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NetGalley Review of You Make it Feel Like Christmas

Posted on September 16, 2025September 23, 2025 by caritagardiner
Screenshot 2025-04-29 at 8.11.22 PM

title: You Make it Feel Like Christmas

author: Sophie Sullivan

publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

publication date: September 23, 2025

pages: 320

peppers: 3 (on this scale)

warnings: on-ice injury

summary: Maisie and her siblings are finally getting the whole family together for Christmas at a quaint tree farm in a super-cute town. Surprisingly, the owner's brother turns out to be the man with whom Maisie had a one-night stand half a year ago and can't stop thinking about. Nick King is injured, struggling with anxiety, and nearing the end of his hockey career, so he is excited about having a relaxing holiday at his sister's new home, which is a Christmas tree farm in a super-cute town. (I bet you didn't see that coming.)

tropes:

  • second-chance romance
  • one-night stand is more
  • family vacation
  • everyone else has a special person
  • cute kid
  • holiday vibes
  • my family doesn't respect my work
  • mental illness

what I liked:

  • cute family scenes
  • super cute kid
  • pining (get the tree pun?)

what I didn’t like:

  • somewhat repetitive
  • not much real conflict

overall rating: 3 (of 5 stars)

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WHAT I DO

I serve as a class dean and teach English to high schoolers at a boarding school in Connecticut. I’ve earned a Bachelor of Arts (Amherst College), an Education Master in Learning and Teaching (Harvard University Graduate School of Education), a Master of Arts in English (Bread Loaf School of English), and most recently a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing with a certificate in the online teaching of writing (Southern New Hampshire University).

As a writer, I hope to capture the complexity and joy of life in the New England boarding school world. On this site, I share what I know about trying to write fiction while deaning, teaching English, coaching, and doing the other tasks associated with helping to raise over six hundred other people’s children.

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