Christmas Fling by Lindsey Kelk

Book Review Oct 27, 2025

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Publication Date: 9 October 2025

💭 My thoughts...

3/5 stars

This was a sweet, slow-burn romance with decent chemistry. There was a lot of humour to be had, but also a lot of emotional drama to unpack. Both main characters were likeable, and the ending was suitably predictable for a story of this nature, without making the journey there boring.

I was a particular fan of Joel as a character. He has way too little time on page given the amount of comedic relief he bought when he was there. He may well be my favourite character of the whole story. On the flip side, I struggled somewhat with Elsie as a character - she felt like a cartoon villain at times and it really knocked me out of what I was reading.

I was also oddly struck by how open-ended the conclusion of the story was, given how much trauma had been addressed in the second half of the story - family dynamics, relationship struggles, trust issues and deceit - all of it was left fairly open to interpretation for the reader. This isn't something I'm used to seeing in something that has been (I think) designed as a comfort read.

Additionally, I was surprised by the lack of focus on the festive element of the story given that the book literally has Christmas in the name. Yes, the story was set at Christmas-time, but it didn't feel particularly celebratory in that sense.

Easy enough read, but didn't leave a long-lasting impression on me on this occasion.

📖 Synopsis...

Laura just wanted to rent Callum's apartment, but when his parents mistake her for his elusive girlfriend, she finds herself spending Christmas in the Scottish Highlands. While there, she takes on interesting family dynamics and finds out there may be more to Callum than meets the eye.