The Christmas Wish

Infusing the romance of the Christmas season with the humor of Groundhog Day and a dash of Bridget Jones’s hopelessness, Kelk (On a Night Like This) delivers an utterly adorable rom-com. London lawyer Gwen Baker is newly single and fears she’s about to be unemployed when she heads back to her small hometown of Baslow for Christmas. The Bakers have a tradition: whoever finds the sixpence in the Christmas pudding gets to make a wish—and this year, the magic proves all too real as whoever makes the wish leaves Gwen stuck reliving Christmas day. As she repeats the same 24 hours over and over, she searches for a way out of the time loop all while learning valuable lessons about relationships with family, friends, and her childhood crush, Dev. With very British sensibilities and culture, the story is less focused on Gwen’s budding relationship with Dev and more on her personal growth journey as she comes to realize that when times get tough she can count on her entire family to put her in her place—and lift her up. It’s a delectable, if slightly twee, confection. (Nov.)