About The Book
Seatmates Maryam and Anna bond over a turbulent flight to Toronto, sharing their deepest hopes and fears—unaware that Maryam’s longtime crush, Saif, overheard everything. An emergency landing leaves them snowbound at the whimsical Snow Falls Inn. As Maryam connects with Saif and Anna discovers unexpected love, both women find the magic of the season in the unlikeliest of places.
Buy The Book: https://amzn.to/3P3iui3
My Rating
This was a sweet winter romance that followed two young women with very different lives and struggles. When their worlds collide, they form an unexpected friendship and create some holiday magic. I found this book to be a heartwarming holiday read that offered more than just romance—it contained a surprising amount of depth.
In the novel, we follow Maryam, a Muslim woman traveling to Toronto with her family for her younger sister’s wedding. She is strong and level-headed, always putting others first. While snowbound in a small town, she begins to reevaluate her life and take steps to heal from past heartbreak. I especially enjoyed watching her personal growth throughout the book. She reminded me a lot of my mother, who, coincidentally, has the same name
The story also follows Anna, who is traveling to Toronto to spend the holidays with her boyfriend and his family. Although she tries to put on a positive and optimistic front, she is still grieving her father’s death. She is also struggling with feelings of loneliness. While snowbound, she starts to realize that she may have been merely playing a role in her own life. I loved watching her emotional journey unfold.
I found the bond between Anna and Maryam to be wonderful. It was clear that this friendship was something both of them needed. It was nice to see how protective Maryam was of Anna. I liked that Anna appreciated everything Maryam did for her family. It was kind of Anna to offer help whenever she could, even to people who were essentially strangers. The relationship Anna had with Maryam’s grandfather, along with his close bond with Maryam, was really touching. He served as a wise voice for both of them.
“Who doesn’t secretly love holiday movies?”
In the story, Ramadan, Christmas, and Hanukkah all happen around the same time, which offered great representation. I especially liked how open Anna was to learning about Ramadan and her fond memories of celebrating Chrismukkah. One of the highlights of the plot was how it seamlessly included three different cultures and holidays. The authors did a great job incorporating these holidays into the story.
As for the romance, it was really well done. I enjoyed both love stories. They were somewhat predictable and had a Hallmark-movie vibe, but they were sweet and satisfying. Maryam’s romance follows a second-chance, childhood-friends trope. Anna, on the other hand, finds herself attracted to someone unexpected.
Overall, this story is about love, family, faith, and the joy of the holiday season. One aspect I didn’t love as much was that, at times, the story felt like two separate narratives. They were connected only by being set in the same town and featuring overlapping characters. However, the authors did a great job of blending the plots together seamlessly in the end. While it wasn’t a standout book for me and the story didn’t feel as engaging as I had hoped, I truly appreciated how it celebrated multiple cultures, making it a unique and diverse holiday read.
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Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny
I am a big advocate for audiobooks, so I think a credit to an audiobook service would be a great gift idea. I know that some readers aren’t a fan of audiobooks, but your gift might give them the chance to try them without any commitment. You can gift an Audible (Amazon’s audiobook subscription services) membership to someone, or use one of your credits to gift a certain audiobook. If you are looking for another option, 
Maybe you have a reader in your life who has more than enough books. Wait, is that even possible? Anyhow, try switching things up by gifting them a book related movie. A few of my favorites are ‘The Man Who Invented Christmas’, which tells the story of how Charles Dickens came up with his most famous novel, ‘A Christmas Carol.’ Another classic that has been adapted many times is ‘Little Women’. There are many film versions that would make great presents, but I particularly enjoyed the 2019 film. There are a ton more book-to-movies adaptations that you can give that I am sure any book addict would love to receive.
These have become all the rage lately, and I’m all for it. Honestly, I think that this is a fun gift, even for an occasional reader in your life. It is an awesome surprise gift since you don’t know what you’re going to get. There are many shops that sell these bundles, and you can pick your preferred genre. The prices range is quite varied. However, I’ve noticed that the more expensive ones include additional items along with the book.
I think these two are often forgotten, but useful to many of us readers. For years, every Christmas I’d get a fancy bookmark from a department store. Nowadays, you can get some amazing bookmarks and book sleeves from places like Etsy and Amazon. I know that Amazon is the every shopper friendly and typically my go to shopping place. But it is always good to shop at small businesses especially during the Holidays.
I have read some really interesting books in my life, and some of them were surprisingly entertaining. First, I would recommend the ‘L.A. Candy’ series by Lauren Conrad, which is loosely based on her life on reality TV. These books are very cheesy and full of drama. However, I am unsure if you can still find them online, yet there’s a pretty good chance that you can get them secondhand.