{"id":30623,"date":"2023-09-28T09:06:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-28T13:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=30623"},"modified":"2023-09-28T09:06:13","modified_gmt":"2023-09-28T13:06:13","slug":"review-the-ex-mas-holidays-by-zoe-allison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2023\/09\/28\/review-the-ex-mas-holidays-by-zoe-allison\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f The Ex-Mas Holidays by Zoe Allison"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--themify_builder_content-->\n<div id=\"themify_builder_content-30623\" data-postid=\"30623\" class=\"themify_builder_content themify_builder_content-30623 themify_builder tf_clear\">\n    \t\t\t<!-- module_row -->\n\t<div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_row themify_builder_row tb_cax8695 tb_first tf_w tf_clearfix\">\n\t    \t\t\t<div class=\"row_inner col_align_top gutter-narrow tb_col_count_2 tf_box tf_rel\">\n\t\t            <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-1 tb_xr51695 first\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module image -->\n<div  class=\"module module-image tb_5lys695 rounded drop-shadow customBorderRad_top image-center auto_fullwidth tf_mw\" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div class=\"image-wrap tf_rel tf_mw\">\n\t\t    <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"987\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=640%2C987&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"wp-post-image wp-image-30624\" title=\"the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\" alt=\"the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/>\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/image-wrap -->\n    \n    \t<\/div>\n<!-- \/module image --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_2cco695 customBorderRad_bottom repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she&#8217;s just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so a brief detour to her friend\u2019s festive party doesn\u2019t seem like such a bad idea. Until Maya walks in to find the last person she wants to see. Sam, the boy who broke her heart eight years ago. And he\u2019s serving drinks. Naked.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">Sam Holland is working an extra job on the sly to help his friend get by. But little did he expect Maya Bashir to come barrelling back into his life, learning about his secret side-hustle and taking back her old job alongside him at his daytime role as a ski instructor on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands.<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">\u00a0<\/span><br \/><span style=\"color: #ffffff;\">As both Sam and Maya realize that their reason for heartbreak so many years ago wasn\u2019t entirely as it seemed, they must learn to stand up for what they want the most\u2026or else miss their second chance at love.<\/span><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n                        <div  data-lazy=\"1\" class=\"module_column tb-column col3-2 tb_1rmh695 last\">\n                                                        <div class=\"tb-column-inner tf_box tf_w\">\n                        <!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_vs9t695  repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-16471 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2_5-hearts-1.jpg?resize=107%2C44&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"107\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 26, 2023<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $10.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Maya<\/strong> and <strong>Sam<\/strong> used to be an item almost a decade ago. Maya never expects to see Sam again, but circumstances force her to return home and straight into Sam. She is rather shocked when she \u201csees\u201d him again. To make things even more complicated, she started working as a ski instructor alongside him during the day.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">I had different expectations for this book. I wanted a second-chance romance that made a bit more sense. Maya and Sam\u2019s breakup didn\u2019t really make sense. They both had thoughts that the other one ended things. They both held onto a lot of emotions, especially Maya. One conversation could have straightened this out.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Sam is currently dating someone who ends up becoming a villain in this story. I\u2019m still not quite sure why the author had her in the story just to bring another layer of trouble. It turned me off that he was with someone else initially while pinning for Maya. She became a waste of a character. This made the romance move extremely slow.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Then there is Maya\u2019s family, whom she has a hard time dealing with. They are bossy and opinionated. Maya needed to learn to speak up for herself. She struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She just realizes she may want Sam to be a part of whatever she does.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">This is my first book by <strong>Zoe Allison<\/strong>. I have to give her another try to see if this is the normal formula for her stories. The holiday element did bring some cheer to me despite my reluctance for the season to get here.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Overall, if you are a true fan of second-chance romances, <strong>The Ex-Mas Holidays<\/strong> is for you.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text --><!-- module text -->\n<div  class=\"module module-text tb_ooju695 customBorderRad repeat \" data-lazy=\"1\">\n        <div  class=\"tb_text_wrap\">\n    <p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span class=\"s1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4676K5b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a><\/span><span class=\"s2\">\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3tcyR4g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\/1142907884?ean=9780593550083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">B&amp;N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-ex-mas-holidays\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Zoe_Allison_The_Ex_Mas_Holidays?id=giGlEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span class=\"s3\">Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<!-- \/module text -->                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n            \t    <\/div>\n\t    <!-- \/row_inner -->\n\t<\/div>\n\t<!-- \/module_row -->\n\t<\/div>\n<!--\/themify_builder_content-->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she&#8217;s just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,128,48,50],"tags":[142,216,217,310],"class_list":["post-30623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-berkley","category-penguin-group","category-reviews","category-samantha","tag-2-5-stars","tag-contemporary","tag-contemporary-romance","tag-holiday-romance"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review \u2764\ufe0f The Ex-Mas Holidays by Zoe Allison - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, 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Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/5a4181aeb9cd5641e30023b9b4d3e00d","name":"beverley","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d01d9a027fd24b3d94658206104dd5d7aaffba75b651e55c08358a9bc51b26a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"beverley"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog"],"url":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/author\/beverley\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?fit=973%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"builder_content":"<img src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg\" title=\"the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\" alt=\"the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?w=973&amp;ssl=1 973w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=195%2C300&amp;ssl=1 195w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=664%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 664w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=768%2C1184&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison.jpg?resize=400%2C616&amp;ssl=1 400w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 973px) 100vw, 973px\" \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Maya Bashir is dreading her drive home for Christmas and having to explain that she's just left her high-paying job and a long-term relationship, so a brief detour to her friend\u2019s festive party doesn\u2019t seem like such a bad idea. Until Maya walks in to find the last person she wants to see. Sam, the boy who broke her heart eight years ago. And he\u2019s serving drinks. Naked.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>Sam Holland is working an extra job on the sly to help his friend get by. But little did he expect Maya Bashir to come barrelling back into his life, learning about his secret side-hustle and taking back her old job alongside him at his daytime role as a ski instructor on the slopes of the Scottish Highlands.<br \/>\u00a0<br \/>As both Sam and Maya realize that their reason for heartbreak so many years ago wasn\u2019t entirely as it seemed, they must learn to stand up for what they want the most\u2026or else miss their second chance at love.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/2_5-hearts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"107\" height=\"44\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Sep 26, 2023<br \/><strong>Heat Level:<\/strong> Sensual<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong>\u00a0Penguin Group<br \/><strong>Imprint:<\/strong>\u00a0Berkley\u00a0<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $10.99<\/p><hr \/><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\"><strong>Maya<\/strong> and <strong>Sam<\/strong> used to be an item almost a decade ago. Maya never expects to see Sam again, but circumstances force her to return home and straight into Sam. She is rather shocked when she \u201csees\u201d him again. To make things even more complicated, she started working as a ski instructor alongside him during the day.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">I had different expectations for this book. I wanted a second-chance romance that made a bit more sense. Maya and Sam\u2019s breakup didn\u2019t really make sense. They both had thoughts that the other one ended things. They both held onto a lot of emotions, especially Maya. One conversation could have straightened this out.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Sam is currently dating someone who ends up becoming a villain in this story. I\u2019m still not quite sure why the author had her in the story just to bring another layer of trouble. It turned me off that he was with someone else initially while pinning for Maya. She became a waste of a character. This made the romance move extremely slow.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Then there is Maya\u2019s family, whom she has a hard time dealing with. They are bossy and opinionated. Maya needed to learn to speak up for herself. She struggles to figure out what she wants to do with her life. She just realizes she may want Sam to be a part of whatever she does.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">This is my first book by <strong>Zoe Allison<\/strong>. I have to give her another try to see if this is the normal formula for her stories. The holiday element did bring some cheer to me despite my reluctance for the season to get here.<\/p><p style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\">Overall, if you are a true fan of second-chance romances, <strong>The Ex-Mas Holidays<\/strong> is for you.<\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em>~ Samantha<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4676K5b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/apple.co\/3tcyR4g\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/the-ex-mas-holidays-zoe-allison\/1142907884?ean=9780593550083\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">B&amp;N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/the-ex-mas-holidays\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Zoe_Allison_The_Ex_Mas_Holidays?id=giGlEAAAQBAJ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30623"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30640,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30623\/revisions\/30640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}