I'm sure if you've listened to the podcast for more than 5 minutes, you've gleaned that I am a Christmas person. Two of my three favorite movies of all time are Christmas movies, all of my dogs are named after a Christmas movie, and I started talking about Christmas shopping in September.
Sure, it's spooky season and I've loved reading a few witchy books lately, but I was so thrilled to be provided with an ARC of You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince by Timothy Janovsky via NetGalley!
This book is an absolutely cozy, low-stakes romantic comedy that gave me all the warm and fuzzies. It's what would happen if David from Schitt's Creek was, instead of landing in Schitt's Creek, Matthew, sent to the Berkshire mountains in Massachusetts to help several failing small businesses...oh, and it's Christmas time. Aaand his life-in-the-lap-of-luxury upbringing and pretty absent parents have turned him into a bit of a Grinch when it comes to the holidays. Oh, and Matthew meets (and insta-hates) the swoon-worthy, rugged, hard working man that he's (uh oh!) forced to room with during this not-so-voluntary retreat from civilization.
I read this book in a day because I just couldn't put it down. Timothy has a way with creating holiday magic so well that you can see it all clearly as if you're there. I felt as if I was at the gala, under the stars and memories, watching all of the (no spoilers here!) chaos unfold. I mean this in the absolute best way as someone who lives for them, but this book had that perfect Hallmark movie vibe--the one that you want to cuddle up to with a cup of hot chocolate and a warm blanket, content in the knowledge that you'll have an ear-to-ear grin by the time the story is through.
Most of all, I appreciated Janovsky's candid exploration of generalized anxiety disorder, and how it can so quickly impair your own brain to believe the worst in the best people. He doesn't sugar coat anxiety and panic attacks, instead pulling the reader through them at Matthew's side. It was refreshing to find that Matthew wasn't treated as "sick" or "wrong" or as something to be pitied...his anxiety was accepted as as much a part of him as his beloved designer wardrobe.
I fell a bit behind on my reading, but that's to your benefit, dear reader! You're a Mean One, Matthew Prince is out now!
Love and Wonky Latte Art,
Mandy
