Under the Mistletoe With You

LoveReading Says

I was reading this on the grass in a literal summer heatwave, and it still managed to get me in the festive mood. 

As a reader might hope for and expect from a Christmas-set romcom, there are classic moments of getting to know the neighbours and snow-based mild-peril subplots where Nash and Christopher can help them, but of course really I was racing through it for Nash and Christopher’s sexy sharing a bed and flirting and snogging – please and thank you! 

It is a rare and delicious pleasure to read a trans masc character, especially as a romantic lead, and Nash feels both rom-com-escapist hot (he’s literally a famous romcom actor), but also recognisably grounded and believable. Something I enjoyed about this was how effortlessly and believably the characters’ queer identities are gradually revealed to the reader, and I felt like whether you are within the community or further from it, you were invited into understanding their experiences. I appreciated that Nash's life dramas and conflicts are not around being trans (rather his relationship to fame and creativity journey) but his queer identities are also not ignored. 

You could read this without knowing the backstory and characters from Huxley-Jones’ previous queer Christmas novel, Make You Mine This Christmas, but it definitely helps add to the in-jokes when they’re texting in group chats – so why not make a pairing of it and enjoy the ‘sister’ novel, of Christopher’s sister falling in love with his fake-girlfriend? 

Reviewed by Billy Lindon
Lily Lindon (Billy) is a writer, editor, and bookseller living in London.
More reviews by Billy Lindon

About Under the Mistletoe With You

Ready for a long Christmas break away from his little bakery, Christopher has closed up shop and found someone to stay in his flat over the festive period. Everything is under control. That is, until the mysterious person renting his home turns out to be...

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