On my naughty list by Julianne Baclayanto

 

Published on September 25^th, 2023

238 pages

I read the paperback version

Back Cover

When Anabelle Spencer returns to her small hometown of Woodberry, Connecticut to spend the holidays with her family, she finds herself instantly regretting her decision. Not only is living with her handful-of-almonds mom much harder than she remembers, but she can't seem to stop bumping into her former neighbor and least favorite person alive, Leo, at every turn.

Leonardo Rojas is trying to keep it all together. Struggling to juggle the mess his father left behind and the pressure of his new promotion at the local bar, the only thing on his wish list is a nice, quiet Christmas with his mom. That is, until the girl who broke his heart nearly a decade ago comes back to town and turns his world upside down.

As accidental run-ins, holiday parties, and a late-night baking mishap force the two of them closer together, old sparks begin to fly. Soon the truth about their shared heartbreak begins to reveal itself, and they come to find that sometimes, it's the people you've known the longest who can surprise you.

My review

This is the second book I read from this author and I didn’t laugh this much since a really long time. I like the fact that Anabelle is a plus-size model, I didn’t see that much in book. It was just weird for me that Anabelle’s nickname is Annie and the protagonist have the same name than my sister. It’s another funny thing I noted for this novel.

The plot is something you can find in any small-town Christmas rom com. The two protagonists were friends since childhood, something happened and they didn’t talk to each other for years especially because Anabelle was mad at Leo. When he first appears, I was hoping that she will give him a chance. I let you discover if I changed my mind by the end. I will give you a clue, Leo is my favorite character from the book. Anabelle arrived in second even though she can act like a teenager around her mom once a while. It might be something else we have in common. She had a strange relation with her parents.

The holidays is the background theme and even though I don’t like that time of the year, but the author turned it into a cute enemies to lovers story. Since the book is not too long, I enjoyed it in general and I didn’t found any dull moment.

Excerpts

Normally, I would have been in much better spirits while listening to the best Christmas song ever written. This time of the year was usually my favorite: the glistening snow, the festive songs, the hot cocoa and gingerbread houses. That feeling of magic in the air; like everyone was just a little bit happier than they normally were. But not today. Today there was no magic, no festivity, and I was certainly not happier than usual. (p.2)

Leo was the first boy I ever loved and the first and only guy to ever break my heart. We had a complicated nearly twenty-year-long history that I didn’t feel like fixating on at the moment, given everything else I had on my plate. (p.15)

It had been nearly seven years since I’d woken up in this bed and I was currently experiencing mixed emotions about it. The sudden urge to get ready for school overcame me before I reminded myself that I was a fully grown adult who no longer had to subject herself to that misery. (p.31)

Suddenly, I was getting flashbacks to senior year, getting shot down by the girl of my dreams and hooking up with anyone with a pulse to forget about her. In the span one day, she had gone from the girl next door to the girl I hated most. (p.52)

Where Hailee loved to be seen with me, loved the popularity that come with being my girlfriend just like all my exes had, Anabelle was happy just to spend time alone with me. To talk about a new band she’s been loving that she thinks I’ll like too, to bake goodies with me and my mom on a lazy Sunday afternoon, or to play Grand Theft Auto with me and Simon even though she hated running the pedestrians over and evading the corps. (p.55)

“As much as it pains me to say this, you’re stuck in the past and you need to let him go. I’m sorry hun, but the truth is you’re just gonna get yourself hurt again.” (p.60)

My interview with the author