Book Review: A Mannequin for Christmas

A Mannequin for Christmas
Timothy Janovsky, 2025

New Release! I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review. 

After thoroughly enjoying a couple of this author's holiday romances last year, I was happy to give this one a shot. I was a little skeptical of the set-up, but soon won over by the consistent heart and humor. 

Henry thinks he'll never find love. He feels like he'll always be that socially awkward kid who just wanted to hide away in his great-aunt's vintage shop and let the world pass him by. He had thought he had something with his only long-term boyfriend, but he was cheated on and dumped unceremoniously.

In desperation, he makes a wish, and that night, one of the mannequins in the vintage shop (he now runs it) comes to life. Henry, understandably, freaks out and doesn't believe it at first, but eventually accepts that he accidentally created a person. A person who doesn't know anything, but learns fast. He names himself Aidan (after seeing a bunch of names on tv), and according to a magic card in his pocket, he must experience love by New Years to remain human. 

Aiden is determined to be Henry's perfect boyfriend. Henry is determined to help Aidan learn to be a person and equally determined not to take advantage of his naivete. Although he is hoping that (impossibly charming and good-looking) Aidan will come to his family's Christmas dinner so he doesn't feel as lacking next to his more-successful sister. 

By the end, of course after twists and turns and lots of silly scenes, Aidan experiences love, survives New Years, and.... (spoiler) Henry lets him go, to find his purpose beyond Henry's wish. Henry learns a lot about himself from being around Aidan and gets his life out of a rut, fixes his relationships with his family, and goes off to find his own purpose as well. So the final chapters skip ahead to New Years a couple years later, when they have one more chance to see whether they fit.

This was super sweet without feeling too simple. The humor and fantasy kept the light tone feeling right, but I love how this author consistently manages to infuse the silliest premise with real human emotion. (Also, all the chapters have names related to song titles. It immediately won me over.)