Three Holidays and a Wedding
By Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley
ISBN: 9780593543917
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Summary:
Three times the holiday magic. Three times the chaos.
As strangers and seatmates Maryam Aziz and Anna Gibson fly to Toronto over the holidays—Maryam to her sister’s impromptu wedding, and Anna to meet her boyfriend’s wealthy family for the first time—neither expect that severe turbulence will scare them into confessing their deepest hopes and fears to one another. At least they’ll never see each other again. And the love of Maryam’s life, Saif, wasn’t sitting two rows behind them hearing it all. Oops.
An emergency landing finds Anna, Saif, Maryam, and her sister’s entire bridal party snowbound at the quirky Snow Falls Inn in a picture-perfect town, where fate has Anna’s actor-crush filming a holiday romance. As Maryam finds the courage to open her heart to Saif, Anna feels the magic of being snowbound with an unexpected new love—both women soon realize there’s no place they’d rather be for the holidays. (Goodreads)
Review:
As a Canadian reader, it is always a great pleasure to read books written by Canadian authors. And in this particular instance even more so… You might ask why? Well – Three Holidays and a Wedding check off a number of my likes -> story at Christmas time, romance, set in Canada, written by Canadian authors and it is such a well written and enjoyable read. Now to get on with the review 😊
Three Holidays and a Wedding is a romantic comedy (romcom) as well as a story about multiple faiths navigating the holiday season as well as a wedding. Maryam Aziz is travelling by plane to Toronto to attend an impromptu wedding for her sister. Anna Gibson is sitting next to Maryam and she is travelling to meet the parents of her boyfriend for the first time. They strike up a conversation (with Maryam’s “love of her life” Saif – sitting a mere couple of rows back and the rest of her family elsewhere on the plane), sharing many things because, well, they will never see each other again. Maryam and Anna need to talk and get clarity with respect to numerous life issues and this seems like a perfect opportunity – they will not see each other again. Just plane buddies for a few short hours. Well – until the plane gets brought down by an emergency landing due to “the biggest snowstorm of the century” in the little town of Snow Falls – a picturesque small town known as a great filming location for holiday movies (though this is not known to Maryam or Anna when they first landed).
I quite enjoyed the segment where Anna is in the bar just after landing in Snow Falls (touted as your happy holiday town). She meets her actor-crush in the bar as he is in town filming a holiday romance (you know, like a Hallmark Christmas movie). I chuckled immensely as Anna made her way from the airport to the bar, with no luggage or coat and wearing high heels… with the only taxi from the airport already busy with a fare…all I can say without any spoilers is – funny!
The diverse cast of characters along with the many different traditions that were entwined into this holiday romance made it a delight to read. And how did the two authors manage such a feat! Great collaboration. The reader was exposed to an abundance of family drama, romance and second chances. Additionally – new friendships developed beyond just the plane ride.
We are led through numerous days of being snow bound in Snow Falls. How does Maryam’s sister handle with being stuck in this small town when all she wants to do is get to Toronto and have her wedding! It is stressful. But both Maryam and her sister are gifted many wise words of wisdom from their grandparents. I loved Maryam’s grandfather – such a character.
This was a magical time – a time when Christmas, Ramadan, and Hanukkah all take place at the same time making for a unique holiday season. It showed me that while we have different beliefs, we are the same. We are all people who cherish our beliefs, love our families, and handle chaos very much the same! And in true Canadian fashion – loved the segments about hockey and know team rivalries.
The cover art is storytelling all by itself. I found it gave this reader a glimpse of what a delightful story was held within its pages.
I would love for this story to be optioned for a holiday movie – it is definitely a story that needs to be told.
If you love (or even like) a good romcom – then I suggest Three Holidays and a Wedding! You will be consumed by its depth and its lightness. You will laugh at the characters as they navigate the challenges bestowed upon them and sigh when it all comes together as it was meant to be. And as an added bonus – lots of love connections in due time 😊!! Thank you to Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley for penning such an enjoyable book. I can’t wait to read other titles you have written.
