I'll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Holiday
Published by HarperCollins on October 8, 2024
Format: eBook (288 pages) • Source: Libby
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For fans of The Holiday comes a heartwarming Christmas house-swap rom-com debut in which finding yourself and finding love come hand in hand.
Bee Tyler needs a break. In the bustling San Francisco tech community, no one ever seems to stand still—especially her perfect sister and business partner, Beth. So when her best friend suggests a getaway on the wildly popular house-swap app, Vacate, Bee decides a countryside retreat might be exactly what she needs.
Clover Mills has had a year. Between losing her mother and making the complicated decision to leave her fiancé, sticking around the idyllic Christmas obsessed town of Salem, Ohio, just doesn’t feel right. So when she hears about Vacate, she jumps at the chance to spend the holidays in the unfamiliar city of San Francisco.
Soon enough, Bee is living in Clover’s cozy Salem cottage, and Clover is living in Bee’s sleek San Francisco apartment. As Clover can’t seem to stop running into Bee’s frustratingly gorgeous sister, Beth, and Bee finds herself spending more and more time with Clover’s ultra charming ex-fiancé, Knox, the two women realize that this Christmas they may find just what they were looking for and more…
Story
I’m a sucker for THE HOLIDAY and any book that promises that kind of “holiday house swap” will certainly make it on my TBR. I went and requested a bunch of Christmas books a few weeks ago and this was the first one that came in on Libby, so I ended up making it my first holiday book of the year!
Clover and her ex-fiance, Knox, are still living on the same property, working the family farm after her mom passes away. Bee is living in San Francisco and looking to escape her twin sister, Beth, after she made some mistakes with their shared company. Luckily Bee’s friend invented a house swap app and the two gals end up leaving their lives behind for the holiday season.
The book saw Clover start to fall for Bee’s sister and Bee begin to fall for Knox – as expected. The story itself was absolutely a cute, drama-free, slow burn romance with practically zero spice. It certainly is a more diverse version of THE HOLIDAY and exactly what I wanted in that regard. There were a lot of character names for no real reason (one of them was named Dee and another was Bee, which should be illegal) and I got a little confused when trying to keep two plotlines straight.
Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels
The premise of following a holiday season in the city along with one in a “Christmas-obsessed” small town in Ohio sounded like the best of both worlds. There were some holiday vibes like ice skating, tree lightings, etc. but I just didn’t FEEL those Christmas feels like I was hoping for. I thought there’d be more with the promise of Christmas Eve but that whole thing kind of blazed by for spoilery reasons I won’t discuss.
Overall
I thought this was super cute. I haven’t read a lot of diverse holiday books so this was much needed for my personal TBR as well as many other people’s, I’m sure. I liked the characters but wish a few side ones were cut out for the sake of my sanity in trying to keep everyone straight. There’s no real drama or miscommunication so I think anyone looking for a wholesome holiday read would find this super enjoyable!
Spectacular by Stephanie Garber Series: Caraval #3.5
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Holiday
Published by Flatiron Books on October 22, 2024
Also by this author: Caraval, Legendary , Finale , Once Upon a Broken Heart , The Ballad of Never After , A Curse for True Love
Format: Hardcover (240 pages) • Source: Purchased
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Welcome, welcome back to the ENCHANTING WORLD of Caraval!
Return to the legendary magic and the whimsical wonder with this BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED holiday novella from #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING author Stephanie Garber.
Snowflakes are falling.
Invitations are arriving.
And holiday magic is swirling in the capital city of the Meridian Empire.It’s Great Holiday Eve Eve. Scarlett Dragna is planning a spectacular Holiday celebration for the city. Donatella is searching for the perfect gift. Julian is looking ridiculously handsome in green. And Legend . . .
Well, sadly, Legend is not fond of the Great Holiday. Tella is hoping her perfect gift will change his mind. Unfortunately, she hasn’t found this perfect gift just yet. But it is Great Holiday Eve Eve. Surely there’s some holiday magic swirling around.
Set after Stephanie Garber's #1 New York Times bestselling Caraval series, this delightful novella will take readers on the ultimate holiday adventure full of clockwork boys, poisoned candy, impish snow globes, merriment, and—if Tella gets her way—love.
Gorgeously illustrated by Rosie Fowinkle, Spectacular is the perfect edition for collectors, readers, dreamers, and lovers of holiday magic.
Story
I’m one of the rare people who enjoyed the CARAVAL series more than OUABH so I was definitely pumped to see this holiday-themed novella come out. I’ll start by saying that I really love this world and the illustrations were gorgeous! Everything from cover to cover was so well-done visually and I loved seeing what was coming next.
Despite that, I was pretty bored throughout. The story follows Tella trying to find a gift for Legend and then a bunch of… weird and creepy stuff happens. I don’t want to explain it because it’s definitely spoilery but I don’t get why THIS was the plot Garber chose for a holiday novella. Many reviews called it “questionable” and “unnecessary” and I completely agree.
Wintery Setting & Holiday Feels
They were following the Great Holiday, which is similar to Christmas but not exactly. I think the atmosphere before and after the major plot of the book was wintery and full of some holiday cheer. Despite not being Christmas, you basically got Christmas-in-a-fantasy-book.
Overall
Clearly this one wasn’t for me and I don’t know how to really review it without giving away the entire plot. I debated if I should even write a review. I think, if you enjoy one or both series, you may like this. The illustrations at a minimum made this a worthwhile read for me personally.
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