Hot Chocolate and Holiday Mishaps

by Samantha Picaro

Ellie Conti finds comfort and joy in her movie and TV show review blog, especially after failed efforts to keep a job or join a club. She's happy to try new things based on the movies and shows she watches, even if she sometimes wishes she had a friend to do them with.

She plans for a low-key holiday season until her older sister, Bianca, asks for help. Bianca works for a celebrity manager and requests Ellie's help in keeping an eye on a client named Robin Darcy, a teen actress. Ellie agrees to help so Bianca can gain her boss's approval and so Ellie can promote her blog. Robin participates in the town's holiday activities to fix her negative public image following a holiday-related incident.

Mishaps ensue such as a holiday cookie fight despite trying to keep Robin out of trouble. It doesn't help that Robin makes her displeasure known about having to improve her image and being chaperoned by someone close to her age. But through hot chocolate and honest talks, they form a bond that motivates them to leave their comfort zones and learn to let people in.

Genres: Christmas

Paperback

First published November 3, 2025

About the author

Samantha Picaro is the author of LIMITLESS ROADS CAFE and RECIPE FOR CONFIDENCE. When not writing or at her non-writing job, you can find her trying new coffee flavors, reading (of course), and volunteering for various causes. She lives in New Jersey.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review, all my opinions are my own (highly recommend her btw. She's awesome!)
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The mood boost I needed:)

I'm in the minority not liking Christmas/Xmas romances... the Christmas 🎄 part always seems to take a backseat and shove the romance forward.

Not knocking the genre down, it's just not for me.. I'll admit it does get frustrating weeding through everything to find ones I'm interested in reading 📚.

This was a breath of fresh air and really captures the spirit of Christmas and that "special something" in the air that just gives you the warm feeling in your chest... hard to explain the way Xmas made me feel.

Loved getting to know Ellie (and that she's an aroace autistic girl as well!) , her family and Robin and seeing Robin and Ellie's friendship evolve.

There is a pressure during the holidays to never be sad or angry... there's nothing wrong with not feeling it and wanting to not celebrate.. some have their own very personal reasons for it.

I liked seeing how protective Ellie's mom was of her (definitely related to the anxiety issues!) and seeing both Ellie and Robin getting braver bit by bit.

Jane grew on me a smidge by the end... made her seem more human and I could see her side and ways of thinking.

Wanted to hug Bianca 🫂 so many times and encourage her to stand up for herself more.. wish we had more bonding between the sisters but what we did get was sweet:).

A wonderful book and I'm grateful for the opportunity to read the ARC and that I had enough mental energy to read it ✨️.

Would recommend this and her other books :).

This one releases Nov 3rd, 2025 ❤️.

[Angelica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very unique book about belonging and friendship centered around the holiday season. Unique in that the main characters were neurodivergent (rather than neurotypical) and that added more nuance to the story overall. It was great to see the characters dealing with their unique perspective in the world and how hard they try to "fit in" to the neurotypical culture - deciding in the end that their story and their reality was more important than trying to fit in. I loved that so much for both characters and was heartened to know that they would continue to thrive in any situation they faced - and, of course, if they had some hot chocolate to help them center themselves.

I received an ARC copy of this book and am leaving a voluntary review.

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Advanced reader's copy review

This book made me so ready to skip fall completely and go straight to the winter season. The holiday vibes were absolutely perfect! I loved how each chapter opened with a different tradition, from decorating cookies to snowball fights. I am also a huge fan of hot chocolate in winter and all seasons, just like our main character Ellie, so I loved her from that alone. But I also loved her passion for her blog and representation in media, her fearlessness determination trying new things based on what she watched, and her phenomenal development putting herself out there in the public eye and making new friends. But as much as I adored Ellie, I struggled the other characters a bit. I didn’t love the way Bianca consistently put her job over Ellie, and I wanted more sibling bonding between them instead. I was also impatient with Robin’s development. So often it felt like she was so close to realizing the problems with her behavior, and then didn’t. Lastly, I did not like Jane at all. But overall this was an amazing holiday book that I recommend!

Thank you to the author for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Books4Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hot Chocolate and Holiday Mishaps by Samantha Picaro is the perfect story to get anyone in the holiday spirit.

It may just be October, but Samantha Picaro's latest novel will put anyone in the holiday mood. There are so many things I absolutely adored about this book & I've listed a few below.

First off, I really loved this story and its focus on friendships and how they can be just as important as romantic relationships.

Second off, I really loved that this story features an autistic teen girl and is about her experience with everything from jobs to making friends. I really loved the lesson regarding trying new things and now trying to fit yourself into a box that will make other people more comfortable. "Don't be afraid to be yourself" may sound cliche, but it really is a message I think any reader can look at and truly think deeper about in regards to if they are really being authentically themselves.

The last two aspects of this book that I wanted to praise are the family dynamic and Ellie's blog. I really loved the dynamic that Ellie, her mom and her sister have together. They all really seemed to gel well as a family and positive family dynamics are things I really love to read about. Ellie's movie review blog was also particularly relatable to me as I am also someone who is interested in pop culture and movies. The angle of Ellie also using her blog to try new activities and talk about them was something that I thought was both really unique as a concept and something I also realized I tend to do myself a lot. So that was just something I really enjoyed seeing in a character.

Overall, this story is full of fun holiday traditions, great lessons, family, friendship and so much more. Anything written by Samantha Picaro will always be an instant book buy for me and I am honored to have been able to review an ARC for her latest novel as well as share that review with all of you. If you want to experience all the fun and feels that this holiday release has to offer, then be sure to purchase Hot Chocolate and Holiday Mishaps when it is released on November 3rd.

I received a copy of this ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review on my platform.

[Sandie Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn’t my typical book but I throughly enjoyed & loved it. It’s got neurodivergent characters & mental health issues that might trigger some but the message behind the book is to be kind & tell your truth but not to hurt anyone. Allow others to be themselves & never judge what you don’t fully know or understand. I think a lot of celebrities could see themselves in this book & understand one of the two main characters. It was funny, sad, humorous & thought provoking. I’ve been through some of the emotions the characters in this book have gone through & it’s hard but I’m stronger for it. Everyone needs to read this book to be a wee bit more understanding in this world. This book gets you into the Christmas holiday spirit if nothing else does.

[Emilie Ocean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great read! Perfect to get you into the winter holidays spirit. Super happy to have been gifted this arc. The FMC is autistic and queer, which is so refreshing. Many other characters are also queer. Some of them are autistic, too. And bipolar 1 is also mentioned. This novel also has bipoc rep. The cast is very diverse, and I’m sure most readers will feel represented. The plot focuses on the unlikely friendship between two teenage girls (respectively 17 yo and 18 yo) in New Jersey, USA. I definitely recommend this book!

[Sixella MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small Business BookTok ARC Reviews (BookTome Edition): “Hot Chocolate and Holiday Mishaps” by Samantha Picaro

Note: This ARC was given to me for free by the author, and I am reviewing this book voluntarily.

Ellie Conti is a Media Reviewer and Blogger with a love of Hot Chocolate and spending the Holidays with her family. Robin Darcy is a Teen Actress who is labeled by the media as a “Grinch” and is constantly monitored and criticized by her viewers and her manager. When Bianca, Ellie’s sister, puts in a request to have her watch over Robin at Holiday events to help with the star’s public image, the two unlikely partners will find that comfort zones will be tested, holiday shenanigans will ensue, and an unlikely friendship will form!

From the author that brought you “Recipe for Confidence” comes Samantha Picaro’s first YA Holiday novel! Picaro effectively blends a classic, feel-good Holiday narrative that will make you crave for the titular seasonal beverage with a heartfelt story of friendship and solidarity that incorporates strong Neurodiverse and Aro/Ace representation. The narrative is also not afraid to tackle serious subject matter in an informative, respectful manner such as Toxic Positivity, the toxic practices and pressures Hollywood places on child actors, and the systemic ableism and disregard to mental health that still persists within some spaces of the media industry. Want to check out this absolute must-read this Holiday Season while diving into a cup of Hot Chocolate? Then don’t miss out on this book when it hits online shelves on November 3, 2025!

Rating: 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

- Tropes: YA Fiction, Small Town Narrative, Autism/Neurodiverse Representation, Forced Proximity (Platonic), Bi & Aro/Ace Representation, Small Town Backdrop, Media Reviewer/Blogger FMC, Teen Actress FMC, Holiday Activities-Gone-Wrong, Holiday Narrative, Reluctant Partners-to-Friends, Self-Discovery Narrative, and Self-Healing Narrative.

- Trigger Warnings: Discussions of Systemic Abelism, Discussions of Bullying, Family-Conflict (On and Off Page), Toxic Parenting (Off-Page), Mentions of Child Abandonment by a Parent (Historical), Discussions of Mental Health, and Discussions of the Toxicity of Hollywood’s Complex Management of Child Stars.

[Isabelle D · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an aroace, probably autistic and very obviously anxious girl, I just feel like thanking the author for creating such a relatable MC. Also, the story was fun to read, I liked the focus on friendship (even if I'm aegoromantic and therefore not at all averse to romance in fiction, it's always nice to see characters liking each other in a platonic way), and of course its holiday theme is perfect for this time of year.