Review: The Christmas Inn

Author: Pamela Kelley

Genre: Romance, Holiday Romance

Rating: 5 / 5

Features:

• Cozy, second chance romance with almost no spice

• Explores themes of change, dealing with loss, and family (both found and literal)

• Set in Cape Cod during the Christmas season

• Hallmark movie in book form

Summary

Riley finally got promoted to content marketing manager at her company then suddenly, her whole department was laid off right before Christmas. Though disappointed, the timing couldn’t be more perfect. Riley’s mother just broke her leg and needs Riley’s help running the inn for the Christmas holiday. Riley is happy to be able to spend more time with family, but she quickly finds out that her high school boyfriend Aidan is staying at the inn with his son Luke for the holidays. As she tries to promote the strangely empty inn and make the holidays special for Luke, Riley begins to wonder if her busy life in Manhattan with her frequently absent boyfriend is the life she still wants. Meanwhile, Franny is mourning the recent loss of her sister, but is staying at the inn for the holidays as part of her sister’s last request. Her sister has already arranged everything for her celebration of life, including a number of letters for Franny to take Franny on one last trip down memory lane and reintroduce her to the place they both loved so much. 

Thoughts

If you are looking for a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form, The Christmas Inn is perfect for you! This cozy, holiday romance set in Cape Cod depicts characters helping each other through the various changes and challenges of life. Though it handles serious topics, this book embraces being a ‘slice of life’ and doesn’t try to delve deeper than it needs to. When exploring these more serious themes, this book does so with great care so that the exploration feels natural to the story and does not change the overall vibe. This book gets 5 stars from me because on top of being a great holiday romance, it manages to have some really impactful moments without feeling forced or overdramatized. Though there weren’t any particular ‘wow’ elements for me, at the end of the day, it is a phenomenal example of a holiday romance.

Most of the critiques I would give this book from a literary standpoint don’t really impact my experience because most books in this subgenre share these same characteristics. Things like the predictability of the story, the use of common tropes, and the slower pace are likely a reason why some people will love this book while others will be turned off by it. I personally feel that if the author still manages to engage me and give me the cozy feel I am looking for despite these tendencies, then the book has achieved what I was looking for. This book manages to do that and a little more.

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Special thanks to NetGalley and Griffin for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!