Make You Mine This Christmas Review

Verdict: A chaotic, cosy Christmas rom-com: after a year from hell, Haf kisses a kind stranger, Christopher, under the mistletoe, agrees to play his girlfriend at his family’s country home for the holidays, and falls for his sister Kit instead. Readers love the humour, the body- and disability-positive cast and the platonic fake-dating friendship; some found the romance itself too quick and thin.

Best for: Readers who want a funny, warm holiday romance with plus-size, neurodivergent and disabled representation.

Heat level: 🌶️🌶️

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5 — a 3.96 Goodreads average across 4,115 ratings, 4.0 on StoryGraph from 2,024 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 639 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Fake dating, falling for the sibling, Christmas romance, forced proximity, rich family, rom-com.

Make You Mine This Christmas is Lizzie Huxley-Jones’s 2022 contemporary sapphic romance from Hodder & Stoughton. Its golden rule: when you are pretending to be someone’s girlfriend, do not fall for their sister.

It holds a 3.96 average across 4,115 Goodreads ratings, with 72% of them four or five stars, 4.0 on StoryGraph from 2,024 reviews, and 4.2 stars across 639 Amazon ratings.

What Is Make You Mine This Christmas About?

At a Christmas party, a few drinks in, Haf ends up kissing Christopher under the mistletoe, in front of his ex. By morning, the news says they are madly in love and heading to Oxlea to spend the festive season with his family.

With no better plans, Haf agrees to keep up the act to save her new friend from embarrassment. Then she meets Christopher’s mysterious, magnetic sister, Kit.

What Works in This Book

Humour: Readers call it laugh-out-loud funny, full of hijinks and bad decisions.
Representation: Many praise a plus-size heroine and a disabled love interest, and an autistic reader loved seeing Haf’s undiagnosed autism.
Friendship: The platonic partnership between Haf and Christopher is a favourite.
Audiobook: Helen Keeley’s narration is recommended again and again.

Book Synopsis

A fake boyfriend for Christmas. A very real crush on his sister.

It was supposed to be a funny story to tell for years.

My Review

This is a book built for December: richly atmospheric, smoothly written and silly in the best way. The leads and supporting cast are so earnest that comedy which could be cringeworthy comes off as charming, and readers loved everyone down to the dogs. There are teary moments too, and one reader sobbed at the ending. Several readers call it their favourite Christmas book, and some plan to reread it every December.

The romance is the weaker thread. Several readers found it too quick, thin or lacking substance, and one felt the fake-dating twist ended up undermining it. Others found some of the language twee, the plot over the top or the convenient misunderstandings a stretch, and one could not fully connect emotionally even while having fun.

My honest note: Read it for the Christmas chaos and found family.

Element	In Make You Mine This Christmas
Central relationship	Haf (ecologist, bisexual) & Kit (Christopher’s sister, disabled, cane user)
Core tropes	Fake dating, falling for the sibling, Christmas
Setting	Oxlea, a quiet little town, at Christmas
Heat level	🌶️🌶️
Length	354 pages
Series	Standalone
Content notes	Alcohol consumption, burnout, past breakup

How Spicy Is Make You Mine This Christmas?

Low to moderate. Readers focus on the comedy and sweetness rather than the heat.

One reader lists alcohol consumption as a content warning; Haf is also recovering from burnout and a painful breakup.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a festive, funny rom-com with a disabled love interest. It is on our disabled sapphic romance list.

You may want to skip it if: you want a slow-built, deep romance.

In short: Mistletoe, mayhem, and the wrong sibling.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 30% five stars, 42% four, 22% three, 5% two and 1% one. On StoryGraph, 90% tagged it lighthearted, 89% funny, and 93% found the characters loveable.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Humour first. Second, representation. Third, the Christmas atmosphere. Fourth, the audiobook.

What readers argue about and complain about: A thin, fast romance, above everything. Second, twee or over-the-top moments. Third, emotional connection.

The comparison worth making first: Fake for Fame, another sapphic fake-relationship romance on our site.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the disability representation in Make You Mine This Christmas?

Kit, the love interest, is disabled and uses a walking cane; our listing notes Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Haf is plus-size, bisexual and has face blindness, and readers read her as undiagnosed autistic. The author describes it as a queer, neurodivergent, disabled rom-com.

Is it like Happiest Season or Kiss Her Once for Me?

Readers make both comparisons: a Christmas visit to a partner’s family, a fake relationship, and falling for the sibling instead.

Is the romance slow burn?

No. Like a holiday film, the relationship develops very quickly, and several readers found the romance thin even while enjoying the book.

Should I try the audiobook?

Readers recommend it; Helen Keeley’s narration and character voices are highly praised.

Is Make You Mine This Christmas on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes, when we checked, or $0.99 to buy on Kindle.

If You Loved Make You Mine This Christmas, Read These Next

Try Just Physical or The Loudest Silence. Browse our disabled sapphic romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

Make You Mine This Christmas sets out to be a joyful queer Christmas rom-com, and its humour, heart and representation deliver. What holds it back is a romance that moves too fast to feel deep. A festive favourite for many. Check Make You Mine This Christmas on Amazon →