Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances [Paperback]

I'm not generally a fan of short stories, but I am a big fan of the holiday season. I'm also a fan of Maureen Johnson, John Green and Lauren Myracle, the three authors behind Let It Snow, a collection of festive-themed romances. And while the three stories in Let It Snow are shorter than full-length novels, they're not short short. They're also linked by the fact that the majority of the action takes place in the same small town in the middle of a snowstorm, and by recurring characters, in-jokes and references, making Let It Snow a little more satisfying as a whole than other short story collections I've read.

First up is Maureen Johnson's story, The Jubilee Express, which comes to us courtesy of narrator Jubilee Dougal. Forced to miss her boyfriend's Christmas smorgasboard and catch a train to visit her grandparents for the holidays when her parents are arrested at a shopping riot, Jubilee finds herself stranded in snowy Gracetown in a carriage full of squealy cheerleaders. As you'd imagine from that last sentence, this is a quirky and sometimes over-the-top tale that borders on insanity. It's also hilarious, heartwarming, and über-Christmassy. I loved it, and could quite happily have read an entire novel narrated by wry and witty Jubilee.

The second story is John Green's A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, which sees narrator Tobin and his friends braving the blizzard in a race against time to reach Gracetown's Waffle House, where the squealy cheerleaders from the previous story are taking shelter for the night. It's a little bit zany and a lot funny, with a super romantic twist that more than redeems Tobin from his early cheerleader-chasing shallowness. If you like your humour with a side-order of slapstick, you'll probably like this one.

Lauren Myracle's story, The Patron Saint of Pigs, focuses on newly pink-haired Addie, a barista at Starbucks who is having some major relationship woes. She's recently broken up with her boyfriend of one year, who just so happens to have made walk on appearances in the previous two stories in the collection, and she's about to learn a major life lesson - with a little help from an old lady and a teacup piglet, that is. While this story feels a little more tame than the others, it's an adorable and heartwarming read which also references my all-time favourite Christmas movie, It's A Wonderful Life.

Let It Snow is the book equivalent of a gingerbread latte with whipped cream and sprinkles. It's delicious and Christmassy and probably best consumed when it's cold outside. Each story is pleasingly unique, and yet as a whole the collection stays true to the spirit of this holiday. If you're looking for something to get you in the Christmas spirit, this could well be it.

Okay, so I'm a fifteen year old male. It took me a few days of pondering whether to get this book or not because, as we can see, it's a book about romance. And some of the reviews written mention how it'd be a good book for girls, so I was quite doubting.
But this book was amazing. It wasn't just three holiday romances; it's three romances that are extremely interconnected with every character having purpose and story. The end of the story brings them all together tighter than ever, and it's something so delightful and christmassy, and it's great.
This can be read at any type of year really , but it's a real treat just before christmas. Alas, I bought it a few days after, but hey. It's a great , moving book. Well done.

I'm a sucker for romance any time of the year, but something about the holiday season makes me want to curl up in a nice blanket, drink hot chocolate, and read love stories. LET IT SNOW is the perfect holiday read.

Maureen Johnson starts things off with THE JUBILEE EXPRESS, in which Jubliee (no, not a stripper, but named for a piece in her mother's collection of the Flobie Santa Village) finds herself stranded on a train in Gracetown in a huge snowstorm. A trip to the Waffle House introduces her to Stuart and friendship, or maybe something more, starts to form.

In A CHEERTASTIC CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, author John Green hilariously describes the mission of three friends to get to the Waffle House where a group of cheerleaders are stranded and wanting to play Twister.

And Lauren Myracle's THE PATRON SAINT OF PIGS shows that lost love can be found again with the help of Starbucks, angels, and even a pig.

Each story stands well on its own, but it was nice to have a common thread throughout. I loved how the authors found ways to connect all three stories. Characters you meet in the beginning show up later on, and places like Starbucks and the Waffle House are important to all three tales. The only thing I didn't like was that they were all short stories - I could have kept reading about each of the characters!

LET IT SNOW is a great, warm, fuzzy read for the holidays, so grab some hot chocolate and curl up because you won't want to stop reading until you're finished and happily sighing.

Reviewed by: Sarah Bean the Green Bean Teen Queen