Last Christmas they met and fell in love over a kitten rescue. Can their relationship continue past their happily-ever-after moment? When I learned there was a sequel to The Night Before Christmas, a sweet holiday romcom I enjoyed last year, I was excited to get the ARC for it. The Day After Christmas by Nicola Knight returns readers to the story of Felicity and James, who meet on Christmas Eve at the animal rescue where Felicity works. They’ve been together since overcoming the challenges posed by their ex-partners in the first book.

Yet Felicity still has so much growth to go through. Her trust issues haven’t even been touched as the story opens. A sweet then sad event occurs in the opening chapters, and for some unexplainable reason Felicity is acting as maid of honor for her friend Bex’s wedding to her horrid ex-fiance, Adam! Add to that an unexpected new co-worker at the animal shelter and the surprise arrival of a long-absent relative, and Felicity begins to wonder if she and James can truly be happy together.

True to the vibes from the first book (Bridget Jones returns!), The Day After Christmas continues Felicity’s journey of self-discovery and personal growth. However, as was seen in the first book, her story is not as light and fluffy as a reader might think based on the title, cover, and description. (Check for trigger warnings online.)

This book was a pleasure to read, though the ending was a bit too unbelievable for me. I enjoyed the audiobook narration by Hannah Curtis. There were countless laugh-out-loud moments, but many heavy ones as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ARC audiobook. All opinions are my own.