BOOK REVIEW: How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn
Who wouldn't want a festive holiday filled with competitions and second chances?
I loved this book. It was everything I would ever want to look for in a holiday romance. If you haven’t seen this title around, then I’m not sure where you have been and you need to get out to the bookstore right now! It’s not too late to squeeze in one more holiday read! PS… the audiobook is amazing!
This was everything I would ever want in a holiday book…Christmas vomited on the pages with rivals-to-lovers, second chance, sarcastic banter, an obnoxious older sister, an adorable best friend, and a nice dose of spice. My two favorite aspects: The nods to Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the holiday competition plot.
Synopsis:
Every Kringle in Kringletown celebrated Christmas a lot. But Cole Black on Whistler Lane, unfortunately, did not. As his fellow citizens decorate their quaint town, brimming with carols and glad tidings, Cole wants nothing more than to hibernate the winter away. But his dreary plans are thwarted when his Christmas nemesis, Storee Taylor, moves in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Immediately, the new neighbor turns his life into a real nightmare before Christmas, especially when she decides to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest in honor of Cindy. And better yet, Storee is determined to win. Over Cole's dead body, she will. With help from his friend Max, Cole decides to enter the competition as well, to beat Storee at her own game by pretending that this hometown grump's heart has grown three sizes this season and he's fallen for the girl next door. And unfortunately for Storee, she has to follow his lead to have a chance at the Christmas Kringle title. But the competition isn't the only thing that heats up. Cole and Storee's fake relationship becomes very real, and before they know it, they're attempting to hide it from Aunt Cindy. Things get complicated, the competition gets tough, and all it takes is one single night for someone to steal it all…
It’s not going to be a tragedy, because you’re going to enter the competition with me as my holly jolly sidekick.
When it comes to the characters, I didn’t really care for Storee, but I adored Cole. They both are flawed and each is ignorant to the others’ baggage. But, it allows for them to grow as the story moves on. Cole, again, more so as he learns to love Christmas again. His development is well crafted and is linked directly to his ultimate goal…beat Storee in the Kringle Contest. But, all successful main characters need to have the amazing sidekick and Max, yes he even at one point dresses up as a dog, is my second favorite character. I love how his support of Cole. You don’t really see that type of male friendship in books, and it really made my heart full.
Storee, her sister and even her Aunt Cindy annoyed me to different degrees, but I can appreciate the moderate growth and her faked confident personality. She definitely puts on a facade, even though all she cares about is beating Cole. Slowly, that facade crumbles, and by the end she’s decent, but I still struggled to connect.
The story takes place in Kringletown, Colorado - a year-round Christmas town. The setting is absolutely perfect. I loved everything about it. The entire feel and mood of the town and the competition is created through excellent details and descriptions. I loved it all! And the competition itself? So fun! A series of competitions earning points leading up to Christmas Eve. Competitions included house decorating, re-enacting a movie scene, caroling, candy cane making and fruit bake baking. All I can say is that they are fun, often times I found myself giggling.
The conflict is deeper than just their desire to crush the other. They both carry personal, internal struggles. Cole’s are much more complex. His grief consumes him around the holidays, and it is because of Max and Storee, that he is finally able to begin to move forward.
If you are a trope lover, you won’t be disappointed. Some of the tropes you’ll find include:
Fake Dating
Grumpy vs Sunshine
Holiday Competition
Found Family
Rivals to Lovers
Childhood Crush
Overall, it’s an easy to read, well-paced story. The final 3rd of the book may feel a little more rushed than the rest, and the details and descriptions aren’t as drawn out as they are in the first part, but the tone created in the stylistic choices stays consistent throughout. At 480 pages, it is a little long for a rom-com, but once you get hooked, it becomes a quick read.
Cole tried, he truly did, he attempted to keep his poise, But how could he with her? All that noise, noise, noise. She was very unpleasant; he couldn’t stand her in the least. Especially after she took away his chicken parm feast.
Where does it land on my bookshelf?
The top shelf without a doubt. It has been my favorite holiday read this year. It’s festival and spicy with a twist that I haven’t read before. The characters drive the story and the laugh out loud moments that come with each competition builds with each one. The Grinchy-narrator at the beginning of the chapters was also pretty fun, but at the end of the day this was a cute, feel good holiday story. It may be time to find some pineapple candy canes!
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