FINDING MY ELF By David Valdes

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Finding My Elf by David Valdes
Published by HarperTeen on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 254
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Escaping to NYU for college didn’t turn out the way Cameron planned—he’s flunking his theater classes, about to lose his scholarship, and he still hasn’t found anyone he can call his “people.” When he gets home for winter break, he’s so desperate to avoid a Conversation with his dad that he takes the first acting job he can get—as a mall elf. Despite how Scroogey he feels, the plus side is that there’s a cash prize for the most festive of Santa’s helpers.

But the competition is fierce—especially from fellow elf Marco. Christmas spirit oozes out of his veins. At first Cam is determined to see him as nothing but a rival, but as they spend more time together, Cam starts to second-guess himself. What if he’s finally found his people here—in the fakest consumerist nightmare place on Earth, where he least expected it?

Short and Sweet Review

After is first semester at NYU doesn’t go as planned Cam is glad to be back in New England for the holidays. Cam was failing theater which is surprising because in high school he was a theater kid, and now he’s on the verge of losing his scholarship, because of this he ends up getting a job at the mall as an elf. The job as an elf comes with a little competition, where guests can vote for their favorite elf and the winner gets $5,000, which would really help Cam at the moment. Cam’s biggest competition is Marco who just embodies the elf spirit, but the more time Cam spends with Marco the more he begins to fall for him.

Finding My Elf is a cute book especially for the holiday season. I just personally didn’t connect to the story or characters. I thought the idea of the competition was great and it was fun to see the different activities the elves would have to complete. I’m not sure if I really liked Cams character, sometimes he would say things that were insensitive and he was also into this guy Leroy who was complete and total trash. This book was short and I think that may be why I had a hard time, I think Cam could have benefitted from some character development. I don’t think I was into the romance either because Marco comes off as a sweet guy but Cam kind of gave him the cold shoulder and then all of a sudden he had a change of heart.

Overall, I don’t think this book was for me, but I do think if you’re into short holiday romance books you should give this novel a shot!