Deck My Halls: A Christmas Rom Com

by Willow Reeds

Broke. Between jobs. Back in my parents’ house. Not exactly the Christmas I ordered—until my brother’s best friend returns to house-sit next door.

Declan Hayes is a very grown-up NYC lawyer, unfairly hot, and the guy who hung mistletoe like he meant business. One minute we’re co-chairing the town festival; the next we’re snowed in, sharing one bed, and lighting up more than the tree.

He makes me feel wanted—now, not “when my life is together.” But is this just for the holidays, or is he ready to put down roots with me?

Dec(k) My Halls is a spicy, feel-good rom-com featuring brother’s-best-friend chemistry, neighbors-to-lovers nostalgia, mistletoe mayhem, and a swoony HEA.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2025

Reviews

[Kaylen Trejo · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up ⭐
I found the beginning of the book a bit repetitive. And that caused me to almost give up on the story all together. But once I got through the first few chapters, it started picking up.
Holly and Declan have plenty of chemistry, and their hometown of matchmakers sound exactly like the type of shenanigans my own small hometown would come up with. 🤣
The first half is more of a slow burn. But then the forced proximity trope hits and the spice level jumps up. Overall, I thought this was a relatively good seasonal rom com.

[Susan Marie Ballain · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a little bit of a spice added with plenty of rom com! It’s definitely a holiday must read!

[Mallory · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to this book on Audible, and it was rough to get through. Although the story itself wasn’t terrible, the narrators had to be AI or something due to how robotic they sounded. And the not so subtle spicy moments all seemed to kind of come out of no where. Like, the 2 main characters would be having a normal conversation and all of a sudden a spicy thought out loud would come into play. Anyways, the majority of my low rating for this book mostly stems from the awful narration even though I didn’t love the story either.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

hallmark vibes

This book screams hallmark vibes. I’m here for it. Small town, brothers best friend , winter wonderland what more could you want.

[Leopardwolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're looking for a Christmas miracle - you e come to the right place

What a fun, hallmark-y rom com with all the spice you could want.
I found this book by chance (I was making Christmas presents and listening to songs so I wanted a Christmas read) and I devoured this. The story is fun, and easy to get lost in while making scarves for loved ones.
What happens? Well Holly (yeah Christmas remember) gets dumped on by everyone in her life and she goes home to lick her wounds - Dec comes home because he's having panic attacks (honestly his boss isn't helping, I so wanted to shove him ontop of the Christmas tree or maybe a cactus!) anyway they come home and their family homes just so happen to be next to each other - her brother is/was his best friend and he suddenly can't come home and do his usual coordination of the Christmas festival and he nominates Holly and Dec. Honestly I swear he has been planning this from last year as everyone in the small home town are coming together to ensure there's Christmas sparkle everywhere - not to mention the strategically placed festive plant life! This is a truly heart warming, fun and delightful read. Yes the entire village is coming together to ensure that Holly and Dec fall in love - no matter what! And honestly I wouldn't cross some of those ladies - they're wicked with their ideas!

Oh I can't forget about what happens in the cabin!!! 😜

[Heyyoray · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.
This was a cute book to start my holiday reading off. It was the right length, long enough that there’s an actual story, short enough that no unnecessary writing (and therefore reading) was done. This was a fun brother’s best friend (childhood crush/ neighbors to lovers) story, and held the right mesh of anxiety/ life dramas and romantic pining and spice. A very Hallmark ending to tie this book in a nice little bow.

Some of the dialogue was not my favorite, and the MMC refers to the FMC as 'heavy' in past tense multiple times, and I didn't love it.

[Jessica Montoya · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small town full of matchmakers determined to get Holly and Declan together. Forced proximity planning a Christmas festival. A slow burn that turns spicy once the forced proximity hits. A cabin scene you won't forget. This fun, heartwarming Hallmark-vibes rom-com is pure small-town shenanigans. 🎄❤️✨

[Katie Coil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story line, but I listened to it and the virtual voice ruined it for me. Maybe I’ll re-read with the actual book.

[Andrea Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

The audio was too robotic for me. Should have eyeballed it

[R-mig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it, but it was tacky and unoriginal at times.

[Marcia Esders · Rating 3 out of 5]

No place like home

A cute story about teenage crushes turning into adult relationships, and coming home to snowy Vermont. There’s no place like home.

[Nicole Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was ok, but I don’t care for the virtual voice narration. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t get into it. Cute Hallmarky holiday book.

[Amanda Mayfield]

DNF @ 59%

[Baking · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute holiday love story.

[Krista McCue · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars but rounded up.
Cute story line, although predictable.
Slow burn but festive for the season and an easy read when times were hectic.

Audible wasn’t great as it was computer read but wasn’t terrible.