Holiday Romance

By: Catherine Walsh

Narrated by: Shelley Atkinson

Length: 10 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's Summary

She’s meant to be catching flights, not catching feelings....

Molly and Andrew are just trying to get home to Ireland for the holidays when a freak snowstorm grounds their flight.

Nothing romantic has ever happened between them: They’re friends, and that’s all. But once a year, for the last ten years, Molly has spent seven hours and fifteen minutes sitting next to Andrew on the last flight before Christmas from Chicago to Dublin, drinking terrible airplane wine and catching up on each other’s lives. In spite of all the ways the two friends are different, it’s the holiday tradition neither of them has ever wanted to give up.

Molly isn’t that bothered by Christmas, but—in yet another way they’re total opposites—Andrew is a full-on fanatic for the festive season, and she knows how much getting back to Ireland means to him. So, instead of doing the sane thing and just celebrating the holidays together in America, she does the stupid thing. The irrational thing. She vows to get him home. And in time for his mam’s famous Christmas dinner.

The clock is ticking. But Molly always has a plan. And—as long as the highly specific combination of taxis, planes, boats, and trains all run on time—it can’t possibly go wrong.

What she doesn’t know is that, as the snow falls over the city and over the heads of two friends who are sure they’re not meant to be together, the universe might just have a plan of its own....

A totally gorgeous and escapist friends-to-lovers festive romance with a swoon-worthy hero. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Mhairi Macfarlane, and Christina Lauren.

©2022 Catherine Walsh (P)2022 Bookouture, an imprint of Storyfire Ltd.

SWEET

If I had to summarize this book in one word, it would be SWEET ☺️

🎄friends to lovers
🎄slow-burn romance
🎄alternating timelines
🎄sweet family elements
🎄travel shenanigans and witty banter
🎄no real 3rd act conflict 🙌🏻

This book was just precious! Andrew and Molly, who meet in college, travel home to Ireland every year together from Chicago. Over the course of 10 years, they become very close and I really enjoyed seeing how their relationship developed over the years in the flashback chapters. It’s very clear that they were just slowly falling in love and they didn’t even realize it. If you’re looking for a precious, holiday romance, I would def recommend!

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you to Bookouture and Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book, all opinions are my own!

Not what I expected, so sweet

Loved this story, very real and down to earth, not at all what I expected!

Not what I expected and I loved it

Loved this!! As others have said. It was better than I expected. I liked the characters and their connection. The twists and turns. Slow burn romance. It was lovely!!

Cute story

I like the story of friendship developing by coincidence and maintaining it over time. I also like the realness of the characters.

Very good. Love the Irish accents!

It was a very good story. I liked the way it went back and forth between present time and their past flights. It was just a really cute story.

Unfortunately, it took me a while to get through it because the narrators story telling voice was a bit boring. She was so monotone during so much that I would frequently zone out and have to go back chapters that I had missed while zoning out. Eek.

Great read!

I really enjoyed the story, loved the back and forth in time and the different cities they are in

LOVED THIS!

Such a cute holiday romance. Loved the characters, the setting, the accents, the format (includes flashbacks to previous years). One of my favorite books read this year, will be checking out this author’s other books. Loved Andrew and Molly and their sweet romance. Laughed aloud and / or ‘awwww’d aloud a few different times. So well done!

Cute holiday romance

Very cute story. At times the narrator’s voice sounded a bit monotone, almost like Siri. But overall a fun listen.

Decent holiday romance

The best part about this book was the narration… I love the accents and could listen all day. Unfortunately, the story was just meh for me. But a lot of that could have to do with the way the story is told with flashback chapters - 5 years ago, 10 years ago, etc. I REALLY don’t enjoy this format… so you may love it!

100% worth it

This was such a fun adventure!! If you’ve ever had a crazy holiday travel experience, this is for you. I do think the name is a bit of a misnomer. Is there romance? Sure. It takes place over a holiday, but I think there’s a lot more to it. At its core, I think this book is about finding your passion, your people, your confidence in who you are, and loving your family. Plus, the audiobook is with all the Irish accents 😏😍 HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Five star Christmas read.

A Christmas romance, so funny that it isn't irritating. 💖 Friends to lovers you know are in love, and you're just waiting for them to show it to one another. A work of festive art. 🎄

Great Listen and story

Story was clever and adorable. lovely Irish Christmas traditions! Narration was excellent. loved it!

Absolutely brilliant

Loved everything about this book. So wonderful and such escapism. The characters were brilliantly well written and narrated well.

a great festive read

A great Christmas story that's really got me in the mood to snuggle up under a blanket with a hot chocolate and more Christmas stories. Molly and Andrew have spent the last 10 years on a flight home from Chicago to Ireland. They start off as Accidental meets but soon become a planned and much looked forward to event. This year is a bit different as a snow storm means their usual journey ends up being a whole lot tricker. I loved following them on the journey home and how they slowly went from being friends to more. My favourite bit was when they finally got home and spend time with each others familys they slid into each others lives seamlessly. I really enjoy Catherine Walsh's writing every time i read one of her books it makes me want to go to Ireland so badly. A really enjoyable festive read. I enjoyed the narration but I did find the narrators accent a bit hard to decipher at times but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story

Hilarious …

Catherine Walsh is a new author for me but after reading this funny and most excellent book I’ll definitely read more of her books. I laughed out loud a lot especially with Zoe. A great Christmas story.