If you are looking for a quick holiday read with witty hallmark movie vibes look no further than It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

“The jaded city folk come to the quaint, snowy town and learn the true meaning of Christmas. The story isn’t what changes. The people are.”

The author took this storyline we have seen time and time again, but with a witty twist. I loved the peppering in of their articles. It had me laughing out loud and was conflict free if you just want something light and fluffy that you can finish in one sitting.

No spice

Definitely a sweet hallmark inspired Christmas book! Two rival writers who despise Christmas are sent together (unknowingly) to a town called Noelville: where Christmas exists all year long. As they explore the town and the traditions, they (no surprise) fall in love. This novella is full of holiday magic! 🎄♥️

I enjoyed it overall, a quick and heartfelt read. The two main side characters were fun but I think it felt too forced at moments. I get that it was about making the town quirky enough for the leads to bond. Maybe toned down a smidge and I'd have loved them!

Overall a sweet holiday read!!!! Thanks NetGalley for this ARC!

This book came on the perfect time. Although I'm a helpless romantic and I love some Christmas magic, this year I wasn't feeling it. So when I started the book and saw that the two main characters where cynics, it was right up my alley. This book has all the ingredients for your perfect Christmas novel: enemies to lovers (not necessarily Christmassy but it is definitely my favorite trope), forced proximity, Christmas setting and magic. Although it might not sound original, the delivery took the cake. This book made me feel cozy, warm and happy. It had the perfect balance of banter (I felt myself smile while reading), sweet (but not overly done, which was perfect) and great chemistry. I actually loved how there was the tension up until the end, with the book ending with a kiss, which just felt so romantic and left me feeling all fuzzy inside. Definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming, light Christmas read.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas is the perfect novella to give you a Hallmark Holiday vibe. I absolutely loved the setting of Noelville, the Christmas village. The main characters, Eve and Will, are co-workers and their nemesis to lover story really highlights the miracles of Christmas. They also had such great banter. They sling some hilarious jabs back and forth. The way it all came together made the perfect little 2-3 hour read. Perfect for a cold afternoon, snuggled under a blanket.

A cute and short holiday read.

Eve and Will are witty and the banter is great. I’d love to visit Noelville as a Christmas lover, so this definitely put me in the holiday spirit.

It took on the classic Hallmark movie vibes with two rival coworkers being shipped off to an overly festive town to discover the true magic of Christmas, save Christmas, and maybe find love along the way.

I was drawn to It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas: A Novella by Julianna Keyes because, let’s face it, who doesn’t love the idea of a cosy holiday rom-com with rival travel writers? The premise had everything going for it—enemies-to-lovers tension, a magical Christmas town named Noelville, and the promise of biting banter with a side of gingerbread. Unfortunately, while the story had its moments, it didn’t quite deliver the holiday magic I was hoping for.

Let’s start with the premise. Eve Sherwood and Will Fowler are both travel writers, each vying for a promotion. To determine who deserves it, their editor sends them on a week-long assignment to Noelville, a Christmas wonderland where snowflakes and seasonal cheer are on tap 24/7. Forced to share close quarters and write the sappiest holiday story of their careers, Eve and Will are meant to start as antagonists and end up tumbling headfirst into love. And yes, that’s exactly what happens. It just doesn’t happen in a way that feels...earned.

The problem isn’t the setup—it’s the execution. Both Eve and Will feel like paper dolls. Eve is the cynical, overworked woman who doesn’t believe in the magic of Christmas. Will is the grumpy, slightly condescending man who also doesn’t believe in Christmas but somehow has enough charm to pull off being her love interest. These archetypes can work, but only if the characters are given depth. Here, they aren’t. Their rivalry is half-hearted, their chemistry barely smoulders, and their romance feels rushed—like the novella length forced the author to skip over the messy, delicious parts of falling in love.

And Noelville! What a missed opportunity. A town that’s literally Christmas 365 days a year should have been a playground of sensory delights. I wanted to smell the cinnamon in the air, hear the jingle of sleigh bells, and feel the cosy glow of twinkling lights. Instead, Noelville felt generic, like a Christmas set piece rather than a living, breathing town.

3.5* The setting of this book feels like a snow globe come to life, full of quirky charm, sleigh rides, and "magical moments" lol. The story leans heavily on holiday clichés, but the witty enemies-to-lovers dynamic keeps it fun. It was predictable, but if you’re craving a cozy holiday romance, this one’s a treat!

Thank you to Netgalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was a cute and cozy Christmas novel that was well written. It is a perfect holiday story to help get you into the Christmas spirit. I definitely recommend this book.

Thank you Net Galley ARC

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas was such a beautiful and sweet Christmas read, perfect to get you into the Christmas spirit.

Thank you, NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this free ebook for review. This was a cute Christmas Hallmark-movie type rom-com story about two travel writers sent on assignment to Noelville, Vermont. I LOVE Vermont and although Noelville is not a real town, I could definitely see a town like this existing in Vermont :)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas is exactly what you might expect from a Christmas RomCom. Two travel writers who for their own reasons both are very cynical about Christmas spirit and festivities end op in Noelville to write an article about the Magical Christmas vibe there.
Because they are both in the race for the position of senior writer at their company there is al lot of competition, which makes for sparkling conversations and a lot of banter.

Not my usual favourite style of books, but a real nice read for the holiday season. I put on a traditional carols playlist and made myself a mug of hot chocolate followed by a Gluhwein... and had an entertaining few hours reading this novella.

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

I really liked this book! I usually don't read closed door romance but this one had the perfect amount of forced proximity, snarky banter and warm Christmas feelings. Short and sweet, it had just the right pacing and was unique enough in a sea of Hallmark style stories to stand out and be super entertaining. I highly recommend this one to get you in the Holiday mood!

The perfect cute read to get you in the mood for Christmas! The characters and romance were especially endearing but I loved the overall vibe

Thanks to NetGalley and author Keyes for this copy of "It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas."

This was a very sweet and "snarky" addition to Christmas rom-com's. Eve and Will, rival writers for a travel magazine, are sent to cover the Christmas festivities in Noelville, VT. They both think they're traveling with their editor and are surprised to find they're both going to submit articles and their editor will choose. And of course there's a promotion involved, too.

So the beginning of the book felt contrived and hard to believe. For example, both Eve and Will meet high school "friends" who now work in Noelville. And Eve has never had cider before ???

But then it became much more real and fun and heartwarming, especially when Eve and Will talk about their childhood Christmases.

And watch for the part about the yellow ski suit - adorable!

It was a cute and fun christmas read! Both the protagonist were passionate in their writing but ended up falling in love with each other!! It was adorable 🥰

This book follows two rival journalists who have been sent to the same location, a Christmas village, to write an article about the “magical seasonal adventure”; whoever writes the best article will be promoted. However, neither of them realises that they’ve been sent to do the same article until they bump into each other on the train there. To make it even worse neither of them enjoy Christmas for their own reasons.
This was a really quick and fun Christmas read that completely got me in the mood for Christmas. I really liked the two main characters and I was pleasantly surprised when the book didn’t go in the direction I thought. I also loved reading about all the Christmas activities and how the characters actually started enjoying some of them.

Eve Sherwood and Will Fowler are both travel writers for 'Live Laugh Travel'. Since they started with the magazine they have been arch nemesis, both vying to be the best writer. To add to the everyday pressures, they are both hoping to earn the upcoming promotion. Problem being, there's only one position.

The editor of Live Laugh Travel, Bianca Cole is a superfan of Christmas. So, for the deciding article in the promotion race, Bianca sends both Eve and Will on the Christmas train to Noelville, Vermont. Their assignment is to stay there for 6 days running up to Christmas and immerse themselves completely in the 'exclusive winter experience'. They then need to write an article about their personal experience of their time there and the magic of Christmas. This is the biggest challenge either of them has ever faced as a writer as neither of them like the festive season.

This book is really well written and a real festive treat.

This was the perfect holiday escape in a book! Essentially a hallmark movie in a novel but with a little more depth and steam! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this early copy!

thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this opportunity to read and review this book.

this book is full of Christmas magic, banter, and all things merry. it definitely reminded me of a hallmark movie as there was only a kiss scene towards the end.

Will and Evie are both writers who are forced together to write. the banter between the two main MC's was definitely entertaining but there wasn't much chemistry explored between the two. the two hate Christmas and are sent to Noelville to experience the cheery atmosphere.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this Christmas novella! I wished that setting was a real place that I could visit. Told in alternating points of view, Eve and Will are competing for a promotion at the travel magazine they both work at where neither one likes the other. Their boss, who knows that they both don't love Christmas, sends them both to Noelville the week before Christmas with a highly coveted ticket to spend the week in this special town where everything is Christmas. As they both immerse themselves in the town and all the festivities available to guests, they find that maybe they don't hate Christmas, or each other, as much as they thought.

This was a well-written holiday book with all the best things about Christmas! Looking forward to more books by this author. Add this to your TBR if you love Christmas books.