Rating: 5 stars
#CBR15 Passport Challenge: Recommended by a friend (I'm not sure if I would have ever discovered this book if it wasn't for the amazing Narfna/Ashley
A lot of contemporary romances get described as rom-coms, and in a lot of cases this is just lies, spouted by the publishers to get more people to pick up the books. Make You Mine This Christmas, on the other hand, is both romantic and very funny. I could easily see it as a film in my head.
Haf (it's a Welsh name) lives in York and is overworked and underappreciated doing social media for an environmental charity. She's depressed because her parents are going to Madeira for Christmas, and she is probably going to have to face Christmas all alone. Her non-binary flatmate and best friend Ambrose drags her along to a holiday party, where she meets the handsome Christopher, who is clearly very posh and admits to working in finance in London. The two hit it off, in a deeply platonic way, but quite a bit of booze makes them decide to kiss (awkwardly) under a piece of mistletoe anyway. Because fake relationships have to start somewhere, they are seen kissing by Christopher's ex-girlfriend Laurel, who is there with her boorish new boyfriend Mark, and Laurel just assumes that Haf is Christopher's new girlfriend. To save her new pal from a mortifying explanation to his ex, Haf plays along and agrees that yes, they are dating.
By the next morning (the two fell asleep on Haf's couch watching TV), Laurel has apparently told everyone who knows Christopher about his new flame, and his parents insist that he bring her along to family Christmas. Haf doesn't have any plans, Christopher clearly doesn't feel comfortable telling his parents that what Laurel saw was just a big understanding, and the agreement to fake date is formed. Ambrose thinks they are both idiots. Ambrose is not wrong.
On her way to meet Christopher in London, Haf browses a bookstore at a train station and has the perfect meet-cute with a very beautiful and mysterious woman, with whom she flirts awkwardly, and who recommends she buy Carol by Patricia Highsmith (excellent lesbian flirting strategy there). Unfortunately, the alluring bookshop woman disappears before Haf can get any contact details from her. Cue a little time later, when it turns out that the sexy bookshop lady is none other than Christopher's older sister, who will also be spending Christmas with the family. Haf is pretending to date Christopher but fancies the pants off his sister. Neither sibling seems able to be entirely honest with or able to stand up to their wealthy, but well-meaning parents, who welcome Haf into the family with open arms.
This book has:
- Fake dating, and the many lies that accompany such a scheme
- A whole bunch of excellent queer representation, including our bisexual heroine and her non-binary bestie (Ambrose is amazing, and they steal every scene they are in or mentioned in)
- Lovely fat representation. Haf is plus-size and entirely unashamed about it. The imposing Laurel ends up sewing her a ballgown (for reasons) and there is quite a bit of conversation about how hard it is for larger-sized women to find clothing that isn't either a sack or purchased online
- A very nice sibling relationship between Christopher and Kit
- The awkwardness of pretending to date one sibling (who you feel nothing sexual about at all) and wanting to jump the other sibling (who you very much feel a lot of sexual things for)
- A lot of rich people, who mostly are very nice, if a bit clueless
- Disastrous gingerbread house construction
- Successful gingerbread house construction
- A ridiculous chase sequence through an outdoor Christmas fête, which ends with our heroine having to wade into an icy cold and slimy duck pond to save a baby reindeer from a vicious goose
- A fair amount of pining
- An actual, honest to god, Christmas ball
- Loyal dogs
- Children forced to pull on their big-person pants and be honest with their parents about what they want to do with their lives
- Some final act complications, resulting in a very touching declaration of love at a London train station
There were absolutely parts of this that gave me the same feeling as when reading Boyfriend Material by Alexis Hall. That is by no means a bad thing. I absolutely see why Narfna/Ashley was so enthusiastic about this book, and the many quotes she included in her own review of the book are so much funnier in context. This is clearly going to be a book I revisit for comfort re-reads in the years to come. Now I need to see what else this author has written - I want more!
Judging a book by its cover: As cartoony covers go, I actually think this one is very sweet. We only see the characters from the back, yet to the reader, it's very obvious who each of them is supposed to be. I love that the little cartoon Kit has her walking stick and emerald green coat and that it's obvious that Haf is indeed plus-size.
Crossposted on Cannonball Read
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