When Melanie’s ex-boyfriend Finn shows up unexpectedly at her door asking for a favor, she is furious. After all, this is the same man who publicly dumped her at his sister’s engagement party. Now, just six months later, Finn wants her to pretend they’re back together for a week-long Christmas trip with his family in the Scottish Highlands. The reason? He’s already told his mother they’ve reconciled, and she’s eagerly expecting Mel at the family’s holiday cabin.
Mel agrees to the charade on one condition: at the end of the week, she gets to dump him in front of everyone. It feels like the perfect plan, until the lines between pretending and real feelings begin to blur, and Mel starts to wonder if she actually wants their “fake” relationship to end after all.
This story blends two of my favorite romance tropes, fake dating and second chances, wrapped in a festive Christmas setting. Even though only six months have passed since Mel and Finn’s breakup, I still found myself rooting for them to find their way back to each other. There’s something especially satisfying about second-chance romances where the characters have had time to grow, even just a little.
While I initially expected this to be a purely lighthearted holiday romance, Emily Stone’s books always seem to carry a deeper emotional undertone. Alongside the romance, the story explores how parents’ choices can shape their children well into adulthood. It wasn’t quite the tearjerker some of her other novels have been for me, but I still found myself getting misty-eyed near the end.
The Christmas setting was absolutely delightful. Reading about a snowy holiday in Scotland made me want to curl up under a blanket with a cup of something warm and take in every cozy detail. I especially loved the sibling dynamics and family relationships. As someone without a large family, I could completely relate to Mel feeling overwhelmed by the chaos and closeness of it all.
My one real frustration with the book was the central conflict being driven by miscommunication, one of my least favorite romance tropes. I spent more than one moment wanting to shout at the characters to just talk to each other. While I enjoyed the fake-dating setup and the emotional payoff of a second chance, the lack of honest communication between Mel and Finn was definitely a downside for me. This book truly contained one trope I love and one I strongly dislike.
Still, overall, this was a wonderful way to kick off my December holiday reading.
I find miscommunication in romance books to be frustrating as well. Especially when it is something silly that could easily have been addressed.
It’s my most hated trope because it could be solved so simply!