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title: When Ivy Met Mr. Holidayauthor: Jennifer Peel
published: 10.21.2025
publisher: self-published
Source: Kindle Unlimited
genre(s): holiday/seasonal, romance
pages: 303
format: eBook
buy/shelve it: Amazon | BookBub | StoryGraph | Goodreads
rating:
the blurb
Friends don’t let friends fake date alone.
Oscar Wilde once said, “Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.” Ha! Wrong. Dead wrong. And I can totally prove it.
For the last seven years, I’ve been just friends with Jack Holiday—yes, that Jack Holiday. The swoon-worthy, ridiculously famous, self-proclaimed king of the silver screen. Passion? Love? Worship? Please. Unless you count how much Jack worships himself. Take that, Oscar!
Okay, have I thought about being more than friends with Jack? Sure. I mean, the man waters my plants, never forgets my birthday, and knows exactly which ice cream to bring me—whether for PMS or heartbreak. But when our unlikely friendship began, I swore we’d never cross that line—even if Jack, like Oscar, doesn’t believe men and women can really be just friends.
Then Jack drops a he wants to come home with me for the holidays. The guy who’s never cared about Christmas suddenly wants to play Mr. Holly Jolly. Worse, he needs me to pretend to be his fake girlfriend to save him from his ex. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s laughing with my nieces and nephews, charming my family, and being . . . utterly, infuriatingly adorable.
And maybe—just maybe—we had to kiss.
Oh. Wow. So. So. So. Good.
So amazing, it’s making me want to swallow my pride and beg Oscar for forgiveness. But once you leave the friend zone, there’s no going back. There’s no safety net. Now, I have to ask myself, is risking our friendship worth the fall? And will Jack still be there to catch me?
a few notes
POV: 1st person; dual
setting: Aspen Lake
keywords/phrases: friends, family, holidays
tropes: friends to lovers
spice: 1/3
language: 2/3
mood reading: in the mood for a book with a lot of romance and a lot of holiday cheer.
bonus points: Ivy’s close-knit and holiday-obsessed family
my review
This is the PERFECT book to get one into the holiday spirit! It is full of holiday cheer and a family that lives for their holiday traditions. That makes the perfect backdrop for a romance that’s years in the making, pages and pages of enticing romantic tension
I’ve read several of Peel’s books, and I love her writing. She excels at creating wit and banter, even more so at establishing deep connections between characters. And those qualities are definitely present in this book. Even beyond Ivy and Jack, it’s seen in Ivy’s family, who are maybe a touch obsessive but still adorably wonderful. Loud, messy, and full of love… especially Ivy’s mom. So good!
About Jennifer Peel
Jennifer Peel is the mother of three amazing kiddos. Wife to her one and only for the past twenty-two years. Lover of late night talks, beach vacations, the mountains, pink bubble gum ice cream, tours of model homes, and southern living. She can frequently be found with her laptop on, fingers typing away, indulging in chocolate milk, and writing out the stories that are constantly swirling through her head.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2025 52 Books Reading Challenge
- 2025 Christmas Reading Challenge
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