Member Reviews
thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for a review!
Catherine Walsh, in this household you will always be famous. She just puts out bangers, what can I say. This was just another instance of her hits. Even the fact that I found the story to stutter a bit after the first 50 percent when we actually got to be snowed in didn't deter me from giving this five stars (more realistically 4.5 stars but Goodreads is like this so I am like this). These books just work for me and give me giddy joy just when I need it.
It also helps that our two main characters, Megan and Christian, are, independently of each other, interesting and well-fleshed out people. I know the story is constructed, but they fit just like puzzle pieces, which not every book couple can say! Were there things where I was frowning a bit at why certain things were not discussed (again)? Yes. But I read romance for the joy, not the narrative being one hundred percent cohesive on every page. People aren't perfect, so I don't tend to want that from my books. Anyway, this was still a well-constructed, well-written and well thought-out book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
This was such a delightful holiday read. I have been reading some heavy books recently, and this is the palate cleanser I needed. Funny and cosy it holds all the right tropes: fake dating, runaway bride, characters that grew up together, and a snowed in cabin. I will recommend it whoever feels like reading a romance that also tackled more difficult topics (there's a controlling relationship mentioned) but is still light and a cosy read.
This is just the cutest rom-com I needed to get me in the holiday reading spirit!
I did not expect to enjoy this one as much as I did, but I absolutely could not get enough of our main man, Christian. He and his charming and genuinely caring ways got to me in this one. I started out a little slow with this, but once the relationship started building, I couldn’t put it down!
Thank you to NetGalley and Catherine Walsh for letting me read this ARC, and for bringing such a feel-good, kinda sweet, kinda 🌶️ book to us for the holidays!
If you want a relatively low stakes, fake dating holiday romance, this is such a fun read.
✅ runaway bride
✅ fake dating
✅ dual POVs
✅ set in Ireland
🌶️: slow burn, and so worth it
There is a CW so please check if you have any triggers
I devoured this holiday rom-com. Megan is a known runaway bride who runs into Christian, a man from her hometown who has a reputation as a Casanova. They decided to fake-date to make it through their Irish hometown Christmas’. This book was charming and had just a little bit of spice. Five star rom-com for sure.
This was such a cute holiday read. It had all my favorite tropes: fake dating, snowed in, one person sick, back home for the holidays, and runaway bride? Like I'm not sure how it gets much better than that. It was quick, cute, and easy. I highly recommend to add to your holiday TBR.
Megan ran away from her wedding five years ago to her long term childhood friend Issac. Her mother is begging her to come home for the holidays and she feels she just can't face the small town gossip. While out trying to distract herself at a pub with her best friend Frankie, she literally RUNS into her childhood friend Christian. Christian and her begin to have small talk and Christian has a brillant idea: create a fake relationship to save each other from their meddling families at Christmas. They travel home and begin the charade only to realize that they begin to slowly fall for each other. After a few social interactions with their families, Christian takes Megan to a high end cabin in the woods, where they get snowed in spending Christmas Eve together. Their relationship reaches new heights when they are stuck spending every waking moment together for 24 hours.
It was such a cute cozy holiday read. I'm so happy I read it!
As a lover of Hallmark Christmas movies, I was so excited to receive a digital advanced reader copy of Snowed In by Catherine Walsh to review. A runaway bride who hasn't been home since leaving her former fiance at the alter, Megan is dreading going home for Christmas. Her brother is coming home from Australia, though, so her mom wants her home to enjoy the holiday with both of her kids. Christian is known as the bad boy from Megan's hometown who loves spending the holidays with his family but is fed up with being the remaining single sibling. A chance meeting between the two, before they both trek home for the holidays, leads to them agreeing to go home together as a fake couple.
Hallmark movie lovers can guess the predictable outcome of this scenario - not that I am in any way complaining. There are a few spicy scenes, so definitely not exactly like a Hallmark movie and I would not recommend it those who don't like spice. But if you don't mind a little spice added to your holiday romance, then this is definitely the book for you. I absolutely adored this book and see it being one of my repeat Christmas reads each year!
The perfect Christmas rom com! Kept me entertained, very light hearted and funny but also realistic and touches on more serious topics as well. The couple took me a bit to get on board with but I was rooting for them in the end. Megan wasn't my favorite FMC but I grew to like her more toward the end. Overall definitely recommend for a fun, feel good, holiday romance.
5/5 stars.
“I’ve been searching for something my whole life, and nothing’s ever clicked. And I think it’s because I was looking for you.”
you guys have no idea how long i've waited for this book, and let me tell you it was worth it. ever since christian was first introduced in holiday romance, i was hoping to read a book about him and miss walsh delivered!! so, after collecting my thoughts and listening to sabrina carpenter's new christmas ep, i'm here to write the glowing review this book deserves.
one thing about catherine walsh, is she will make you laugh until you cry, which is exactly what this book did in places. literally the perfect holiday romcom. i was so excited to read about molly and andrew again because they're some of my favourite characters from the catherine walsh literary universe (or the cwlu as i call it), and seeing their banter again reminded me how much i missed it.
christian and megan have so much chemistry and their story was perfectly paced with exactly the right amount of angst. megan is my baby and christian?? in a world of boys he's a gentleman??? he's up there with the other book boyfriends and i really really really hope we get a book about hannah too because i'm not ready to let go of this family just yet.
if you love small towns, holiday romcoms, fake dating or just perfection in general you'll love this book!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Absolutely gorgeous, I really enjoyed this read, It made me smile, laugh and wonder what next. Easy to follow and lose yourself to. A recommended read.
Wonderful holiday romance to start the season off with. I’ve been waiting to read this book and I loved it. The characters had great chemistry and it was a quick easy read.
Really cute book love that each chapter was different character for them and flowed well with each chapter going along
4 stars for this easy romance read! Fake dating is a favorite trope of mine. Add in Christmas and I am hooked! This was a really solid book for me. I loved the characters and the romance. Catherine Walsh is still an auto buy author for me!
Thank you net galley for the arc!
I give this book a solid 4 stars. I love a Catherine Walsh book and she didn't disappoint again. There were a few bits here and there I thought were a bit ott or not very original, however I really enjoyed it and will definitely recommend to others. I am definitely in the christmas mood now.
Thank you netgalley for providing the ARC.
I loved last year's Holiday Romance and was so excited to read the sequel - Snowed In! This can easily be read as a standalone, but I loved the glimpses of Molly and Andrew and seeing the updated status of their relationship. This is such a cute holiday read and I loved the Dublin setting and fake dating. Megan and Christian are both returning to their small town over Christmas and are fake dating to try to avoid some of the whispers they anticipate coming back. I loved that the two main characters have known each other since childhood but didn't know each other well enough to be considered friends. This added a different layer to the fake-dating trope. This is a really cozy read with endearing characters, and I loved the meddling family members!
Recommend if you enjoy
Dublin setting Fake dating
Cozy cabin settings in the woods
Meddling families
Runaway bride stories
Forced proximity
This was a very cute read and great for a Christmas read! I liked the lightness of the book and the romance to it.
“I didn’t want to spend Christmas alone so I agreed to fake date the former bad boy of our small town.”
👫 Fake dating
🌻 Childhood classmate
👨👩👧👦 Overbearing family
🎄 Christmas
🏘 Small town
🫧 Family drama
TW. mention of abuse in a previous relationship, snow storm….
This is the perfect Holiday romance ! It has snow, angst, feud, fights, love, hugs and reconciliation. If this book doesn’t turn into a Christmas movie, I will lose faith in humans once and for all. This one made me feel so warm inside.
I don’t think I have anything negative to say about this book… I loved both Megan and Christian so much ! Both out of their small town, living in Dublin and trying to escape their past. I didn’t read Catherine Walsh’s other book, about Christian’s brother and Molly, but after what happened and how much they appear ? I will totally read it as soon as I can !
I will not say too much about this but if you love fake dating during Christmas, a Holidate (the netflix film) kind of story, family drama, a planned proposal, drama, forced proximity and all the Christmas vibe, I’m sure you will love this one as much as I did.
Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book ! This is my honest opinion.
Lovely pretend-dating holiday romance!
Snowed In by Catherine Walsh is considered a standalone book, but I highly recommend reading 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘙𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 (I reviewed this before), where we first meet Christian.
Now residing in Dublin, 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗻 randomly meets 𝗠𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 in a pub. They have known each other practically all their lives living in a small town. But it's been five years since they last saw each other, in a scenario both of them are highly likely to forget. With the holidays drawing near, they decide to be each other's pretend date to make their lives back in their small town bearable.
I like that the main characters in this book have known each other since childhood but are not close enough to be considered friends. It makes the setup for this story and fake-dating trope interesting, especially when it shocks people who know them both.
I really like the author's writing. It gives me warm fuzzy feelings, and her characters are so endearing. Their conversations feel natural, like old friends meeting and finally getting closer. The ways they try to protect each other are lovely and heartwarming. I like that they are just as frustrated and angry about each other's problems and feel like a couple even before feelings get complicated. This second book in the series has more subdued moments than the first one, given what Megan went through in her past relationship and Christian's conflicting feelings for his family.
If you're looking for a holiday romance book, do give this a try.
I loved Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh when I read it last year, so I was excited to see another holiday book by her this year. I enjoyed this one just as much as Holiday Romance. Snowed In begins with Megan fleeing from her wedding. The book continues several years later with Megan dreading going home for the first time since the non-wedding. She runs into Christian at the pub. He is from her hometown and is also dreading going home for the holidays. They decide to fake date in order to make it through the family gatherings and scrutiny. As the title suggests, they get snowed in at one point and the slow burn is worth the wait. We also get an update on Andrew and Molly from Holiday Romance as Andrew is Christian's brother. This book has fun banter, chemistry, a little family drama, and I loved the dual points of view. Catherine Walsh is on a roll with these holiday romances. I hope we have one to look forward to next year.
My sincere thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for giving me the opportunity to read Snowed In and give unbiased opinion of it.
It was Christmas. It was fake dating. It was hilarious. It was my wishlist in a book, basically!! Catherine Walsh strikes again, and she remains an auto buy author for me!! If anything, I wish the book had been longer hahaha. This is a perfect quick holiday read to kick off the season, and lucky for you it’s out now!!