Matthew Prince is a rich kid, and at age 21 after a big breakup, he decides to buy an island. His parents are horrified, hush the whole thing up, and pack him off from New York to a small town in the Berkshires to spend Christmas with his grandparents. There, he meets Hector, a not-as-well-off college student staying with Matthew's grandparents since he can't afford to go home for break, and they immediately get off on the wrong foot. But when his grandparents convince them to work together on a gala to benefit the town's small business association, sparks start to fly.

A mixed bag of a romance for me. I appreciated the portrayal of generalized anxiety disorder GAD, and liked seeing Matthew's progress from being self-absorbed and all about image to being able to have something real. But as I reach the point of being twice his age, it was hard to relate to a couple of college-age kids, especially one with lots of money and little sense, and it was hard to give him grace as a character when I could see plot points coming a mile away. I thought the misunderstanding near the end was a little over the top, but not dealing with GAD myself, I may be selling Matthew short. A feel-good Christmas romance I would recommend to the right reader. ( )

At 11 hours, I found this audiobook a marathon. It is fun, but ... I wasn't always sure why I was listening to it. Was I wasting time ... more than I usually do?!

Matthew Prince is a card, ie an unusual character - annoying but harmless. And he is entertaining in his spoilt brat way.

Matthew is sent to his grandparents when he overspends on his credit cards, so he's in a small town in a tiny bedroom shared with a student the grandparents are helping, Hector. ( )

This author is fast making a space of his own on my "want to buy...must own so I can read it again and again" list. This story is sweet and touching, but there is definitely some spice in there too. I loved the character growth that Matthew experiences as well as the chemistry he has with Hector. Hector would fit my grandmother's description of people she adored as "a pure soul". Matthew, on the other hand, had some personal "basic character issues". He was a rich guy who is sort of rude but undergoes a transformation of the heart after his parents give up on him and send him to live with his grandparents. I don't want to give too much away, and it would be so easy to do with this one...so I'll just sum this up with saying that Matthew learns some lessons about life, himself, and the meaning of Christmas with the help and support of his new "more than just a friend", Hector. Words from Matthew... “You helped me see that home is not a place. It’s people. It’s the people you choose to invest in, believe in... the people you let hold your heart. I’ve long believed family is not necessarily blood relations, but those we love and those who love us." ( )

When this book starts out, it’s almost like a holiday take on Schitts creek. Our main character, Matthew Prince is a New York socialite, who just bought an island with his parents money. His punishment is to be shipped off to the country to stay with his grandparents who don’t come from money and won’t take it, to keep his spending habits under wraps. Matthew Prince very much echoes David from Schitts creek: that rich preppy fish out of water type person. However, I like David! Matthew Prince is really hard to like for the first half of this book. He has the spoiled rich kid complex, and it’s annoying. He also goes out of their way to point out that it’s his parents’ actions that have made him the way he is and all of his actions have been to get their attention. That may be the case, but it doesn’t mean it’s enjoyable to read. I really do like the love interest Hector in this male/male romance and I do think they make a cute couple. Once again, it feels resoundingly like shits creek. This doesn’t feel new or fresh. And while the title goes with the story, the Muppets Christmas, Carol comes up frequently. This does feel more like a retelling of a Christmas Carol then it does the Grinch. Matthew at one point in time does call himself the grinch but I guess you can see his heart growing or maybe it’s just his eyes are opened but… I just wanted to like this one more than I did. It’s very choppy. I love the town I love the grandparents. I love the side characters. I just really do not like Matthew prince. I do eventually feel for him and I’m happy for him, but he’s just so not for me.

This is a love story, it does work, however, it feels extremely Y a. There is nothing wrong with YA romance. I happen to really like them but this does not feel right. Why a romance? I am glad the author repetitively reminded you that they are both in their early 20s because one’s graduating college and the other one hasn’t been to school except for they the few months at New York University. This book is steamy, it’s not spicy. I think if the author wants to write steam and spice, they need to read more of it. The action in this book was bland more like a humidifier than an actual steam. I give the author credit for trying, but they need a bit more practice. Overall, this was a fun book and maybe I would like it if Hallmark turned it into a movie but right now it feels more like a Netflix holiday movie then a Hallmark one. ( )

What would your well-off parents do if you bought an island on a whim?
A - they would cut up your cards but help you to launch an ambitious project there
or
B - they would cut your cards and send you to Wind River, where your grandparents live and there is no mobile phone signal?
The latter is what happens to the main character of the book, Matthew Prince, who is forced to stay in his grandparents' house against his will. Unbeknownst to him, he has to share a room with his grandpa's student, who is temporary living there.
The plot is both clever and intriguing, which keeps you desperately turning the pages to see what happens next. What is more, the book explores the theme of generalised anxiety disorders (GADs), which I consider important to be discussed. When it comes to the characters of this novel, most of them are well drawn and throughout the story you can see their personal growth. However, I felt sorely disappointed with the Latin representation in this book: there is a growing number of non Latin authors who include Latin characters in their books that are badly portrayed. In this case, it felt like Janovsky did some research into Puerto Rico's most famous dishes and decided to include it along with a sentence in Spanish to make Hector's character Latin. As a consequence, I wish Hector were not Latin since it wouldn't have felt like a forced inclusion.
All in all, I tremendously enjoyed this book.
Were you to give holiday books a chance, look no further. It's highly likely that anyone would be delighted to get a copy of this unputdownable book. ( )