XOXO by Christina Lee

XOXO

Author: Christina Lee

Rating: B

Vibe: : Hallmark movie meets college MM romance—cozy, predictable, and unapologetically sweet

XOXO by Christina Lee is the literary equivalent of ordering comfort food when you already know what's on the menu. Lark is a scholarship kid and ballet dancer attending a prestigious college where he doesn't quite fit in. Henry is the star quarterback from a wealthy family, hiding both his sexuality and his childhood cancer battle. They bonded as kids in the cancer ward, trauma forging them into genuinely good people—and now, years later, they're navigating a second-chance romance across a class divide that feels straight out of a CW show.

And look, I'm not going to pretend this book is breaking new ground. The college setting is forced—like, really forced. Students get bullied for wearing the wrong jacket, there's a dress code that feels more high school than university, and the "scholarship kid" dynamic gets laid on thick. Henry's controlling father is practically a villain from central casting, and the obstacles keeping these two apart sometimes feel more like plot requirements than organic conflict.

But here's the thing: XOXO knows exactly what it is, and it leans into it with charm. This is a Hallmark movie turned MM romance, and if you're picking it up, you're signing up for something cozy-sweet and idealized. Lee doesn't pretend otherwise. The book handles some genuinely heavy stuff—childhood cancer, coming out, mental health struggles—but it never feels oppressively dark. The serious moments are there, they're handled with care, and then the story moves forward without wallowing.

What makes it work is that Henry and Lark are so darn likeable. Their connection, born from trauma and built on kindness, feels earned. They're both good people trying to do right by each other, and their chemistry—while perhaps a little too frictionless—is sweet enough to carry you through the more eye-roll-worthy plot beats. There's no grand revelation here, no subversion of tropes. It's just two kids who went through hell together, found each other again, and decided to make it work.

The happily-ever-after is all but guaranteed from page one, and that’s part of the appeal. If you're looking for a book about a ballet dancer and a star quarterback who fall for one another and find a way to make it work against all odds, this will work for you. Yeah, it's idealized. Yeah, it's silly at points. But sometimes you just want a story where everything turns out okay, and XOXO delivers that without apology.

Is it realistic? Not even a little. Is it a comfort read that'll leave you smiling? Absolutely.