One Big Happy Family

You'd die before finishing this cringey book if you make a drinking game for this story heavy-handedly bringing up any of the constantly brought-up subjects: 

- age gap romance (literally no one else actually cares about the age difference that matters so much to Julie)
- abusive mothers vs. “perfect mothers” 
- Nick and Dana suddenly remembering they're supposedly at the cabin to grieve and remember their dad, but recovering from that thought in 10 seconds each time
- Dana pining over her ex and being Determined to Not Take Him Back, and then, of course, dropping that plan instantly when he repeats their pattern
- apologizing for not wanting sex due to being injured/sick/upset because of course the partner will expect it anyway??
- Julie making grand gestures without thinking about them to indicate why she's the perfect mom/girlfriend/boss, and then agonizing about them and martyrdom
- shoveled-in inclusion of IBS and poorly handled chronic illness representation

It's not actually a festive story, it's painful and most of these relationships would be toxic in actual people.

This was the perfect weekend read to really prepare me for family gatherings of the holiday season. The writing was so vivid and humorous that I felt as it I was part of the story and the characters were so real I felt like I was part of the family. If you like stories with the perfect blend of romance, family drama, and the curious interaction of family relations all coming together, than this is a book you don't want to miss. Susan Mallory is a new to me author, but I am happy that she has back catalogue so that I can read more by her soon.

Thank you NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing and Canary Street Press for the copy of this book that I read. All opinions here are my own.

Chaotic and fun. For a bit it was hard to get all the characters straight, but it ended up being a sweet, light hearted read.

This is a lovely multi-generational family Christmas romance. Mothers and daughters, sons and in-laws, exes and children—all unexpectedly spend the holidays together in one large “cabin” with excellent acoustics, which helps make up for the lack of communication between the residents. I loved it, and I bet you will too.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. 

Hallmarkie "Messy Family Comes Together" Type. This is a Susan Mallery book, and it is Christmas book from Susan Mallery - so you know you're going to get a lot of drama, but in a very Hallmarkie manner where the drama never gets *too* intense and everything wraps up with a nice dose of Christmas magic by the end. Considering the popularity of both Mallery and Hallmark Christmas movies, this isn't exactly a losing strategy... if a bit "been there, done that".

Where Mallery manages to spin things with this particular one are, well, the particulars - and there are a lot of things here that aren't exactly typical. Irritable Bowel Syndrome shown in all of its complexities in a book? Happens some, not exactly overly common in my experience. Female tow truck company owner? I actually am related to one - a cousin - but she's literally the only one I had ever heard of before reading this book. Age gap romance where the *woman* is the older *and* is on the back side of "middle age" to boot? Done, somewhat, but rarely in this particular combination/ age range. On and on it goes.

Oh, and for anyone who says that this gets way too far out there with just how "together" everything gets... if you've read a few of my other reviews over the years, you know about my own family history - same side as the cousin above, actually. You see, both sets of my grandparents were divorced long before I was ever alive. But my mom's parents in particular? My grandmother remarried, also before I could ever remember anything. My step grandfather was my "second grandfather" (the other died 5 weeks after my birth). And yet there was more than one instance of my grandmother and step-grandfather living on my grandfather's land over the years, including at least one stint in his house with him. So my sense of "weird family relationships" may be a bit skewed, having seen this type of thing - along with several of the exact scenarios Mallery includes in this book - in my own (extended) family over the years.

Ultimately a solid book of its type, and one for anyone looking for a good Christmas family drama to check out.

Very much recommended.