Poinsettia Lane is the first novel by Corina Bair.
Finished on: 10.11.2024
[I won this book in a LibraryThing Early Reviewer give-away.]

Plot:
Everly is keeping up with her parents’ traditions and planning the annual Christmas party. Her party planning mode is interrupted, though, when the poinsettias are delivered by the best looking guy she has ever seen. She and Asim flirt, the chemistry is there – and then they just don’t exchange contact info, leaving Everly struggling to find a way to meet him again that is not actually stalking him. And then her long-lost sister shows up to the party, leaving Everly reeling in yet another way.

Poinsettia Lane is a sweet, fluffy romance that is careful to give us diverse representation. But mostly it’s just really into giving us an adorable couple.

Poinsettia Lane takes diversity seriously, so Asim is from the Middle East, Everly has mental health issues, anxiety to be precise, her sister is bi, and her best friend Frankie is non-binary. Personally, I really liked this, even more so because they are more than just those labels. Everybody gets well-rounded personalities, even though most attention is, naturally, paid to Everly and Asim. Asim, who seems suspiciously perfect at first, is allowed his own issues as well, which is good.

From the author bio I gather that Bair is a mental health care professional, and this expertise shows in her portrayal of Everly’s anxiety. It’s described in a way that makes the stress it puts on Everly clear without resorting to insulting stereotypes. That Everly has anxiety is also the best explanation for an otherwise rather hated trope – miscommunication. When she completely misconstrues Asim’s words, it’s her anxiety distorting her perception. Nevertheless, fortunately we don’t linger too long at that point – it’s cleared up pretty quickly.

It’s not a very long book and at times, it’s very notable that this is a debut, with the style just this side of natural. The biggest issue the book has might be that it is difficult to balance the political aspirations (like representation matters) with the fluffy romance, so it has an explanatory tone sometimes that might be irritating for some readers. But personally, it is a flaw I have a very soft spot for and I ultimately didn’t mind. I’d rather a story have open political positions in any case.

In short, this hits just the right spot when you’re looking for something quick and sweet. And, by the way, it is not holiday themed, though it starts around Christmas. Everly and Asim’s story and relationship develops over the course of many months, something I really appreciated as well.

Summarizing: very cute.