How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

Living in a year around Christmas town has it’s drawbacks. The caroling, the decorations, the insanely cheery spirit, it never disappears. It’s why I like to hibernate away in my cave–I mean house–keeping a healthy distance from the holly jolly spirits.

And all was going according to plan until my nemesis, Storee Taylor, moved in next door to care for her Aunt Cindy. Without blinking, she turned my simple world into a real nightmare-before-Christmas, especially when she decided to enter the town Christmas Kringle contest – which she was determined to win.

Well guess what? Over my cold-hearted body.

There was no way I was going to let her win, not after the history we’d shared.

So despite my promise to myself of never participating in the sickening Christmas season, I entered the competition as well. That’s right, I planned on beating Storee at her own game by pretending this grump’s heart grew three sizes this season.

And it was working until feelings between us started heating up.
We pretended to date.
We kissed.
And well, sparks flew from there.

Which led to one explosive night involving Christmas lights, the competition, and a ladder. Don’t let me convince you who stole Christmas, I think you need to find out for yourself . . .

My Review

I love the prologue of this book. Storee has been finagled into taking care of her great aunt, who had an unfortunate accident while baking. However, her great-aunt lives in Colorado, in a small town in the high mountains, where winter is a real thing. 

Cole is a resident of this mountain town and has some history with Storee. He is a bit grumpy and has a thing with Storee, mainly because he is her number-one enemy. They have a history but act like enemies now instead of friends.

Their interactions are comical, and so is the poetry at the beginning of the chapters. Her aunt ropes her into a holiday competition in this Christmas town. This should be interesting. 

I wonder if anyone else is reading the rhymes in the narrator’s voice from “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” just me? The rhymes are the best part of this story. Because this book is slow-moving. This book moves from one competition to the next as we get closer and more holiday vibes and angst as the enemies to lovers characters interact. 

As the ice starts to thaw around their hearts, we get more friendly interactions and even a little bit of steamy scenes. The author brings in the fake dating trope, and of course, it turns tangible. Still, it gets confusing as there are so many different things they do and don’t, depending on who they are around.

Oh wow, they go from steamy to deliciously sizzling hot. This book finally starts to pick up its pace in the last part of the story. This book was an intriguing read, and although it ended with love and family, the days to get there are filled with so much bitterness that it kinda sucked the holiday joy right out of the story. 

It had all the tropes I would want for a holiday read, but it was slow, angsty, and not filled with the Christmas romance I expected. It does have those things, but the way it is betrayed doesn’t suck you in. Instead, I almost dnf it a bunch of times. It gets better after the sizzling scenes, but then there is miscommunication and a rushed ending. Overall, this isn’t one of my top reads; however, I will never look at a candy cane way after reading this. 

If you want to read How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn, you can find this book on Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, I earn on qualifying purchases.

If you like this book, you may also enjoy books with these tags and categories: Holiday Romance, Winter, and Grumpy/Sunshine.