Faking Christmas is a new romantic comedy by Kerry Winfrey that sparkles with all the warmth and magic of the holiday season. Putting a modern spin on the 1945 film Christmas in Connecticut, Faking Christmas is the story of a woman who finds herself in a pickle when her boss invites himself over to her home for the holidays (it all makes sense with some context, I promise). Our protagonist Laurel Grant works as the social media manager for an Ohio tourism magazine, and was hired based on her experience curating the Instagram for her sister’s family-run farm. The only problem is, Laurel’s new boss Gilbert doesn’t just think she runs the Instagram for Meadow Rise Farm… he thinks she runs and owns the actual farm. In reality, Laurel lives in an apartment in downtown Cleveland and can’t even make Easy Mac without setting off the fire alarm. Scared to lose the first job she’s ever loved, Laurel can’t bring herself to tell Gilbert the truth; however, things come to a head when Gilbert finds himself alone on Christmas and he misinterprets Laurel’s sympathy as an invitation to spend the holidays with her and her family. Now, with the help of her twin sister Holly, Laurel has to pull off a feat of epic proportions and host Gilbert at the farm like some sort of rustic Martha Stewart. And, to top it all off, Max Beckett will be there, a friend of Holly’s husband who pushes Laurel’s buttons in the worst way and is bound to throw a wrench in her Christmas charade…
As November comes to an end, I’m actively looking for festive books to take me all the way up to Christmas, and Faking Christmas was the perfect start. A delightful mix of lighthearted and smart, this romantic comedy is as comfortingly clichéd as a Hallmark movie but with some added zing. Winfrey is a pro at creating endearing personalities; each character has some sort of quirk that makes you fall in love with them immediately, whether it’s lifelong love of LEGO or an unironic appreciation for motivational posters. Even Laurel, who in the wrong hands could have come off as a little self-absorbed, won me over with the way she throws Christmas music dance parties for her niece and nephew and whispers mantras to herself. Her essence feels very Lorelei Gilmore, which pairs well with the book’s small-town setting. The enemies-to-lovers romance is fun and affecting, but the highlight of the book is its slapstick humor; Laurel’s attempts at adopting the country lifestyle result in so many laugh-out-loud moments that Winfrey captures with ease. Faking Christmas brought me a lot of joy—I absolutely loved it.
I’d recommend this book to…
- Anyone looking for a romp of a book with an endearing ensemble cast… it’s similar in style to The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams
- Anyone who loves a holiday setting as much as they love an enemies-to-lovers trope… it’s similar in theme to The Matzah Ballby Jean Meltzer
- Anyone in need of something warm and comforting with a little chemistry and sarcasm thrown in to spice things up… it’s similar in tone to the television show Gilmore Girls
