Holiday Romance Review: The Ex-Mas Holidays | Zoe Allison

A second chance romance set in Scotland with charming narration in the audiobook that brought the setting, story, and characters to life!

About the Book | The Ex-Mas Holidays

It’s hard to escape your ex when you’re working together over Christmas in the Scottish Highlands, but being stuck together might be the best possible present in this sparkling new contemporary romance.
 
Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she’s just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so a brief detour to her friend’s festive party doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Until Maya walks in to find the last person she wants to see. Sam, the boy who broke her heart eight years ago. And he’s serving drinks. Naked.
 
Sam Holland is working an extra job on the sly to help his friend get by. But little did he expect Maya Bashir to come barrelling back into his life, learning about his secret side-hustle and taking back her old job alongside him at his daytime role as a ski instructor on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands.
 
As both Sam and Maya realize that their reason for heartbreak so many years ago wasn’t entirely as it seemed, they must learn to stand up for what they want the most…or else miss their second chance at love. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

My Review | The Ex-Mas Holidays

The setting! The accents! The story! Zoe Allison’s The Ex-Mas Holidays is a perfect second-chance romance set in the Scottish Highlands at Christmas time that will put you in the holiday romance mood. The opening to the story was a delightful laugh out loud meeting of two former lovers as one is reeling from the quick destruction of her life and the other is naked, covered only by a tiny apron and bartending a party.

Despite Sam being in a relationship in the current timeline of the book, it’s pretty easy for the reader to root for him to dump the girlfriend and fall for Maya again because the girlfriend is so deeply unlikable and wrong for him. She is truly horrible to Sam, her friends, and the general public. A great villain to hope her relationship demise arrives sooner rather than later!

The book is set entirely in Scotland and the narrator does a great job with the accents. The cast of characters (other than the other girlfriend) were a delight. I loved the ski resort setting and Maya and Sam’s romance was believable and messy and wonderfully charming. The humor and banter throughout was just the right tone.

As far as holiday romance books go, The Ex-Mas Holidays isn’t overly Christmas-y. It had the right notes to it but didn’t overdo it. It is a bit on the long side for a contemporary romance book and it could have been tightened up a bit, though I wouldn’t say I found it dragging at any point.

A festive, surprising, and sweet story that had me cheering for Sam and Maya to reconnect and wishing I could whisk away to the Scottish Highlands!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing and Penguin Random House for my copy. Opinions are my own.