Title: You Make It Feel Like ChristmasAuthor: Sophie Sullivan
Pages: 320
Publication Date: Sept. 23, 2025
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary
Synopsis:
Maisie Smart has a don’t-look-back policy–not on the choice she made to be a photographer (despite her family’s wishes) and not on the one-night stand she had six months ago. Sleeping with someone she barely knew was out of character; sleeping with a professional hockey player who bolted the morning after is a whole new level of embarrassing. Getting invited to spend the week at Tickle Tree Farm with her family this Christmas is a sure way to fill her with holiday spirit. Until the universe throws a Grinch in her festive plans in the form of the one man she hoped to avoid.
Nick King is a mess. After a significant injury lands him on the bench for every game for the rest of the month, he has more time to dwell on the one night stand he can’t get out of his head. With time on his hands, his anxiety hovering, and the holidays around the corner, he figures visiting his sister and nephew at their Christmas tree farm will be a good way to lie low and sort himself out. He’s in for a surprise when it turns out Maisie is staying at his sister’s and his attraction for her hasn’t lessened one bit in the last six months. Apparently, neither has her anger at him for bailing. But Christmas is the time for second chances, and the forced proximity may help Nick and Maisie unwrap feelings neither of them can walk away from twice.
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You Make It Feel Like Christmas was such a charming and fun read with great holiday vibes. I read the story during a particularly hot day in July, and it was a refreshing palate cleanser. Maisie and Nick were so easy to root for, and I love how their relationship deepened. They had so much chemistry, and I was so curious to see why their one-night stand didn’t develop into more.
Both Nick and Maisie have realistic anxieties and baggage, and I like how the author addressed these issues. I also love that Nick worked to earn Maisy’s trust. Though I understood his reasons, he had a bit of groveling to do, and he did it well. He makes some beautiful and heartfelt gestures that prove his feelings and worth.
I also really liked how the book handled Nick’s anxiety and Maisie’s strained relationship with her mom. Those elements added more depth than I was expecting from a holiday romance, and I thought both were handled well. The setting was charming without being too over-the-top Hallmark-y, and the sibling dynamics brought some nice warmth and humor into the story.
The pacing also worked for me, and the third-person POV gave enough insight into both characters without slowing things down. Overall, it struck a great balance between festive, heartfelt, and fun. Definitely one I’d revisit during the holidays and recommend to other contemporary romance readers!
Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me with a copy of the book. All thoughts are my own.
- one-night-stand
- forced proximity
- complicated family dynamics
- Christmas setting
- second chance romance
- hockey player MMC
“When you love someone or something fiercely, with every piece of yourself, you find a way.”
“You make me want to be the man you see me as and not the broken one I am.”
SOPHIE SULLIVAN is a Canadian author as well as a cookie-eating, Diet Pepsi-drinking, Disney enthusiast who loves reading and writing romance in almost equal measure. She writes around her day job as a teacher and spends her spare time with her sweet family watching reruns of Friends. Ten Rules For Faking It is her romcom debut novel, but she’s had plenty of practice writing happily ever after as her alter ego, Jody Holford.
Still not ready to read a Christmas book.
The crazy thing about the Christmas books this year is that I have to read A Christmas Carol a 2nd time this year. Only because the first time I started too late last year and finished it this year. It is Holiday Tradition to read it every Holiday Season.
The only other physical Christmas book I own is “Christmas with L.M. Montgomery”