Best. Pickup line. Ever.
Eli Winters wasn’t expecting romance to strike between aisles of lumber and LED reindeer. He’s just home for the Thanksgiving weekend, helping his sister with her bakery and trying not to drown in the town’s over-the-top Christmas cheer. Then, in Home Depot’s lighting section, a handsome stranger grabs his hand and says, “My ex just walked in—please, play along.”
Before Eli can protest, they’re strolling past garlands and wreaths like the world’s most domestic couple. It’s not until the stranger disappears that Eli realizes: there was no ex. Just the most ridiculous—and effective—pickup line ever.
Noah Carter didn’t plan to lie. He’s the town’s perpetually cheerful event coordinator, always smiling, always “fine.” But the truth is, the holidays have felt hollow for a long time. One impulsive moment in a hardware store changes everything.
When Eli’s sister ‘volunteers’ him to help Noah organize the Christmas Festival, sparks turn into something deeper. Amid tangled lights, late-night cocoa, and small-town gossip, Eli and Noah discover that sometimes the best love stories start with a little pretending.
Because when it’s Christmas—and your heart’s finally ready—you don’t just hold someone’s hand.
You hold on.
If Look Up, Handsome was a low-angst romance, Hold My Hand, It’s Christmas has about as much angst as a perfectly prepared picnic—one you didn’t have to plan—in the most idyllic location your imagination can come up with. You’re there with the man/woman of your dreams, and they are everything you ever hoped they’d be. There is absolutely no tension, miscommunication, or misunderstandings between Eli and Noah. They both experience a little self-doubt, but I don’t think there’s a single human being alive who doesn’t have a twinge or two of self-doubt when first meeting someone. I refuse to call that angst, especially since neither of them lets it keep the completely besotted looks off their faces when they glance at each other. This is the most angst-free romance book I’ve ever read, and because it’s a Christmas book, I’m absolutely here for it.
This was instalove on steroids, a trope that—when done wrong—can leave you with incredulous thoughts floating through your mind as you read the most ridiculous nonsense ever put on paper. But when done right, when written by an author who knows exactly what they’re doing, it feels like a perfect spring day, lying on the fluffiest blanket ever woven, stretched out beneath an old apple tree. The branches form a canopy that blocks just the right amount of sunshine as you stare up at puffy white clouds, picking out the ones that look like bunny rabbits and puppies. In other words, when instalove is written right, it leaves you with the happiest feeling in the world, and you buy into every single word and glance the two MCs exchange. Hold My Hand, It’s Christmas is a perfect example of this, a story that leaves you believing in love at first sight, soul mates, and the magic of Christmas.
Challenges: Yuletide Spirit
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