Right at the start I am going to tell you, pick up The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter. Hands down an easy five star book! Five star not just for holiday romance, but five star romance in general. Absolutely fell in LOVE with this. This was funny, angsty, heartbreaking, and heartwarming. It had everything! Though, I do want to make it clear that this is a closed door romance. I don’t ever care closed or open so long as the story and romance is good, but in case you’re someone that only wants to read smut, consider this your warning.
I read this as an audiobook and I think it would still be just as good as reading a written copy. The voice acting was good but it was the story itself that stole the show. To start with the romance itself, the way Ethan loves Maggie? Ugh, my heart. My coworker and I could not stop gushing over what an amazing guy he is and just how good he is. His love for Maggie is so good and so pure. It is the epitome of falls first/harder and golden retriever. Ethan is just the perfect book boyfriend. And Maggie? Well, she’s a mess and no one can blame her for it. I love her. It’s so rare for me to find two main leads that I absolutely adore, but it was easy to love them both here. Maggie has been through so much, she can’t help but keep her guard up. There’s no one she can trust that won’t break her. Their chemistry was simply electric. Ethan dying to be there in any way Maggie will accept and Maggie desperate to know what his motives are. It builds until finally bubbling over in a series of confessions and realizations. This isn’t an every other chapter alternating POV and it works! We live in Maggie’s mind until we need to feel the truth behind Ethan’s actions. Ugh, my heart they were just so good!
Apart from the romance, the mystery was well done! There were so many suspects with varying motives uncovered. I had a feeling on who the actual culprit was from the start, but was never certain enough until the reveal. There was such an adventure to the story despite this being a forced proximity snowed-in situation. Pacing was perfect. We didn’t linger on anything for too long, but we weren’t swept away before we could understand and process the current scene. Everything flowed smoothly making this such a pleasant reading experience.
If you didn’t believe me at the start, please believe me now when I say The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter is a must read for the holiday season. It has amazing characters, fantastic ambience, and an interesting mystery that keeps you on your toes. This might be my new absolute favorite holiday romance of all time.
