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Mint to Be
Pour yourself a cup of hot chocolate and settle into the holiday spirit with this sweet and cozy winter romance by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc, author of the hit Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice! Perfect for fans of holiday rom-coms and Gilmore Girls.
It’s been eight months since seventeen-year-old Emma left the quaint town of Briar Glen to attend boarding school in New York City. Now, she’s back—and she’s not Her new boyfriend, Sam, has come to visit the most picturesque village in New England during the most magical time of the year.
But there’s a chill in the air, and not just because it’s winter. Emma’s best friend, Aiden, isn’t all too happy to see her after she left without so much as a goodbye. He and Emma have known each other since elementary school, and they used to do everything together. They even share a favorite a peppermint hot chocolate from their favorite coffee shop, Cup o’ Jo. This was where Emma first told Aiden she was thinking of leaving Briar Glen. It was also where Aiden had planned to confess his growing feelings for Emma -- before she showed him her acceptance letter and everything changed.
With Emma back in the picture -- and with a new boyfriend in tow -- will she and Aiden be able to break the ice?
It’s been eight months since seventeen-year-old Emma left the quaint town of Briar Glen to attend boarding school in New York City. Now, she’s back—and she’s not Her new boyfriend, Sam, has come to visit the most picturesque village in New England during the most magical time of the year.
But there’s a chill in the air, and not just because it’s winter. Emma’s best friend, Aiden, isn’t all too happy to see her after she left without so much as a goodbye. He and Emma have known each other since elementary school, and they used to do everything together. They even share a favorite a peppermint hot chocolate from their favorite coffee shop, Cup o’ Jo. This was where Emma first told Aiden she was thinking of leaving Briar Glen. It was also where Aiden had planned to confess his growing feelings for Emma -- before she showed him her acceptance letter and everything changed.
With Emma back in the picture -- and with a new boyfriend in tow -- will she and Aiden be able to break the ice?
304 pages, Paperback
First published October 7, 2025
295 people are currently reading
4345 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 453 reviews
November 27, 2025
⋆˚꩜｡𐔌՞. 2.5 stars .՞𐦯⋆. 𐙚 ˚
this feels like every other ya romance and not in a good way 😭
this feels like every other ya romance and not in a good way 😭
September 2, 2025
Yay! A new YA Christmas book!!! 🎄🎅
And what a long wait it has been!!!
I love Christmas books, but there is a shortage of YA Christmas books out there, so I am always excited for a new one to come out. It’s been a few years now so we were long overdue for some YA Christmas vibes.
And this book delivered!!! It was so cute and Christmassy!!!
This is definitely a book that will leave you craving the mint hot chocolate that Emma and Aiden always ordered together. I also loved the Christmas vibes of the small town.
The story wasn’t just about coming home for Christmas though. It was a nice story about growing up and the worries about growing apart from friends.
The relationship is friends to more which was really sweet, especially since it was told in the present and the past so you could really see a connection between them over the years. It was more focused on the relationship than Christmas overall, but the Christmas season was a perfect backdrop to the story and there was still plenty of festive fun.
This book was basically a YA version of a Hallmark Christmas movie and I loved every second of it! This author is a talented seasonal reader. I would love a new Christmas book by her every year!!!
And that cover is adorable too!!!
And what a long wait it has been!!!
I love Christmas books, but there is a shortage of YA Christmas books out there, so I am always excited for a new one to come out. It’s been a few years now so we were long overdue for some YA Christmas vibes.
And this book delivered!!! It was so cute and Christmassy!!!
This is definitely a book that will leave you craving the mint hot chocolate that Emma and Aiden always ordered together. I also loved the Christmas vibes of the small town.
The story wasn’t just about coming home for Christmas though. It was a nice story about growing up and the worries about growing apart from friends.
The relationship is friends to more which was really sweet, especially since it was told in the present and the past so you could really see a connection between them over the years. It was more focused on the relationship than Christmas overall, but the Christmas season was a perfect backdrop to the story and there was still plenty of festive fun.
This book was basically a YA version of a Hallmark Christmas movie and I loved every second of it! This author is a talented seasonal reader. I would love a new Christmas book by her every year!!!
And that cover is adorable too!!!
December 26, 2025
❄️❤️”Mint To Be”💚🎄
4⭐️
This book was SO much better than “Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice” A few of the reasons were…
1. The couple ACTUALLY got together, they didn’t flirt one day and act like they DIDN’T like each other the next day!!🙄😒
2. The Christmas vibes were amazing!!💚❤️ This one actually gave more Gilmore Girls vibes than the first one. Which is pretty surprising because the first book was a fall themed book and Gilmore Girls is more fall-ish.
3. I surprisingly wasn’t annoyed with the Emma(FMC). She was actually a really good, sweet and smart character and I loved her WAY more than Lucy from the first book Lucy was just………annoying🫣
4. I know I made it sound like I hated the characters from the first book, but I when it showed Lucy and Jack officially together…I squealed 😆
5. I LOVED Mackerel, he was so cute! I just wanted to squeeze him!!🥹💗*also for context Mackerel is a dog😂*
So this was a very cute read for Christmas and I definitely recommend if you need a good, clean and short Christmas read!!😊💗🎄
4⭐️
This book was SO much better than “Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice” A few of the reasons were…
1. The couple ACTUALLY got together, they didn’t flirt one day and act like they DIDN’T like each other the next day!!🙄😒
2. The Christmas vibes were amazing!!💚❤️ This one actually gave more Gilmore Girls vibes than the first one. Which is pretty surprising because the first book was a fall themed book and Gilmore Girls is more fall-ish.
3. I surprisingly wasn’t annoyed with the Emma(FMC). She was actually a really good, sweet and smart character and I loved her WAY more than Lucy from the first book Lucy was just………annoying🫣
4. I know I made it sound like I hated the characters from the first book, but I when it showed Lucy and Jack officially together…I squealed 😆
5. I LOVED Mackerel, he was so cute! I just wanted to squeeze him!!🥹💗*also for context Mackerel is a dog😂*
So this was a very cute read for Christmas and I definitely recommend if you need a good, clean and short Christmas read!!😊💗🎄
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
dnf
November 27, 2025dnf@26%
I did not realize this was YA, which doesn’t make a huge difference to me, I don’t mind reading YA but my god this was so boring, I could not get into the story
I did not realize this was YA, which doesn’t make a huge difference to me, I don’t mind reading YA but my god this was so boring, I could not get into the story
October 12, 2025
˗ˏˋ꒰🎄꒱ 𝟏 𝐒𝘁𝗮𝗿
↠━༻◆༺━↞
ᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ; [ 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝘽𝙚 ] [ 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶-𝗞𝘂𝗰 ]
1:07 ——◦———— -4:05
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ
» 。° .•☕ ༄
When I first received the arc, I was really excited about the premise. Tension between best friends and then a boyfriend as well? And also set during Christmas? I thought that I would really enjoy Mint to Be, but it's not the book for me.
༄ ⭐ .• ° 。«
Everything in this novel to me fell flat. The plot pacing was way off, and the romance isn't believable. The romance between Emma and Aiden doesn't actually start developing until 70% of the way through the story, and that's when it's first stated that Emma has feelings for Aiden. Aiden, we find out early on. I also can't see how Aiden would like Emma because she was pretty rude to him when she told him she was leaving for New York. Of course, he's going to be sad that's his best friend is leaving!
» 。° .• ☕ ༄
The writing was the biggest deal breaker for me, and it's really one thing that did it. I kid you not, there were more than one exclamation point on every page. Every page in places they weren't supposed to be. I saw so many exclamation points that I started focusing on that and not the story.
.。༅:*ﾟ𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ꒱
🎁 ·˚ 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗮 ˊˎ
༻————↠
Emma is one of those characters that only thinks positively. She also always plans her future and desires to get out of her town to explore the world. She is always late to meetings, and I noticed that she spews fun facts when she's nervous or excited. All of this is sweet, but Emma doesn't act like a 17-year-old girl to me. She acted more like she was in middle school, which we get povs from, and I don't see her shift in personality at all, even when she was in elementary school.
🎁 ·˚ 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 ˊˎ
༺————↞
If I see Aiden mention one more time about how "it's how my family is" I will go crazy. He repeated three lines without fail that I was beginning to think he was a robot. I wish that Aiden had more character to him than just liking Emma and being involved in the family business. There was so much potential with him that was just lost. He also forgave Emma WAY too quickly in my opinion and doesn't have that slow to trust arc that typically happens in these types of situations.
↠━ ☕ 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ━↞
Overall, I am disappointed with this story. I wish the romance had more development and that Aiden was slower to forgive Emma. Emma not acting her age also threw me off and Aiden not really having a purpose in the story. I just wish there was more to the story that I could connect with but this story wasn't for me.
🎄 ––––———–––––———–┊༄
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc copy!
» 。° .• 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ༄
༻————↠
I received the arc a month ago but life has been busy, so I'm just now getting to it!
↠━༻◆༺━↞
ᴺᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸᶦⁿᵍ; [ 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝘽𝙚 ] [ 𝗞𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲 𝗖𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶-𝗞𝘂𝗰 ]
1:07 ——◦———— -4:05
↠ⁿᵉˣᵗ ˢᵒⁿᵍ ↺ ʳᵉᵖᵉᵃᵗ ⊜ ᵖᵃᵘˢᵉ
» 。° .•☕ ༄
When I first received the arc, I was really excited about the premise. Tension between best friends and then a boyfriend as well? And also set during Christmas? I thought that I would really enjoy Mint to Be, but it's not the book for me.
༄ ⭐ .• ° 。«
Everything in this novel to me fell flat. The plot pacing was way off, and the romance isn't believable. The romance between Emma and Aiden doesn't actually start developing until 70% of the way through the story, and that's when it's first stated that Emma has feelings for Aiden. Aiden, we find out early on. I also can't see how Aiden would like Emma because she was pretty rude to him when she told him she was leaving for New York. Of course, he's going to be sad that's his best friend is leaving!
» 。° .• ☕ ༄
The writing was the biggest deal breaker for me, and it's really one thing that did it. I kid you not, there were more than one exclamation point on every page. Every page in places they weren't supposed to be. I saw so many exclamation points that I started focusing on that and not the story.
.。༅:*ﾟ𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 ꒱
🎁 ·˚ 𝗘𝗺𝗺𝗮 ˊˎ
༻————↠
Emma is one of those characters that only thinks positively. She also always plans her future and desires to get out of her town to explore the world. She is always late to meetings, and I noticed that she spews fun facts when she's nervous or excited. All of this is sweet, but Emma doesn't act like a 17-year-old girl to me. She acted more like she was in middle school, which we get povs from, and I don't see her shift in personality at all, even when she was in elementary school.
🎁 ·˚ 𝗔𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻 ˊˎ
༺————↞
If I see Aiden mention one more time about how "it's how my family is" I will go crazy. He repeated three lines without fail that I was beginning to think he was a robot. I wish that Aiden had more character to him than just liking Emma and being involved in the family business. There was so much potential with him that was just lost. He also forgave Emma WAY too quickly in my opinion and doesn't have that slow to trust arc that typically happens in these types of situations.
↠━ ☕ 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 ━↞
Overall, I am disappointed with this story. I wish the romance had more development and that Aiden was slower to forgive Emma. Emma not acting her age also threw me off and Aiden not really having a purpose in the story. I just wish there was more to the story that I could connect with but this story wasn't for me.
🎄 ––––———–––––———–┊༄
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc copy!
» 。° .• 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 ༄
༻————↠
I received the arc a month ago but life has been busy, so I'm just now getting to it!
January 2, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️☆ (3.3 stars)
Mint to Be by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc
Mint to Be is a sweet, cozy romance with a fun premise and plenty of charm, even if it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. Katie Cicatelli-Kuc delivers an easy, comforting read that’s perfect when you’re in the mood for something light and low-stakes.
The story shines most in its setting and concept. The bakery backdrop is delightful, and the use of food—especially the mint-themed touches—adds warmth and personality. There’s an inviting, small-town feel that makes the book pleasant to sink into, and fans of gentle romances will appreciate the wholesome, feel-good tone.
That said, the pacing can feel uneven, and the romance itself develops a bit too safely. While the leads are likable, their chemistry doesn’t always spark as strongly as it could, and some emotional beats feel rushed or underexplored. A bit more depth in the characters’ inner conflicts and higher stakes would have made the story more memorable.
Overall, Mint to Be is a solid, comforting romance that’s enjoyable in the moment but may not linger long after the final page. It’s a nice pick for readers who love bakery settings and soft, cozy love stories—just don’t expect major surprises or intense emotional payoff.
Mint to Be by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc
Mint to Be is a sweet, cozy romance with a fun premise and plenty of charm, even if it doesn’t quite reach its full potential. Katie Cicatelli-Kuc delivers an easy, comforting read that’s perfect when you’re in the mood for something light and low-stakes.
The story shines most in its setting and concept. The bakery backdrop is delightful, and the use of food—especially the mint-themed touches—adds warmth and personality. There’s an inviting, small-town feel that makes the book pleasant to sink into, and fans of gentle romances will appreciate the wholesome, feel-good tone.
That said, the pacing can feel uneven, and the romance itself develops a bit too safely. While the leads are likable, their chemistry doesn’t always spark as strongly as it could, and some emotional beats feel rushed or underexplored. A bit more depth in the characters’ inner conflicts and higher stakes would have made the story more memorable.
Overall, Mint to Be is a solid, comforting romance that’s enjoyable in the moment but may not linger long after the final page. It’s a nice pick for readers who love bakery settings and soft, cozy love stories—just don’t expect major surprises or intense emotional payoff.
January 1, 2026
idk smth was off...like it was too quick and too childish... and I want more, but then again I don't? Overall, the winter vibes were great, and that overpowered anything else (except Sam...he was really rude...not very jolly after all, tsk tsk ?)
December 23, 2025
If you are over the age of 11, do not pick up this book. I finished it solely to be qualified to say that. I don’t even know WHAT I just read.
January 13, 2026
It was cute and I liked Emma, but Sam and Aiden were annoying and I was mostly just bored. I doooo really want a peppermint hot chocolate now tho!!! & to go sledding! :)
November 10, 2025
genuinely did not enjoy this book :/ the chemistry between emma & aiden was non existent imo. and they just didn’t make sense. in the long run this would 100% be a couple that did not stay together. they’re so different and they talk about it every other conversation they have. i feel like sam was only introduced so we could feel like aiden was a better fit for emma than him, but he was just an asshole. also aiden is boring af sorry & emma does deserve better 🤧
October 27, 2025
A cute, YA second chance, holiday small town romance that has a college freshman coming home for Christmas with her big city boyfriend only to have to confront her feelings for her childhood sweetheart and the one she left behind. This was charming but nothing super standout for me. A lighthearted read that was low on angst and high on drama and perfect for fans of authors like Lynn Painter.
December 26, 2025
this was actually so soulless
December 28, 2025
Oh, how I love romance books with no chemistry whatsoever!!
November 21, 2025
Book Review 📖🎄❤️❄️
thank you so much partner @ireadya @storygramtours for the gifted copy!
Mint to Be
by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc
out now!
Emma Sherman left without saying goodbye -- and her best friend, Aiden, is furious. He knew Emma was thinking of leaving their quaint New England town of Briar Glen for boarding school in New York City. She had shown him her acceptance letter at Cup o' Jo, their go-to coffee shop, over a mug of their favorite peppermint hot chocolate ... before he got the chance to confess his true feelings for her.
Emma knows she shouldn't have left without saying goodbye, not matter how frosty things got between them. Especially now that Emma is back in town, and she's brought her new boyfriend, Sam, to visit for the holidays. Talk about icy conditions.
As things grow colder between them, Emma and Aiden must find a way to repair their friendship -- but this time, even a peppermint hot chocolate may not be enough to break the ice.
❄️ My thoughts :
So cute! The scratch and sniff sticker on the cover makes my heart happy and it smells delicious. This is the first book I read by this author BUT I do own and will definitely be reading Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice… I just couldn’t wait to read this one! It’s a sweet YA romance where childhood friends become lovers (one of my faves). As with any YA it is a quick read and I had a good time the whole time. I was feeling all the nostalgia of young love and the importance of friendship first in relationships. If you’re looking for a cozy holiday romance that you can read in one sitting because of the holiday hustle and bustle… this is the one to pick up. Mint to be is out now and is the perfect book to add to a loved one’s gift this holiday season!
Happy reading 📖 ❄️🎄❤️
thank you so much partner @ireadya @storygramtours for the gifted copy!
Mint to Be
by Katie Cicatelli-Kuc
out now!
Emma Sherman left without saying goodbye -- and her best friend, Aiden, is furious. He knew Emma was thinking of leaving their quaint New England town of Briar Glen for boarding school in New York City. She had shown him her acceptance letter at Cup o' Jo, their go-to coffee shop, over a mug of their favorite peppermint hot chocolate ... before he got the chance to confess his true feelings for her.
Emma knows she shouldn't have left without saying goodbye, not matter how frosty things got between them. Especially now that Emma is back in town, and she's brought her new boyfriend, Sam, to visit for the holidays. Talk about icy conditions.
As things grow colder between them, Emma and Aiden must find a way to repair their friendship -- but this time, even a peppermint hot chocolate may not be enough to break the ice.
❄️ My thoughts :
So cute! The scratch and sniff sticker on the cover makes my heart happy and it smells delicious. This is the first book I read by this author BUT I do own and will definitely be reading Pumpkin Spice & Everything Nice… I just couldn’t wait to read this one! It’s a sweet YA romance where childhood friends become lovers (one of my faves). As with any YA it is a quick read and I had a good time the whole time. I was feeling all the nostalgia of young love and the importance of friendship first in relationships. If you’re looking for a cozy holiday romance that you can read in one sitting because of the holiday hustle and bustle… this is the one to pick up. Mint to be is out now and is the perfect book to add to a loved one’s gift this holiday season!
Happy reading 📖 ❄️🎄❤️
December 18, 2025
2.75✨ ~ and that’s mostly for the dog
July 4, 2025
How cute is this cover?! Also, scratch and sniff, tehe, brings me back to the 90s. Katie Cicatelli-Kuc’s Mint to Be, is a cozy, heart-warming read and that I had the honor to read for an honest review. Set in the picture-perfect Briar Glen during good ol’ Christmas time (I’m a sucker for a Christmas romance read), we’re introduced to 17-year-old Emma and Aiden. Emma is returning home from her boarding school in NYC and she decided to bring her boyfriend Sam with her. Maybe not the best time to bring the new boy home, especially when your best friend who you definitely have feelings for but left behind without a goodbye is going to be around.
The book transitions from past to present, allowing us to see Emma and Aiden’s beginning stages of friendship, eventually leading to them slowing developing feelings for one another. Most of their interactions are tied to their love of peppermint hot chocolate and their favorite place, Cup o’ Jo. Which reads like it’s such a charming place. This book is full of holiday festivities, Christmas magic and small-town charm with a smidgen of teenage drama and angst. This book also falls into the second chance romance meets best friends to lovers trope (but make it PG-13, this is YA after all, hahaha).
Biggest issue with this book was Emma, haha, that sounds terrible but girlie was just too much. She’s barely old enough to vote and she’s like I want out of this adorable little town and dips the minute she gets the chance. But throughout all of the flashback chapters, she doesn’t stop. It’s constantly…this New York…that New York, all right we get it, you want out. But it’s sad because the town is so perfect, her family is sweet as heck and she has this perfect guy who practically fawns over her. But I guess, to each their own, haha. Overall, it was a sweet and easy read, one I hope that everyone enjoys once it’s released.
Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher.
4 stars!
The book transitions from past to present, allowing us to see Emma and Aiden’s beginning stages of friendship, eventually leading to them slowing developing feelings for one another. Most of their interactions are tied to their love of peppermint hot chocolate and their favorite place, Cup o’ Jo. Which reads like it’s such a charming place. This book is full of holiday festivities, Christmas magic and small-town charm with a smidgen of teenage drama and angst. This book also falls into the second chance romance meets best friends to lovers trope (but make it PG-13, this is YA after all, hahaha).
Biggest issue with this book was Emma, haha, that sounds terrible but girlie was just too much. She’s barely old enough to vote and she’s like I want out of this adorable little town and dips the minute she gets the chance. But throughout all of the flashback chapters, she doesn’t stop. It’s constantly…this New York…that New York, all right we get it, you want out. But it’s sad because the town is so perfect, her family is sweet as heck and she has this perfect guy who practically fawns over her. But I guess, to each their own, haha. Overall, it was a sweet and easy read, one I hope that everyone enjoys once it’s released.
Thank you, NetGalley and Publisher.
4 stars!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 3, 2025
this was meh? it didn’t stand out and leave a mark on me but i didn’t hate it. with that being said, it felt a bit flat to me? it does have a dual timeline which gives you an insight into emma and aiden’s friendship prior to her moving to nyc. i ended up switching to audio because i was struggling with the physical book. if you’re looking for a quick festive read, i’d give it a chance. sometimes you just need a cheesy YA holiday romcom.
emma left without saying goodbye and her best friend, aiden, is furious. he knew emma was thinking of leaving their quaint new england town for boarding school in nyc. she had shown him her acceptance letter before he got the chance to confess his true feelings for her. emma knows she shouldn't have left without saying goodbye especially now that she is back in town, and she's brought her new boyfriend, sam, to visit for the holidays. as things grow colder between them, emma and aiden must find a way to repair their friendship but this time, even a peppermint hot chocolate may not be enough to break the ice.
tropes: small town festivities, young adult, friends to lovers/second chance, dual timeline
❄️☕️🦮⛸️🎄
emma left without saying goodbye and her best friend, aiden, is furious. he knew emma was thinking of leaving their quaint new england town for boarding school in nyc. she had shown him her acceptance letter before he got the chance to confess his true feelings for her. emma knows she shouldn't have left without saying goodbye especially now that she is back in town, and she's brought her new boyfriend, sam, to visit for the holidays. as things grow colder between them, emma and aiden must find a way to repair their friendship but this time, even a peppermint hot chocolate may not be enough to break the ice.
tropes: small town festivities, young adult, friends to lovers/second chance, dual timeline
❄️☕️🦮⛸️🎄
December 21, 2025
A YA holiday romance that’s a sweet as peppermint mocha.
☕️
Eight months ago Emma left her hometown to attend boarding school in NYC. Now she’s back for the holidays and brought her new boyfriend with her. She’s worried about seeing her childhood best friend, Aiden, who she left without saying goodbye. Aiden has always been in love with Emma, but feels like he can never find the right time to tell her. A new boyfriend doesn’t help either, but the more time Emma spends home, the more she realizes how much she missed the town, her family, and Aiden.
🍫
This is the perfect YA romance for middle and high schoolers looking for a Hallmark-like story for the holidays. And a scratch and sniff cover?! @scholastic marketing team is on point for that! This was such a hit at my book fair last week @katie_cicatelli_writes
CW: abandonment
I liked it slightly better than Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice, but not much. A little too boring and predictable for me.
☕️
Eight months ago Emma left her hometown to attend boarding school in NYC. Now she’s back for the holidays and brought her new boyfriend with her. She’s worried about seeing her childhood best friend, Aiden, who she left without saying goodbye. Aiden has always been in love with Emma, but feels like he can never find the right time to tell her. A new boyfriend doesn’t help either, but the more time Emma spends home, the more she realizes how much she missed the town, her family, and Aiden.
🍫
This is the perfect YA romance for middle and high schoolers looking for a Hallmark-like story for the holidays. And a scratch and sniff cover?! @scholastic marketing team is on point for that! This was such a hit at my book fair last week @katie_cicatelli_writes
CW: abandonment
I liked it slightly better than Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice, but not much. A little too boring and predictable for me.
December 26, 2025
2 stars.
This book is extremely boring! The flash backs (most of the time) weren’t even very important for the story. I wanted to DNF this book since page one, but I ended up finishing it. The story really wasn’t that great, the characters weren’t great and everything kind of sucked! It only got 2 stars from me because the end was slightly exciting.
This book is extremely boring! The flash backs (most of the time) weren’t even very important for the story. I wanted to DNF this book since page one, but I ended up finishing it. The story really wasn’t that great, the characters weren’t great and everything kind of sucked! It only got 2 stars from me because the end was slightly exciting.
December 28, 2025
2.5 ⭐️ oof. I’m having mixed feelings because on one hand I wanted to annotate whole book and on the other I just want to go to the book exchange and forget I even read it. I do not appreciate the lgbtq and in some cases I’m still waiting for the plot to happen. Kinda disappointing. But on a higher note it was pretty cute and the character development was solid.
December 17, 2025
Did I realize this was the same author as pumpkin spice and everything nice? No, no I did not. But it makes sense now. This is what everyone thinks YA should be, bland, plain, and boring. There is more of a story than the pumpkin spice one, but still does not give that much.
December 31, 2025
Super cute reset book. So easy to read. Started annotating it less then 100 pages from the end so I’m slowly going back through and annotating the rest of it but I still have like 200 more pages to do and I’m not gonna let it stop me from moving on to another book.
December 10, 2025
4 1/2 stars 😏😝
December 8, 2025
I thought this was a cute read. But I like her first book better. I did like the characters in this book.
December 10, 2025
3.75 ⭐️
December 17, 2025
teenagers stress me tf out so bad oh my god
December 31, 2025
it was cute!
just not super super special…
still really liked it!!!
4 Stars!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
just not super super special…
still really liked it!!!
4 Stars!!!⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
December 31, 2025
{2.5}
this is what i get for never reading the synopsis
this is what i get for never reading the synopsis
December 11, 2025
i’d give this a 3.5. i was super excited to read it but i expected better. i’m happy I got to read it relatively soon after it came out. The Christmas theme definitely made it better.
November 7, 2025
Super cute Christmas romance. Wholesome and happy.
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