Great Christmas romance. The characters were well written and really fun to get to know. The grandma was hilarious and the main characters were made for each other. I liked that there's some characters from previous books making an appearance, it just made this a much more fun book to read and get insight into how those previous characters are fairing in their relationships. If you like second chance romances with loveable dogs and a meddling grandma then this would be the book for you. I would recommend this book to my friends and family and I look forward to what's next from this author.

This was a cute story. Not much spice, but the dogs were a big bonus. I would like to have read more about the dog treat store ownwe. She sounded like a great woman. Mia was adorable. Such a sweetheart and sneaky as well. Nicely done.

A cute fluffy Christmas novel, I really loved the focus on the animal shelter and the grandmother's pov. I thought the reason they became distant was a little weak but probably realistic. Could've added a little more drama with Jules just for some excitement but all in all this was a cute fun Christmas read, and would make a cute hallmark movie!

Thank you Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books, Inc.

Keegan and Sammi nearly started... something, then Keegan bolted. Now a year later, the two of them, due to the interference of Sam's Granny, find themselves elected King and Queen (Queen and Queen?) of Junebug Farms Christmas Parade.

Sammi is still wondering why Keegan fled, and isn't sure the Queen and Queen thing is a good idea. As they do the various events her feelings for Keegan get more intense, but she's not sure how the other woman feels.

Good fun light read. The characters are sweet, the plot moves along well and it was nice catching up with the animal shelter.

Two mild gripes: Keegan just having a semi random panic attack just seemed odd. It's kind of explained later, but not in a satisfying way IMHO.
We also don't hear if the fundraising was actually successful. I know it's there to just drive the plot but....

3.5 stars out of 5

i came in expecting a silly hallmark christmas novel, and i got exactly that. this was a cute, feel-good read that will put you right into the holiday spirit, with lots of mutual pining and involves the most adorable characters (iykyk). my biggest gripe with the book, though, was that i kept thinking the romantic conflict was a bit too unserious even for the genre, or perhaps just badly presented? it’s revealed from the get-go, so maybe placing it there made me side-eye some of the more tense scenes bc i kept thinking ...Really? 🧍‍♀️ still, this is the perfect book to read around this time of the year!

Q. What do you get when you cross the Christmas season, an animal shelter with lots of very cute dogs, a spunky matchmaking grandmother and two MC's (Sammi and Keegan) who can't see that they're just meant for each other?

A. You get all the feels…..in the best possible way.

Georgia Beers brings us another feel-good installment in the Puppy Love series set around the Juneburg Farms animal shelter and it was an absolute joy to return to this chaotic but lovable organisation. With the shelter struggling for funds due to the cancellation of a significant source of funding, a grand plan is concocted to run a holiday fundraiser including the community electing a 'King' and 'Queen' to represent the shelter at a number of events in the run up to Christmas. This provides the perfect opportunity for Mia Sorenson, the spunky 81 year old grandmother of Sammi to fiddle with the vote results ending in Sammi and Keegan being appointed joint Queens instead. After mostly avoiding each other for the past several months following a disasterous first makeout session, the two MCs are required to spend time together as they represent the shelter at several local community events. Can this time spent together help them to overcome their initial hiccup and get their second chance? You'll just have to read the book and find out.

Thank you to Georgia Beers, NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this book. I am providing an honest review and all opinions are my own.

At Junebug Farms animal shelter, the holiday spirit is alive as the shelter sponsors its Christmas parade to raise funds and find homes for pups. The parade’s king and queen will film festive vignettes to promote the cause.

Mia Sorenson, a volunteer and matchmaker, rigs the voting so her granddaughter Samantha and her friend Keegan win, hoping to spark their long-delayed romance. But a big embarrassing secret stands in their way.

I really had a hard time with this one; I think primarily because I really struggled to get into either of the main characters. I do enjoy the work of Georgia Beers, but as of late her books seem to be very hit or miss with me and this one unfortunately had me skimming from disinterest--something I almost never do because I actually prefer slow burns and slow paced novels.

2.5/5
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was cute but odd.
The first chapter threw me off. And made me question Keegan through out the book until about 3/4 of the way through the book.
Unfortunately that made the chemistry between the two mains strained. I know they were supposed to be attracted to each other but I never felt it.
There is tons of "cute" with the dogs and Grandma and mom.
A light holiday read.
I was given this ARC in exchange for an honest review

Cute, feel good Christmas read. The characters were cute but I didn’t feel particularly invested in their story. That being said, there were so many cute elements to this cute romcom. Im a sucker for a story with pups!

A light, feel-good read if you’re just looking for something to get you in the holiday spirit without too much emotional investment. Not groundbreaking for me, but it does the job

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this ARC for an exchange for a review

This Christmas by Georgia Beers

This is a feel good sorry with a friend's to lovers/ second chance.

Everything is better at Christmas. The sights, the snow, the magic. And when forced proximity comes into play putting Keegan and Sammi together to help raise awareness for the local shelter things are bound to get toasty.
You'll be rooting for this match.

This Christmas is unlike any Christmas themed book you will read! Sammi (a dentist) and Keegan (a kindergarten teacher) had something once a year ago, and when Sammi found herself kissing Keegan, Keegan pulled away. A year later, they meet up again because of Sammi's grandma's scheming at an animal rescue farm. Both these women find themselves the Queens and have to go to events set up around the city to help raise money for the animal rescue. Sammi and Keegan found themselves inseparable again and feelings have come back. Will Keegan find herself a girlfriend whom adores her or will she go running for the hills again. Will Sammi's grandmother get what she wanted out of this Christmas debacle or will her grandmother find another way to get Sammi a girlfriend (preferably keegan) after all?

This book was really sweet and one feel good book to read during the holidays. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC for an honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because the theme was very different compared to all the other sapphic holiday books I've read. Georgia Beers knows how to pull at your heart strings and with a sapphic romance and adoptable dogs during the holidays, who wouldn't want to read this novel.

Rescue dogs, holiday dates, and a matchmaking grandma!
This Christmas by Georgia Beers introduces us to Dr. Sammi Sorensen and Keegan Duffy. Sammi and Keegan had one great date a year ago, but Keegan freaked out and friend zoned Sammi. Now thanks to Sammi’s grandma and a local animal shelter Sammi and Keegan are being sent on a bunch of promotional activities giving them an opportunity to spend a lot of time together and a second chance at romance.

This book was a cute and cozy holiday romance. This was low drama and more about personal introspection. Sammi and Keegan have made for each other vibes. The cast of side characters were fun and helped move the book along. I appreciated that besides just Sammi and Keegan’s POV we also sometimes got Sammi’s grandma Mia’s thoughts.

There was one continuity error that threw me off while reading but otherwise it was a nice but predicatable story. But isn’t that part of what’s nice with these types of books?

If you’re looking for a feel good winter story and love cute dogs, I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Bold Strokes Books, and Georgia Beers for the ARC.

Keegan and Sammi are best friends and it’s obvious to everyone that they should be more but when they decided to act on their feelings Keegan freaks out and every since then it’s been a bit awkward but they still have that close bond. Sammi grandmother Mia is determined to get theses two to get together before it’s too late she decided to rig the annual Christmas parade so her granddaughter Sammi and Keegan can be Queen and Queen as filming adorable Christmas vignettes that can help adopt puppies into loving homes. This was cute Christmas romance love getting to go back and visit Junebug Farms love all the characters especially the dogs and puppies so cute how they played a part the Sammi and Keegan have great chemistry I like that the angst was them standing in their own way.

I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.

I was lucky enough to receive an arc through NetGalley! Thanks a lot for that!

This was such a fun and cute read! Our two main characters get to be the king and queen (or the queen and queen) of the local animal shelter to promote it for new funds. Making this a cozy read for the colder days!

I loved reading about the doggies and they were the real star of the show for me! Especially Beckett! He owns my entire heart. The dogs helped a lot in the warm feelings and it made it a such a fun read. The relationship was also very cute and I was rooting for them so much!

Overall a fun, short Christmassy book with the best matchmaking grandma ever! Would recommend as a cozy read☕️

⭐️⭐️⭐️

3 stars
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A cute little Christmas rom-com. I loved the match making and the concept, but it felt a little longer and undeveloped than I wanted.

The idea of this book is adorable. Second chance romance, match making, cute dogs. But it felt a little basic. The events of the Christmas fundraiser were pretty rushed for being the entire plot of the book. I wish the author had spent more time highlighting the events, along with the romance, because they play such a central role in the book. I could have done with less of Mia’s commentary and more Keegan and Sammy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved Mia, but beyond her original matchmaking, her commentary just didn’t feel all that necessary. Cool outside perspective, but I could have done without it in favor of developing Keegan and Sammi more. The book was a little repetitive at parts, too, and there are inconsistencies. It needed a bit of fine tuning.

The romance in this one is cute, but again, kind of basic. The characters have an ill fated night, but stay sort of friends after one date? I don’t know, it was kind of unbelievable. I loved Keegan and Sammy individually. The author does a really good job of bringing them together with these events from what we got, but it was a little quick. That plays into me wanted more drawn out events. Maybe even more of them. This is such a highlight of the book, but doesn’t take up enough of the book. I could have used less post events and more developing their relationship as they occur, like the author seemed to start to do. I didn’t need post Christmas or the year later epilogue.

Pretty basic, but good is my overall consensus. Definitely a quick, fun, festive read, though.

This was such a cute read, I could definitely see myself re-reading it with hot chocolate, fireplace and the Christmas tree up. It was such a cosy read overall.

Keegan and Sammi have been friends for years and neither have done a very good job at hiding the fact that they would like to be so very much more. Except to each other. Oh, and to themselves. They almost got there once, but Keegan’s ensuing panic attack, followed by months of ghosting have lead to where they are now. Occasionally texting, seldom chatting and hanging out even less than that.

Sammi’s grandmother, Mia, is 80 years old, an expert matchmaker (if she does say so herself) and a dedicated volunteer at Junebug Farms animal shelter.

When the shelter’s funding is cut, the staff decides to raise money and awareness by sponsoring the annual Christmas parade, with their float featuring adorable, adoptable pets from the shelter riding with the King and Queen of the parade. In addition to the parade, the royals will participate in several holiday activities, along with some charming shelter pups, leading up to the parade - caroling, delivering presents, baking Christmas themed puppy treats to name a few.

When Mia is asked to tally up the final votes, she realizes that Sammi has the most votes, with Keegan having only two less (and WAY more than the closest male candidate.) Knowing that she can’t look this type of (Christmas) gift in the mouth, and it’s totally believable that Keegan could have accidentally been placed in the King category. I mean Keegan could easily be a male name, right? Plus, how progressive and inclusive would a Queen AND Queen be?

This Christmas is a sweet, forced proximity, friends to lovers, sapphic romance wrapped up with a festive bow. I’m a sucker for a meddling Grams, and Mia ticks all the boxes. The MCs are sweet albeit a little naive. The supporting characters are well developed, even the furry four-legged ones. If you are looking for a cozy, holiday read, you can’t go wrong with This Christmas!

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving a review.

I really enjoyed this book. It had all the cosy and festive vibes to get me in the Christmas spirit.

This book had the friends to lovers trope which is one of my favourite tropes so when I read what this book was about I knew it was something I would enjoy.

I felt that there wasn't much chemistry between the two characters during the book and it felt a little forced. I still continued to read because I really did love the aspect of the book but when it got to near the end it felt a little rushed.

This book did give the cosy and festive vibes and its also a sapphic romance so if you are looking for a festive read during the holiday season then I recommend This Christmas.

*Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me this Arc in return for an honest review*

must love dogs…puns, a meddling grandma & a holiday match making setting. if you want a cute feel good read during sweater weather “this Christmas” is for you. I enjoyed getting to watch Sammi & Keegan’s relationship grow throughout the book. The story being surrounded by a dog shelter & all the cute side characters made this a quick, easy & enjoyable holiday book for me.

Thanks NetGalley & Bold Stroke Books, Inc for giving me early access!

Such a lovely book, so wholesome. It really hit me in the feelings I cried a few times.

It’s a really cosy book which is perfect for the holiday season, I love dogs and love rescues so love how the story line was done

I don’t have much to say apart from it’s a perfect sapphic cosy Christmas book