In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren

 

Lately, we seem to be in a time warp. We are stuck in the now, we have nothing much to look forward to and we are constantly upset that our lives are at a standstill.

When we wake up the next day, we are at it again. We are stuck doing the same things, we are just moving from one room to another, have the same set of doubts and inhibitions and are constantly upset and annoyed about the circumstances we are stuck in.

We wish we could change it. But, in vain. How many times we have asked ourselves and the Universe, what is it that would make us happy? Or give us an idea of what our choices should be to make up happy? Just imagine if the world was giving you chances to re-live your day or time frame all over again to correct the situation until you achieved what you wanted! Would you like it that way? Would it not get tiring and frustrating? Would you live through your time loop every now and then to correct your life and move on?

Well, that pretty much sums up what In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren is about.
Maelyn meets with her family and close family friends for Christmas every year in a snowy cabin in Utah. It is a ritual they have been following forever now. Their holidays are predictable - the same menu gets baked, someone in the family will be drunk, Christmas trees and decorations will be put up - there is warmth in the familiarity of things. But, familiar things can get boring. So Maelyn, who is frustrated with her job and boring life, in frustration, screams that she would like to know what makes her happy. Suddenly, Maelyn realizes that she was living a certain day or episode over and over again! She has lived through three out of six days, thrice! Every time she lives through this time warp, something goes wrong and interestingly, she gets another chance at correcting her situation. Finally, in her last repeat of situations, she actually does set the motion to make many things right. She is able to remodel the Utah holiday home and even finds true love. She finds confidence in quitting her boring job and being more open to actually doing what she likes to do and one that will make her feel happy.

I quite liked The Unhoneymooners better, by the same author. It was entertaining, though cliched. It was predictable yet funny. It was an audio book I listened with pleasure. I quite had the same expectations of this one, but I can't say it was half as entertaining. Some parts of the story was fun to listen to, but some just dragged on. It did not completely live up to the Unhoneymooner's comedy style; a 3-star rating seems to be a decent score and totally okay to read or listen to it once.