Publication Date: October 8, 2024
For fans of The Holiday comes a heartwarming Christmas house-swap rom-com debut in which finding yourself and finding love come hand in hand.
Bee Tyler needs a break. In the bustling San Francisco tech community, no one ever seems to stand still—especially her perfect sister and business partner, Beth. So when her best friend suggests a getaway on the wildly popular house-swap app, Vacate, Bee decides a countryside retreat might be exactly what she needs.
Clover Mills has had a year. Between losing her mother and making the complicated decision to leave her fiancé, sticking around the idyllic Christmas obsessed town of Salem, Ohio, just doesn’t feel right. So when she hears about Vacate, she jumps at the chance to spend the holidays in the unfamiliar city of San Francisco.
Soon enough, Bee is living in Clover’s cozy Salem cottage, and Clover is living in Bee’s sleek San Francisco apartment. As Clover can’t seem to stop running into Bee’s frustratingly gorgeous sister, Beth, and Bee finds herself spending more and more time with Clover’s ultra charming ex-fiancé, Knox, the two women realize that this Christmas they may find just what they were looking for and more…
Georgia K. Boone’s I’ll Be Gone for Christmas is a heartwarming tale that beautifully captures the essence of the holiday spirit and the complexities of family dynamics.
This novel centers around Bee and Clover. Both women are desperate to escape the reality of their lives. Boone’s writing is both evocative and engaging, immersing readers in the sights, sounds, and emotions of Christmas.
The plot unfolds at a gentle pace, allowing for moments of reflection and growth. Boone masterfully intertwines themes of forgiveness, nostalgia, and the importance of home, making it a poignant read. Readers will find themselves chuckling at the quirky town traditions while also feeling a tug at the heartstrings during Clara’s more vulnerable moments.
I’ll Be Gone for Christmas is the perfect novel to read while cuddling up in a cozy chair with a cup of something warm, letting yourself drift away into the holiday spirit.
As seen above, I did take away a star. While I enjoyed the novel, I felt like this was just a copy of The Holiday with Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz. I really liked that movie, so reading a similar book was enjoyable, but I was let down because I already knew what was going to happen.
I’ll Be Gone for Christmas is a lovely book and a perfect read for someone who wants to get into the holiday spirit. Lovers of Christmas cheer, cute hometowns, and unexpected romances will definitely want to read this holiday tale.
Georgia K. Boone is a writer, a poet, and the daughter of storytellers. Sometimes, she writes songs she may one day share. Once, in a Brooklyn community center, she read James Baldwin’s quote “You can’t tell the children there’s no hope,” and she carries those words from the city to the desert and beyond. She lives on the West Coast with her family.
