How My Neighbor Stole Christmas

Did I see this book was a Grinch themed rom-com and not be able to resist? The answer is yes. The Grinch movie has a special place in my heart, due to some wonderful memories. So of course, I had to dive into this.We are in a Christmas town, we have Storee and Cole. Cole is grumpy, Storee is all sunshine. They re-meet, so they knew each other before, and he is not happy. Kinda enemies to lovers because he is like I don’t want anything to do with her, and she tries to do a joke which doesn’t go over very well, and things get a little bit heated. There is also a Christmas tradition of finding the most Christmassy person, and Storee aunt, who she is there to take care of, wants to win so she makes Storee do it on her behalf. And when Cole finds out, he is not a happy camper and enters just so he can stop her from winning. We see them become rivals and battle it out through all sorts of Christmas activities. Atlas (Max) Cole’s best friend is always on hand to stoke the fires of this rivalry. There are some hilarious moments in these competitions. It was so much fun.When I found out it was a full cast with Vanessa Edwin and J.F. Harding, Robert Hatchet and Emma Wilder. Also with Shane East as the narrator. I was excited to listen, and it did not disappoint.The performances in this are fantastic. I adore Vanessa, I think she is brilliant. I absolutely love the way she performs Storee. She has that kind of sarcastic-y attitude, and paired with J.F. Harding. There was not a better person to play Cole than J.F. Harding. The nuances of his past experiences and how he’s not really processed that and the vulnerability of that teamed with the grumpy, hatred he has for Storee and seeing how that changes…so good. And you bring in Robert Hatchet as Max. I don’t have the words. It was hilarious, and again, I don’t know that anybody else could have done that justice the way that Rob did. And then we add Emma Wilder. The excitement I felt when I heard Emma was on this project! I absolutely love Emma, and she is playing a more stern, I’m the good sister, the one that knows what they’re doing. At first I was like where is my happy Emma but as it went on, it was clear it was perfection casting. The way the lines were kinda deadpan was you phenomenal and seeing that change in the sister’s relationship.The way Shane East performed this narrator role was fantastic. It might be my favourite thing he’s ever done. It was so fun. The whole production was so good.I did feel like the epilogue cut short, and I would have liked a little more. And some of the competition stuff could have been a little cut down.

I could not put this book down. The book gave me such a cozy vibe that it felt like home. It was interesting reading all the characters names and then piecing them together to which movie character they were supposed to be. It was magical it was like a hallmark movie but dirtier. Put me in the mood for Christmas even though it’s only October and I look forward to reading this 100 more times before the holidays.

I listened to part of this book on audio at work and got some really weird looks from my coworkers when I laughed out loud… it’s that funny at times. There are definitely some serious aspects to the story. The MMC has a very heart wrenching backstory. It’s hard to read something tragic and not be moved by it, no matter what genre you’re reading. The FMC is less tragic but still quite sad. She has shut herself off from people too, just for completely different reasons. When they finally remember they are friends after reconnecting, the story really blossoms… and gets extra steamy! With “help” from her family the relationship has a bump toward the end but thankfully, she is able to get him to understand what really happened and we get our HEA. The book being parallel to How The Grinch Stole Christmas is so incredibly charming. The “narrator” is super cute with the intros. And the occasional arguing with Cole is so fun! The only problem I had with anything in this book was the occasional grammatical mistake, or spelling error. It was easy to overlook, and move on from. However, there were a couple of spots that it slowed the tempo of my reading for a few minutes. Definitely not something that should keep you from reading this super funny, incredibly steamy… did I mention funny and steamy, holiday romance!!

I went into this book thinking it was going to be a lot different than what it actually was. I was envisioning the Grinch and it was so much better than that!Storee has come home for the holidays to help take care of her aunt who broke her hip. Her and her sister have become pretty estranged so working together to help their aunt is going to be challenging but they’re going to do their best. When Storee finds out that she has to compete in their town Christmas competition, she immediately wants to run. This wasn’t something she was prepared for and she for sure doesn’t want to compete but her aunt reluctantly talked her into it. When she finds out that Cole is her competition, she becomes 100% ready to crush him.Cole has had a crush on Storee for as long as he can remember. When she left town 10 years ago he was crushed and never thought he would see her again but when he noticed she was back in town, all those old feelings and new feelings came crashing back. She left right after his parents passed away and she never even knew. He needed that support but she was gone so he was most definitely not happy to see her or celebrate this holiday but 100% was not going to let her win this competition.They fought tooth and nail against each other through the whole thing. Cole started acting funny towards her in front of the town gossips and that created the illusion that they were together. What else to do but act like they were together to try and gain some points right? Well things change pretty quickly and they realize that they really do like each other and want things to be real between them. The spice was spicing and the connection they had together made it very easy for like to turn to love.This book was so good. Minor 3rd act break up which sucked but they come back together pretty quickly. I am not one for a miscommunication 3rd act break up which is why I have it 4 stars but this book was still very enjoyable and the audiobook is unmatched!

If you’re ready to be swept away into the holiday spirit, this is the book to do so! MQ whisks us away to the magical mountain town of Kringle, where we meet Cole and Storee—Fierce competitors in the town’s annual Christmas competition.Cole and Storee used to be friends. They would sit on his porch as teenagers, each harboring a secret crush on the other, until on fateful day Cole’s parents are in a terrible accident, and Storee leaves town, not to return for a whole decade.Now back in town to help her great-aunt Cindy, Storee runs into a resentful and bitter, Cole, and he vows to beat her in the Kringle competition, but can they keep ignoring those long buried feelings for each other???This book fills me with the Christmas spirit and got me so excited for the month of December. The connection between Cole and Storee grows stronger and stronger until neither of them can take it any longer, all while trying to win the title of the Christmas Kringle-ee. Wonderful holiday book that narrates just like The Grinch. Perfect holiday book full of family, romance, and spice. 🎄✨❤️🔥

Loved the first 250 pages but this story dragged on and on. A whole chapter of texting!! Really? Passed right over that chapter, then after another 100 pages I decided to just skip through the remaining pages reading only snippets to get to the ending chapter. A note for the author, the aunt supposedly had hip surgery yet the niece who gives her sponge baths doesn’t take notice that there are no surgery scars? Kind of lame.I am finding Meghan’s books are now hit and miss lately. Never sure if I will enjoy reading them to the end or not.