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When the Bell Rings
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Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Who doesn’t love Christmas in July (or August, in this case)? This is a cute rom-com set during the holidays, and a perfect escape from the summer heat! I’m not normally a fan of insta-love, but hey, in sapphic romance I choose to believe that anything is possible, and if a drunk half-naked woman in your brand new house on Christmas Eve means you’ve found your soulmate, who am I to argue? This book reads like a Hallmark Christmas movie, where love is possible despite the circumstances and you’re just waiting for the happy ending. A sweet slow burn between Hannah and Elyse who both believe that settling for love with their respective girlfriends is their best chance at finding happiness. One night can change everything, and we get to come along for the ride! There’s witty banter, some deep soul searching, gift giving, lots of doorbell action, and very little angst. A great little sapphic romance that will make you believe in Christmas miracles.
Did Not Finish
July 23, 2026Cute premise, disappointing execution. I can’t read 200 pages of this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Doorbell Is the Real Villain of This Christmas Romance
Claire Donniere’s “When the Bell Rings” keeps interrupting desire until accident becomes choice, fate becomes paperwork, and the ex-girlfriends are shipped off to Paris.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | August 7th, 2026
Doors do more work than declarations in Claire Donniere’s “When the Bell Rings.” Hannah Doyle begins with a spare key in her pocket, preparing to give it to Anna, the girlfriend she has dated for six months and already suspects is not “the one.” At thirty-eight, professionally settled and tired of romantic failure, Hannah has decided that letting somebody move in might prove she is finally capable of letting somebody matter. Within hours, she will use a code she was never meant to know to enter the wrong condominium, climb half-dressed into a stranger’s bed, and discover the flaw in her own metaphor. The planned key goes to Anna. The accidental code opens Elyse.
Even before the farce begins, Anna gives Hannah reasons to hesitate. She cannot remember the name of Hannah’s beloved niece, dislikes the IKEA furniture, wants fewer bookshelves, and treats Ethan and Hannah’s friends as if affection were a pie with only so many slices. Hannah notices each abrasion and files a brief for the defense. Soulmates do not exist, she reasons, so perhaps adulthood means choosing what will do and then doing the work. Asking Anna to move in is therefore less the culmination of intimacy than an attempt to manufacture it.
Mistakes are more efficient. After a heroic amount of Christmas Eve drinking, Hannah is sent by rideshare not to Cedar Palace in North Hollywood but to Cedar Place in Long Beach. Both are new, blandly interchangeable developments; both contain a unit 56; both units still use the temporary code 5656. Hannah lets herself into attorney Elyse Thornton’s home, decides the unfamiliarity must be the haze of having just moved, undresses, and goes to sleep. Elyse arrives expecting an intimate first Christmas with her girlfriend Rowena and instead finds a snoring brunette in her bed with the confidence of Goldilocks after tequila. The coincidence is ridiculous. So is the evening that grows out of it, in the useful, old-fashioned sense of farce. Hannah chose affordable, cookie-cutter housing because she could live with sameness; the plot promptly makes sameness impossible to live with.
Every new complication comes through a door. Rowena arrives and assumes infidelity. Hannah cannot get home. Anna, already suspicious, ends their relationship. Elyse’s friends appear and mistake Hannah for Rowena. A kiss performed for an audience develops an inconvenient afterlife. Transportation fails; girlfriends return; phones ring; the bell rings more. Donniere identifies the 1975 film “The Irony of Fate” as the story’s ancestor, and the resemblance is plain: mistaken place, mistaken identity, one night stretched until probability itself seems to have had a drink. The premise asks us to enjoy the wrong turn before deciding whether we believe in the destination.
The harder test is whether “forever” can be made credible in roughly a day. Donniere worries the question like a loose tooth. Hannah, who begins as the soulmate skeptic, becomes the believer with startling speed. Elyse, initially the more romantic of the two, retreats into jobs, distance, friends, timing, and odds. They exchange defenses. The cynic is suddenly willing to gamble; the romantic starts asking what survives when Christmas Eve gives way to an ordinary Tuesday.
Recognition does the convincing whenever the book stops making speeches for fate. Hannah cares about Elyse’s work with juvenile offenders, not merely that she is a lawyer. Elyse listens when Hannah talks about publishing and the people she loves. Books become a point of contact, then a route into family history: Elyse tells Hannah about the treasured Arthur Conan Doyle volume her mother had to sell during years when money was short after her father’s death; Hannah tells Elyse about losing both parents as a teenager and being raised by her older brother Ethan. The attraction acquires detail. Fate may take the credit, but attention earns it.
In those quieter passages, a day of acquaintance begins to feel crowded with actual knowledge. Hannah learns why Elyse’s legal work matters to her; Elyse learns why Hannah’s brother, friends, and shelves of books cannot be treated as removable clutter. Anna has access to Hannah’s life but does not quite see it. Rowena has access to Elyse’s but seems more interested in styling a life for her than in understanding the one already there. Hannah and Elyse keep asking the next question, then remember the answer. That habit does more for their plausibility than any declaration of cosmic fit: being listened to closely can make six months of companionship look suddenly, embarrassingly approximate.
Prose is less distinctive than the design it carries. Donniere favors short-to-medium sentences, colloquial diction, abundant dialogue, and internal questions that leave little doubt about what either woman is feeling. Hearts race, faces warm, lips become objects of study, doubts are rehearsed and then spoken aloud. The dialogue has speed and comic timing, especially when Hannah’s verbal confidence is running a few seconds ahead of her judgment. In a romance moving at emergency speed, that candor keeps the reader oriented. It also means Donniere sometimes shows a feeling, names it, has the character interpret it, and later lets the lovers discuss it once more. The prose rarely leaves an emotion unattended; occasionally it stays after the emotion has gone to bed. Subtext is not Donniere’s favorite room in the house.
At least the banter needs less supervision. Hannah and Elyse tease each other with the loose ease of people surprised by their own comfort. The sexual scenes are candid, but their most distinctive feature is interruption: Donniere keeps treating desire as a sentence someone else is determined to punctuate. A near-kiss summons the bell. A confession attracts another visitor. By the time Hannah regards the doorbell as a household enemy, the joke has become part of the courtship.
Perhaps Donniere’s sharpest writing happens at the level of arrangement. Hannah tries to leave; circumstance stops her. Later she can leave but does not want to. Later still Elyse wants her to stay. Eventually Hannah leaves because Elyse asks her to, and an action that has been comic for half the novel suddenly hurts. The doorway has not changed. Its meaning has.
Against that pattern comes the book’s best reversal. Hannah first crosses Elyse’s threshold by accident. After sending Hannah away, Elyse travels from Long Beach to North Hollywood, finds Hannah’s nearly identical development, enters with the same code, and discovers Hannah asleep in the corresponding bedroom. The architecture is still absurdly symmetrical. The second entrance is not. Chance gets Hannah through the first door; choice gets Elyse through the second.
Destiny is, for a moment, unnecessary. Elyse’s return says more than another declaration could because chance can arrange an introduction but cannot make the return trip. She must admit that her sensible objections are also fear in respectable clothing. Hannah, meanwhile, has to see that her supposed commitment problem was never an inability to perform commitment. She could offer Anna a key precisely because Anna did not endanger her deeply enough. Wanting Elyse is harder because losing Elyse would matter.
If Donniere allowed that reversal to carry more of the burden, “When the Bell Rings” would retain more of its mess. Anna and Rowena initially make Hannah and Elyse’s attraction genuinely difficult: two women in six-month relationships become emotionally and physically entangled over a single Christmas. Yet both girlfriends steadily accumulate the qualities most useful for clearing the path – jealousy, status obsession, possessiveness, dismissiveness. Rowena even voices the strongest skeptical case against demolishing established relationships in a night, but by then the person making the argument has been made unusually easy to ignore.
More consequential than their unpleasantness is what the novel does with them. Anna and Rowena gradually stop feeling like women who might be hurt and start behaving like evidence for Hannah and Elyse’s correctness. A more difficult book might have allowed an old relationship to remain partly loving and still be wrong, leaving somebody decent to absorb the cost of another person’s revelation. That would not require turning the novel grim; it would merely allow happiness to cast a shadow. Here the lovers grow surer as their alternatives grow thinner. By the time Hannah and Elyse choose each other, almost everything worth choosing instead has been quietly removed.
In the epilogue, cleanup becomes comic relocation. Hannah gives Anna Rowena’s number; Anna and Rowena promptly discover that they are ideal for each other, go to Paris, and embrace the couture-and-status life associated with them all along. It is funny. It is also evasive. Donniere does not merely close the romantic triangle; she sends its discarded corners to Paris together, where even hurt feelings receive excellent tailoring. Then the universe continues filing paperwork: careers align geographically, a kitten appears, cohabitation beckons, and a childhood book returns with astonishing precision.
That last coincidence is where abundance becomes overproof. Elyse had already made the lost Arthur Conan Doyle volume matter through the story of her parents and her mother’s financial hardship. Hannah’s understanding of that loss was enough. When the antique copy Hannah owns turns out to be the exact book Elyse lost, meaning is given a certificate of authenticity it did not need. The matching developments and 5656 created the miracle; Elyse’s return gave it purpose. By the epilogue, providence has become administratively thorough.
Readers with a generous appetite for holiday enchantment may find that thoroughness delightful; others will feel the book certifying feelings that had already earned admission. The difference is less a dispute about plausibility than about how much providence a happy ending can bear before it starts doing the characters’ work for them. “Kiss Her Once for Me” by Alison Cochrun also understands how a queer Christmas encounter can seem to suspend ordinary time, but Cochrun lets a year test the memory of one night. “Written in the Stars” by Alexandria Bellefleur offers another useful contrast between romantic skepticism and the humiliating arrival of feeling. Donniere is broader than either and less interested in leaving motives mixed, but she is also less inclined to apologize for improbability.
Ordinary realism is therefore a poor charge to bring against the book. The matching condos need no more satisfy probability than a bedroom farce needs a municipal zoning review. Donniere announces the bargain early. The more useful standard is emotional: once coincidence has done its work, can the characters make good on it? Often they can. Hannah and Elyse remember names, ask about work, listen to stories, and understand that a lover’s friends are not competitors to defeat. Farce earns the coincidence; character must earn the kiss.
Perhaps the more revealing story, beneath all this, is about self-protection disguised as practicality. Hannah thinks she fears commitment, yet she is ready to move Anna in. What she fears is wanting someone enough that no plan can guarantee the outcome. Elyse thinks of herself as a romantic, yet when Hannah makes romance dangerous, she develops a formidable respect for logistics. One woman hides behind cynicism, the other behind prudence. The wrong address evicts them both.
One of Donniere’s more adult ideas about love is what a relationship permits to remain intact. Hannah’s brother and friends are not decorative side characters waiting for romance to outrank them. Anna wants more exclusive possession of Hannah’s time; Elyse wants to know the people Hannah already loves. Donniere’s happiest version of partnership is additive rather than imperial: intimacy enlarges the map without annexing what was there before.
Underneath the mirrored-condo ingenuity, the sentences rarely achieve comparable suggestiveness. Characters explain themselves past the point at which a more restrained novel would trust silence, and the repeated soulmate debate sometimes begins to resemble a committee meeting convened in the middle of a kiss. Yet emotional frankness has its own charm here. “When the Bell Rings” would sooner repeat a feeling than pretend not to have one.
Love, in fact, is allowed to be faintly ridiculous without being treated as ridiculous. That may be the novel’s most endearing risk. Donniere knows the premise is improbable and declines to protect it with irony. The jokes are not escape hatches from feeling; they let the characters approach feeling without stiffening the room. A cooler novel might preserve plausible deniability in case the reader refuses to believe. “When the Bell Rings” would rather risk excess than pretend not to care.
On balance, I land at 74/100, corresponding to 3/5 stars. “When the Bell Rings” is structurally cleverer than its prose, warmer than its psychology is deep, and more persuasive about recognition than fate. Its best scenes allow Hannah and Elyse to become specific to each other; its weaker ones recruit exes, coincidence, and explanation to certify a romance that had already begun making its own case.
So when the final bell brings a kitten rather than another girlfriend, the running interruption changes sides. What has spent the novel delaying intimacy now delivers a shared responsibility, a small future in a box. Donniere calls the route that brought Hannah and Elyse together a Christmas miracle. The quieter miracle is better: two strangers, in homes designed to look interchangeable, learn the difference between being given a way in and being known once they arrive.
Claire Donniere’s “When the Bell Rings” keeps interrupting desire until accident becomes choice, fate becomes paperwork, and the ex-girlfriends are shipped off to Paris.
By Demetris Papadimitropoulos | August 7th, 2026
Doors do more work than declarations in Claire Donniere’s “When the Bell Rings.” Hannah Doyle begins with a spare key in her pocket, preparing to give it to Anna, the girlfriend she has dated for six months and already suspects is not “the one.” At thirty-eight, professionally settled and tired of romantic failure, Hannah has decided that letting somebody move in might prove she is finally capable of letting somebody matter. Within hours, she will use a code she was never meant to know to enter the wrong condominium, climb half-dressed into a stranger’s bed, and discover the flaw in her own metaphor. The planned key goes to Anna. The accidental code opens Elyse.
Even before the farce begins, Anna gives Hannah reasons to hesitate. She cannot remember the name of Hannah’s beloved niece, dislikes the IKEA furniture, wants fewer bookshelves, and treats Ethan and Hannah’s friends as if affection were a pie with only so many slices. Hannah notices each abrasion and files a brief for the defense. Soulmates do not exist, she reasons, so perhaps adulthood means choosing what will do and then doing the work. Asking Anna to move in is therefore less the culmination of intimacy than an attempt to manufacture it.
Mistakes are more efficient. After a heroic amount of Christmas Eve drinking, Hannah is sent by rideshare not to Cedar Palace in North Hollywood but to Cedar Place in Long Beach. Both are new, blandly interchangeable developments; both contain a unit 56; both units still use the temporary code 5656. Hannah lets herself into attorney Elyse Thornton’s home, decides the unfamiliarity must be the haze of having just moved, undresses, and goes to sleep. Elyse arrives expecting an intimate first Christmas with her girlfriend Rowena and instead finds a snoring brunette in her bed with the confidence of Goldilocks after tequila. The coincidence is ridiculous. So is the evening that grows out of it, in the useful, old-fashioned sense of farce. Hannah chose affordable, cookie-cutter housing because she could live with sameness; the plot promptly makes sameness impossible to live with.
Every new complication comes through a door. Rowena arrives and assumes infidelity. Hannah cannot get home. Anna, already suspicious, ends their relationship. Elyse’s friends appear and mistake Hannah for Rowena. A kiss performed for an audience develops an inconvenient afterlife. Transportation fails; girlfriends return; phones ring; the bell rings more. Donniere identifies the 1975 film “The Irony of Fate” as the story’s ancestor, and the resemblance is plain: mistaken place, mistaken identity, one night stretched until probability itself seems to have had a drink. The premise asks us to enjoy the wrong turn before deciding whether we believe in the destination.
The harder test is whether “forever” can be made credible in roughly a day. Donniere worries the question like a loose tooth. Hannah, who begins as the soulmate skeptic, becomes the believer with startling speed. Elyse, initially the more romantic of the two, retreats into jobs, distance, friends, timing, and odds. They exchange defenses. The cynic is suddenly willing to gamble; the romantic starts asking what survives when Christmas Eve gives way to an ordinary Tuesday.
Recognition does the convincing whenever the book stops making speeches for fate. Hannah cares about Elyse’s work with juvenile offenders, not merely that she is a lawyer. Elyse listens when Hannah talks about publishing and the people she loves. Books become a point of contact, then a route into family history: Elyse tells Hannah about the treasured Arthur Conan Doyle volume her mother had to sell during years when money was short after her father’s death; Hannah tells Elyse about losing both parents as a teenager and being raised by her older brother Ethan. The attraction acquires detail. Fate may take the credit, but attention earns it.
In those quieter passages, a day of acquaintance begins to feel crowded with actual knowledge. Hannah learns why Elyse’s legal work matters to her; Elyse learns why Hannah’s brother, friends, and shelves of books cannot be treated as removable clutter. Anna has access to Hannah’s life but does not quite see it. Rowena has access to Elyse’s but seems more interested in styling a life for her than in understanding the one already there. Hannah and Elyse keep asking the next question, then remember the answer. That habit does more for their plausibility than any declaration of cosmic fit: being listened to closely can make six months of companionship look suddenly, embarrassingly approximate.
Prose is less distinctive than the design it carries. Donniere favors short-to-medium sentences, colloquial diction, abundant dialogue, and internal questions that leave little doubt about what either woman is feeling. Hearts race, faces warm, lips become objects of study, doubts are rehearsed and then spoken aloud. The dialogue has speed and comic timing, especially when Hannah’s verbal confidence is running a few seconds ahead of her judgment. In a romance moving at emergency speed, that candor keeps the reader oriented. It also means Donniere sometimes shows a feeling, names it, has the character interpret it, and later lets the lovers discuss it once more. The prose rarely leaves an emotion unattended; occasionally it stays after the emotion has gone to bed. Subtext is not Donniere’s favorite room in the house.
At least the banter needs less supervision. Hannah and Elyse tease each other with the loose ease of people surprised by their own comfort. The sexual scenes are candid, but their most distinctive feature is interruption: Donniere keeps treating desire as a sentence someone else is determined to punctuate. A near-kiss summons the bell. A confession attracts another visitor. By the time Hannah regards the doorbell as a household enemy, the joke has become part of the courtship.
Perhaps Donniere’s sharpest writing happens at the level of arrangement. Hannah tries to leave; circumstance stops her. Later she can leave but does not want to. Later still Elyse wants her to stay. Eventually Hannah leaves because Elyse asks her to, and an action that has been comic for half the novel suddenly hurts. The doorway has not changed. Its meaning has.
Against that pattern comes the book’s best reversal. Hannah first crosses Elyse’s threshold by accident. After sending Hannah away, Elyse travels from Long Beach to North Hollywood, finds Hannah’s nearly identical development, enters with the same code, and discovers Hannah asleep in the corresponding bedroom. The architecture is still absurdly symmetrical. The second entrance is not. Chance gets Hannah through the first door; choice gets Elyse through the second.
Destiny is, for a moment, unnecessary. Elyse’s return says more than another declaration could because chance can arrange an introduction but cannot make the return trip. She must admit that her sensible objections are also fear in respectable clothing. Hannah, meanwhile, has to see that her supposed commitment problem was never an inability to perform commitment. She could offer Anna a key precisely because Anna did not endanger her deeply enough. Wanting Elyse is harder because losing Elyse would matter.
If Donniere allowed that reversal to carry more of the burden, “When the Bell Rings” would retain more of its mess. Anna and Rowena initially make Hannah and Elyse’s attraction genuinely difficult: two women in six-month relationships become emotionally and physically entangled over a single Christmas. Yet both girlfriends steadily accumulate the qualities most useful for clearing the path – jealousy, status obsession, possessiveness, dismissiveness. Rowena even voices the strongest skeptical case against demolishing established relationships in a night, but by then the person making the argument has been made unusually easy to ignore.
More consequential than their unpleasantness is what the novel does with them. Anna and Rowena gradually stop feeling like women who might be hurt and start behaving like evidence for Hannah and Elyse’s correctness. A more difficult book might have allowed an old relationship to remain partly loving and still be wrong, leaving somebody decent to absorb the cost of another person’s revelation. That would not require turning the novel grim; it would merely allow happiness to cast a shadow. Here the lovers grow surer as their alternatives grow thinner. By the time Hannah and Elyse choose each other, almost everything worth choosing instead has been quietly removed.
In the epilogue, cleanup becomes comic relocation. Hannah gives Anna Rowena’s number; Anna and Rowena promptly discover that they are ideal for each other, go to Paris, and embrace the couture-and-status life associated with them all along. It is funny. It is also evasive. Donniere does not merely close the romantic triangle; she sends its discarded corners to Paris together, where even hurt feelings receive excellent tailoring. Then the universe continues filing paperwork: careers align geographically, a kitten appears, cohabitation beckons, and a childhood book returns with astonishing precision.
That last coincidence is where abundance becomes overproof. Elyse had already made the lost Arthur Conan Doyle volume matter through the story of her parents and her mother’s financial hardship. Hannah’s understanding of that loss was enough. When the antique copy Hannah owns turns out to be the exact book Elyse lost, meaning is given a certificate of authenticity it did not need. The matching developments and 5656 created the miracle; Elyse’s return gave it purpose. By the epilogue, providence has become administratively thorough.
Readers with a generous appetite for holiday enchantment may find that thoroughness delightful; others will feel the book certifying feelings that had already earned admission. The difference is less a dispute about plausibility than about how much providence a happy ending can bear before it starts doing the characters’ work for them. “Kiss Her Once for Me” by Alison Cochrun also understands how a queer Christmas encounter can seem to suspend ordinary time, but Cochrun lets a year test the memory of one night. “Written in the Stars” by Alexandria Bellefleur offers another useful contrast between romantic skepticism and the humiliating arrival of feeling. Donniere is broader than either and less interested in leaving motives mixed, but she is also less inclined to apologize for improbability.
Ordinary realism is therefore a poor charge to bring against the book. The matching condos need no more satisfy probability than a bedroom farce needs a municipal zoning review. Donniere announces the bargain early. The more useful standard is emotional: once coincidence has done its work, can the characters make good on it? Often they can. Hannah and Elyse remember names, ask about work, listen to stories, and understand that a lover’s friends are not competitors to defeat. Farce earns the coincidence; character must earn the kiss.
Perhaps the more revealing story, beneath all this, is about self-protection disguised as practicality. Hannah thinks she fears commitment, yet she is ready to move Anna in. What she fears is wanting someone enough that no plan can guarantee the outcome. Elyse thinks of herself as a romantic, yet when Hannah makes romance dangerous, she develops a formidable respect for logistics. One woman hides behind cynicism, the other behind prudence. The wrong address evicts them both.
One of Donniere’s more adult ideas about love is what a relationship permits to remain intact. Hannah’s brother and friends are not decorative side characters waiting for romance to outrank them. Anna wants more exclusive possession of Hannah’s time; Elyse wants to know the people Hannah already loves. Donniere’s happiest version of partnership is additive rather than imperial: intimacy enlarges the map without annexing what was there before.
Underneath the mirrored-condo ingenuity, the sentences rarely achieve comparable suggestiveness. Characters explain themselves past the point at which a more restrained novel would trust silence, and the repeated soulmate debate sometimes begins to resemble a committee meeting convened in the middle of a kiss. Yet emotional frankness has its own charm here. “When the Bell Rings” would sooner repeat a feeling than pretend not to have one.
Love, in fact, is allowed to be faintly ridiculous without being treated as ridiculous. That may be the novel’s most endearing risk. Donniere knows the premise is improbable and declines to protect it with irony. The jokes are not escape hatches from feeling; they let the characters approach feeling without stiffening the room. A cooler novel might preserve plausible deniability in case the reader refuses to believe. “When the Bell Rings” would rather risk excess than pretend not to care.
On balance, I land at 74/100, corresponding to 3/5 stars. “When the Bell Rings” is structurally cleverer than its prose, warmer than its psychology is deep, and more persuasive about recognition than fate. Its best scenes allow Hannah and Elyse to become specific to each other; its weaker ones recruit exes, coincidence, and explanation to certify a romance that had already begun making its own case.
So when the final bell brings a kitten rather than another girlfriend, the running interruption changes sides. What has spent the novel delaying intimacy now delivers a shared responsibility, a small future in a box. Donniere calls the route that brought Hannah and Elyse together a Christmas miracle. The quieter miracle is better: two strangers, in homes designed to look interchangeable, learn the difference between being given a way in and being known once they arrive.
July 28, 2026
As a fan of Christmas this was a great read. It’s low stakes and the characters are written well. The best part of any Christmas book is the journey of the main characters falling in love and this book was able to capture that so well.
Definitely a book I would revisit once the days get a little more chilly and more festive.
Thanks NetGallery and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Definitely a book I would revisit once the days get a little more chilly and more festive.
Thanks NetGallery and the publisher for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
August 12, 2026
An early christmas read. Although christmas doesn’t play a big part in this story, just a holiday and yes there’s a tree and lights, and some Christmas songs, but no mistletoe for instance. Which could’ve played an interesting roll in this sapphic romance story.
We meet Hannah Doyle. In her late thirties. Usually falling for younger women. After six months with her girlfriend Anna, she decides she’s going to ask her to move in with her. Into her brand-new condo, so new it still has the default entrycode of unitnumber 5656. She usually spends Christmas Eve at her older brother Ethan’s place with her friends. But this year she decides to stay in with Anna. Anna is not so keen on her friends. But they are very important to Hannah. Drinking after work at a gay bar is a compromise. Before she spends the evening at home with Anna. There are shots, there are a lot of shots. Her friends put her in a Lyft and ask for her new address. She thinks she said it right.
In comes Elyse Thornton. Elyse is a hopeless romantic. She works as a probono law-aid who helps teens in trouble. Her girlfriend Rowena is chique and comes from money and thinks Elyse can do better. She has all the comments about her. Elyse is supposed to spend Christmas Eve in her condo together with Rowena as well. She prepared dinner and a charcuterie plate. When she enters her bedroom to redress, she finds a complete stranger in her bed. Half clothed, fully asleep. She gets to wake her up and then they find out what happened there. There are 2 apartmentcomplexes with almost identical names and interior lay-out from the same developer. They share the same unitnumber and the same entry code. Hannah being so drunk didn’t recognize the differences and they both shop at Ikea. It’s late and Christmas Eve. Hannah lost her wallet and her phone died. There are no new Lyfts at a reasonable price, she’s forced to wait at Elyse’s place. A mysterious attraction is meanwhile growing between the two women, but every time they get close to act on it, the freakin’ doorbell rings… will they ever get together??
It’s a whole different kind of slow-burn this book. It made me think of Groundhog Day. A movie as it came out, I also didn’t watch because of the repetitiveness and the interruptions in getting to the point. I hate it! I also didn’t like it here, come on already, let them get together!
But I admired the originality of the story. It was well done. Gladly read another story of Claire Donniere!
Thanks to #NetGalleyUK for the #ARC. #WhenTheBell Rings
We meet Hannah Doyle. In her late thirties. Usually falling for younger women. After six months with her girlfriend Anna, she decides she’s going to ask her to move in with her. Into her brand-new condo, so new it still has the default entrycode of unitnumber 5656. She usually spends Christmas Eve at her older brother Ethan’s place with her friends. But this year she decides to stay in with Anna. Anna is not so keen on her friends. But they are very important to Hannah. Drinking after work at a gay bar is a compromise. Before she spends the evening at home with Anna. There are shots, there are a lot of shots. Her friends put her in a Lyft and ask for her new address. She thinks she said it right.
In comes Elyse Thornton. Elyse is a hopeless romantic. She works as a probono law-aid who helps teens in trouble. Her girlfriend Rowena is chique and comes from money and thinks Elyse can do better. She has all the comments about her. Elyse is supposed to spend Christmas Eve in her condo together with Rowena as well. She prepared dinner and a charcuterie plate. When she enters her bedroom to redress, she finds a complete stranger in her bed. Half clothed, fully asleep. She gets to wake her up and then they find out what happened there. There are 2 apartmentcomplexes with almost identical names and interior lay-out from the same developer. They share the same unitnumber and the same entry code. Hannah being so drunk didn’t recognize the differences and they both shop at Ikea. It’s late and Christmas Eve. Hannah lost her wallet and her phone died. There are no new Lyfts at a reasonable price, she’s forced to wait at Elyse’s place. A mysterious attraction is meanwhile growing between the two women, but every time they get close to act on it, the freakin’ doorbell rings… will they ever get together??
It’s a whole different kind of slow-burn this book. It made me think of Groundhog Day. A movie as it came out, I also didn’t watch because of the repetitiveness and the interruptions in getting to the point. I hate it! I also didn’t like it here, come on already, let them get together!
But I admired the originality of the story. It was well done. Gladly read another story of Claire Donniere!
Thanks to #NetGalleyUK for the #ARC. #WhenTheBell Rings
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The premise is definitely what had me hooked and wanting to pick this one up. Unfortunately once the initial meet cute occurred, everything that happened after was extremely frustrating. Though extremely unrealistic, I thought the unconventional way that Hannah and Elyse met was super hilarious and made for a great story, especially on Christmas Eve of all days. But with little to no character development, the rushed timeline, and complete lack of plot, I was quickly lost after about halfway through. I understand the irony and appeal of the doorbell interruptions, but after a while it was just annoying and didn't need to continue. When both Anna and Rowena kept reappearing multiple times, I came very close to not wanting to finish the rest of the story.
While Anna and Rowena were completely wrong for Hannah and Elyse, they were definitely right for each other, no matter how shallow, materialistic, and pathetic they were. But after not taking any hints, having them continue to reappear was definitely not necessary and way overdone. Both friend groups were also not helping things and I wish there had been more depth to the friendships, because then they would have been able to tell both Hannah and Elyse how ridiculous they were both being. As for Hannah and Elyse, I honestly don’t know what they were both thinking. And after only knowing each other for a day or two it is absolutely ridiculous to be throwing out that they are falling for each other and talking about giving up jobs to live together. I understand it is supposed to be an “insta” love story, but this took it to a whole new level.
I think both Hannah and Elyse were also extremely immature for their said age. Hannah was more annoying of the two because she simply would not take no for an answer and kept continuing to take advantage of Elyse’s kindness so that she could continue to stay. The repetitive back and forth of leaving and then coming back and then having the Lyft problems and the bus schedule was all just too much and started to get frustrating. The fact that Hannah would just not go home was very childish and actually very creepy and manipulative, and the fact that Elsye kept changing her mind instead of being firm with her decision made me lose respect for her. They both needed more substance, a bigger backbone, and time, in order to figure themselves out and what they really wanted. But because of the unrealistic timeline, it made it hard to take their feelings seriously and root for them in the end.
Overall, the potential was there, but the execution did not hit the mark at all unfortunately.
While Anna and Rowena were completely wrong for Hannah and Elyse, they were definitely right for each other, no matter how shallow, materialistic, and pathetic they were. But after not taking any hints, having them continue to reappear was definitely not necessary and way overdone. Both friend groups were also not helping things and I wish there had been more depth to the friendships, because then they would have been able to tell both Hannah and Elyse how ridiculous they were both being. As for Hannah and Elyse, I honestly don’t know what they were both thinking. And after only knowing each other for a day or two it is absolutely ridiculous to be throwing out that they are falling for each other and talking about giving up jobs to live together. I understand it is supposed to be an “insta” love story, but this took it to a whole new level.
I think both Hannah and Elyse were also extremely immature for their said age. Hannah was more annoying of the two because she simply would not take no for an answer and kept continuing to take advantage of Elyse’s kindness so that she could continue to stay. The repetitive back and forth of leaving and then coming back and then having the Lyft problems and the bus schedule was all just too much and started to get frustrating. The fact that Hannah would just not go home was very childish and actually very creepy and manipulative, and the fact that Elsye kept changing her mind instead of being firm with her decision made me lose respect for her. They both needed more substance, a bigger backbone, and time, in order to figure themselves out and what they really wanted. But because of the unrealistic timeline, it made it hard to take their feelings seriously and root for them in the end.
Overall, the potential was there, but the execution did not hit the mark at all unfortunately.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I'll be honest, I clocked roughly where this was going within the first few chapters. Commitment-phobic Hannah asking her girlfriend of convenience to move in one night, only for the universe to have very different plans for her Christmas Eve. It's about as classic a set up as holiday romance gets - but that's not really a knock! This is comfort-read territory, and Donniere knows exactly what she's doing with it.
What won me over was the 'meet cute' itself and the banter that follows. There's something genuinely fun about throwing two people together in the most compromising, least planned circumstances possible and then just letting them talk their way into liking each other. Hannah and Elyse's chemistry does a lot of heavy lifting here - the dialogue has that easy back and forth rhythm where you can tell the author enjoyed writing these two in a room together, and it makes even the more familiar romance beats land better than they have any right to.
I won't pretend the plot surprised me. Anyone who's read a handful of holiday rom coms will see most of the turns coming, and a couple of the obstacles keeping Hannah and Elyse apart feel more manufactured than earned. But I wasn't reading this for surprises, I was reading it to root for two people to figure their mess out, and on that front it absolutely delivers.
As a whole, this sits comfortably alongside the best of the fake relationship, one bed, small town Christmas genre. It's not reinventing the format, but it's a genuinely lovely example of it, carried by two leads with real spark between them. It's the kind of book you finish with a full body sigh rather than a gasp. Sapphic romance readers looking for a cosy, low angst holiday read (particularly fans of grumpy/sunshine energy and mistaken identity set ups) will find a lot to love here, and it's a strong, confident entry for anyone building out their festive TBR this year.
Recommended if you want a low stakes, high charm holiday read and don't mind knowing roughly where you'll end up, as long as the journey there is fun.
What won me over was the 'meet cute' itself and the banter that follows. There's something genuinely fun about throwing two people together in the most compromising, least planned circumstances possible and then just letting them talk their way into liking each other. Hannah and Elyse's chemistry does a lot of heavy lifting here - the dialogue has that easy back and forth rhythm where you can tell the author enjoyed writing these two in a room together, and it makes even the more familiar romance beats land better than they have any right to.
I won't pretend the plot surprised me. Anyone who's read a handful of holiday rom coms will see most of the turns coming, and a couple of the obstacles keeping Hannah and Elyse apart feel more manufactured than earned. But I wasn't reading this for surprises, I was reading it to root for two people to figure their mess out, and on that front it absolutely delivers.
As a whole, this sits comfortably alongside the best of the fake relationship, one bed, small town Christmas genre. It's not reinventing the format, but it's a genuinely lovely example of it, carried by two leads with real spark between them. It's the kind of book you finish with a full body sigh rather than a gasp. Sapphic romance readers looking for a cosy, low angst holiday read (particularly fans of grumpy/sunshine energy and mistaken identity set ups) will find a lot to love here, and it's a strong, confident entry for anyone building out their festive TBR this year.
Recommended if you want a low stakes, high charm holiday read and don't mind knowing roughly where you'll end up, as long as the journey there is fun.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In When the Bell Rings, Hannah Doyle and Elyse Thornton have Christmas plans with their respective girlfriends. Hannah has asked her girlfriend, Anna, to move in with her, despite her not really seeming to have big-love feels for Annah. Elyse is about to have her first Christmas with the high-society Rowena.
Only Elyse discovers a naked Hannah in her bed when Rowena is supposed to be there soon. And Anna is waiting at Hannah’s apartment, where Hannah is not. Why Hannah ended up in Elyse’s bed may be a little difficult to believe (a drunk Hannah just happened to be sent to the wrong neighborhood where Elyse just happened to have the same apartment number which just happened to have the same entrance code and Hannah just happened to not notice any differences between the apartment—-which is fair; she was drunk). If you can get past that, you’ll be fine. I did roll my eyes a bit, but I was also able to roll with it.
Hannah and Elyse aren’t with the right people. We know this with Hannah almost immediately, and we see it not too soon after Rowena makes her entrance. But Hannah and Elyse are right for each other. I write that with no eye rolling, which I was tempted to do with the instalove of it. But Hannah and Elyse have great chemistry and back-and–forth (it might dim a little when you notice the same rapid-fire back and forth seems to be a dialogue trait for the author rather than just between these two characters).
Doorbells ring a lot. I don’t think it’s too spoilery to say that; it’s in the title, even if the cover might make you think it has more to do with Christmas. Maybe the doorbells ring a little too much, just one too may dips into the well.
A fun read if you are able to suspend some disbelief and roll with the sitcomish doorbell antics.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Only Elyse discovers a naked Hannah in her bed when Rowena is supposed to be there soon. And Anna is waiting at Hannah’s apartment, where Hannah is not. Why Hannah ended up in Elyse’s bed may be a little difficult to believe (a drunk Hannah just happened to be sent to the wrong neighborhood where Elyse just happened to have the same apartment number which just happened to have the same entrance code and Hannah just happened to not notice any differences between the apartment—-which is fair; she was drunk). If you can get past that, you’ll be fine. I did roll my eyes a bit, but I was also able to roll with it.
Hannah and Elyse aren’t with the right people. We know this with Hannah almost immediately, and we see it not too soon after Rowena makes her entrance. But Hannah and Elyse are right for each other. I write that with no eye rolling, which I was tempted to do with the instalove of it. But Hannah and Elyse have great chemistry and back-and–forth (it might dim a little when you notice the same rapid-fire back and forth seems to be a dialogue trait for the author rather than just between these two characters).
Doorbells ring a lot. I don’t think it’s too spoilery to say that; it’s in the title, even if the cover might make you think it has more to do with Christmas. Maybe the doorbells ring a little too much, just one too may dips into the well.
A fun read if you are able to suspend some disbelief and roll with the sitcomish doorbell antics.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hannah Doyle is in the publishing industry, has a girlfriend of six months named Anna, and is moving to a new apartment complex in North Hollywood, California. Hannah is commitment phobic and doesn't believe that Anna is her soulmate. On Christmas Eve Hannah joins her friends at Big Dive Bar for their traditional celebration. Hannah doesn't usually drink a lot but lets loose that evening and gets very drunk. After their celebration Hannah's friend Gina calls a Lyft for Hannah to get her home safely. However, there is a mix-up in the name of Hannah's apartment complex and she ends up in a sister property in Long Beach. Hannah is so drunk that she doesn't recognize the difference. She proceeds to what she thinks is her unit and enters the temporary door code and it works. Hannah goes to bed for the night.
Elyse Thornton returns to her new apartment complex and discovers someone in her bed. She eventually rouses Hannah and tries to convince her that Hannah is not in her own house. Meanwhile, Elyse's girlfriend, Rowena, arrives and discovers another woman with Elyse. The night turns into a disaster for four women. Rowena gets disgusted and leaves (multiple times) and over the course of the night and morning Elyse and Hannah get to know each other and discover a connection.
I really enjoyed this book and the newly discovered connection between Elyse and Hannah. I thought that some of the things that happened were a little far-fetched, but hilarious. The numerous "ring, ring, ring" doorbell interruptions that plagued Hannah and Elyse growing closer were comical. The banter between the two women was also on point and added to their dynamic. 3.5 stars
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Elyse Thornton returns to her new apartment complex and discovers someone in her bed. She eventually rouses Hannah and tries to convince her that Hannah is not in her own house. Meanwhile, Elyse's girlfriend, Rowena, arrives and discovers another woman with Elyse. The night turns into a disaster for four women. Rowena gets disgusted and leaves (multiple times) and over the course of the night and morning Elyse and Hannah get to know each other and discover a connection.
I really enjoyed this book and the newly discovered connection between Elyse and Hannah. I thought that some of the things that happened were a little far-fetched, but hilarious. The numerous "ring, ring, ring" doorbell interruptions that plagued Hannah and Elyse growing closer were comical. The banter between the two women was also on point and added to their dynamic. 3.5 stars
I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
A Fantastic Premise That Stalls Out
When the Bell Rings starts with a genuinely brilliant, chaotic romantic comedy setup. The premise of a holiday mix-up leading to an accidental "waking up in a stranger's bed" scenario is a hilarious kickoff.
The author does a fantastic job of setting up the first act and introducing the four main characters. It immediately delivers exactly the kind of trope-heavy, festive energy you want from a holiday romance. Unfortunately, after that initial burst of momentum, the execution completely derails.
The primary issue is the pacing and the repetitive character dynamics. After a strong setup, the plot essentially ceases to exist. The remaining 90% of the book traps the reader in an exhausting, circular loop of the two leads bouncing back and forth between arguing and taking the flirtation way too far. There is very little genuine narrative progression, making the bulk of the book feel like it is endlessly spinning its wheels.
Furthermore, the "forced proximity" aspect crosses a very uncomfortable line. What was clearly intended to be endearing rom-com persistence ends up reading as deeply unsettling. When one character stubbornly refuses to leave a stranger's house for hours on end, her lingering presence comes across as predatory rather than charming.
This book earns its two stars purely because the first act was genuinely entertaining, and it is abundantly clear that it was written by a real human author with a good grasp of genre introductions. However, the repetitive pacing and uncomfortable character choices made the rest of the read a significant struggle.
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
When the Bell Rings starts with a genuinely brilliant, chaotic romantic comedy setup. The premise of a holiday mix-up leading to an accidental "waking up in a stranger's bed" scenario is a hilarious kickoff.
The author does a fantastic job of setting up the first act and introducing the four main characters. It immediately delivers exactly the kind of trope-heavy, festive energy you want from a holiday romance. Unfortunately, after that initial burst of momentum, the execution completely derails.
The primary issue is the pacing and the repetitive character dynamics. After a strong setup, the plot essentially ceases to exist. The remaining 90% of the book traps the reader in an exhausting, circular loop of the two leads bouncing back and forth between arguing and taking the flirtation way too far. There is very little genuine narrative progression, making the bulk of the book feel like it is endlessly spinning its wheels.
Furthermore, the "forced proximity" aspect crosses a very uncomfortable line. What was clearly intended to be endearing rom-com persistence ends up reading as deeply unsettling. When one character stubbornly refuses to leave a stranger's house for hours on end, her lingering presence comes across as predatory rather than charming.
This book earns its two stars purely because the first act was genuinely entertaining, and it is abundantly clear that it was written by a real human author with a good grasp of genre introductions. However, the repetitive pacing and uncomfortable character choices made the rest of the read a significant struggle.
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to Bold Strokes Books for providing me with a digital advanced review copy via NetGalley to be able to read and provide an honest review.
The meet cute had so much potential and I loved the idea of coming home to find a naked stranger in your bed and how that impacts your current relationship. I was invested in the story immediately when the two leads, Hannah and Elyse, met in this very unconventional way. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the book and after that phenomenal setup, it lost its forward progression for me.
I didn't see what drew the characters to one another and the character development was lacking for me, and not just for the leads, but for the friend group, and the girlfriends of the leads as well.
The constant interruptions was fun at the start, but came repetitive, and I just wanted people to go away, especially Rowena and Anna who had been dating the leads. The prior relationships of Hannah and Elyse were abusive in my opinion, emotionally, and at times physically. I'm not sure if this was the intent of the author but when someone grabs someone else and prevents them from leaving, that's not right.
I would have enjoyed this book more with further character development, I think there was a lot of potential with the friend group that just wasn't realized as they only seemed to have cameos in the story rather than a more integral part.
I did see the humour in the story with the constant bells ringing and bringing a new issue each time, it reminded me a little of a farce like 'Noises Off' where what is happening behind the main story can be just as interesting as the story itself.
The meet cute had so much potential and I loved the idea of coming home to find a naked stranger in your bed and how that impacts your current relationship. I was invested in the story immediately when the two leads, Hannah and Elyse, met in this very unconventional way. Unfortunately, that was the best part of the book and after that phenomenal setup, it lost its forward progression for me.
I didn't see what drew the characters to one another and the character development was lacking for me, and not just for the leads, but for the friend group, and the girlfriends of the leads as well.
The constant interruptions was fun at the start, but came repetitive, and I just wanted people to go away, especially Rowena and Anna who had been dating the leads. The prior relationships of Hannah and Elyse were abusive in my opinion, emotionally, and at times physically. I'm not sure if this was the intent of the author but when someone grabs someone else and prevents them from leaving, that's not right.
I would have enjoyed this book more with further character development, I think there was a lot of potential with the friend group that just wasn't realized as they only seemed to have cameos in the story rather than a more integral part.
I did see the humour in the story with the constant bells ringing and bringing a new issue each time, it reminded me a little of a farce like 'Noises Off' where what is happening behind the main story can be just as interesting as the story itself.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5/5 ⭐
an insta-love, slow burn, one night to forever, holiday rom com.
a whirlwind comedy of errors, hallmark christmas movie wrapped up in this hilarious book.
both hannah and elyse thought that they were going to spend christmas eve and day with their respective girlfriends, anna, and rowena. both are taking big steps forward in their relationships even though they don't necessarily think they are the best fits. as hannah shows up on accident in elyse's condo after a ride share mix-up and the comedy of errors begins, so do their feeings for one another. it leaves them with big choices to make. stay with the relationships that they know, or take a chance on something new.
my first thought when reading the title was that "when a bell rings" was going to have something to do with "an angel gets it's wings." if you have ever seen the movie it's a wonderful life, then you understand my thoughts. i was also in a play of the show when i was a kid as well so that line is deeply cemented in my memory.
while there is some suspension of disbelief happening in this book, it's not quite on that level of magic realism. the bell ringing is however the doorbell ringing over, and over and over again, and the phone ringing as well, but the doorbell is the one that really get's to our main characters. the doorbell might as well be a sitcom character with it's antics
every ring brings hannah and elyse a new surprise. and maybe some christmas miracles too.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review
an insta-love, slow burn, one night to forever, holiday rom com.
a whirlwind comedy of errors, hallmark christmas movie wrapped up in this hilarious book.
both hannah and elyse thought that they were going to spend christmas eve and day with their respective girlfriends, anna, and rowena. both are taking big steps forward in their relationships even though they don't necessarily think they are the best fits. as hannah shows up on accident in elyse's condo after a ride share mix-up and the comedy of errors begins, so do their feeings for one another. it leaves them with big choices to make. stay with the relationships that they know, or take a chance on something new.
my first thought when reading the title was that "when a bell rings" was going to have something to do with "an angel gets it's wings." if you have ever seen the movie it's a wonderful life, then you understand my thoughts. i was also in a play of the show when i was a kid as well so that line is deeply cemented in my memory.
while there is some suspension of disbelief happening in this book, it's not quite on that level of magic realism. the bell ringing is however the doorbell ringing over, and over and over again, and the phone ringing as well, but the doorbell is the one that really get's to our main characters. the doorbell might as well be a sitcom character with it's antics
every ring brings hannah and elyse a new surprise. and maybe some christmas miracles too.
thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book
this book is quite different from what i normally read in that most of the action is over one maybe two days it was quite gripping at times
its christmas eve and hannah is moving into her new place...thoughts of her girlfriend anna was on her mind and wondering if asking her to move in with her was the right thing..... but she would never know until it happened....
but first she had a night out with her friends to prepare for at the big dive..... what nobody was expecting was how much the drinks would affect everyone.....
hannahs friends put her in a uber and they went off to another party...hannah went home and went right to bed...unaware that she might not be in her own apartment....
elyse was hoping to spend her christmas eve with her own girlfriend rowena... she had it all planned out and was setting the table just right when she realised she wanted to wear something nice and seductive.... what she wasnt expecting was a stranger in her bed.. a very drunk stranger.....
elyse couldnt wake hannah up or get her out of the apartment before rowena showed up....
and thats when the fun began.... one night of shocks that would change everyones lives forever
have to say it was quite funny and engaging in a weird sort of way... i kept reading to find out what was going to happen to everyone...
this book is quite different from what i normally read in that most of the action is over one maybe two days it was quite gripping at times
its christmas eve and hannah is moving into her new place...thoughts of her girlfriend anna was on her mind and wondering if asking her to move in with her was the right thing..... but she would never know until it happened....
but first she had a night out with her friends to prepare for at the big dive..... what nobody was expecting was how much the drinks would affect everyone.....
hannahs friends put her in a uber and they went off to another party...hannah went home and went right to bed...unaware that she might not be in her own apartment....
elyse was hoping to spend her christmas eve with her own girlfriend rowena... she had it all planned out and was setting the table just right when she realised she wanted to wear something nice and seductive.... what she wasnt expecting was a stranger in her bed.. a very drunk stranger.....
elyse couldnt wake hannah up or get her out of the apartment before rowena showed up....
and thats when the fun began.... one night of shocks that would change everyones lives forever
have to say it was quite funny and engaging in a weird sort of way... i kept reading to find out what was going to happen to everyone...
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
First of all, I would like to thank Claire Donniere, Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for the digital ARC of this book!
One of the things that I liked the most was the writing style of the author, at the beginning I really liked the funny/lighthearted tone of the story. Unfortunately, the story wasn't for me. It was really well-written but it felt kind of poor.
I enjoyed the funny meet and cute but things felt way too rushed, even for an insta love romance. The characters had just met and were already using big words like "fall for", "love" and even "move in". The side characters of Rowena and Anna felt really poor-written. They were both plain and really childish. If the story would have been a YA and the characters would have been in their early 2os maybe I would have enjoyed it more.
It reached a point where the story felt really repetitive and all I wanted was for Hannah to leave once and for all the condo. I really didn't like how she kept insisting when Elyse had asked her to leave multiple times. At first I really liked Hannah's character but it reached a point where it just came across like an obsessive creepy woman.
I think the premise was really good and the author has a really cool writing style. I'm still looking forward to read the author's other books.
One of the things that I liked the most was the writing style of the author, at the beginning I really liked the funny/lighthearted tone of the story. Unfortunately, the story wasn't for me. It was really well-written but it felt kind of poor.
I enjoyed the funny meet and cute but things felt way too rushed, even for an insta love romance. The characters had just met and were already using big words like "fall for", "love" and even "move in". The side characters of Rowena and Anna felt really poor-written. They were both plain and really childish. If the story would have been a YA and the characters would have been in their early 2os maybe I would have enjoyed it more.
It reached a point where the story felt really repetitive and all I wanted was for Hannah to leave once and for all the condo. I really didn't like how she kept insisting when Elyse had asked her to leave multiple times. At first I really liked Hannah's character but it reached a point where it just came across like an obsessive creepy woman.
I think the premise was really good and the author has a really cool writing style. I'm still looking forward to read the author's other books.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
A Christmas in Summer book with an entertaining premise. Hannah Doyle and Elyse Thornton are both in relationships of several months. Hannah goes out with her friends to celebrate Christmas Eve and over indulges in drinking. An Uber driver takes her home, but to the wrong apartment. Elyse Thornton, is an attorney for a non-profit. She is surprised to find a drunk Hannah asleep in her bed. And she is concerned that her girlfriend, Rowena will show up at any moment.
This is a farce comedy that has its moments. The apartment mix-up is a funny meet-cute. The author cleverly shows how much Hannah and Elyse have in common. Even before they realize it themselves. Of course both of their girlfriends think the pair are cheating. And the repeated interruptions by the doorbell play into the farce to the point that the pair expect to be interrupted.
The entire story plays out in only two days, plus an epilogue. So there isn’t really a lot of time for character depth or plot development. There are quick background stories shared. And it manages to get spicy without cheating, which is a plus. This reminded me of a Hallmark movie, cute premise, light delivery and everything is tied up nicely at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the eARC and I am leaving an honest review.
This is a farce comedy that has its moments. The apartment mix-up is a funny meet-cute. The author cleverly shows how much Hannah and Elyse have in common. Even before they realize it themselves. Of course both of their girlfriends think the pair are cheating. And the repeated interruptions by the doorbell play into the farce to the point that the pair expect to be interrupted.
The entire story plays out in only two days, plus an epilogue. So there isn’t really a lot of time for character depth or plot development. There are quick background stories shared. And it manages to get spicy without cheating, which is a plus. This reminded me of a Hallmark movie, cute premise, light delivery and everything is tied up nicely at the end. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the eARC and I am leaving an honest review.
August 11, 2026
I really wanted to enjoy this, don’t get me wrong the premise was fun, a bit of chaos with a mix of 4 women over the holiday season. I would question why a book set around Christmas is launching in August - surely you’re missing your target audience here!!
The set up was like something out of a classic film - Hannah after a night of celebrating the festive season believes she’s in her apartment in her bed until Elyse comes home and finds Hannah in her bed, it’s a comedy of errors. Girlfriends thinking some cheating is going on quick breakups amongst a slew of funny moments leads to an instant attraction of a meet cute!
Unfortunately the story was so repetitive I lost interest, the two women felt incredibly immature in their late 30s, if this was a couple of women in their 20s maybe it would have worked better. Also why are these two dating two vile women instant red flags everywhere. Also a serious lack of character development sorry but I didn’t care nor believe in the instant love they both had. Finally I get it you love IKEA, I have never met anybody that loves their IKEA sofa as much as them!!
It would have been good if the execution was better, ultimately I just want invested and it was a struggle to finish something I just didn’t enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the opportunity to read.
The set up was like something out of a classic film - Hannah after a night of celebrating the festive season believes she’s in her apartment in her bed until Elyse comes home and finds Hannah in her bed, it’s a comedy of errors. Girlfriends thinking some cheating is going on quick breakups amongst a slew of funny moments leads to an instant attraction of a meet cute!
Unfortunately the story was so repetitive I lost interest, the two women felt incredibly immature in their late 30s, if this was a couple of women in their 20s maybe it would have worked better. Also why are these two dating two vile women instant red flags everywhere. Also a serious lack of character development sorry but I didn’t care nor believe in the instant love they both had. Finally I get it you love IKEA, I have never met anybody that loves their IKEA sofa as much as them!!
It would have been good if the execution was better, ultimately I just want invested and it was a struggle to finish something I just didn’t enjoy. Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Stroke Books for the opportunity to read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read and review this book in advance. All opinions are my own.
DNF at 53%.
Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. The premise requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, which I normally don't mind when the characters and chemistry are strong enough to ground an over-the-top setup. Here, though, I struggled to connect with either the situation or the relationships.
I had a particularly difficult time understanding why Hannah and Elyse were with their respective partners at the beginning of the book, which made it harder for me to become invested in what followed. I also found the development between Hannah and Elyse difficult to follow emotionally. Elyse seemed to move back and forth between wanting Hannah gone and being attracted to her, while Hannah became intensely invested very quickly despite her established fear of commitment. I wanted more time and development to make those shifts feel convincing.
There were pieces of the premise that I could imagine being really fun with a different execution, but ultimately I wasn't enjoying the reading experience enough to continue. I made it just over halfway before deciding this simply wasn't the right book for me.
DNF at 53%.
Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me. The premise requires quite a bit of suspension of disbelief, which I normally don't mind when the characters and chemistry are strong enough to ground an over-the-top setup. Here, though, I struggled to connect with either the situation or the relationships.
I had a particularly difficult time understanding why Hannah and Elyse were with their respective partners at the beginning of the book, which made it harder for me to become invested in what followed. I also found the development between Hannah and Elyse difficult to follow emotionally. Elyse seemed to move back and forth between wanting Hannah gone and being attracted to her, while Hannah became intensely invested very quickly despite her established fear of commitment. I wanted more time and development to make those shifts feel convincing.
There were pieces of the premise that I could imagine being really fun with a different execution, but ultimately I wasn't enjoying the reading experience enough to continue. I made it just over halfway before deciding this simply wasn't the right book for me.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hannah Doyle's meticulously planned life, complete with a sensible relationship, leaves no room for destiny or soulmates. However, a Christmas Eve mix-up, fueled by festive cheer and a confused Lyft driver, lands her unexpectedly in the wrong apartment—and bed. Elyse Thornton, anticipating a calm holiday with her own girlfriend, is understandably shocked to discover a stranger making herself at home.
What unfolds from this hilariously mortifying encounter is an undeniable connection between Hannah and Elyse. Despite their existing relationships and firm disbelief in fate, both women find themselves secretly yearning for a movie-magic kind of love.
This charming sapphic Christmas romance promises low-stakes humor, delightful chaos, and
tender moments. It's the perfect cozy, feel-good holiday read with a fresh, inclusive twist. Prepare to be enchanted, left warm, fuzzy, and utterly convinced that sometimes, the wrong bed leads you straight to the right soulmate.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
What unfolds from this hilariously mortifying encounter is an undeniable connection between Hannah and Elyse. Despite their existing relationships and firm disbelief in fate, both women find themselves secretly yearning for a movie-magic kind of love.
This charming sapphic Christmas romance promises low-stakes humor, delightful chaos, and
tender moments. It's the perfect cozy, feel-good holiday read with a fresh, inclusive twist. Prepare to be enchanted, left warm, fuzzy, and utterly convinced that sometimes, the wrong bed leads you straight to the right soulmate.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you Bold Strokes Books and NetGalley for providing me with this ARC.
The book began with an intriguing premise, where Hannah accidentally ends up in the wrong apartment due to a drunken night. Later leading to Elyse later finding her in her bed, which I thought was an interesting meet cute.
Whilst felt that this was a pretty easy read (finishing it in a day) and I enjoyed the writing style, unfortunately, the quick pace of the story prevented the characters from having much depth to them. This was further emphasised by the unrealistic plot to begin with.
I liked Elyse as a character and definitely felt that she deserved a lot better, but found Hannah incredibly frustrating.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the concept of the book and felt that without the constant repetition of the storyline and a more realistic timeframe (longer than 2 days), it could have definitely received a much higher rating.
The book began with an intriguing premise, where Hannah accidentally ends up in the wrong apartment due to a drunken night. Later leading to Elyse later finding her in her bed, which I thought was an interesting meet cute.
Whilst felt that this was a pretty easy read (finishing it in a day) and I enjoyed the writing style, unfortunately, the quick pace of the story prevented the characters from having much depth to them. This was further emphasised by the unrealistic plot to begin with.
I liked Elyse as a character and definitely felt that she deserved a lot better, but found Hannah incredibly frustrating.
Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the concept of the book and felt that without the constant repetition of the storyline and a more realistic timeframe (longer than 2 days), it could have definitely received a much higher rating.
August 6, 2026
Hannah and Elyse are both in committed relationships, excited (more or less) to spend the holidays with their friends and significant others. But one morning they wake up not next to their respective partners, but with each other. As can be expected, hijinx ensue. The cozy winter romance is a fun and quick holiday read for when the chill hits the air.
The strengths of this book were the premise, the author’s writing style, and the two main characters. I liked them both a lot, and with the set-up I was excited to keep reading. But it started to lag a little bit with the way their relationship developed with each other and their respective partners, especially with the miscommunications. At some point, I was just like, okay can get on with it and get together?
Regardless, it was still a quick and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for a review.
The strengths of this book were the premise, the author’s writing style, and the two main characters. I liked them both a lot, and with the set-up I was excited to keep reading. But it started to lag a little bit with the way their relationship developed with each other and their respective partners, especially with the miscommunications. At some point, I was just like, okay can get on with it and get together?
Regardless, it was still a quick and enjoyable read. Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for an eARC in exchange for a review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I finished When the Bell Rings in one sitting! I just couldn’t put it down!
This book had the same feel of a screwball comedy film. The chaos, misunderstandings, and that damn doorbell! This made me want to get rid of my own doorbell!
Hannah and Elyse are romantics and want that one true love that happens in movies or what you read about, but somehow both were in relationships with the complete opposite.
Hannah’s brother and friends are some of the best friends anyone could ask for. They love Hannah so much that they’re not afraid to be honest with her but also support her at the same time.
Elyse has her tribe from work that we meet briefly and the ladies seemed so sweet and caring.
Who knew falling asleep in the wrong bed… condo… would help you meet your soulmate!!
Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the read!
This book had the same feel of a screwball comedy film. The chaos, misunderstandings, and that damn doorbell! This made me want to get rid of my own doorbell!
Hannah and Elyse are romantics and want that one true love that happens in movies or what you read about, but somehow both were in relationships with the complete opposite.
Hannah’s brother and friends are some of the best friends anyone could ask for. They love Hannah so much that they’re not afraid to be honest with her but also support her at the same time.
Elyse has her tribe from work that we meet briefly and the ladies seemed so sweet and caring.
Who knew falling asleep in the wrong bed… condo… would help you meet your soulmate!!
Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for the read!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The book starts interesting with Hannah totally drunk ends up in the wrong house and bed when giving the wrong address to the Lyft driver. The house looks the same and for some very strange reason they both use the same code so possible to get in. Elyse comes home and finds Hannah in her bed and then their lives change.
They both date completely obtuse women, how they both can have the same bad taste is a bit infuriating since most of the book is really going back and forth with them and way too little about the growing attraction between Hannah and Elyse. It is also so much conversation in the book, so very little about feelings and I unfortunately got bored reading the book and never felt invested on Hannah and Elyse getting their HEA in this one night to forever setup.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley and leave an honest review voluntarily.
They both date completely obtuse women, how they both can have the same bad taste is a bit infuriating since most of the book is really going back and forth with them and way too little about the growing attraction between Hannah and Elyse. It is also so much conversation in the book, so very little about feelings and I unfortunately got bored reading the book and never felt invested on Hannah and Elyse getting their HEA in this one night to forever setup.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley and leave an honest review voluntarily.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC! The premise was so intriguing, and I had very high hopes for this, but unfortunately this just did not work for me. The plot felt too repetitive, and I disliked Hannah as a character. The side characters did not have any major role, and their presence felt unnecessary to the storyline. The whole book (excluding the epilogue) taking place over 2 days also messed with my head, because why were they using words like 'love' when they didn't even know each other? 2.5 stars, rounding up to 3, this is not something I would recommend to anyone else :/
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I didn't quite understand the synopsis so hoping the whole book will bring clarity!
Leave any idea of reality behind when you start this madcap book. Most of the nonsense I was quite happy to go along with, although the scenes with friends almost put me over the edge.
I almost had whiplash from all the back and forth, sometimes in one section of dialogue. I, also along with the mains, wasn't always sure what was banter/joshing and what was actual annoyance at behaviour... sometimes I was perplexed by the lack of annoyance at behaviour.
This is an homage to a beloved film, for me it just missed the mark in some places, not enough to round down but it was a 2.5 for me.
Leave any idea of reality behind when you start this madcap book. Most of the nonsense I was quite happy to go along with, although the scenes with friends almost put me over the edge.
I almost had whiplash from all the back and forth, sometimes in one section of dialogue. I, also along with the mains, wasn't always sure what was banter/joshing and what was actual annoyance at behaviour... sometimes I was perplexed by the lack of annoyance at behaviour.
This is an homage to a beloved film, for me it just missed the mark in some places, not enough to round down but it was a 2.5 for me.
August 6, 2026
I had high expectations and it seemed like it would be an interesting story. From almost the beginning Hannah didn’t seem like she was 38. She seemed immature and her closeness with her friends seemed very codependent.
I did like Elyse a lot better as a character. I liked the plot idea of going into the wrong apartment comPlex but it just was so chaotic. She would leave, go back. Over and over. There were inconsistencies with the writing. One minute she’s getting a Lyft then next she’s waiting in the bus. The girlfriend kept also going and coming back.
I read about 52% before I decided I had enough. I think the story could have been put together so much better.
I did like Elyse a lot better as a character. I liked the plot idea of going into the wrong apartment comPlex but it just was so chaotic. She would leave, go back. Over and over. There were inconsistencies with the writing. One minute she’s getting a Lyft then next she’s waiting in the bus. The girlfriend kept also going and coming back.
I read about 52% before I decided I had enough. I think the story could have been put together so much better.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Christmas in July was an interesting read, but the insta love I didn't care for. Big words right away and moving in together so quickly just seemed bizarre. Hannah and Elyse is considered a slow burn, but it's not. It reads like Hallmark Christmas movie so very cheesy and lighthearted but fell flat for me.
The writing was good and the witty banter, but it felt childish and the characters weren't developed. It was an alright read and if you're looking for a quick read and no angst then this is for you.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The writing was good and the witty banter, but it felt childish and the characters weren't developed. It was an alright read and if you're looking for a quick read and no angst then this is for you.
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 13, 2026
iconicometer: 💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼💅🏼
spiceometer: 🥵🥵🥵
✨ hannah and anna u-hauling are so real for that, we're truly never beating the allegations lmao
✨ hannah working for a sapphic publishing house is literally living my dream life GIRL HOW'D YOU GET HIRED (asking for a friend)
✨ having two best friends named thelma and louise? ICONIC
✨ meryl streep and gillian anderson mentioned, I'M SOLD
✨ the lesbian dating pool really is small after all
✨ everything in this book feels so surreal and unlikely to happen in real life, but isn't that the beauty of christmas magic?
✨ that. damn. doorbell.
spiceometer: 🥵🥵🥵
✨ hannah and anna u-hauling are so real for that, we're truly never beating the allegations lmao
✨ hannah working for a sapphic publishing house is literally living my dream life GIRL HOW'D YOU GET HIRED (asking for a friend)
✨ having two best friends named thelma and louise? ICONIC
✨ meryl streep and gillian anderson mentioned, I'M SOLD
✨ the lesbian dating pool really is small after all
✨ everything in this book feels so surreal and unlikely to happen in real life, but isn't that the beauty of christmas magic?
✨ that. damn. doorbell.
August 2, 2026
Christmas book in August..? Sign me up. This was the first of the year for me and it was everything I needed as part of the LGBTQ+ community myself. Yes, Elyse and Hannah fell hard and fast but I actually loved it. I raced through the book in the space of a couple of hours and thoroughly enjoyed every minute! I’ve never hated a doorbell more than I did while reading this though- I just wanted things to work out perfectly for them!!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
It was a great storyline, I just couldn’t connect with the characters and it was very repetitive that I reached a point I had to pause the book because it was irritating me
Thank you NetGalley for my early copy in exchange for an honest review
Thank you NetGalley for my early copy in exchange for an honest review
August 5, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!
I enjoyed the characters but lost interest with the plot going around in circles. The falling in love so fast seemed a little unrealistic. Overall a low stakes and the friendships were cute.
I enjoyed the characters but lost interest with the plot going around in circles. The falling in love so fast seemed a little unrealistic. Overall a low stakes and the friendships were cute.
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