The Christmas Pic Review — Is It Worth Reading?

Verdict: A funny, spicy, Hallmark-style sapphic holiday romance: icy tech CEO Ava Garcia-Greene sparks a controversy with her AI Christmas card generator, and after small-town photographer Jo Fisher calls her out on the radio, Ava’s board orders her to save Jo’s struggling photo truck by Christmas. Readers love the banter, the queer Christmas town and the chemistry; several took a while to get into it.

Best for: Readers who want a cosy-meets-steamy Christmas rom-com with an ice queen and a small-town lesbian.

Heat level: L4 · Explicit (4/5)

Rating: ★★★★☆ (3.9/5 — a 4.05 Goodreads average across 663 ratings and 4.4 stars across 448 Amazon ratings)

Tropes: Enemies to lovers, ice queen, small town, forced proximity, coming out later in life, Christmas.

The Christmas Pic is Rena Sapon-White and Ella Schaefer’s 2024 debut, a small-town sapphic romance from Smokeshow Press that the book’s listing says won the 2024 Lesfic Bard Award for Best New Author. Ava Garcia-Greene has power, prestige and a swanky office, but beneath the ice lies a heart that wants what money cannot buy.

It holds a 4.05 average across 663 Goodreads ratings, with 75% of them four or five stars, and 4.4 stars across 448 Amazon ratings.

What Is The Christmas Pic About?

Jo Fisher, an out-and-proud lesbian, is barely keeping her late father’s photo truck afloat in the queer haven of Harmony Springs, Michigan. When Ava’s AI Christmas card generator causes a stir, Jo’s heated call to a radio show leads Ava’s board to an ultimatum.

Ava must save Jo’s business by Christmas or lose her crown. As they team up, Ava falls for Jo’s sincerity, and Jo is cautiously drawn to the supposedly straight CEO.

What Works in This Book

Banter: Readers praise witty, genuinely funny exchanges and distinctive dual voices.
Harmony Springs: Readers adore the Christmas-loving, deeply queer town, and one wants to move there.
Chemistry: The ice queen and golden retriever pairing clicks.
Timely theme: One reader praises the handling of AI and its harm to artists.

Book Synopsis

A CEO who automated Christmas cards. A photographer whose livelihood depends on the real thing.

Is love finally coming into focus?

My Review

This is a clever, festive debut. One reviewer compares the writing to Lucy Bexley, readers enjoyed the meddling side characters Max and Emma, and Ava’s strong, amusingly superior voice carries the opening. One reader who was annoyed through the first half calls the second half absolute perfection, and others grew to love both leads as the story went on.

Criticisms focus on the start and a few choices. Several readers found it slow to get into or were annoyed by the first half, a couple felt Ava’s autism diagnosis moment was dropped in and never explored, and some flagged miscommunication and occasional confusion about who was speaking. One reader from Michigan found the magical queer town distracting, and one found the characters flat and the chemistry missing.

My honest note: Push past the opening; the payoff is festive fun.

Element	In The Christmas Pic
Central relationship	Ava Garcia-Greene (tech CEO) & Jo Fisher (photo-truck owner)
Core tropes	Enemies to lovers, ice queen, small town
Setting	Harmony Springs, Michigan, at Christmas
Heat level	L4 · Explicit (4/5)
Length	266 pages (Kindle edition)
Series	Standalone
Content notes	Death of a parent (past), public controversy

How Spicy Is The Christmas Pic?

Hot. The book promises a rom-com with heat, and readers mention steamy spice.

Readers mention Jo’s grief for her father and Ava’s public controversy.

Who Should Read This Book?

You’ll likely love it if: you want a spicy sapphic Hallmark romance with a neurodivergent CEO. It is on our neurodivergent sapphic romance list.

You may want to skip it if: slow starts or miscommunication frustrate you.

In short: Hallmark, but make it hot.

What Readers Are Actually Saying (September 2026)

On Goodreads the split is 35% five stars, 40% four, 21% three, 4% two and no one-star ratings.

Why readers love it (according to the discourse): Banter first. Second, the town. Third, chemistry. Fourth, festive fun.

What readers argue about and complain about: A slow start, above everything. Second, the underused autism reveal. Third, miscommunication.

The comparison worth making first: Make You Mine This Christmas, another queer holiday rom-com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Christmas Pic like a Hallmark movie?

Very much so, readers say: a big-city executive, a small Christmas-obsessed town, meddling friends and a festive deadline, but queer and spicier.

What is the neurodivergent representation?

Ava is described as neurodivergent, and a late autism diagnosis moment appears in the story. A couple of readers felt that moment arrived out of nowhere and was not explored.

How spicy is it?

Spicy. The authors bill it as a rom-com with heat, and readers mention steamy scenes.

Is it a later-in-life coming-out story?

Yes. Ava is believed to be straight, and one reader describes her sapphic awakening alongside Jo finally opening up.

Is The Christmas Pic on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes, when we checked, or $4.99 to buy on Kindle.

If You Loved The Christmas Pic, Read These Next

Try Make You Mine This Christmas, Yours for the Season or When You Least Expect It. Browse our neurodivergent sapphic romance list or the full Book Reviews archive.

The Bottom Line

The Christmas Pic sets out to be a queer, spicy Hallmark romance, and its banter and festive town deliver. What holds it back is a slow opening. A fun, clever holiday debut. Check The Christmas Pic on Amazon →