Christmas People begins by gently mocking Hallmark movie conventions and then embracing them. That’s a bit of a disappointing twist, but if you’re in the right mood -mushy, feeling like you’d rather read something soft and sweet than hard and bitter – this might be the right book to read this holiday season.

Jill Jacobs has hated Christmas since she broke up with her boyfriend after a huge fight during the season three years ago. Her whole life is about her career and her dreams of being a major screenwriter; which is why she’s frustrated that everyone wants her to do Christmas movie scripts for Heartfelt (Read: Hallmark). Jill wants a Real Screenwriting Career, thank you. It’s amazing that she’s chosen to come home to Illinois for Christmas at all, but she has indeed returned.

But after one bleary night, she wakes up in a too-perfect universe. It takes her a little time to figure it out, but she comes to realize that she’s stuck in a Heartfelt movie. All around her are redressed people from her life – her recently-divorced highschool crush, her ex-boyfriend Grant, and other members of her little Illinois hometown. Jill manages to divine what she needs to do – complete the movie’s plot line before going home, which will likely result in her falling in love – with which of her two now Heartfelt-ified suitors she doesn’t know. Unfortunately, she might just be tempted to stay in her winter wonderland forever.

Christmas People is a toasted marshmallow that’s perhaps a tad too gooey at its center. The tart narrative voice we get from Jill, the initial exploration of the world, seems to be leading to more fish out of water commentary. Instead, we get an acceptance of romance, fluff, cookie bake-offs and family togetherness.

Jill isn’t a terribly likable character, which makes her constant evasiveness super annoying. The triangle here is pretty predictable, and I didn’t really take to Grant, either. The worldbuilding was the real draw for me here. I loved that – because this is a Heartfelt movie – no one cares that Jill is wandering around town in her PJS. I love that the town’s fate rests on a cookie bake-off. I had fun with so many of the supporting characters and concepts. But this book just didn’t gel for me in the end, to my dismay. Perhaps those more committed to the Grumpy-Sunshine trope will enjoy it more.