Review: I'll Be Gone for Christmas

I'll Be Gone for Christmas by Georgia K. Boone
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review 

What did it mean to feel content? 

I'll Be Gone for Christmas was a story told in two alternating povs about can you be someone different in a different place. With some The Holiday movie feel, Bee and Clover switch homes for December. Bee lives in San Francisco and is feeling major burnout, she works with her high powered, feels like favored twin sister and has cost them two accounts over the last few months. She's a writer who can't seem to find any inspiration anymore for the copy edits she's supposed to write. Clover has had a rough year in her Ohio small-town, her mother died and she broke things off with her bestfriend since childhood, now, ex-fiancé. Bee wants to slow things down and thinks a farm in small town America will do it and Clover wants to test some boundaries after feeling completely shut-down by her mother before she died. 

This was more a women's fiction, finding yourself story to me than romance. While both women meet their eventual love interest as soon as they get to their destinations, that aspect kind of disappears as they do some soul searching about who they are and who they want to be. Bee is instantly attracted to Clover's ex-fiance, Knox, who works and lives on the farm but he seems to still be trying to get over Clover and Clover can't help but be attracted to Bee's twin sister Beth, but her mother's comment when Clover tried to come out to her, still rings loudly in her head. I liked how Clover's journey showed how representation matters, the environment and social circle she finds in San Francisco opens her eyes to possibilities and what is “normal”, helping her feel comfortable with her authentic self. There's a thread of Clover reuniting with an old friend and if you hadn't read the back synopsis, you'd be forgiven thinking that is going to be her love interest. It really wasn't until around 70% that Clover and Beth get romance genre going, leaving it to feel rushed and me not feeling a strong connection between them. 

Bee and Knox have some cute moments (a chopping wood scene!) but their romance also doesn't really start going until around 60% and even then there was still the hangover of Know still not completely moved on from Clover. I wouldn't go into this for the romance (closed door and some kisses), more of a finding yourself with some holiday vibes and start of relationships.

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