Confessions of a Christmasholic by Joss Wood

Title: Confessions of a Christmasholic

Author: Joss Wood

Publisher: HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter

Publication date: October 19, 2023

Intro

Drunk, broke, and unemployed, Sutton comes into Gus' life like a tornado. Gus doesn't really have the time to deal with a drunk stranger, but recognizing that Sutton is the victim of some unfortunate circumstances, Gus welcomes her into his home for the holidays as his nanny. He has his hands full with his twins at the best of times, but nicknamed Mr. Christmas, he is especially busy during the holidays and he could definitely use some help.

Falling for each other is not the goal, but it doesn't take long for sparks to start flying.

My thoughts

This was definitely a cute, easy read, and if you're looking for a quick holiday Hallmark-esque book set in a small town that is reminiscent to that of Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls, to get you into the holiday spirit, this could be the book for you! It's adorable overall and easy to read in just a few hours if you're looking to cozy up with a book on a chilly afternoon.

However, if you're looking for anything deeper than just a cute holiday romance, this may not be the book for you. It was very fast paced, and while the relationship between Gus and Sutton was cute, it felt very superficial. When they were having thoughts about falling in love, or having thoughts about already being in love, I found it very hard to believe because they had very little under their belt in terms of meaningful interactions that would lend themselves to falling in love. So if you can't get behind insta-love, or at least, close to insta-love, you might not love this story.

I also wish that the backstories of Gus and Sutton were developed more. It is mentioned multiple times that Sutton had to grow up fast because it was up to her to raise her siblings, and Gus was having marital issues before his wife passed away. Both of these things were mentioned multiple times but the author didn't provide much more details than that. I feel like if those backstories were developed into deeper, I would have felt more connected to the characters.

Lastly, I feel like the ending came about a little abruptly and because of that, I would have loved to see an epilogue. I would have loved to see how Sutton and Gus handled everything a couple months down the road from where the proper story left off.

Despite my small gripes, I enjoyed the novel for exactly what it was. I was on the look out for a cute holiday read and that's exactly what was delivered.

First Line Friday (20): Confessions of a Christmasholic by Joss Wood

First Line Friday is a bookish tag hosted over at Abstract Books that is used to showcase your favourite first lines of books.

There really is something to be said about a good first line, and I'm going to be using this tag from now on to showcase my current read's first lines.

My current read this week is Confessions of a Christmasholic by Joss Wood.

'I love you, you love meeeeee...'

Sutton Alsop couldn't remember the next line to the song she'd sing to her younger half-siblings and wrinkled her nose. Given she'd belted it out about a million times, it should be burned on her mental hard drive. Maybe if she tried again. 'I love you, you love me...'

Goodreads synopsis

Sutton Alsop hates Christmas. So much so, when confronted with a house that looks like Santa himself vomited Christmas all over it, she accidentally (drunkenly) destroys every fairy light, fake reindeer and candy cane in sight. Unfortunately for Sutton, this house belongs to none other than Gus Langston, single dad and owner of the village’s year-round Christmas shop – aka Mr Christmas himself. But Mr Christmas has a secret only Sutton knows… With the two of them forced together for the holidays, the sparks between them are hot enough to melt even the coldest of hearts!

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Confessions of a Christmasholic was published on October 19, 2023, and my review of this little Christmas romance will be published tomorrow! You can add Confessions of a Christmasholic to your Goodreads TBR here!

Teaser Tuesday (24): Confessions of a Christmasholic by Joss Wood

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly meme hosted by MizB of Should be Reading. Anyone can participate in Teaser Tuesdays. Just do the following:• Grab your read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• Be careful not to include spoilers!
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

For this week's Teaser Tuesday, I'm sharing teasers from Confessions of A Christmasholic by Joss Wood.

Goodreads synopsis

Sutton Alsop hates Christmas. So much so, when confronted with a house that looks like Santa himself vomited Christmas all over it, she accidentally (drunkenly) destroys every fairy light, fake reindeer and candy cane in sight. Unfortunately for Sutton, this house belongs to none other than Gus Langston, single dad and owner of the village’s year-round Christmas shop – aka Mr. Christmas himself. But Mr. Christmas has a secret only Sutton knows… With the two of them forced together for the holidays, the sparks between them are hot enough to melt even the coldest of hearts!

My teasers

"He'd been so busy he hadn't even had time to go into the storeroom and bang his head against the wall in frustration, something he'd done more than once before."

"All he wanted was to come home to a quiet house, a stiff whiskey and a long bath. But mostly he craved a quiet house free of anything Christmassy."

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Confessions of a Christmasholic will be released in two days, on October 19, 2023, and you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here!