It Happened One Christmas by Chantel Guertin

A special thank you to the author, Chantel Guertin, for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Will her Christmas wish come true?

Zoey Andrews lives and breathes Christmas. She loves everything about the season, and after years of directing countless holiday movies, she certainly knows her way around a festive tale. So, when she finally gets the chance to bring her own script to life, she isn't about to let anything, or anyone, stand in her way—not even the stupidly sexy, utterly frustrating plaid-clad tree farmer Benoît Deschamps. Moonlighting as mayor of Chelsea—the cozy Quebec hamlet at the centre of Zoey's screenplay—Ben maddeningly refuses to grant her a film permit in his enchanting town.

With just four days left before Christmas, Zoey must change Ben's mind, but not before an unscripted ice storm leaves them stranded in the middle of nowhere, with nothing except . . . each other.

Will Ben's chilly resolve shatter Zoey's Christmas movie wish? Or will Zoey be able to melt his stubbornness and maybe even his heart?

Not having much luck in her romantic life, Zoe writes her own holiday movie with a HEA. Her love for Christmas is only rivalled by her tenacity to get her film made.   

The grumpy/sunshine and forced proximity tropes work incredibly well. Geurtin has an impeccable ear for dialogue which is made apparent by both the cheeky banter and touching conversations. Zoe and Ben have interesting backstories that provide depth and insight into their characters and account for some of the more heartwarming scenes of the story. 

Much like Zoey, readers will feel an instant connection to Chelsea, Quebec. With its cozy shops, Christmas tree farm, and ties to Zoey's childhood, the setting becomes as much of a character as those that live there. It is also the perfect vehicle for Chantel to share her French-Canadian Christmas traditions with her readers.

With all of the charm and sparkle of a Christmas movie, It Happened One Christmas is the quintessential holiday rom-com.

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CHANTEL GUERTIN is the bestselling author of nine novels—five for adults and four for teens. 

Guertin lives in Toronto with her family.

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Q & A with Chantel Guertin*

GWR: This is your first holiday romcom, did you approach writing this book the same as your other novels? 

CG: This book had a super-tight deadline so that it could come out this Christmas. I had 2 months to write the book! So the outline was really important to make sure I knew the plot inside and out and didn’t stray off course. I always spend time in the setting of the book, but in this case, I used the trip to Chelsea, Quebec (where the book is set) as the kickoff session to write the book—and wrote the first half in a weekend. From there, I wrote at least 1,000 words a day to complete the first draft on time. I enjoyed this process because I proved to myself that I could do it, and meet my deadline. And the deadline made sure I didn’t indulge insecurities that I think most writers get, like “Is this terrible?” I had to believe that, given this is my 9th book, I know what I’m doing, and I could write the kind of book you can imagine being a holiday movie. And I think that I succeeded.

GWR: What was the inspiration for It Happened One Christmas?

CG: I wanted to set the book in Canada, since so many holiday romances are set in the US. My background is French-Canadian, and I’ve never read a English holiday romance set in Quebec, so I wanted to be able to add in all those delicious elements like la tire (maple syrup on snow), tourtière (meat pie), and Revéillon (the Christmas Eve celebrations). And aside from The Ice Storm (that 90s movie with Christina Ricci), I hadn’t experienced a movie or book set during an ice storm, which many Canadians have experienced. And that’s how the idea was born.

GWR: Give us your best Hollywood pitch for the book and who would you cast?

CG: An LA film director must convince the sexy—yet grumpy—mayor of a small town to give her the permit to shoot her Christmas move in his idyllic hometown. Starring Ana de Armas and Chris Evans.

GWR: What were the most important characteristics and dynamic that you wanted Zoey and Ben’s relationship to have? 

CG: I wanted Zoey and Ben to be complex characters who are both driven individuals, fighting for what’s important to them, and thinking about their futures, while holding on to their pasts. This struggle influences their every action and interaction. This is more than a holiday romance, it’s a story about how to move forward and carve out your future without letting go of who you are and where you came from.  

GWR: Do you have a favourite romance trope?

CG: Enemies to lovers. There’s so much space for witty banter!

GWR: What are some of your holiday traditions and did you incorporate any of them in the story?

CG: My father is French-Canadian, so growing up, we would always have a big celebration on Christmas Eve. My dad always made my grandmother’s tourtiere recipe from scratch, and we would open one gift before bed (pajamas). We’ve continued this tradition, so now my husband and children and I spend Christmas eve with my side of the family, and then back at home before bed, we all open our pajamas. It’s such a fun tradition, and everyone loves it.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be?

CG: Hot chocolate with marshmallows. And maybe a splash of Bailey’s, because, why not?

GWR: Can you tell us what you are working on?

CG: After two books out in one year, I’m taking my time with the next idea, but I’m excited about it!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada. 

Two for the Road by Chantel Guertin

A special thank you to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Gigi Rutherford loves love stories. She reads them, she sells them at her romance bookstore, and she could spend hours imagining the meet-cutes of every couple she encounters. But when it comes to her own love interests, Gigi is out of stock. Instead of enduring bad date after bad date, these days she’d rather curl up with her favorite audiobook and the only man who makes her heart skip a beat: Zane Wilkenson, the smooth-voiced narrator Gigi is convinced is her soulmate.

Then, she’s presented with the chance of a lifetime: a ten-day bus tour through the English countryside, an ocean away from her bookstore—all in the presence of Zane, in person, as he leads the tour.

But when Gigi arrives at the bus terminal in London, Zane is nowhere to be found. Until he shows up, she’s stuck with an eclectic group of fellow travelers: recently widowed and chatty Charlotte; trivia-obsessed Francis; Jenny, a true-crime-makeup YouTuber documenting every detail for her subscribers; and Sindhi and Roshi, a long-married couple who can’t stop bickering. Then there’s the brooding bus driver, Taj, who Gigi finds infuriating yet also incredibly alluring...

An impulsive trip across the pond becomes a life-changing journey for our heroine, Georgia "Gigi" Rutherford. In this delightfully witty story,  Guertin explores themes of love, family, and self-discovery. Two for the Road is a reminder that life’s most cherished and memorable moments can be found in the most unexpected of places—even when it seems like everything has gone wrong—and how sometimes, the journey to yourself is where you’ll find everything you’ve been searching for. 

There is incredible emotional depth to the both the story and the characters. Geurtin has an impeccable ear for dialogue made apparent by both the cheeky banter and touching conversations. Simply charming—like a pot of tea and a scone—and laugh out loud funny, Two for the Road is perfect for romance readers and armchair travellers. 

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CHANTEL GUERTIN is the bestselling author of eight novels—four for adults and four for teens. 

Guertin lives in Toronto with her family.

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Q & A with Chantel Guertin*

GWR: How did you start writing/become an author? Is there a particular author or work that inspired you to become a writer or how you write? 

CG: I always wanted to be an author. It’s a cliché, but it’s true. As a mini-me I spent all my free time reading and writing. If you love something, do it. Don’t let others try to sway you otherwise. Getting up every day and doing something you love is way better than dragging yourself out of bed to do something you hate for the money. Money’s great but it’s not everything. (Though it’s useful at Sephora).  

GWR: Are you a pantser/gardener or a plotter/architect? And do you approach each book the same way? 

CG: I read this question as “Are you a painter or a gardener?” and I felt bad about myself for a split second because while I like both activities, I’m not particularly good at either (LMK if you want me to give you a tour of my dead plants). Then I re-read the question, which is a hot tip for writers. Editors love when you reread your work before submitting it. Anyway! I’m a plotter, though as I write I let myself stray from the original plot if it’s not working.

GWR: How did you come up with the concept for Two for the Road? Where did you draw inspiration from?

CG: My favourite type of books are those that blend grief and humour. At first glance you think it’s a light book, but there are layers that (hopefully) stick with you after you finish the book. I wanted to write about a woman on a journey—literally and figuratively—in search of her soulmate and add depth to the story by connecting “the one” to her past.

GWR: Tell us about the research you did for the book? Do you have any ties to England?

CG: In case you were thinking about writing a travel-novel without leaving your house, I can tell you it’s possible, but a lot harder than writing a book set somewhere you know well. I relied a lot on virtual walking tours on YouTube. If you’ve never watched one, I highly recommend! They’re so soothing to watch. But nothing replaces actually being in a destination and smelling the air and flowers. So mid-pandemic, I took a solo, three-week trip to England. It felt very indulgent but ultimately was exactly what I needed to make the book what it is now. It was an amazing experience that I’ll  remember forever.

GWR: Do you have a favourite character? 

CG: I love Francis. He’s the kind of slightly annoying person you might expect to encounter on a group tour, but give him time. I dare you not to love him by the end.

GWR: What do you hope readers will take away from Two for the Road?

 CG: If you’ve ever wondered “what if”, this story is for you. What if you’d just followed your heart? What if you’d sought out that person you had a crush on 10 years ago? What if you booked that trip you always wanted to take?

GWR: What books are on your nightstand? What books would be on Gigi’s?

CG: Gigi mentions dozens of books throughout the story (some of her faves), and I’ve included the complete list at the back of Two for the Road. What’s on my TBR stack on nightstand right now: The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren, Forever Hold Your Peace by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke, Meet Me at the Lake by Carley Fortune, Someone Else’s Shoes by JoJo Moyes and Asking For a Friend by Kerry Clare.

GWR: If your book was a beverage, what would it be? 

CG: London Fog.

GWR: What are you working on now?

CG: I’ve got a super swoony holiday rom-com coming this October 2023 called It Happened One Christmas!

*A version of this post was published on STYLE Canada.

Instamom by Chantel Guertin

A special thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada/Doubleday Canada for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It’s the influencer’s golden rule: know your niche. Kit Kidding has found hers on Instagram, where she gets paid to promote brands and share expertly curated posts about her fun, fabulous, child-free life. Kit likes kids just fine, but she passionately believes that women who choose not to become mothers shouldn’t have to face guilt. Or judgement. Or really hot chefs who turn out to be single dads.

Will MacGregor is aggravating, sexy, persistent, averse to social media, and definitely a bad idea. As soon as Kit learns his parenting status, she vows to put their scorching one-night stand behind her and move on. But Will and Kit are thrown together on an Instagram campaign, and the more time she spends with him—and his whip-smart, eight-year-old daughter, Addie—the more difficult it is to stay away, much less sustain what Will so cleverly calls her “Resting Beach Face.” Kit’s picture-perfect career path is suddenly clashing with the possibility of a different future—messy, complicated, and real. Which life does she truly want? Will she have to re-invent herself? And will love still be waiting by the time she figures it out?

Told through the lens of an Instagram influencer, Guertin's Instamom is a compelling look at modern relationships, perceptions, and the pressures women face with societal expectations. Kit Kidding is proudly kid-free and has made it her brand—she has created an envious career out of her unapologetic choice to not have children. But what happens when she's met the ultimate #dealbreaker?

At first Will is charming, wickedly sexy, and worth taking a chance on. But as the story progresses, he puts Kit into situations that are either unfair—in that she's set up to fail—or that are just plain awful. My only criticism is that the chemistry isn't quite to the level where it's believable that they would want to work on their relationship. 

That being said, Guertin is a wonderful writer—there are some truly beautiful passages where Kit is reminiscing about her mom and when she explores Kit's vulnerability with her secret bookstagrammer account. Also effective was the reminder of the pitfalls of social media and how life is curated to be envied. 

Funny, flirty, and emotional, Instamom is a perfect summer escape.

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CHANTEL GUERTIN is a Toronto‑based beauty expert and television personality, well-known to audiences of Canada’s number‑one daytime talk show, The Marilyn Denis Show, and a frequent guest of morning news shows. Previously, she worked as a beauty editor at fashion magazines.

Guertin lives in Toronto with her family.