Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal

In this chaotic follow-up to 2024’s How My Neighbor Stole Christmas, Quinn imbues an enemies-to-lovers tale with holiday cheer and lots of laughter. Atlas “Max” Maxheimer has devoted his life to his family’s tree farm, a mainstay of the Christmas-obsessed town of Kringle, so when he discovers a rival farm is opening right next door, he’s determined to prevent this, no matter what. Still mourning the failure of her previous year-round Christmas business, Betty Yokel has come to Kringle to help her uncle Dwight with the plans for his Christmas farm—which he envisions as more theme park than tree farm—on the outskirts of town. Max’s harebrained scheme to thwart the project is to woo Betty and break her heart, but things take a turn when the two develop genuine feelings for each other. Their chemistry is scorching, but it will take a Christmas miracle to get these two to set their rivalry aside. Quinn’s characteristic over-the-top humor is on full display, especially in the leads’ mutual tendency toward awkward rambling and an omniscient narrator who sometimes interrupts Max and Betty’s perspectives with color commentary. These jokes occasionally wear thin, especially as they inflate the already bloated page count, and the cutesiness of the meta element won’t be for everyone. Still, there’s plenty of genuine charm here. (Oct.)