I was so happy I found this lovely, quirky, funny, sometimes serious and always charming audiobook to listen to over the Christmas holidays. A lot of contemporary romances get described as rom-coms, and in a lot of cases this is just lies, spouted by the publishers to get more people to pick up the books. Haf and I aren’t the same person but that ‘oh well why not’ attitude she has definitely comes from a part of me.

This is supposed to be a sapphic romance, but the (insufferable) protagonist spends more time having heart-to-heart conversations with the (actually sweet) guy she’s “fake dating” than with her love interest, whom she has zero chemistry. I have not reviewed a book before but felt the need after listening to a book that is absolute perfection. Haf doesn’t have any plans, Christopher clearly doesn’t feel comfortable telling his parents that what Laurel saw was just a big understanding, and the agreement to fake date is formed. Christopher is a silly and sweet guy who wants desperately to prove to his parents that he's succeeding in life and is okay, but goes about it in the most nonsensical way. What follows is a glorious mash-up of the plots of Imagine Me and You and While You Were Sleeping (undeniably two of the best films EVER made).The next day the news is out that they’re apparently a couple, madly in love and coming to Oxlea to spend the festive season with Christopher’s family.

After a year from hell, Haf is ready to blow off steam at a Christmas party: a kind stranger, a few too many drinks and suddenly she's kissing Christopher under the mistletoe—in front of his ex-girlfriend. Joyous, funny and full of warm, relatable characters, this is the queer Christmas rom-com I've been waiting for' LAURA KAY It's the golden rule of pretending to be someone's girlfriend: don't fall for their sister. Natürlich konnte man es sich nicht nehmen lassen, das Cover mit regenbogenfarbenen Kugeln und Zuckerstangen zu verzieren, sonst könnte man ja nicht ahnen, dass die beiden Frauen dort verliebt sind - aber ehrlich gesagt passt es auch ziemlich gut, denn zuckrig-kitschige Szenen, die vor queeren Referenzen nur so strotzten, wurden nicht zögerlich eingesetzt. Und dieses Jahr gab es sogar eine Übersetzung (Christine und Anna Julia Strüh): Weihnachten - nur du und ich von Lizzie Huxley-Jones.There was no gasp of horror at the prospect of WLW and the presence of a non binary character with no introduction was just heavenly. They are also the author of the children’s biography Sir David Attenborough: A Life Story (2020) and a contributor to the anthology Allies: Real Talk About Showing Up, Screwing Up, And Trying Again (2021). Occasionally the plot was a bit too cheesy and dramatised which is why I marked it down a star, however this really didn’t bother me much. Haf and Ambrose have a comfortable relationship where they can talk about food, and as a fat-and-thin friendship pairing it was important for me to show that, in the same way that Haf is loving and supportive of Ambrose’s transness. A book that will definitely become part of my regular read again pile, particularly once Christmas approaches.

So when she meets Christopher and a joke kiss under the mistletoe turns into people assuming they’re dating, she agrees to go to his family home for Christmas as his fake girlfriend.Make You Mine This Christmas follows Haf, a fat ecologist who is battling burnout due to an awful job. Haf is facing a lonely Christmas so impulsively she agrees to be Christopher’s fake girlfriend and accompanies him home to his family gathering. I'm not normally one for 'holiday romances', but my friend kept laughing as she was reading and eventually I gave in and bought myself a copy - and I'm so glad I did. Filled with characters you’ll fall in love with and dreamy Christmas moments – it’s a festive delight! On the note of my husband, we are both bi (he is also trans) so the representation was great to see.