The Christmas Before

~Haylee Trew

The Christmas Before: A Riceville Springs Novella by Haylee Trew is the first glimpse into what I hope will become a fully developed, emotionally rich series. This is an introduction designed to set the stage before readers are swept into what I am hoping to become a heart-gripping story. I just wish we had been given some kind of warning that we would be ultimately left dangling on the edge, without any rope, while we wait for book two.

Bailey’s love for Christmas in ingrained deep in her soul. Growing up in a home that treasured the holiday, she carried that Christmas magic into her adult life. Moving to NYC after college brought excitement and new adventures, but no matter what, she always returned home to celebrate Christmas with her family.

Until this year.

Her boyfriend, Jason, is a workaholic. He is far more in love with the image he projects of himself that with the people in his life. Bailey is feeling the strain of their relationship and longing for home. When she asks for him to take time off work and go home with her for Christmas, he insists he can’t. Gaslighting her into staying with him in the city to spend the holidays together, she will be spending her first Christmas away from home and family.

To keep the peace, Bailey stays for him. In doing so, she finds herself increasingly isolated. Cut off from her home, her people, her holiday traditions and lacking the spark their relationship once had. Bailey goes out of her way to recapture that early love they once had, all while feeling the longing to be home with her family.

Trew accomplishes something impressive in such a short format: she builds characters you bond with, despise, really feel. Bailey is raw, vulnerable, painfully relatable – as many women will unfortunately recognize. Jason, meanwhile, is crafted as the “villain,” though Trew never needs to make him overtly monstrous. His presence alone shapes the emotional terrain, laying down threads that clearly hint at deeper issues. The supporting cast appears briefly, but just enough to offer a glimpse into Bailey’s life before NYC – and into relationships I expect will grow as the series unfolds.

I think I know why Trew chose to begin with The Christmas Before, but let me be clear: don’t start this expecting a cozy holiday romance wrapped in tinsel and warmth. For me, it was quite the opposite. When I finished, I honestly checked my download to be sure the book hadn’t cut off early. I was not a happy bookworm.

Yes, it’s a cliffhanger.

Yes, it’s meant to set up the series.

But I was fully invested… and then—BAM. The cover slams shut. Right in my face y’all.

I’m hopeful the next book in the series is MUCH longer – please Haylee, don’t give us another novella length cliffhanger – and really digs deeper into what the series has potential for.

Normally, a book that ends this abruptly would fall lower on my rating scale (especially since I tend to stick with authors I already know and love). But I’m giving this series the benefit of the doubt and going down the middle – for now. I’m reading book two before making any final judgments.

I’ll leave you with this: Don’t go in expecting a warm-and-fuzzy holiday happily-ever-after. This is a Christmas-centered origin story – a setup, not a payoff.

And the cliffhanger?

It’s a big one. If you’re anything like me, you’ll finish with your jaw hanging open, torn between frustration and hope (it was more frustration if we are being transparent here).

I enjoy a good cliffhanger…but this one left me with some very mixed feelings.

Thank you to Haylee Trew and Love Notes PR for entrusting me to Alpha/Beta/ARC for The Christmas Before. As always, all opinions and reviews are of my own volition. I have not been promised any compensation, current or future, by the author or publisher for a fair and honest review.

If you enjoyed this review, or any content on my page, please follow me on all social media as thetxlitchic – links can be found here on my LinkTree 

#thetxlitchic #bookreviewsandmore #bookstagram #booktok #bookcommunity #readersofinstagram #booklover #arcreader #bookreview #bingeworthy #tbr #supportindieauthors #bookobsessed #instareads #books #bookaddict #bookreviewer #bookreviews #keepreading #indiebooks #indieauthors #Supportyourlocalbook #genrewhore #ilikebigbooksandicannotlie #hayleetrew #thechristmasbefore #lovenotesPR