I flew through Snowed In and even though I don’t love winter, this Christmassy romance did make me excited for big snowstorms when all you can do is stay inside and read. If you love fake dating, holiday family drama and small town snowy romances, check this book out.

Pub Day: November 1, 2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
Summary: Megan is dreading going home for Christmas even though it’s been five years since she left her small hometown as a runaway bride. Before heading back, she runs into an old classmate named Christian who is also heading home for the holidays and would love to have a woman on his arm so he isn’t the only single one in his family. They draw up a fake-dating contract on a napkin and weeks later they’re back home with more family and small town drama than they were hoping for. The holidays may feel dramatic and messy, but with a little Christmas magic at a snowed-in cabin, anything can happen.

One complaint I had was that a few of the characters were immature and ruined some of the Christmas fun in the book. I also think genuine insta-love is hard to write and there were a few things that didn’t seem realistic to me. This is my first book by Catherine Walsh (and it won’t be my last) and I loved how her writing style was so easy to read. It was a light holiday romance that I think a lot of people will enjoy. Thank you @netgalley and @bookouture for my free early copy!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Thank you Bookouture for inviting me to be part of the Books on Tour for “Snowed In” by Catherine Walsh. What a wonderful story, it hooked me from the first page until the end!
If you are looking for a slow burn, swoony story, this is for you. Megan and Christian decide to become fake dates for Christmas. This story is like a Hallmark movie on paper.
This book will have you flipping the pages so fast to see what happens. Many thanks to the author, Bookouture and NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.
#SnowedIn #CatherineWalsh #NetGalley #Bookouture #BooksOnTour #BookLove #BooksSetDuringWinter #ChristmasBook #Bookstagram #NewBook #ILoveBooks

Catherine Walsh is quickly becoming an auto buy author for me! Her writing style that includes witty quips, banter, TENSION, and now some 🌶️ is absolutely out of this world!

I adore the Irish Christmas vibes! These books never fail to get me in the holiday spirit!

Megan and Christian are so stinkin cute, playful and fun- you’re rooting for them the whole time!

I love that there’s healthy emotions and discussions, no miscommunication and mature adult conversations in these books! It’s so refreshing to read a story and not want to yell at the characters because of a situation that could’ve been solved by a conversation and maturity! So thank you Catherine for writing real, complex and fun characters!

What you can expect:
🎄fake dating, forced proximity
🎄banter and plenty of swoon
🎄holiday romcom
🎄🌶️
🎄snowed in 😉

Snowed In by Catherine Walsh
Genre: contemporary romance
Standalone
Length: 384 pages

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Bookouture, and Catherine Walsh for an e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

✨Read this if you enjoy: ✨
💗Fake Dating
💒Runaway Bride
🏘️Small Town Romance
✨Forced Proximity

This book was exactly what I needed to transition from spooky season into holiday romances!

Megan is supposed to be marrying her high school sweetheart but instead she’s creating an elaborate plan to escape. She left her small town and never looked back. It’s been four years and she still hasn’t returned…until now.

Christian’s family just wants him to settle down. When he bumps into Megan at a local pub, he decides this is the year he finally brings someone home to his family…even if it is fake.

Catherine’s books are guaranteed to make you swoon and laugh out loud. And now I need to plan a trip to Ireland asap.

This book had my interest from the first chapter! I really loved Megan and Christian as characters and enjoyed their relationship. Fake dating is one of my favorite romance tropes and this one was great! I love that they didn’t have a long period of questioning whether it was still fake, their communication was clear and they seemed to really get each other. Of course, I also liked catching up with Molly and Andrew from Holiday Romance. This was a sweet, cozy, steamy holiday read!

Megan left Isaac four years ago, and everyone in her village had loved him. He's engaged to someone else now, and she's been dumped again. She bumps into Christian, who is tired of his family feeling sad on his behalf for being single. The two draw up a fake dating contract to get through the holidays with their family. But with their families and Christmas magic in the mix, what if they want to break the contract?

The setup with Megan and Christian makes you warm to them quickly. Megan is still reeling from being a runaway bride and hasn't returned home because too many others in the village cut ties with her. Christian is still single in a family that's almost all paired off and feels like his family feels sorry for him. It's his idea to fake date for their families' sake, but the fake dating involves a lot of very real dates, text messages, and appearances to build up a "relationship" before the fateful Christmas holiday. Of course, they get along great together and it goes amazingly well despite their (mostly Megan's) misgivings and people in the village who still haven't forgiven Megan's actions.

We know that Megan and Christian will turn the fake relationship into a real one, but it's been good to see how it happens. Megan realizes that she does deserve a true relationship with shared experiences, and Christian gets to feel like he doesn't have to put up a front with girlfriends. On top of it all, the reason she ran away from marrying Isaac is revealed, and their mutual friends all learn it and no longer blame her as bad as they had before. It's the best possible outcome for them both, and it was a fun road to get there.

ARC REVIEW, Christmas Edition ❄️☃️

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Steam Level: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Snowed In was such an easy, entertaining Christmas read that will leave you ready for the holiday season!

Grab a copy if you like:
🎄 Christmas romance
🎄 Fake dating
🎄 Rom-com
🎄 Runaway bride
🎄 Dual POV
🎄 Friends to lovers

Honestly, this one ticked all the boxes for me! Thank you @netgalley for access to this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 ✨

I have a feeling Catherine Walsh’s books will be my forever comfort reads. Snowed In is the sweetest, cutest, most entertaining and lovelies Christmas story which will warm your heart and genuinely make you happy. ❤️

Megan is absolutely terrified to go back home for Christmas holidays, because four years ago she left her ex-fiancé, Isaac, at the altar and hasn't been home ever since. Let's just say she doesn't have the best reputation back home, she isn't viewed as a nice person and actually dealing with all the drama isn't on top of her priorities list at all.

Christian isn't a fan of Christmas. Or, to be more precise, he doesn't mind the holiday per se, but he's so very tired of all the sad and pitiful stares he gets from his family during the holiday. It's because, in a family with two more siblings, he's always the couple-less one. Which is something he doesn't mind, either. He enjoys being by himself. It's the pitying looks he cannot stand, really.

Luckily for both Megan and Christian, life decides to intervene. So, on one chilly night at a Dublin pub, life brings them back together. Drinks are drunk (and spilled), conversations are had, and plans are made. And from these interactions, a brilliant idea is born: fake dating during the holidays to give themselves a break in what's supposed to be a very happy and festive season—complete with all the necessary and needed rules, of course.

It's definitely a win-win situation.
Christian won't have to deal with pity eyes from his family; Megan won't have to endure awkward and emotionally difficult situations brought by others by herself. What could possibly go wrong? 👀

This book was the perfect start to my winter and Christmassy reads. I read it in one sitting - which is something I'm easily doing with all Catherine's books.
I love author's writing so much; Snowed In is funny and entertaining, it's addicting, it made me smile so much and I couldn't put this book down.

Megan and Christian are incredible and I love them dearly. They're both funny and mature and I loved how they were able to communicate with one another at mostly all times. But most of all I loved the support they showed for each other. Christian was a perfect gentleman at all times, he treated Megan so well and I was so excited for her to finally get the respect and care she deserves. And same for Christian. 💕 They were really made for each other and their story is both adorable and special.

This book is well-written, it has the right amount of everything: humour, emotional moments, spice. The story's development is great, all the characters are amazing and it was such a comfort read for me, and I can easily see myself rereading this book so often, especially during this magical Christmas season. 🎄

☃️Christmas setting
☃️fake dating
☃️friends to lovers
☃️slow burn
☃️no 3rd act break-up 🥳

Thank you so much NetGalley, Bookouture and Catherine Walsh for the ARC of this book! 💗

SO so good! This book was like a warm hug and I’m so glad everyone gets to read this for the holiday! If you like fake dating tropes, you’ll especially love this one!

It was well written, and I was able to finish it in 3 Days even though I have a 2.5mo. old! It just makes you want to keep on reading.

If you read Walsh’s release last year, you’ll love the Andrew and Molly cameo!

CATHERINE WALSH – SNOWED IN
An e-ARC copy of the book was given by the author & Bookouture via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

RATING
⭐⭐⭐⭐
4.5 out of 5.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Megan hasn’t been home for the holidays for five long years. She’s the one that got away from the small village, the she-devil, who left her goody two shoes fiancé at the altar and never looked back. Hurting a well-respected member of the community is enough for them to turn their backs at her. This year though she has to face the music – she promised her mother she’ll be back for Christmas. Even with her tail between her legs and with nothing special to show for her big city life. No partners, no fancy job or great apartment.
Christian is the black sheep of his family. As every one of them seem to have their stuff together and are perpetually in lovey-dovey state of coupledom, he sticks out as a sore thumb. He’s successful and does well enough to afford nice things, but these are not the helping his case – he’s lonely while spending time with his family.
As chance would have it, Megan literally bumps into Christian. The two city-expats share the misery of having to go back home for the holidays…
What if they become each other’s clutches? After some persuasion they both agree on simply pretending they’re madly in love with each other at different family and occasional village gatherings. How complicated could this get?
As old friends and foes resurface, revelations about one’s own self and relationships emerge and just a tiny snowstorm keeps them captive in a cabin, Megan and Christopher have to face the truth…
REVIEW:
Last year I fell in love with Catherine and although she has no idea about my true feelings and this strange obsession with her characters, I plan on us being BFFs in the near future.
My little adventure into love stories about Irish characters with self-effacing and laugh-out-loud funny humour began with Holiday Romance, which is the interconnected standalone pair of Snowed In. In Holiday Romance we got to meet Christian, and my memory only served a reminder about him being grumpy, I have to confess, he was a swoony book boyfriend, who with his struggles, self-doubt, charisma and assurance about wrong and right wormed his way into my heart.
From the first scene he appeared in I was invested in his character arc, his seemingly cocky attitude paired with complete confusion about life’s biggest questions made him a compelling MMC. The way he treated his family and complete strangers, and how he assured Meg, that there’re men worth the wait and pain was heart-warming.
Megan was a resilient and headstrong FMC, with the biggest heart and passion projects littered all around her. She did what many couldn’t have done in her shoes: left a small town, never looked back. Built new friendships, started a job in a completely new field, became financially independent from her parent.
The storyline starts with the best romcom meet cute, follows it up the perfect romance trope, about two fools agreeing on faking it till they’re making it, them eventually developing feelings far more serious than a platonic relationship should allow and, of course, in the end realizing something profound is on the horizon while being trapped in close quarters!
Catherine threaded around the fake dating trope beautifully, it never seemed artificial, and the character development with the small added details regarding personal growth was plotted and written beautifully. I was able to truly immerse myself in the Irishness of it all, and loved every single minute of the masterful banter I’ve come to pair with her writing style.
Snowed In is the perfect Christmas spirited romcom for this year and I would wholly encourage every romance lover to check it out. Also, don’t forget to read Holiday Romance. Read them! Do it!
TROPES FOR YOUR READING PLEASURE:
- meet cute
- close proximity
- holiday romance
- fake dating
- friends to lovers
- hurt/comfort trope
- small town romance
- slow burn
- book boyfriend award
- contemporary romance

[ B O O K • R E V I E W ]

📖 Snowed In
🖊️Catherine Walsh
❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

All 5 snowflakes from me on this one!

This was my first holiday read for the year and I loved it!

What a fun story, and entire cast you can fall in love with (except you Isaac, woof)

✔️ Fake Dating
✔️ Friends to Lovers
✔️ Forced Proximity
❄️🫶🏻 Holiday Romance
✔️ Protective MMC
✔️ Spice 🥵
✔️ Excellent Banter

All around an awesome book, and the perfect read for the holiday season!

Grab your copy, cozy up by the fire, and enjoy this lighthearted romance.

Happy pub day to this cute holiday romance!! If you’re looking for an easy going rom com with a little spice and NO third act breakup, this one’s for you! This book was like a warm hug.

Snowed In follows Christian and Megan’s fake dating scheme. Megan was a runaway bride five years ago and hasn’t been home since. She runs into a boy from her childhood, Christian, and they decide to pretend they’re together to make going home for the holidays easier. This book does take place after “Holiday Romance”, but can absolutely be read as a stand alone.

I loved Megan as the FMC. She knew what she wanted and went after it. The perfect strong/confident lead to match Christian’s boss demeanor. Also bonus points for her being super sex positive and Christian not shaming her and leaning into it!

Something I like most about Walsh’s storytelling is that everything she writes has a purpose, there isn’t an unnecessary fluff or chapters that the book could have done without. Everything is thought out and adds to the character growth.

**loved Christian’s friend Zoe and really hope she gets a book, especially since she claims she’s happier alone!**

Megan flees her hometown after leaving her fiancé at the alter. A few years later, she runs into Christian, a “bad boy” from her youth. Megan hasn’t been home since her prompt departure, and Christian is hesitant to go back home without a girlfriend due to some family drama of his own. So when these two hometown acquaintances bump into eachother, Christian asks Megan to fake date him for the holidays. She is hesitant at first, but he is quick to argue that it would benefit them both immensely. She agrees and what follows is some of the cutest banter I have ever read in a rom-com! This book put me in the Christmas spirit and i am not mad about it! Looking forward to reading more from Catherine Walsh. Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this lovely ARC!

I’ve become such a fan of Catherine Walsh in the last year, ever since I read her last seasonal book, Holiday Romance. (Snowed in is the totally deserved follow up!) Her books have everything – they’re funny, they’re heartfelt, they tackle hard subjects in relatable ways. Her characters just work. They feel real, they make dumb choices like we all do, but they’re the kind of people you want to root for, that you’d want to be friends with in real life.

Megan and Christian’s book hits the fake dating trope, which may be my favorite trope. He’s tired of being the single member of his family at Christmas, and she hasn’t been back to their hometown in five years since she left her longtime boyfriend at the altar. They never knew each other well, but in the present, they just click. First as friends who end up being each other’s “backup” with their families in this fake dating scheme. But it’s obvious they’re headed toward much more, because their chemistry is so lovely and swoony and natural.

And this book hits more than just the requisite Christmas notes. Christian finally faces his complicated relationship with his father in a way that’s good for both of them, and Megan finds the strength to finally, FINALLY tell everyone who thinks she’s a selfish runaway bride what really happened. (Which, no spoilers here, might be a little too familiar for some readers. There’s a brief content warning at the beginning of the book.) They both experience so much growth, and it’s not that they fix each other. I think they just give each other the space to be themselves and stand up for themselves and find what makes them happy.

This book hits all the right notes, whether or not you’re looking for a Christmas read. Don’t let the holiday deter you – Megan and Christian’s story is utterly charming for all seasons.

Devoured this book in under 24 hours. If I didn’t have to sleep I would have read it in one sitting! The pace of the writing was so good and the story flowed so well. The end of each chapter would leave you on these tiny cliff hangers where you just need to keep going!

Fake dating, small town romance, witty banter, he fell first, dual pov, and some spice.

Perfect holiday read! Didn't know it was a spin off from Holiday Romance, which I’m excited to read soon.

Such an easy read. Amazing character development. The dialog felt so realistic and natural. Really just checks so many boxes for a fun rom-con and a holiday romance. Easily going into my top holiday reads!

Thank you Bookouture and NetGelley for this ARC!
Happy Pub Day

A fun romcom w/ a few of our favorite tropes:

Fake Dating
Close Proximity
Friends (kinda) to Lovers
Slow Burn
Small Town Christmas

Catherine Walsh gives us the witty wintery swoony romcom we all crave this time of year. I loved the setting(s) and the character development. I'm a sucker for some family drama mixed in, and this one delivered... but kept it minimal enough that it doesn't take the book out of the romcom genre.

Thank you NetGalley, Bookouture, and Catherine Walsh for my advance copy!

I couldn’t put this down ❤️ Megan runs out on her wedding with no explanation, never returning to her small Irish town because she feels so awkward about it. When she has to finally go home for Christmas she ends up going with a fake boyfriend - Christian. He’s from the same place and hopes a fake girlfriend will take the heat off him from his family at Christmas. Obviously, we know where this is going. But getting there is so good. And so funny. And so sweet. And pretty spicy.

I really don’t think Catherine Walsh is capable of writing anything I won’t love. Her humour is top notch. I wish I was friends with all her main characters. I loved the added drama to this one though, with the gradual reveal of why Megan ran out on her wedding.

This was an extra special treat though, as I LOVED Holiday Romance last year and it warmed my cold heart to get so much Andrew and Molly content as well 🥰🥰🥰 (Christian is Andrew’s brother). My guilty pleasure is connected romance books. Not full on sequels, just connected enough that I get updates on previous characters 😂 That being said - Megan’s brother next?!

What to expect:

- festive feels
- fake dating
- small town romance
- forced proximity
- lols
- just enough spice

This was so cute and wholesome!
I loved Catherine Walsh's previous books and I gladly dived into this one, even though it was a few weeks too early for a Christmas book, but oh well. The story easily pulls you in with lovable characters and a cute-sy love story with fake dating. Christian is of course swoony, and Megan is super cool and relatable. It’s a perfect wintery and Christmassy read. But it was just a little bit too predictable for me.
(P. S.: if you’ve read Holiday Romance, be ready for some Molly & Andrew content!)

Thank you so much for sharing the ARC of this book with me!

I really enjoyed this book. It was so sweet and funny! If you like books with fake dating, forced proximity, Christmastime, and romance with just the right amount of spice, this is for you!

Thank you so much to Catherine Walsh, Netgalley and Bookouture for the advanced copy of snowed in.

Megan and Christian both have their reasons for not wanting to return to their home village for Christmas, so when they bump into each other years after they both left, they form a plan to return as a couple and help each other through the holiday season.

I was hooked on Snowed In from the start, it was perfectly paced and had such an endearing cast of characters. Where can I get one of Megan’s Christmas jumpers?!

Fake dating, small town and friends to lovers with a surprising amount of spice, this was an easy five star read for me and is the perfect book to read this November. There’s just enough Christmas spirit to get you in the mood for the festive season without overdoing the turkey and tinsel before the big day!

At the time of reading, I didn’t realise this was a stand alone sequel to Holiday Romance, so I’ll definitely be picking it up soon to find out more about Andrew and Molly’s story.

TW: Controlling relationships