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The Holiday Detour
Sometimes it takes everything going wrong to make you see how right things are.
Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.
But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love.
Cover Artist: Tammy Seidick
Genres: Contemporary / Romance
Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.
But the journey home is paved with detours. From car accidents to scheming ex-girlfriends to a snowy and deserted Chicago Loop, everything that could go wrong on their road trip does, but it leads Dana on a path of self-discovery that just might end in love.
Cover Artist: Tammy Seidick
Genres: Contemporary / Romance
240 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
9 people are currently reading
112 people want to read
About the author
Jane Kolven
3 books9 followersJane Kolven is the author of three contemporary romance novels. She believes in the power of popular literature like romance to bring about social change. Jane’s stories feature a variety of LGBTIQA people finding happiness—because everyone deserves love. Having lived in six states and two countries, Jane currently resides in Michigan.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
January 29, 2021
2.75 Stars. I thought this was a slightly below average debut. I hate being the first to review a book when it doesn’t really mesh well with my personal tastes. I do like holiday books, and I’m getting more into contemporary romances, but this one had more of a fun, almost rom-com feel that doesn’t always work for me. I tell people my funny bone is broken so I don’t always click with humor reads. With this book I had trouble realizing if parts were supposed to be funny or not. This didn’t have the comedy label but when a character is talking about falling on her face with her pants down, I assume this is trying to be funny. I feel like I’m rambling here, basically this book just confused me and it was not the fit I was hoping for.
The main positives for me can be found in the diversity of this book. It was nice to see a Jewish main character and I was really excited to have a genderqueer main character too. While the book was a little zany and out there at times, most of the more serious moments had to do with issues that the genderqueer character Charlie had to face like bathroom shame, pronoun discrimination, and family acceptance.
One of my biggest issues with this book was the total and complete insta-love. This book mostly takes place over two days so everything relationship wise was at warp speed. I get that the author had to do it this way for the premise of this book, but a character actually imagining marriage on the second day of knowing someone is just a no go for me. I know us lesbians love to UHaul but this may be the fastest amount of time to decide to move in together that I have ever read. Was this serious, or was this book supposed to be so zany than anything goes? If anything this book just got my anxiety going which I sure don’t want while reading.
I didn’t click with this style of writing but it doesn’t mean you won’t. I actually love first person but the problem here was being in a character’s head that was so scattered brained. Dana is one of those characters with almost no filters. She would just blurt things out that were either the opposite of what she thought or wanted (which was hard to follow) or she blurted out inappropriate things that made me cringe. She was a hard character to root for and I still don’t think I really like her. If the book would have been first person in Charlie’s head, it could have been a deeper and more moving story. And maybe then I would have understood how someone as sweet as Charlie would or could insta-love Dana.
This was just not a match for me. I can’t recommend this one but that doesn’t mean that you will not enjoy it. Because this book confused me, I don’t have a good feel about if other people might enjoy it more than I did. I would recommend that people read other reviews to help them decide if this book is for them or not.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
The main positives for me can be found in the diversity of this book. It was nice to see a Jewish main character and I was really excited to have a genderqueer main character too. While the book was a little zany and out there at times, most of the more serious moments had to do with issues that the genderqueer character Charlie had to face like bathroom shame, pronoun discrimination, and family acceptance.
One of my biggest issues with this book was the total and complete insta-love. This book mostly takes place over two days so everything relationship wise was at warp speed. I get that the author had to do it this way for the premise of this book, but a character actually imagining marriage on the second day of knowing someone is just a no go for me. I know us lesbians love to UHaul but this may be the fastest amount of time to decide to move in together that I have ever read. Was this serious, or was this book supposed to be so zany than anything goes? If anything this book just got my anxiety going which I sure don’t want while reading.
I didn’t click with this style of writing but it doesn’t mean you won’t. I actually love first person but the problem here was being in a character’s head that was so scattered brained. Dana is one of those characters with almost no filters. She would just blurt things out that were either the opposite of what she thought or wanted (which was hard to follow) or she blurted out inappropriate things that made me cringe. She was a hard character to root for and I still don’t think I really like her. If the book would have been first person in Charlie’s head, it could have been a deeper and more moving story. And maybe then I would have understood how someone as sweet as Charlie would or could insta-love Dana.
This was just not a match for me. I can’t recommend this one but that doesn’t mean that you will not enjoy it. Because this book confused me, I don’t have a good feel about if other people might enjoy it more than I did. I would recommend that people read other reviews to help them decide if this book is for them or not.
An ARC was given to me for a honest review.
September 8, 2020
I was really excited for this road trip romance featuring a Jewish lesbian and her genderqueer knight in shining armor who picks her up from the side of the road when her car breaks down. But, alas, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting.
Even after I finished the book, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not. Was it?? There were scenes that were bizarrely written with over-sized reactions and odd conversations, and I'm not sure if that was the author writing humor. In fact, the way the author wrote dialogue was some of the weakest parts of the book for me. It just didn't flow in a natural way.
There were some serious moments, which I enjoyed, and some nice diversity, but they were overshadowed by the insta-love and the improbable situations that the characters found themselves in. The romance didn't gel or evolve naturally. It all felt very forced and very phony. The whole book felt very surface level and it never came together.
I realize that this book is a debut, so I'm hopeful the author can find her voice a bit more in her subsequent books. This one was not a win.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
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Even after I finished the book, I'm not sure if it was supposed to be funny or not. Was it?? There were scenes that were bizarrely written with over-sized reactions and odd conversations, and I'm not sure if that was the author writing humor. In fact, the way the author wrote dialogue was some of the weakest parts of the book for me. It just didn't flow in a natural way.
There were some serious moments, which I enjoyed, and some nice diversity, but they were overshadowed by the insta-love and the improbable situations that the characters found themselves in. The romance didn't gel or evolve naturally. It all felt very forced and very phony. The whole book felt very surface level and it never came together.
I realize that this book is a debut, so I'm hopeful the author can find her voice a bit more in her subsequent books. This one was not a win.
*Copy provided in exchange for an honest review*
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September 16, 2020
Content warnings: misgendering from main character and minor character, car accident, recalling parental loss
As someone who is both genderqueer and sapphic, The Holiday Detour is very difficult for me to review. I wanted to love it so badly but I didn’t. I appreciate Kolven writing a sapphic story featuring an f/gq relationship however, so I rounded up my rating. There are too many issues that kept me from fully enjoying the story, but it was nonetheless chaotically entertaining.
On Christmas Eve, Dana Gottfried’s (32, lesbian, Jewish) beloved car breaks down while she is on her way to visit Nana. When animal scientist Charlie Barlow (genderqueer) rescues Dana from the roadside, they embark on a messy holiday adventure where nothing goes right. The only thing that seems right is their attraction to each other.
The story touches upon subjects including sexuality and gender identity. Dana, who identifies as a lesbian, finds herself hopelessly drawn toward Charlie, who is genderqueer. I like this setting, but I do need to point out an extremely problematic sentence of Charlie’s: “maybe you’re not only entirely attracted to cis lesbian women.” Trans lesbians are lesbians. I understand that Charlie wants to talk about genderqueer and/or nonbinary people, but this comment actually excludes transwomen who are lesbians and that is not okay. It is okay, however, for a lesbian to be attracted to someone who does not identify as a woman.
From the very first chapter of The Holiday Detour, we know even from Dana’s first-person perspective that she is not a likable character. She complains too much, fakes too hard, and doesn’t even respect the name of her childhood acquaintance Mitch. I see Mitch going by a new name as a augury of Charlie’s genderqueerness. And was I really surprised that Dana also fails to respect Charlie’s pronouns? Not really. But since Charlie doesn’t seem to mind it much, I am not going to reprimand Dana on her blatant misgendering throughout most of the book. But I feel like misgendering was used as a plot device here, and that makes me very uncomfortable.
Far too often we have perfect main characters in romance because this genre is inherently happy. Yet Dana has to be one of the least appealing leads ever. She is extremely judgey and an awful person in general. I think this is an oddly nice change, because though it is frustrating and sometimes angering to be in her head, it is also refreshing to see someone so imperfect. In Asia, there is a phrase called Princess Syndrome (公主病), which describes a woman who is narcissistic, egocentric, and materialistic (its male counterpart is Prince Syndrome). Dana is exactly that. The closest English word is probably “snobby.” Though I think Charlie deserves someone better despite a lot of lying going on on their end, I like how Kolven made Dana fall for them at their worst. It is the sort of balance in their relationship that I had hoped to see.
I want to clarify another thing that Dana didn’t get right: genderqueer/nonbinary people don’t have to be androgynous or have a mix of feminine and masculine traits. They do not owe anyone androgyny and can appear hyper-feminine or masculine yet still be genderqueer/nonbinary. Also, they can use binary pronouns, and that doesn’t make them any less genderqueer/nonbinary, either.
The Holiday Detour is a rom com filled with disasters that is fun and mostly enjoyable. The whole story spanned five days with the majority in two days—Christmas Eve and Christmas. It began and ended with Dana’s distaste for Christmas songs, a reference to the holiday gone awry.
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
As someone who is both genderqueer and sapphic, The Holiday Detour is very difficult for me to review. I wanted to love it so badly but I didn’t. I appreciate Kolven writing a sapphic story featuring an f/gq relationship however, so I rounded up my rating. There are too many issues that kept me from fully enjoying the story, but it was nonetheless chaotically entertaining.
On Christmas Eve, Dana Gottfried’s (32, lesbian, Jewish) beloved car breaks down while she is on her way to visit Nana. When animal scientist Charlie Barlow (genderqueer) rescues Dana from the roadside, they embark on a messy holiday adventure where nothing goes right. The only thing that seems right is their attraction to each other.
The story touches upon subjects including sexuality and gender identity. Dana, who identifies as a lesbian, finds herself hopelessly drawn toward Charlie, who is genderqueer. I like this setting, but I do need to point out an extremely problematic sentence of Charlie’s: “maybe you’re not only entirely attracted to cis lesbian women.” Trans lesbians are lesbians. I understand that Charlie wants to talk about genderqueer and/or nonbinary people, but this comment actually excludes transwomen who are lesbians and that is not okay. It is okay, however, for a lesbian to be attracted to someone who does not identify as a woman.
From the very first chapter of The Holiday Detour, we know even from Dana’s first-person perspective that she is not a likable character. She complains too much, fakes too hard, and doesn’t even respect the name of her childhood acquaintance Mitch. I see Mitch going by a new name as a augury of Charlie’s genderqueerness. And was I really surprised that Dana also fails to respect Charlie’s pronouns? Not really. But since Charlie doesn’t seem to mind it much, I am not going to reprimand Dana on her blatant misgendering throughout most of the book. But I feel like misgendering was used as a plot device here, and that makes me very uncomfortable.
Far too often we have perfect main characters in romance because this genre is inherently happy. Yet Dana has to be one of the least appealing leads ever. She is extremely judgey and an awful person in general. I think this is an oddly nice change, because though it is frustrating and sometimes angering to be in her head, it is also refreshing to see someone so imperfect. In Asia, there is a phrase called Princess Syndrome (公主病), which describes a woman who is narcissistic, egocentric, and materialistic (its male counterpart is Prince Syndrome). Dana is exactly that. The closest English word is probably “snobby.” Though I think Charlie deserves someone better despite a lot of lying going on on their end, I like how Kolven made Dana fall for them at their worst. It is the sort of balance in their relationship that I had hoped to see.
I want to clarify another thing that Dana didn’t get right: genderqueer/nonbinary people don’t have to be androgynous or have a mix of feminine and masculine traits. They do not owe anyone androgyny and can appear hyper-feminine or masculine yet still be genderqueer/nonbinary. Also, they can use binary pronouns, and that doesn’t make them any less genderqueer/nonbinary, either.
The Holiday Detour is a rom com filled with disasters that is fun and mostly enjoyable. The whole story spanned five days with the majority in two days—Christmas Eve and Christmas. It began and ended with Dana’s distaste for Christmas songs, a reference to the holiday gone awry.
I received an e-ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 11, 2020
2.75 stars for this Holiday Road trip story. This is a debut novel. I wonder if they published it midsummer so it wouldn't get lost in the onslaught of new and old holiday books?
This is about Dana Gottfried, a Jewish lesbian determined to get to home to see her Grandmother (Nana) for Christmas Eve. Unless I missed it, she doesn’t explain why she didn’t visit during Hanukkah a couple weeks earlier. Dana is driving from Cleveland to Highland Park, Illinois (near Chicago). And as many road trip books go – what can go wrong, does.
Dana’s car breaks down and a good Samaritan, Charlie finds Dana stranded and calls a tow truck for her. Charlie offers to drive Dana to Chicago since she/they were planning on driving the same way. And so begins an epic drive with two strangers. What was supposed to be a 5 hour drive turns into an adventure of more car problems, accidents, ex’s, standstill holiday traffic, and insta-love. This book was just OK but not good enough to put on my annual reread Christmas book list. Yeah. Instead of watching Hallmark Christmas movie marathons, I re-read my favorite Christmas romances and along with new holiday books that I hope will make the cut.
An ARC was given to me by Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an honest review.
This is about Dana Gottfried, a Jewish lesbian determined to get to home to see her Grandmother (Nana) for Christmas Eve. Unless I missed it, she doesn’t explain why she didn’t visit during Hanukkah a couple weeks earlier. Dana is driving from Cleveland to Highland Park, Illinois (near Chicago). And as many road trip books go – what can go wrong, does.
Dana’s car breaks down and a good Samaritan, Charlie finds Dana stranded and calls a tow truck for her. Charlie offers to drive Dana to Chicago since she/they were planning on driving the same way. And so begins an epic drive with two strangers. What was supposed to be a 5 hour drive turns into an adventure of more car problems, accidents, ex’s, standstill holiday traffic, and insta-love. This book was just OK but not good enough to put on my annual reread Christmas book list. Yeah. Instead of watching Hallmark Christmas movie marathons, I re-read my favorite Christmas romances and along with new holiday books that I hope will make the cut.
An ARC was given to me by Bold Strokes Books and Netgalley for an honest review.
October 15, 2020
I thoroughly enjoyed Jane Kolven’s debut novel The Holiday Detour. The quirky MC is facing some big life changes, and we get an inside view of her thoughts and feelings as she processes them all. A journey of self knowledge, told in a fun and light-hearted way, I’m looking forward to more by this talented author.
a copy of The Holiday Detour was provided by NetGalley for the purpose of my honest review
a copy of The Holiday Detour was provided by NetGalley for the purpose of my honest review
September 5, 2020
I'm not really sure about this book. It was a bit daft and had all the traits of a cheesy Christmas film. The story is set around a few days and I feel like too much was tried to squeeze into the story line.
The characters don't seem to have a romantic spark. But the author touch's the subject of Pronouns discrimination and family acceptance.
The story is about Dana, who's decided quit her job around Christmas time and go back home to live with Nana, but on the journey home things don't go smoothly, her car breaks down, which is where she meets Charlie for the first time. Charlie takes it upon their self to get Dana home for Christmas eve, but as you can guess, things are not that easy and things keep popping up to put a stop to it. Along the way you meet exes, Nana, old friends, pigs and much more.
If you're looking for a book where everything happens in a few days and is a really easy read, this is that book... unfortunately this book wasn't for me.
Ill give it a 2.9
I was given a copy for a honest review.
The characters don't seem to have a romantic spark. But the author touch's the subject of Pronouns discrimination and family acceptance.
The story is about Dana, who's decided quit her job around Christmas time and go back home to live with Nana, but on the journey home things don't go smoothly, her car breaks down, which is where she meets Charlie for the first time. Charlie takes it upon their self to get Dana home for Christmas eve, but as you can guess, things are not that easy and things keep popping up to put a stop to it. Along the way you meet exes, Nana, old friends, pigs and much more.
If you're looking for a book where everything happens in a few days and is a really easy read, this is that book... unfortunately this book wasn't for me.
Ill give it a 2.9
I was given a copy for a honest review.
September 16, 2020
This was what I’d describe as a quick read page turner. The main part of the story took place over less than 24 hours giving it a road trip caper movie kind of vibe and making me want to know what would happen next. In the moment I quite enjoyed the craziness of the storyline and the genderqueer representation, but after dwelling for a little while before writing this review I feel somewhat differently, so it’s possible that there are many people out there who will feel differently to me.
Dana is heading home to Chicago for Christmas to visit her Nana when her car breaks down. Charlie takes pity on her and offers her a ride.
Dana’s constant stream of conscious was tiring at times and her seemingly obsessive thoughts at times about a boy from her past became kind of odd after a while.
The discussions on more serious topics such as pronouns, misgendering and the dangers of public bathrooms for people like Charlie were handled well - both informative and fitting for the storyline. From my experience Dana’s reaction to these things fell in the pretty normal spectrum, so whilst frustrating and disappointing to read, I’d say they were also done quite well.
Some of the other reviews have mentioned that the premise of this book would work as a movie and I tend to agree. As a debut book I found the writing style to be ok and I’d certainly give their next book a read, I just wish this book was a little bit different.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Dana is heading home to Chicago for Christmas to visit her Nana when her car breaks down. Charlie takes pity on her and offers her a ride.
Dana’s constant stream of conscious was tiring at times and her seemingly obsessive thoughts at times about a boy from her past became kind of odd after a while.
The discussions on more serious topics such as pronouns, misgendering and the dangers of public bathrooms for people like Charlie were handled well - both informative and fitting for the storyline. From my experience Dana’s reaction to these things fell in the pretty normal spectrum, so whilst frustrating and disappointing to read, I’d say they were also done quite well.
Some of the other reviews have mentioned that the premise of this book would work as a movie and I tend to agree. As a debut book I found the writing style to be ok and I’d certainly give their next book a read, I just wish this book was a little bit different.
I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
September 14, 2020
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
You'd think with a cute ass cover and title that I would absolutely fall head over heals for this. Yet, I didn't. Okay, so in the beginning The Holiday Detour was a bit cute. I can't and wont lie about that little tidbit. It's just that things went downhill after that and ugh, I just got frustrated.
In it, you will meet Dana and Charlie. Eh, they were okay. I honestly can't say I have a favorite out of the two because things between them felt so awkward for most of the book. Especially after Charlie told Dana how they identify as. Then it kind of went in one ear and out the other.
Plus some things were said that just made me cringe. I guess it was to make them be cute or whatever.. but it just didn't work for me. Not sure how Dana redeemed herself after saying some stuff.. but good luck Charlie.
You'd think with a cute ass cover and title that I would absolutely fall head over heals for this. Yet, I didn't. Okay, so in the beginning The Holiday Detour was a bit cute. I can't and wont lie about that little tidbit. It's just that things went downhill after that and ugh, I just got frustrated.
In it, you will meet Dana and Charlie. Eh, they were okay. I honestly can't say I have a favorite out of the two because things between them felt so awkward for most of the book. Especially after Charlie told Dana how they identify as. Then it kind of went in one ear and out the other.
Plus some things were said that just made me cringe. I guess it was to make them be cute or whatever.. but it just didn't work for me. Not sure how Dana redeemed herself after saying some stuff.. but good luck Charlie.
January 5, 2021
I had been intrigued by this book when it was first presented to me, since the main character is Jewish and from Chicago. I also enjoy LGBTQ novels, although most of the ones I've read are young adult.
The Holiday Detour is a sweet story. It has an Adventures in Babysitting feel at times. I enjoyed getting to know Dana and Charlie throughout. I liked that there was a holiday feel, but it wasn't overtaking the story itself. The secondary characters were entertaining, especially Nana. Some aspects of the story made me think of when I was first on the dating scene in college. I like that this novel took place in the northwest Chicago suburbs, as I am familiar with that area and was able to easily picture the setting.
Even though the holidays are over, this will definitely bring back the cozy feeling. If you enjoyed The Happiest Season, you'll like this book even more. (And if you didn't enjoy that movie, you'll still enjoy this book because they are completely different stories.)
Movie casting ideas:
The Holiday Detour is a sweet story. It has an Adventures in Babysitting feel at times. I enjoyed getting to know Dana and Charlie throughout. I liked that there was a holiday feel, but it wasn't overtaking the story itself. The secondary characters were entertaining, especially Nana. Some aspects of the story made me think of when I was first on the dating scene in college. I like that this novel took place in the northwest Chicago suburbs, as I am familiar with that area and was able to easily picture the setting.
Even though the holidays are over, this will definitely bring back the cozy feeling. If you enjoyed The Happiest Season, you'll like this book even more. (And if you didn't enjoy that movie, you'll still enjoy this book because they are completely different stories.)
Movie casting ideas:
Dana: Allison Williams
Charlie: Lauren Patten
Nana: Ellen Burstyn
Mitch: Robbie Fairchild
Caroline: Tristin Mays
Clint: RJ Mitte
September 16, 2020
The premise of this is super cute, a girl trying to get home to her Nana for Christmas and she has a sort of meet cute with a kind person who helps her with her journey. I was excited that one character is lesbian and Jewish and the other is genderqueer, but unfortunately it didn't play out well.
Our main character Dana was rude, bratty, and transphobic. She called Charlie by the wrong pronouns, even after Charlie told her they went by they/them. She freaked out when Charlie used the women's bathroom and tried to force Charlie to talk about uncomfortable topics, even when they clearly didn't want to. Dana never redeemed herself to me and I think Charlie can do much better.
Charlie had a few issues too. They told Dana that they only gave her a ride because they thought Dana was gay. Um, super creepy! They tried to use Dana to make their ex girlfriend jealous and made up extravagant lies to cover it. And they really shouldn't have gotten with Dana after all the crap she pulled.
I can't say there weren't some cute moments and I can see where the author was trying to go with the story. It just didn't work for me unfortunately.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Our main character Dana was rude, bratty, and transphobic. She called Charlie by the wrong pronouns, even after Charlie told her they went by they/them. She freaked out when Charlie used the women's bathroom and tried to force Charlie to talk about uncomfortable topics, even when they clearly didn't want to. Dana never redeemed herself to me and I think Charlie can do much better.
Charlie had a few issues too. They told Dana that they only gave her a ride because they thought Dana was gay. Um, super creepy! They tried to use Dana to make their ex girlfriend jealous and made up extravagant lies to cover it. And they really shouldn't have gotten with Dana after all the crap she pulled.
I can't say there weren't some cute moments and I can see where the author was trying to go with the story. It just didn't work for me unfortunately.
I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
November 19, 2020
This book pissed me off so much that I bailed almost a quarter of the way in. As a genderqueer woman, I cannot recommend it and I regret picking it up in the first place. I was so mad about this book that I rage wrote the whole review on my phone while laying in bed, because this was supposed to be my fun bedtime read. You know you’re mad when you’re willing to write a whole ass review with just your thumbs.
Full review: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/r...
Full review: https://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/r...
September 9, 2020
This could have been a really cute LGBT holiday romance but unfortunately, the writing completely ruined it for me.
I wanted to love this book. I mean, how could I not? A lesbian jewish character trying to go home to her grandmother for Christmas and a genderqueer character who was kind enough to help Dana when her car broke down. What's not to love, right? Well... plenty. First, the dialogues. They were so bad and Dana kept being a brat. She said things like "Your car looks so stupid," or "I don't know if I'm allowed to touch your boobs!" that made me cringe. No offense but it was so immature at times I had to check if the author was a teenager. And yes, this is a debut novel but I still have expectations from debuts. I'm hoping the author's style will grow with time and experience.
Let's not forget that Dana didn't use the right pronouns for most of the book until someone told her how rude she was being even though Charlie had told her when they met that they preferred they/theirs. The bathroom scene also made me really uncomfortable and when Dana told Charlie they should have used the men's bathroom, that didn't sit well with me.
Overall, I didn't like the writing and Dana. Charlie was kind and deserved better. If you're looking for a queer holiday romance story, this is not the one.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)
I wanted to love this book. I mean, how could I not? A lesbian jewish character trying to go home to her grandmother for Christmas and a genderqueer character who was kind enough to help Dana when her car broke down. What's not to love, right? Well... plenty. First, the dialogues. They were so bad and Dana kept being a brat. She said things like "Your car looks so stupid," or "I don't know if I'm allowed to touch your boobs!" that made me cringe. No offense but it was so immature at times I had to check if the author was a teenager. And yes, this is a debut novel but I still have expectations from debuts. I'm hoping the author's style will grow with time and experience.
Let's not forget that Dana didn't use the right pronouns for most of the book until someone told her how rude she was being even though Charlie had told her when they met that they preferred they/theirs. The bathroom scene also made me really uncomfortable and when Dana told Charlie they should have used the men's bathroom, that didn't sit well with me.
Overall, I didn't like the writing and Dana. Charlie was kind and deserved better. If you're looking for a queer holiday romance story, this is not the one.
(Thank you for letting me read and review an ARC via Netgalley)
August 28, 2020
Well, being stuck indoors due to COVID-19, reading about books having road trips is my comfort for now. I was planning to vicariously go on this roadtrip through the book.
Dana Gottfried quits her job and decides to visit her Grandma for Christmas who stays in Chicago.
Dana hates long car rides aka roadtrips. But in the last minute she has no other option but to drive from Cleveland to Chicago. She begins her dreadful journey and soon suffers a misadventure when her car breaks down when she isn't even halfway through the journey. BUMMERRR!
She is stranded in Indiana with a dysfunctional lemon of a car when a tomboyish Charlie happens to rescue her and proffers to drive her to Chicago as she is heading in the same direction. Hence, begins a road trip I would not like to go on.
The story had potential but it could not translate into the entire narrative and it breaks my heart.
Dana and Charlie's character lacked depth and the story was more of a BUMPY RIDE for me.
I could not relate with anyone or anything here. I wish I could like this more but most of it was just incoherent and disoriented.
I really wanted to enjoy this one but didn't.
Thankyou NetGalley and the publisher for an e ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Dana Gottfried quits her job and decides to visit her Grandma for Christmas who stays in Chicago.
Dana hates long car rides aka roadtrips. But in the last minute she has no other option but to drive from Cleveland to Chicago. She begins her dreadful journey and soon suffers a misadventure when her car breaks down when she isn't even halfway through the journey. BUMMERRR!
She is stranded in Indiana with a dysfunctional lemon of a car when a tomboyish Charlie happens to rescue her and proffers to drive her to Chicago as she is heading in the same direction. Hence, begins a road trip I would not like to go on.
The story had potential but it could not translate into the entire narrative and it breaks my heart.
Dana and Charlie's character lacked depth and the story was more of a BUMPY RIDE for me.
I could not relate with anyone or anything here. I wish I could like this more but most of it was just incoherent and disoriented.
I really wanted to enjoy this one but didn't.
Thankyou NetGalley and the publisher for an e ARC in exchange for an honest review.
September 16, 2020
Dana Gottfried meets Charlie after her car breaks down on her way home to visit her grandmother in Chicago for Christmas. She is saved by Charlie who uses the pronouns they and them. Charlie is also from Chicago and has decided to give Dana a ride to her grandmothers house. The ride home becomes an adventure that neither are looking for and Dana worries she will not make it home in time for Christmas.
I struggle with what to write about this one. Let me start by saying that the characters in this one felt younger than they were. Dana had a lot more growing to do and Charlie was a bit more mature which helped. During the journey the mains did spend some time getting to know each other, but I saw them more as friends than lovers. The fact that they had so many issues getting home took away from any sort of chemistry they might have had. I guess what I am saying is the connection between the two was lacking. The premise of the story was fine, but it would have been better if they didn't have so many issues getting home so they could have focused more on romance. Even though this is a romance it felt like an afterthought.
I give this 3 stars.
This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
I struggle with what to write about this one. Let me start by saying that the characters in this one felt younger than they were. Dana had a lot more growing to do and Charlie was a bit more mature which helped. During the journey the mains did spend some time getting to know each other, but I saw them more as friends than lovers. The fact that they had so many issues getting home took away from any sort of chemistry they might have had. I guess what I am saying is the connection between the two was lacking. The premise of the story was fine, but it would have been better if they didn't have so many issues getting home so they could have focused more on romance. Even though this is a romance it felt like an afterthought.
I give this 3 stars.
This arc was provided by the publisher for an honest review.
September 13, 2020
I was so excited to pick The Holiday Detour up because Christmas is my favourite holiday and there's genderqueer and Jewish rep in here, but I was sorely disappointed. The book follows Dana, who, on Christmas Eve, is making the journey home to be with her grandmother. However, on her way there her car completely breaks down at the side of the road. Luckily, Charlie, a pig farmer, is there to help her out and offers her a ride home, but not without some diversions on the way. Admittedly, this book does have some merits - I liked the writing style a lot, it's definitely one of the better written romance books I've read, and the plot was interesting with some tropes I really like getting to see (fake dating and forced proximity). However, and this is a big however, the genderqueer character's gender was not dealt with sensitively at all in this book. Near the start of the book Charlie reveals their gender and Dana asks what their 'preferred' pronouns are (we're off to a good start...not). Charlie explains that they/them are the pronouns they are the most comfortable with while stating that she/her is also fine, but heavily implying otherwise, and even explaining that their unsupportive family continues to use she/her. Every other character in the book refers to Charlie with they/them pronouns except Dana who almost makes an effort to keep using she/her. Dana is the character whose POV we read the book from, and every description of Charlie is describing them as a woman and using feminine descriptors. It's only after Dana is called out by one of Charlie's friends and Charlie explains for a second time why they use they/them pronouns that Dana starts using them - and that's at 60% of the way through the book. I could deal with the insta-love romance because it's what I expected from the book, but this was just very disappointing and I didn't feel comfortable continuing to slog through it.
February 15, 2021
Omigod - I really enjoyed the heck out of this book. I had no idea what to expect, but I was absolutely delighted the entire time I was reading it and laughed out loud quite a few times. This is a sweet, funny book that is definitely a madcap romp as Dana and Charlie desperately try to make it to Dana's grandmother's in Chicago in time for Christmas. They are on a fast paced road trip with everything that can go wrong - and the build up of the relationship between Dana and Charlie is where everything (eventually) goes right.
Ms. Kolven has a magic touch for blending humour, action and some really memorable characters. Dana's got to be one of the most adork-able characters I've come across - there's a wonderfully refreshing honesty and realness to her and when she starts overthinking and babbling, it's a riot. With the character of Charlie, I was particularly impressed. I've read books with nonbinary characters, mostly in secondary roles, but with Charlie, I think I actually "got it" and I think Ms Kolven deftly crafted a character who's confidence in knowing who she is is wonderfully accented by an underlying vulnerability. I dare you not to fall a little bit in love with these characters - and I double dog dare you to get in a car with them. :)
Overall this was just what I needed - fast paced, funny and just enough aw shucks to make it a heart warming (and hilarious) holiday read.
Ms. Kolven has a magic touch for blending humour, action and some really memorable characters. Dana's got to be one of the most adork-able characters I've come across - there's a wonderfully refreshing honesty and realness to her and when she starts overthinking and babbling, it's a riot. With the character of Charlie, I was particularly impressed. I've read books with nonbinary characters, mostly in secondary roles, but with Charlie, I think I actually "got it" and I think Ms Kolven deftly crafted a character who's confidence in knowing who she is is wonderfully accented by an underlying vulnerability. I dare you not to fall a little bit in love with these characters - and I double dog dare you to get in a car with them. :)
Overall this was just what I needed - fast paced, funny and just enough aw shucks to make it a heart warming (and hilarious) holiday read.
September 14, 2020
So, this person is the one? This is a read about family, friendship, and finding self. Dana Gottfried is an uncertain individual looking for who knows what. She does love her grandmother and would like to spend more time with her. Charlie Barlow is a research scientist with a focus on pigs. Dana and Charlie meet on the road when Charlie pulls over to help Dana. She needs help because her car broke down. Dana likes Charlie from the start. As readers, we are unsure how Charlie feels because the story is told from Dana's point of view. But by Charlie's behavior and some of her comments, there might be interest.
I had a difficult time connecting with either character, especially Dana. She was all over the place with feelings, thoughts in her head, actions, and what came out of her mouth. Charlie for the most part, was quiet and reflective. Both women had issues that needed to be dealt with and to some extent there was some interaction and processing going on. How much can happen in two days and a tense road trip was questionable. Instant attraction is a possibility but this read just did not do it for me. However, there were some funny lines and entertaining interaction with Mitchell, Clint, and Caroline. I also appreciated the talk about genderqueer.
ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. via NetGalley
I had a difficult time connecting with either character, especially Dana. She was all over the place with feelings, thoughts in her head, actions, and what came out of her mouth. Charlie for the most part, was quiet and reflective. Both women had issues that needed to be dealt with and to some extent there was some interaction and processing going on. How much can happen in two days and a tense road trip was questionable. Instant attraction is a possibility but this read just did not do it for me. However, there were some funny lines and entertaining interaction with Mitchell, Clint, and Caroline. I also appreciated the talk about genderqueer.
ARC provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc. via NetGalley
September 2, 2020
2.5 ⭐️
This book was pretty disappointing if I’m being honest. I LOVE holiday romances (just ask my fiancée - I’ll happily watch the Hallmark channel any month of the year 🎄😍), but I felt like the premise of this book was far too constraining for what the author wanted to achieve. It’s a shame because not only do I harbor a deep love for the holidays, but I also adore road trips, so it was disappointing to see the featured route be so short and dull. As someone who lives in Chicago and routinely drives through Indiana, there isn’t much to see or be entertained by there.
My biggest hang up with this book is that they go from strangers to considering marriage over the span of 2 days and one (very short) road trip, which feels unrealistically fast, even taking into consideration the stereotype of the UHauling lesbians. The writing wasn’t bad and the concept was intriguing - the follow through just didn’t deliver for me 😕
I will say I give the author props for including a genderqueer protagonist. I love seeing the romance genre finally diversifying and representing different iterations of queer love.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
This book was pretty disappointing if I’m being honest. I LOVE holiday romances (just ask my fiancée - I’ll happily watch the Hallmark channel any month of the year 🎄😍), but I felt like the premise of this book was far too constraining for what the author wanted to achieve. It’s a shame because not only do I harbor a deep love for the holidays, but I also adore road trips, so it was disappointing to see the featured route be so short and dull. As someone who lives in Chicago and routinely drives through Indiana, there isn’t much to see or be entertained by there.
My biggest hang up with this book is that they go from strangers to considering marriage over the span of 2 days and one (very short) road trip, which feels unrealistically fast, even taking into consideration the stereotype of the UHauling lesbians. The writing wasn’t bad and the concept was intriguing - the follow through just didn’t deliver for me 😕
I will say I give the author props for including a genderqueer protagonist. I love seeing the romance genre finally diversifying and representing different iterations of queer love.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing me with an advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
September 1, 2020
2.5 stars. Dana Gottfried is stressed out about return home to her grandmother for Christmas. She starts making the drive from Cleveland to Chicago when her car breaks down. When a friendly stranger, Charlie, a pig farmer, offers to help her, she can't resist. She is instantly attracted to Charlie and would love to spend more time getting to know this stranger headed to Chicago too. When Charlie's car gets towed and nothing seems to go right on their trip, it seems as though the world is against them getting to Chicago.
This book was okay. There was a lot that seemed unbelievable about the relationship between the two. Their relationship evolved too fast for their liking. They only really knew each other for one long day and they are talking about forever. I never like the relationship that evolve. It did not seem natural considering how their conversations went. They both have fine interactions, but it did not seem like it evolved that far. Knowing someone for one day where they mostly did not seem to like each other I am not sure I would recommend this book, There are a lot of books that are a lot better.
This book was okay. There was a lot that seemed unbelievable about the relationship between the two. Their relationship evolved too fast for their liking. They only really knew each other for one long day and they are talking about forever. I never like the relationship that evolve. It did not seem natural considering how their conversations went. They both have fine interactions, but it did not seem like it evolved that far. Knowing someone for one day where they mostly did not seem to like each other I am not sure I would recommend this book, There are a lot of books that are a lot better.
October 9, 2020
3 star
Im glad this was a debut so the author can only get better.
The premise was clever....genderqueer gives a ride to young jewish girl. Great setup for a rom com but it just missed for me. I didn't like the main character, Dana. She kept saying inappropriate things. And talk about insta love....in 2 days?
As I said, the author can only get better, and Im sure she will. Maybe you dont need quite so many oddities and happening in one story.
Im glad this was a debut so the author can only get better.
The premise was clever....genderqueer gives a ride to young jewish girl. Great setup for a rom com but it just missed for me. I didn't like the main character, Dana. She kept saying inappropriate things. And talk about insta love....in 2 days?
As I said, the author can only get better, and Im sure she will. Maybe you dont need quite so many oddities and happening in one story.
September 10, 2020
The Holiday Detour had me with its opening scene and it didn’t let go until it’s very end. Jane Kolven knows the importance of a hook and uses it most effectively. One is immediately engaged in this charming romance and motivated to keep turning pages late into the night. Her entertaining storytelling is filled with energy and smiles throughout. At its conclusion, readers will most certainly be searching for Kolven’s next book. Fortunately, readers won’t have to wait too long; her next book, the Queen Has a Cold, is slated for early next year.
For me, Kolven’s holiday homecoming was like a shape-shifting of John Candy’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles into a Meg Ryan rom-com. This adventure of misadventure has so many “John Candy moments,” one can not help but giggle throughout. Dana Gottfried is the feisty and adorable heroine of this cross-country Christmas adventure. Though she’s prone to flaking out, readers are sympathetic to her troubles and antics. They like her and can relate to her. She has this Meg Ryan-ness about her that is just sooo appealing.
Charlie is the other main character in this heart warm romance. Charlie is a nonbinary trying to live their life in the most honest and authentic way they know. When they spot Dana stranded along the road, they turn around to offer help, proving they are the perfect empathetic hero. Charlie is kind, thoughtful, patient and generous. They are also quite taken with Dana. Offering Dana a ride to Chicago turns out to be more than a simple road trip; it turns out to be a journey of a lifetime.
Kolven is a talented writer, no doubt; The Holiday Detour is a compelling and entertaining romance, for sure. This book showcases her ability to use dialog effectively and masterfully. She can create tension and drive the plot forward in the most amusing and engrossing ways with her use of dialog. The witty banter between Dana and Charlie is so delightful and charming; readers will laugh out loud at their lively conversations.
The most remarkable thing about Kolven, though, is her ability to connect with readers through her creative word choice and descriptions. She shows, rather than tells. She can take the most mundane and ordinary thing, like eating a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and make it refreshing and thought provoking. Readers “see it” and “feel it” by her beautiful use of language and word building.
I would encourage anyone who loves fun, quirky romances to read The Holiday Detour. It’s a highly entertaining and completely satisfying read. Jane Kolven is a writer that knows how to bring substance to a feel-good romantic comedy.
For me, Kolven’s holiday homecoming was like a shape-shifting of John Candy’s Planes, Trains and Automobiles into a Meg Ryan rom-com. This adventure of misadventure has so many “John Candy moments,” one can not help but giggle throughout. Dana Gottfried is the feisty and adorable heroine of this cross-country Christmas adventure. Though she’s prone to flaking out, readers are sympathetic to her troubles and antics. They like her and can relate to her. She has this Meg Ryan-ness about her that is just sooo appealing.
Charlie is the other main character in this heart warm romance. Charlie is a nonbinary trying to live their life in the most honest and authentic way they know. When they spot Dana stranded along the road, they turn around to offer help, proving they are the perfect empathetic hero. Charlie is kind, thoughtful, patient and generous. They are also quite taken with Dana. Offering Dana a ride to Chicago turns out to be more than a simple road trip; it turns out to be a journey of a lifetime.
Kolven is a talented writer, no doubt; The Holiday Detour is a compelling and entertaining romance, for sure. This book showcases her ability to use dialog effectively and masterfully. She can create tension and drive the plot forward in the most amusing and engrossing ways with her use of dialog. The witty banter between Dana and Charlie is so delightful and charming; readers will laugh out loud at their lively conversations.
The most remarkable thing about Kolven, though, is her ability to connect with readers through her creative word choice and descriptions. She shows, rather than tells. She can take the most mundane and ordinary thing, like eating a bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and make it refreshing and thought provoking. Readers “see it” and “feel it” by her beautiful use of language and word building.
I would encourage anyone who loves fun, quirky romances to read The Holiday Detour. It’s a highly entertaining and completely satisfying read. Jane Kolven is a writer that knows how to bring substance to a feel-good romantic comedy.
September 1, 2020
You have insta love and you have The Holiday Detour, insta love is nothing compared to The Holiday Detour.
Dana is on her way from Cleveland to Chicago when her car breaks down on the interstate, as her luck would have it her phone battery is dead as well. Stuck on the interstate without any idea what to do she lucks out when Charlie drives by and helps her out. Together they embark on a road trip to Chicago. On the way, Dana rambles on about many things, one topic is her being a lesbian. Charlie knew this before she got in her truck. When Dana asks Charlie about it the answer is a bit complicated but comes down to being genderqueer and queer, the preferred pronoun is they. As they continue on their trip lots of things go wrong, an ex is introduced and many lies are fabricated while the ex is part of the story. All Dana wants to do is go home to her grandmother, but without her purse it's hard. When she finally arrives she can enjoy the not Christmas celebration with her Jewish grandmother.
There are so many things with this book that had me confused or annoyed, I will list only a couple.
The book is written in the first person, which is something I usually like, but not in this one. Dana is a rambler, she just goes on and on in her head. When they broach the subject of the spectrum Dana rambles on in her head about how she understands and such, but with the book being in the first person she keeps referring to Charlie with female pronouns. This is very annoying to me, especially because Charlie said they didn't like their parents still using she/her and calling them Charlotte. These characters lack so much depth, it's not even funny. I think I could have like Charlie's character, but there is no depth, some mentions of being genderqueer, an ignorant dude at a gas station, mentions of family issues that got resolved in a couple of hours, it's not enough. I think maybe when you dump all this in a rom-com flick mixer it works, but not in a book. And Dana is just plain annoying, a self-absorbed rambler, not my type of character at all.
WARNING SPOILER AHEAD!
And moving in together after a whopping 4 days together? Just no.
The writing style is ok, once you get over not liking this story. But this story could have been so much more.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
Dana is on her way from Cleveland to Chicago when her car breaks down on the interstate, as her luck would have it her phone battery is dead as well. Stuck on the interstate without any idea what to do she lucks out when Charlie drives by and helps her out. Together they embark on a road trip to Chicago. On the way, Dana rambles on about many things, one topic is her being a lesbian. Charlie knew this before she got in her truck. When Dana asks Charlie about it the answer is a bit complicated but comes down to being genderqueer and queer, the preferred pronoun is they. As they continue on their trip lots of things go wrong, an ex is introduced and many lies are fabricated while the ex is part of the story. All Dana wants to do is go home to her grandmother, but without her purse it's hard. When she finally arrives she can enjoy the not Christmas celebration with her Jewish grandmother.
There are so many things with this book that had me confused or annoyed, I will list only a couple.
The book is written in the first person, which is something I usually like, but not in this one. Dana is a rambler, she just goes on and on in her head. When they broach the subject of the spectrum Dana rambles on in her head about how she understands and such, but with the book being in the first person she keeps referring to Charlie with female pronouns. This is very annoying to me, especially because Charlie said they didn't like their parents still using she/her and calling them Charlotte. These characters lack so much depth, it's not even funny. I think I could have like Charlie's character, but there is no depth, some mentions of being genderqueer, an ignorant dude at a gas station, mentions of family issues that got resolved in a couple of hours, it's not enough. I think maybe when you dump all this in a rom-com flick mixer it works, but not in a book. And Dana is just plain annoying, a self-absorbed rambler, not my type of character at all.
WARNING SPOILER AHEAD!
And moving in together after a whopping 4 days together? Just no.
The writing style is ok, once you get over not liking this story. But this story could have been so much more.
*ARC received in exchange for an honest review*
August 30, 2020
The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven is a semi-road trip romance that follows our down on her luck protagonist as she faces seemingly never ending hurdles to try and reach home to spend Christmas with her Jewish grandmother. Dana is a lesbian woman trying to do anything to spend the holidays with the only family she has. Driving from Cleveland to the burbs of Chicago by herself, the first obstacle she encounters is her car breaking down on the side of the road and it only spirals from there.
She lucks out by getting picked up by Charlie, a gender-queer food scientist also on their way to Chicago for the holidays. After an initially awkward and somewhat rocky beginning, they settle in and their flirtation begins. Together they deal with unexpected accidents, snarky exes and missed trains all the while trying to get to know each other and find their ways home.
I have to be honest, I wasn’t very into this book. I didn’t particularly like the main heroine as she often came off very annoying and judgemental. At times, it was all about her and her problems without realizing how much trouble Charlie was going through to get her home. While I really liked Charlie, who was much more mature and together than Dana, I didn’t really feel their chemistry. The book seemed more focused about their journey home than developing an actual relationship between them. The plot unfolds over about two-three days and at the end the fact that they are ready to confess their love and potentially move in together (they don’t) seems a little far fetched to me.
What I did like however about this book was its discussion about sexuality and queerness in terms of gender along with sexual preference. I was learning along with Dana about how many shades of queerness there are. Charlie, being gender queer often gets mistaken for a man and subsequently harassed as we experience in a part of the book or just treated as a abnormality not just by heternomative world but in the LGBTQ culture as well. She describes how she is treated and how some people have tried to hook up with her out of curiosity for her biological gender. There wasn’t much steam at all in this book compared to typical romances but it works because the author isn’t forced to describe physical sexual features, something Charlie tries not to be identified with all along.
Dana realizes that there is more to just being either hetro- or homosexual and explores herself as a result of her attraction to Charlie. She learns to overcome her own biases and also how to make Charlie feel loved and accepted for their own identity most notably by using the pronouns they prefer. She also helps Charlie feel more comfortable facing her family and working out her problems with them.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
She lucks out by getting picked up by Charlie, a gender-queer food scientist also on their way to Chicago for the holidays. After an initially awkward and somewhat rocky beginning, they settle in and their flirtation begins. Together they deal with unexpected accidents, snarky exes and missed trains all the while trying to get to know each other and find their ways home.
I have to be honest, I wasn’t very into this book. I didn’t particularly like the main heroine as she often came off very annoying and judgemental. At times, it was all about her and her problems without realizing how much trouble Charlie was going through to get her home. While I really liked Charlie, who was much more mature and together than Dana, I didn’t really feel their chemistry. The book seemed more focused about their journey home than developing an actual relationship between them. The plot unfolds over about two-three days and at the end the fact that they are ready to confess their love and potentially move in together (they don’t) seems a little far fetched to me.
What I did like however about this book was its discussion about sexuality and queerness in terms of gender along with sexual preference. I was learning along with Dana about how many shades of queerness there are. Charlie, being gender queer often gets mistaken for a man and subsequently harassed as we experience in a part of the book or just treated as a abnormality not just by heternomative world but in the LGBTQ culture as well. She describes how she is treated and how some people have tried to hook up with her out of curiosity for her biological gender. There wasn’t much steam at all in this book compared to typical romances but it works because the author isn’t forced to describe physical sexual features, something Charlie tries not to be identified with all along.
Dana realizes that there is more to just being either hetro- or homosexual and explores herself as a result of her attraction to Charlie. She learns to overcome her own biases and also how to make Charlie feel loved and accepted for their own identity most notably by using the pronouns they prefer. She also helps Charlie feel more comfortable facing her family and working out her problems with them.
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.
August 27, 2020
I have mixed feelings about this. The plot and the actual writing were okay, if a bit confusing at times. Not particularly memorable, but not worth a critique. I never came around to liking Dana or Charlie. Neither seemed to have much depth, to the point where a few adjectives could describe their characters. Dana was especially disappointing, which is unfortunate when the story happens to be told from her perspective. While some concession must be made when she's having one of the worst days of her life, she is irrational and immature.
I thought their romance was a bit of a sham. There was a bit of flirting in the first two thirds, and in the last third, they went from first kiss to literally U-Hauling it. Not on the second date, even, but on the second day of knowing each other. Dana even spends a paragraph thinking of marriage. HELLO?! Perhaps if their chemistry had been evident, I would be a little less annoyed, but I wouldn't have bought it any way that it was spun. I understand that the time frame was condensed, and on top of that, the book is on the shorter side. To me, it logically follows that the romance makes limited progress. Must we perpetuate the U-Haul stereotype?
Two and a half stars.
I thought their romance was a bit of a sham. There was a bit of flirting in the first two thirds, and in the last third, they went from first kiss to literally U-Hauling it. Not on the second date, even, but on the second day of knowing each other. Dana even spends a paragraph thinking of marriage. HELLO?! Perhaps if their chemistry had been evident, I would be a little less annoyed, but I wouldn't have bought it any way that it was spun. I understand that the time frame was condensed, and on top of that, the book is on the shorter side. To me, it logically follows that the romance makes limited progress. Must we perpetuate the U-Haul stereotype?
Two and a half stars.
September 5, 2020
The Holiday Detour by Jane Kolven // ⭐️⭐️⭐️
⠀
Thank you to @netgalley and @boldstrokesbooks for the eARC! The Holiday Tour is out 9/15 ✨
⠀
“Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.”
⠀
The Holiday Detour was a cute story about finding love on a holiday road trip that had seemingly gone terribly awry. Everything that could possibly go wrong on Dana’s journey home did, and it’s a miracle she even made it home to see her grandmother. That miracle came in the name of Charlie, Dana’s genderfluid love interest who picks Dana up on the side of the road and offers to help her get home. This story was a sweet little holiday romp that was just the kind of light story I needed to read during bar prep. However, while characters were fun and I loved their interactions, sometimes the rapid twists and turns of the plot were a bit too wild to be grounded in reality. I also prefer my holiday stories to be a bit more Hallmarky and hit all the holiday tropes, and sometimes I had to remind myself that this was even set in December. On the positive side, I love reading any kind of lgbtq+ romance story, and The Holiday Detour nicely explored issues of gender conformity and acceptance. In the end, while this wasn’t a favorite, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and I recommend it to anybody looking for a fun lgbtq+ holiday romance. ❄️🤍
⠀
What’s your favorite holiday themed book? 🎄
⠀
Thank you to @netgalley and @boldstrokesbooks for the eARC! The Holiday Tour is out 9/15 ✨
⠀
“Dana Gottfried is a stressed-out Jewish lesbian who’s just quit her job and wants to get home to see her grandmother. When her car breaks down in Indiana on Christmas Eve, Dana is stranded—until she’s rescued by Charlie, a pig farmer who doesn’t identify as male or female. Although they come from different worlds, Dana is intrigued by Charlie’s sense of humor and kindness. Despite her better judgment, Dana says yes when Charlie offers a ride.”
⠀
The Holiday Detour was a cute story about finding love on a holiday road trip that had seemingly gone terribly awry. Everything that could possibly go wrong on Dana’s journey home did, and it’s a miracle she even made it home to see her grandmother. That miracle came in the name of Charlie, Dana’s genderfluid love interest who picks Dana up on the side of the road and offers to help her get home. This story was a sweet little holiday romp that was just the kind of light story I needed to read during bar prep. However, while characters were fun and I loved their interactions, sometimes the rapid twists and turns of the plot were a bit too wild to be grounded in reality. I also prefer my holiday stories to be a bit more Hallmarky and hit all the holiday tropes, and sometimes I had to remind myself that this was even set in December. On the positive side, I love reading any kind of lgbtq+ romance story, and The Holiday Detour nicely explored issues of gender conformity and acceptance. In the end, while this wasn’t a favorite, it was a quick and enjoyable read, and I recommend it to anybody looking for a fun lgbtq+ holiday romance. ❄️🤍
⠀
What’s your favorite holiday themed book? 🎄
August 28, 2020
I’m all for instant love romance but this was a bit to instant.
Dana just quit her job have been stressing out so she decide to go see her grandmother during Christmas holiday even though they don’t celebrate it.
While on the road her car breaks down there she meets Charlie who helps her but when the car can’t be fixed Charlie offers her a ride.
I like both characters I like that Dana just say what on her mind even if your like what most of the times. I think I would’ve like their romance if it wasn’t so instant. I did like how the author represents gender quality the good and the bad.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
Dana just quit her job have been stressing out so she decide to go see her grandmother during Christmas holiday even though they don’t celebrate it.
While on the road her car breaks down there she meets Charlie who helps her but when the car can’t be fixed Charlie offers her a ride.
I like both characters I like that Dana just say what on her mind even if your like what most of the times. I think I would’ve like their romance if it wasn’t so instant. I did like how the author represents gender quality the good and the bad.
I received an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher via Netgalley and voluntarily leaving my review.
September 19, 2020
I really enjoyed reading a book with a genderqueer (non-binary, although never said) main character. I identify as non-binary and read a ton of "f/f" books and deeply want more non-binary representation.
I liked the bits that dealt with Charlie. Unfortunately I didn't really like Dana.
The plot itself was too much too fast. I get that it was a chaotic adventure/misadventure, but it didn't quite work for me. The insta-(almost) love was too fast for me.
I liked the bits that dealt with Charlie. Unfortunately I didn't really like Dana.
The plot itself was too much too fast. I get that it was a chaotic adventure/misadventure, but it didn't quite work for me. The insta-(almost) love was too fast for me.
December 18, 2023
DNF @ 20%. Charlie says they prefer “they” pronouns and Dana just continues to use “she.” I know Charlie says it’s okay, but it’s right after they say they prefer “they.” And that’s just the tip of the poor-interpretation-of-gender iceberg. I was hoping for a fun queer Hanukkah read but I’m not going to sit through 200 pages of misgendering and the main character failing to understand the basics of genderqueer identity.
August 26, 2020
This book was a little odd for me. The couple meets and instantly falls in love all with in a very shirt time frame. I get insta love, but this one seemed wicked fast!
And Dana was trying to get home for Christmas, even though they don't celebrate, so why the rush? Take your time and go home for New Years instead!!
And Dana was trying to get home for Christmas, even though they don't celebrate, so why the rush? Take your time and go home for New Years instead!!
May 9, 2021
It wasn’t terrible, but the writing wasn’t great. The main character was weirdly obsessed with money which I didn’t understand. She also seemed immature for her age.
On the plus side, it was a quick read.
On the plus side, it was a quick read.
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