*I received a copy of this book in eBook format via NetGalley in return for this review. All reviews published on Yours, Chloe are completely honest and my own, and are in now way influenced by the gifting opportunity.
Title: Holiday Star
Author: Melissa Dymond
Genre: Holiday Romance
Rating: ★★★★
One doctor. One movie star. One house. One month until
Christmas. What could go wrong?
Dr. Gwen Wright is having a not-so-merry
Christmas. For the month of December, she’s alone, house-sitting for her
mother and new stepfather.
Her surgically precise world gets a plot twist when Caleb
Lawson—world-famous movie star on the run from the paparazzi and his
secrets—crash lands in her kitchen.
Besides being a Hollywood heartthrob, Caleb is also her
stepdad’s nephew. He thinks he has as much right to stay in the house as she
does, but as far as Gwen’s concerned, she’s the landlord and he’s the
squatter.
The more they are forced to share the small space, the
more Gwen is drawn to the moody celebrity. Sure, sometimes he can be a Grinch,
but when Caleb finally touches Gwen, it makes her jingle bells ring.
But the future looms like a foggy Christmas Eve. With no red-nosed reindeer to guide them, can Gwen and Caleb overcome their differences? After all, she’s ordinary, and he’s… a star.
Holiday Star is a forced proximity celebrity romance set at
Christmas from author Melissa Dymond. It was an easy page-turning heartwarming
read which I just sank into. It reminds me of a grown-up version of the early
2010s Disney movie Starstruck which provided a lovely bit of nostalgia for me
as someone who was in my early teens when it came out.
Caleb is a totally swoon-worthy MMC. I’m not surprised he swept
Gwen off her feet because he did the same to me. Gwen and Caleb had undeniable chemistry
which was really well written and there was witty banter between the two of
them. The spicy scenes were well-written and HOT. The build up to their relationship
was also well-written and it was a joy to slowly see them start to fall for
each other as Gwen gets to know Caleb and see the man behind the celebrity
persona. Gwen was a wonderful protagonist who was so likeable and we love a
woman in STEM! We also have some fantastic supporting characters and I particularly
loved Alvina, Gwen’s friend.
Holiday Star has been published in two variations: one spicy
open-door version and one clean closed-door version. I read the spicy edition
which contains graphic sex scenes and explicit language but the clean version
contains only kissing and no explicit language. I love Melissa Dymond’s
commitment to making her books accessible to all readers in this way and
personally think we should see more of this in the world of romance novels so
that every reader is comfortable.
The book does also tackle some difficult subjects very well. We
have good mental health representation through Gwen’s experience of panic
attacks. There is also a good portrayal of Caleb’s alcoholism and the treatment
he receives.
My one potential criticism is how much of the novel takes
place after the festive period as, for a book marketed as a holiday read, I
just needed a bit more Christmas spirit. Whilst the first half of the novel is
set around the holidays and we have a brief closing chapter set at Christmas
the following year, the majority of the second half of the book is set outside
of the festive months. Whilst I recognise the importance the non-holiday chapters
played within the progression of the story, it would have been nicer for the
second set of Christmas scenes to have been that bit longer so we could pack more
festive magic into the book and really sandwich the novel with holiday scenes.
Holiday Star is a heartwarming, fun modern romance which is
the perfect easy festive read for fans of celebrity romance novels or the
forced proximity trope.
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