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I’ll admit, I’d never read a Lucy Score book before, so when I picked up The Christmas Fix, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. But as I read through it, I realised there was an added “Chilli” rating in the mix—more on that later. 

The story takes place in the small town of Merry, Connecticut, which has been left devastated by a late-season hurricane. Enter Noah, the town manager, who is under intense pressure to help Merry recover before their Christmas festival begins. Along comes Catalina King, a home-renovation expert and reality TV star, who arrives with her camera crew and a huge budget, ready to save the town. But Noah’s not having any of it. Does she actually care about Merry, or is she just there for the TV ratings? 

Catalina, or Cat as she’s known, is used to being underestimated in both her career and personal life. She’s strong, feisty, and determined not to back down. Noah, however, is suspicious of her motives, especially when his young daughter, Sara, takes an instant liking to Cat, much to Noah’s dismay. Will the two of them ever find common ground as they work together to pull off a Christmas miracle? And could sparks fly between them along the way? 

The first half of the book, though, was a struggle for me. Honestly, I could not stand the main characters. Both of them were so self-assured and completely unaware of how they were coming off. Cat had an answer for everything, and Noah seemed to have a problem with everything. As they bickered and clashed, I couldn’t help but feel frustrated. Here you have two people who are both public-facing personalities—Cat is a famous reality TV host, and Noah is the town mayor—and yet, I just couldn’t get on board with either of them. Their attitudes were so irritating! It felt like they were more about proving themselves right than actually connecting with each other. I hated them both in the first half, no matter how much we learned about their backstories. 

But then, something changed. The second half of the book is where Lucy Score’s writing really starts to shine. As Noah and Cat begin to realize they’re developing feelings for each other, the story becomes more emotionally engaging. Lucy’s ability to communicate their emotions, struggles with family life, and the stress of balancing a career with the unexpected curveball of falling in love is really spectacular. It’s in these moments that I found myself warming up to the characters. The chemistry between them was undeniable, and I could finally see how they might fall for each other. 

While I’m glad I pushed through, there were still some elements I wasn’t a fan of. The book has a feel-good, Hallmark movie vibe, but there are some spicy scenes that, in my opinion, feel a bit unnecessary. They take away from the overall warmth of the story, which I think would’ve worked better without them. Its Hallmark meets “Book Tok,” but I don’t think the two styles mesh well in this case. 

Overall, The Christmas Fix ended up being a feel-good read, and I’m glad I finished it. If you enjoy stories about unlikely pairings who eventually find common ground and love, you’ll probably enjoy this. But just be warned: if you’re like me and struggle with characters who are a bit too arrogant in the beginning, it might take some patience to get there. 

You can read your copy here.