Finding My Elf Review

Discovering yourself and discovering romance take center stage in this YA holiday rom-com, all while Cam and Marco compete to be the best and most popular Elf in Santaland to score a much-needed cash prize.

For Cam, he's back to his small hometown from NYU to celebrate the festive holidays, his dad's favorite time of year. Which may be why he doesn't want to disappoint his dad with the news that he's not doing so well in college. So he takes a job at Santaland, hoping to score the cash prize to help him go back to college and not have to face his dad. He just didn't expect the competition...to be so cute and nice, that is.

Marco has his own reasons for needing the prize, like helping out his family and planning for the future. He's probably the most cheery and nice person you'll meet (think typical golden retriever/sunshine character), meaning he's definitely in the lead for the prize. Then Cam becomes his competition...

The friendly rivalry starts giving away into a little something more as the two compete in different challenges while navigating life. And by a little something more, I mean a cute holiday romance 🥰

Finding My Elf is definitely a festive read for the holidays, from the cute cover, to the lightness of the book, to all the popular tropes it has - a small town charm, the Hallmark big city coming back to small hometown vibe, and a little friendly rivalry between the main characters. Yes, this book is a bit cheesy, maybe too cheery, and there's plenty of tropes, but it's also a holiday book, which means it all works!

The center romance was one I enjoyed, and i also really liked seeing how Cam grew throughout the story, from his college life, to finding his calling, to knowing how much his family supports him.

I loved all the side characters as well, especially Cam's dad! A love for Christmas, a snowman collection (I'm a little more partial to gnomes myself though 😊), and a Cookie Party! Where can I get an invite to that?

All in all, it was a fun book to read. Not too serious and not too light, and a great way to preview the holiday season!

Finding My Elf

Book Review by All Things Book Wise

Rating: ✨4 stars✨

Review Updated: 10/5/2024