Review: Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh

Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh
Series: Fitzpatrick Christmas #1
Published by Bookouture on 2022-10-04
Length: 352 pages
Reviewing Paperback from My Book Shelf
Rating:

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 McFarlane, and Christina Lauren.

My favorite holiday read recently! Holiday Romance by Catherine Walsh is a sweet friends-to-lovers romance about two people trying to get home for Christmas. Molly and Andrew met ten years ago on a flight home to Ireland, and now it has become a tradition meeting at the airport and catching each other up on their lives. Except this year, nothing is going right. A freak snow storm has their flight grounded. While Molly isn’t bothered by the grounding, she knows Andrew is, so she makes a promise to get him home in time for his mom’s Christmas dinner.

My husband had this book in my stocking for Christmas last year, and I read it on Christmas day, and I’ve already reread it for this season. I liked it that much! Molly and Andrew couldn’t be more different and have so much in common at the same time. Molly is an only child who loves her family, but the holidays have never been a big deal to them. So a grounded flight or missed holiday isn’t the end of the world. For Andrew, family is everything, and his family makes the holidays a big to-do every year. So getting home is a must or Christmas will be ruined. Molly who is trying to ignore her real feelings for Andrew in favor of their friendship makes a bold promise to get him home.

This promise takes them across the world, catching planes to other continents to fly around the storm. Their travels quickly become an adventure neither will soon forget. But what really made this story special was their friendship and budding romance. I loved how Walsh depicted it, making it feel true to life. It was like reading a Norah Ephron movie, specifically When Harry Met Sally. The story centers mostly around the current Christmas, but sprinkles in their past throughout the book, showing how they became friends and when feelings began to develop.

Overall, I loved Holiday Romance. It’s a fun romance, filled with sweet scenes and laugh-out-loud moments. I highly recommend it if you are looking for a holiday romance for your weekend reading.

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