

I would definitely recommend this book, and this author. I'm heading over to amazon right now to see what else I can read by her

well what can i say but we all need an andrew in our lives!!
i loved the charm of this story which once i started i couldn’t stop reading,
a proper classic love story that makes you smile lots!
a christmas book that is not only for christmas!

Great book. I've recommended to friends already.

Not often a book makes you laugh out loud, and impossible to put down. I read it in two sittings, the first in which my husband told me to shut up and go to sleep as I hadn't realised it was well after 1am!

Likeable characters from the get go and you really get invested in Mollys feelings straight away. Would give 10 stars if I could.

When I started this book there were 27 ratings for it…and 24 of them were 5 ⭐️!

Why? Because it’s ADORBS!

Yes, it’s the kind of Rom-Com, that has me thinking of words like ADORBS, when I rarely even use the word adorable to describe anything other than kittens!

For the last ten years, Molly and Andrew have been traveling home for the holidays, from Chicago to Dublin, where each was born.

The first time was by accident-Andrew was dating Molly’s college roommate Hayley, at the time-so they ended up sitting next to each other for the seven hour and 15 minute flight.

Turns out-Molly and Andrew’s friendship would far outlast his relationship or her friendship with Hayley, so the two friends decided to make it a tradition to book the same flight back to Ireland, and use the time to catch up on each other’s lives and loves.

We follow the growth of their friendship by getting a glimpse into each flight they share over the years, moving between PAST and PRESENT but spending the majority of the time in the current holiday season.

Molly THINKS she isn’t the sentimental type, and that she doesn’t care much about Christmas, but in reality she often bursts into tears when moved-or when she is stressed and can’t drown her sorrows in cheese fries.

Andrew LOVES the holidays and even buys an “ugly” Christmas sweater each year, The man smells like that “sandalwood/pine/take you into the woods and kiss you” soap AND he has a dimple.

Swoon!

BUT this Christmas there is a snowstorm to end all snowstorms, and the monitors in the airport on Christmas Eve show all flights scheduled to cross the Atlantic are : CANCELLED!!!

Andrew is CRUSHED!

So Molly does what ANY friend with NO romantic feelings for their traveling companion would do -she comes up with a Planes, Trains and Automobiles plan to get him home!! (ok, this time it’s Planes, Trains, and Ferries but you get the point)

That will give them plenty of time to figure out just what they DO or DON’T mean to one another!

This “friends to lovers” ROM COM truly DID have it all!

Likable leads, sexual tension, and EXTREMELY playful and witty banter. There is one “open door” scene for some spice which may put them on Santa’s naughty list. Or is that the “NICE list”?

PICK this one up and put it in the Christmas stockings of all of your romance loving friends.
PICK this one up if you are sitting in an airport experiencing a flight delay at any time of year.
PICK this one up if you love holiday romance.
PICK this one up in spite of it being a holiday romance, if you don’t!

In other words, if you love reading a ROM-COM, even only occasionally-PICK this one up!

AVAILABLE October 4th, 2022.

Thank You to Bookouture for the gifted copy. It was my pleasure to offer a candid review!

Holiday Romance, by Catherine Walsh

Catherine Walsh's Holiday Romance grabs your heart and runs away with it. This laugh out loud book will tickle your funny bone!

Synopsis:
Every Christmas for the last ten years, friends Molly and Andrew fly home to Ireland to be with their families. When an unexpected snow storm grounds their flight, Molly is determined to get Andrew home in time for his family celebration. Molly's elaborate "Plan B", entails the two friends traveling by taxis, planes, boats and trains to get home. What could possibly turn out wrong?

Holiday Romance is a sweet novel that will make your heart go pitter patter! Molly and Andrew captured my heart. I was rooting out loud for the hint of romance to succeed, but did it? To get all the details, you'll have to read this delightful book!

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh is available on October 4th. Don't miss this engrossing, heartwarming, and totally hilarious book! (5⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Thank you, NetGalley and Bookouture, for sharing this outstanding story with me. In the midst of summer, it put me in the Christmas spirit!

I received an ARC of, Holiday Romance, by Catherine Walsh. Do opposites attract. and can they stay together? This is a real fun Christmas Romance. Andrew and Molly are flying back home to Ireland for the holidays, but their flight is delayed due to weather. Molly' sister is having a baby, will Molly be able to meet her new nephew? I really liked Molly's character she was really down to earth.

Overall Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️/5

LOVE IT! May reread in December to enjoy it in the right festive month! Holiday Romance was easy to read with a fun plot and charming characters.
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Friends-to-lovers between photographer x lawyer.

Every Christmas, two friends with very different lives fly home together to Ireland to be with each other family. It has become a tradition, they always spend time on the plane to update each other's life stories.

On the supposedly 10th flight in the 10th year, a snowstorm ruined all their Christmas plans. Even though Molly doesn't care about Christmas, she looked for various ways to bring them home because Andrew loves Christmas with his family.

The intense journey was added with some intimate moments that made them question themselves. What do they really feel about each other?

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I love it! I love it! This is my first Catherine Walsh book and I plan to read the rest. I'm so lucky I can read this early. This festive book had me playing Christmas carols the whole time I read it, in August!

It is so cute. Not only because the friends-to-lovers trope is my thing, but Andrew is just so... charming. He knew how to keep up with Molly's intense emotions. They really complement each other.

Their return trip to Ireland also made me jealous. Despite all the rush, their moments make me want to travel too! I love their spontaneity when deciding what to do on the trip. Ugh. When will this pandemic situation end?

Overall the plot kinda refreshing to me. We can understand their relationship build up by stories of each flight. It's fun.

Recommended for those who like:
•Friends-to-Lovers
•Holiday Vibes (Christmas)
•Romance Comedy
•Travel
•Sunshine x Grumpy
•Slowburn
•Multiple timelines

Content Warnings: sexual content, alcoholism

I was given an early copy through NetGalley for an honest review. I had two issues with this book (obviously did not make me hate it) I’ve NEVER liked multiple timelines. Or chapters set in the past. And this book has quite a few. It also had some characters I found straight up annoying instead of charming.

However, this ended up being one of the best quick romance reads I’ve come across in awhile. Molly and Andrew are well matched and they have great banter. I adored Andrew and his family. I have a similar family dynamic so it just made me feel like home. Andrew is a genuinely good guy with a heart of gold and everyone needs someone like him.

I highly recommend this one if you enjoy friends to lovers (and even if you don’t because I’m not a huge fan of that trope.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read the ARC of this book. Also thank you to Catherine Walsh for being the reason this painfully adorable story exists. I'm allowed to say that, right? Oh well. I said it. Sue me (no, actually please don't do that. I have no money.)

I loved this book. Plain and simple. I loved it. It was a pleasant surprise. I expected the usual corny Christmas romance, but instead I got a well thought out story that had just the right amount of Christmas cheer and sarcasm to keep me feverishly turning the pages. I was literally standing in the middle of the floor in my bathroom reading, desperate to figure out how it was going to play out, instead of getting in the shower to get ready for work like I was supposed to. (I'm sorry for whatever mental image that conjures up.) I was only a few minutes late like once or twice, thankfully. So I still have my job. As far as they know, I was stuck in traffic. In reality, I was stuck in this book!

Molly and Andrew had a relationship that was the perfect mix of sarcasm and true friendship that I love. Their conversations and their quick witted quips made me laugh more than once. I will take banter over mushy smushy behavior anyway. My husband's ability to banter is one of the things I enjoyed most about him, if that gives you any indication of how high it ranks on my list of desirable qualities. (It also helped that he was really fun to look at, but that is beside the point.) Molly and Andrew had a leg up on most couples because it wasn't the meet cute followed by flirting and then immediately falling head over heels. Their dynamic was the definition of a slow burn (ten years in the making!) that turned into an all out forest fire by the end of the book. So by the time they finally dragged their heads out of their butts and realized what was in front of them, they already had years of history on their side.

Check out the full breakdown of my review here:
https://www.thebookybabe.com/post/dashing-through-the-airport-a-book-review-on-holiday-romance-by-catherine-walsh

Thank you for the ARC ❤️
This book gave me Planes, Trains and Automobiles/You and Me on Vacation vibes and I completely loved it. I was well written and fun to read.
Both Molly and Andrew are great characters and their banter is hilarious. I really loved the Fitzpatrick family too. I was smiling almost the entire way through this book. It’s one I can see myself reading every holiday.
I’ll be buying a copy after it’s released. Definitely recommend this holiday romcom 🥰

This is my new favorite book. I am literally smiling so wide right now, its tooth rooting fluffy and I just cant get enough of Andrew and Molly.

Two friend flying together home for holidays for 10 years, exchanging christmas presents and stories. They text and call all the time but they meet at the same time for the past few years. At their 10 years anniversary, something not so good happens which might lead to something the best.

This friends to lovers book is absolutely amazing and very light read that I will definitely be recommending to everyone.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Catherine Walsh's stories always feel REAL, and relatable! (And this one too has all the Hallmark-esque movie potential!)

Holiday Romance has Molly and Andrew flying out to their families back in Ireland every Christmas season for the last ten years. This year they are stranded in Chicago due to a storm, but Molly knows how much Andrew loves being with his family for Christmas, and tries her best to get him there.

I loved how effortlessly the whole story flew, with time-jumps back through the ten years, at just the right moments. The banter was top-notch - Andrew was funny, and Molly and her smart quips had me rooting for her. I loved how tuned in Andrew was to Molly, how he was her calm when her feelings were a storm inside of her. Holiday Romance gave all the Christmas cheer, with family-bonding moments and secondary characters that piqued my curiosity. I wouldn't mind reading their stories!

With this third book under her belt, Walsh continues to prove that she's a rising star in the contemporary romance world.

Thank you to @bookouture and @catwalshwriter for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I almost passed on requesting an ARC of this one, just because I wasn't sure I was feeling a Christmas book when it's 80+ degrees out. I'm so glad I read it because it was so charming and fun! This is a feel good (albeit predictable) novel that is perfect for the holidays.

Kindly received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A totally gorgeous and escapist friends-to-lovers festive romance with a swoon-worthy hero. If you love Christmas movies like The Holiday and The Christmas Prince, this is the read to warm your heart with this winter time.

This was such a well written and fun Christmas rom com!! It'll have you laughing and smiling all the way through.

I really loved the flashbacks to their previous flights. It was really nice to get to see the history that they shared but I didn't like the lack of Christmas spirit that Molly had. What person doesn't like Christmas 🤷‍♀️

Catherine is yet to write a bad book but and if you decide to read this, put aside an entire day was you won't want to put it down!!

Thank you for allowing me to read this ARC and in return giving my honest feedback.
This book was absolutely fantastic. First, it has a flow about it that was calm and steady, yet kept me wanting more. The book does a bit of time jumping, however it works for this particular plot line. The backstory (and time jumps) are given at just the right time to add something fabulous to events in the current time. I adore how our main characters don't have to go through so much of the relationship drama I've seen in other titles. Instead, it felt very down to earth and relatable.
There is the sizzling building romance, quirky memorable lines, and of course, wonderful happy ending -- however not before a few fun twists that I wasn't expecting!
I'm totally in love with this book. I only wish it had kept going. The epilogue gave some fun future bits, however I would love to see more from this story! Looking forward to reading more from this author.