Hello, everyone! Today I’m reviewing the latest holiday release from Timothy Janovsky, A Mannequin for Christmas. I’ve read and enjoyed most, if not all, of this author’s holiday books from the last few years. So, I was excited to pick this one up! Read on to see all of my thouhts.

A Christmas romance for Barbie fans who wished Ken and Allan got their own love story.

Henry Aster swears he is unlucky when it comes to love. He thought he’d finally found The One, but a sudden break-up has left him hopeless right before the holiday season.

Facing another family Christmas alone, Henry makes a wish for “The Perfect Man.” The next morning, when he arrives at the Jersey Shore vintage shop he manages, he finds one of the male display mannequins has sprung to life and entirely wrecked the place.

The magicked man is gorgeous, of course, but he comes with a Cinderella-style If he doesn’t experience true, human love before the midnight chime on New Year’s Eve, he will turn back into a mannequin for good.

Now Henry doesn’t have to show up to family Christmas alone. The catch? This new man—self-named Aidan Smith—knows nothing about being a human. Henry has one month to teach Aidan how to be a functioning person in the modern world and the swoony boyfriend that will win over his family. It’s an arduous task that draws them close together… but can human love ever really be true?

***Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing an advanced copy of the book via NetGalley. My review contains my honest thoughts about my reading experience.***

A Mannequin for Christmas is such a weird book to try to review. It delivered exactly what was promised: Hallmark vibes, holiday magic, heartfelt mental health rep, and the types of shenanigans you’d expect from a mannequin come to life. However, I didn’t realize how odd and quite uncomfortable the premise actually was until I started delving into the interactions between the characters.

Henry was more than a little insufferable in A Mannequin for Christmas. He had some serious self-esteem issues and crippling social anxiety that negatively impacted his relationships. His whole vibe felt very woe is me. I did appreciate his growth by the end, though, and thought Janovsky did a good job of making the reader feel the same level of exhaustion and inescapable distress as Henry. lol.

Aidan, on the other hand, was an absolute delight. I’m so glad we got an alternating POV in A Mannequin for Christmas because I don’t know that I could have finished an entire book through Henry’s eyes. Aidan provided such child-like wonder at taking in the world for the first time, and his experiences often had me smiling or laughing. He was exactly what I’d picture if a mannequin were to come to life.

Unfortunately, Aidan’s child-like wonder was one of the things that ruined the romance in this book for me. It honestly made me a bit uncomfortable while reading. The power differential in the relationship became increasingly creepy as the story went on. Henry was literally Aidan’s entire world considering that he’d cease to exist if he couldn’t make Henry love him. It just seemed like Henry was taking advantage of his naivete. The story did eventually address this dynamic, and I liked where it ended up. It was just a little too late for me to really be able to root for them as a couple.

Speaking of the end, I have a feeling it is going to make some people really mad. The couple does get a HEA. This is a romance, after all. However, it involves a time jump and a ton of growth off page. I liked how it all ended, though, even if I wished to see more of how Henry and Aidan lived their lives in the time not shown.

Overall, A Mannequin for Christmas did a commendable job of delivering a cute holiday story about a mannequin coming to life and falling in love. The premise just made it really hard to pull off without coming off as creepy at times. There were plenty of things I liked about the book, though (e.g., great aunt Isla). The romance just wasn’t one of them. Therefore, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars.

There you have it! My thoughts on A Mannequin for Christmas by Timothy Janovsky. Does this sound like something you’d pick up this holiday season? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments!