How does a celebrity celebrate the holidays? Heading home, mourning your favorite coffee shop, and crossing paths with your high school crush.
I had the privilege of receiving an ARC for First Famous Christmas by Carrie Wittmer, published under 831 Stories, the home of romance novellas. I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to Carrie Wittmer, 831 Stories, and Netgalley. This book is now out!
Meet Marceline, the youngest member of the Freeze family and a classical musician who stumbled upon Hollywood stardom with h/er debut album. She ventures home for the holidays to relax, reset, and figure out her game plan for her sophomore album only to find out that her favorite coffee shop has been acquired by her high school crush, quasi-Byronic character Lucas North who has transformed if from the set of Peak Coffee to every elder Gen Z’s favorite “chill work friendly” coffee shop. But despite such sacrilege, she finds that she’s still quite attracted to him. Throughout the novella, he shows her how to stop being so jaded and she uncovers the mystery of his Christmas eve arrest.
The novella is comprised of 85% vibes and 15% plot. It does a fair job in setting the scene—describing the town and townspeople, but I found the resolution for the conflicts unsatisfactory. The conflict between the two sisters felt like it was being set up for something more meaningful but instead, the conclusion felt disproportionate to the strain of a lifelong misunderstanding. As for the main conflict, the resolution felt like it could’ve had a heavier impact. Marceline had brought up how stressed she was about the situation and while her disappointment upon the reveal was well earned, it felt like she was so quick to forgive.
This novella is for those who want something more vibey and less plot heavy as they make their way home to their own Hope Gap.
