A Festive Feud Summary, Characters and Themes
A Festive Feud by Maren Moore is a charming holiday romantic comedy set in the quaint town of Strawberry Hollow. At its heart are two lifelong rivals — Emma Worthington and Jackson Pearce — who are forced into close proximity after a public mishap threatens their family reputations.
What begins as a comical enemies-to-lovers premise slowly unwraps into a warm, emotionally satisfying story about shedding generational grudges and discovering unexpected connection. Through alternating points of view, the novella captures the messy humor, emotional friction, and slow-burn tension of two people discovering that what they’ve always believed might not be the full truth — especially when love comes wrapped in rivalry.
Summary
Emma Worthington and Jackson Pearce come from feuding families known throughout Strawberry Hollow for their long-standing holiday rivalry. The drama begins when they both reach for the same limited-edition nutcracker at the local store.
Their struggle leads to the destruction of store property, racking up over $10,000 in damage and resulting in their overnight arrest. The town watches with glee as the chaos unfolds.
Forced to share a cramped cell, Emma and Jackson are hostile but can’t deny the electric undercurrent between them. Jackson secretly enjoys pushing Emma’s buttons, while Emma is mortified by the situation, especially waking up on Jackson’s chest the next morning.
The mayor, seeing an opportunity for reconciliation, gives them an ultimatum: plan and co-host the town’s annual Christmas party together — or face charges. Emma, meticulous and tradition-bound, reluctantly agrees, knowing her family’s name is tied to the event.
Jackson, more easygoing but just as prideful, signs on as well. Their first planning meeting is filled with sarcasm and passive-aggressive banter.
As they continue working together, their dynamic begins to shift. Emma is shocked by Jackson’s farmhouse — cozy, tasteful, filled with puppies — and surprised at how easy it is to talk to him.
Jackson begins noticing Emma’s attention to detail, her vulnerability beneath the sarcasm. Over beers and planning boards, their bickering softens into flirtation.
One night, a playful exchange turns heated, leading to a passionate hookup in front of Jackson’s fireplace. Both are stunned by the intensity but pretend it was just a one-time mistake.
Emma regrets the emotional complication but can’t deny her feelings are shifting. Jackson, on the other hand, finds himself wanting more but knows Emma is scared of what it might mean for their families.
They continue preparing for the party, juggling family disapproval, nosy townspeople, and simmering attraction. A turning point arrives when they take a supply run to the city and get stranded in a snowstorm.
With no available rooms except a gaudy honeymoon suite, tensions rise. Despite the awkward setting — a heart-shaped Jacuzzi and a single bed — the forced proximity allows for deeper connection.
They bond over junk food and late-night confessions. Emma reveals her fear of letting down her family, while Jackson shows he sees her more clearly than she realizes.
Their second night together is not just physical but emotionally intimate. Back home, the town buzzes with gossip.
Jackson’s brothers tease him, and both families continue to voice their concern. Despite this, Emma and Jackson press on with the party.
The event turns out to be a smashing success, combining Emma’s refined elegance with Jackson’s laid-back charm. The townspeople are impressed — and touched — by the collaboration.
Under a sprig of mistletoe, the pair share a very public kiss, signaling a new beginning not just for them, but perhaps for their families as well. In the epilogue, Emma and Jackson are officially a couple.
The feud has faded into the background, and both families have begun to accept the change. There’s no grand declaration, just a mutual decision to support each other and build something real.
Their once-complicated relationship has transformed into something steady and full of promise. What started as a rivalry ended with romance, forgiveness, and a new holiday tradition: one shared.
Characters
Emma Worthington
Emma is the fiery, tightly-wound heart of the Worthington family and the emotional center of the novel. Raised in the glow of family expectations and tradition, she feels the pressure of maintaining her family’s spotless image in Strawberry Hollow.
Her disdain for Jackson Pearce seems rooted in family loyalty, but as the story progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that much of that animosity is inherited, not authentic. Emma’s personal journey is about reconciling her public identity with her private desires.
Her natural organization, her attention to detail, and her fierce independence make her initially resistant to vulnerability. But through forced collaboration with Jackson and unexpected emotional exposure — especially during their shared nights — Emma begins to loosen the grip of control she’s held so tightly.
She’s torn between preserving the legacy she’s grown up with and forging a new path for herself. Her reluctance to admit feelings, even after moments of intimacy, adds depth to her portrayal as someone terrified of letting go and getting hurt.
Ultimately, she evolves from a rule-bound perfectionist into a more open-hearted individual willing to choose love over legacy.
Jackson Pearce
Jackson is the quintessential gruff-but-golden romantic lead — mischievous, confident, and emotionally layered beneath his smirks and provocations. He enters the story as Emma’s long-standing nemesis, but it’s quickly evident that his antagonism is more playful than bitter.
While his initial draw seems to be teasing and riling Emma up, his deeper motivations come into focus as the story unfolds. Jackson isn’t shackled by the same level of family pressure as Emma, but he still harbors emotional wounds tied to the Pearce-Worthington feud.
His internal monologue reveals a man who is far more affected by Emma than he lets on — both physically and emotionally. His home, thoughtfully renovated and filled with rescued puppies, becomes a metaphor for his personality: rugged on the outside, tender within.
Jackson’s emotional depth shines most during the snowstorm motel scene, where his empathy and patience contrast with Emma’s defensive sarcasm. He grows from a flirtatious foil into a romantic partner who is vulnerable, supportive, and emotionally available.
By the end, Jackson has shed his cocky armor and shown that love, for him, means showing up fully — in private and public.
Mayor Davis
Though not one of the central characters, Mayor Davis serves as a pivotal catalyst in the narrative. His cleverly manipulative move — forcing Emma and Jackson to co-host the Christmas party or face legal consequences — sets the entire romantic plot in motion.
He represents the small-town wisdom and authority that understands how to nudge long-standing conflicts toward resolution. Davis is not deeply explored in the story, but his presence underscores the community’s yearning for reconciliation and progress.
His intervention proves that sometimes external pressure is what’s needed to unlock inner change.
Emma’s Mother
Emma’s mother is a stern, traditionalist figure who upholds the Worthington family image like a moral compass. Her disapproval of the joint party — and of Jackson — speaks volumes about the legacy she wants to maintain.
While she doesn’t receive extensive page time, her reactions weigh heavily on Emma, influencing many of her decisions. She represents the older generation’s attachment to grudges and a rigid sense of identity.
Emma’s eventual break from this influence symbolizes a passing of the torch — a shift from inherited rivalry to chosen happiness.
Jackson’s Brothers
Though they remain secondary characters, Jackson’s brothers contribute to the tone and texture of the story. Their teasing and commentary on Jackson’s relationship with Emma act as both comic relief and emotional grounding.
They reflect the Pearce family’s more casual, forgiving nature and serve as mirrors to Jackson’s evolving emotions. Their presence reinforces the idea that the feud is not uniformly upheld by both families.
It shows that change is not only possible, but often welcomed by the next generation.
Themes
Family Rivalry and Legacy
One of the prominent themes in A Festive Feud is the long-standing rivalry between the Worthington and Pearce families. This multi-generational feud serves as the foundational backdrop against which Emma and Jackson’s relationship unfolds.
The rivalry is not just about personal dislike but is institutionalized in the very fabric of their families and the town of Strawberry Hollow. The historical weight of this animosity shapes the protagonists’ identities, expectations, and choices.
Emma and Jackson are both heirs to a dispute they didn’t create, yet are expected to uphold. This theme critiques how familial legacies can impose burdens on younger generations, stifling personal agency.
It also highlights how tradition, when unquestioned, can become a prison. Both Emma and Jackson wrestle with their roles as representatives of their respective families, and much of the narrative tension arises from their efforts to either uphold or subvert those roles.
The novel portrays the absurdity of such legacies through humorous mishaps, but beneath the surface lies a sobering commentary on how generational conflicts can persist through social expectation rather than genuine grievance. Ultimately, the breakdown of the rivalry—symbolized by their collaboration and eventual romance—demonstrates the potential for individuals to rewrite inherited stories.
By choosing to let go of the past, Emma and Jackson model a different kind of legacy. One based on understanding, compromise, and personal truth.
The Conflict Between Public Persona and Private Desire
Emma and Jackson’s relationship is shaped significantly by the tension between how they are perceived and what they actually feel. This theme runs consistently through their alternating points of view, giving readers insight into their inner turmoil.
Publicly, both characters maintain a façade: Emma as the meticulous, tradition-bound planner upholding her family’s honor, and Jackson as the easy-going, provocative bachelor who enjoys stirring trouble. Their feud is reinforced through performative hostility, with each trying to outmatch the other in wit and irritation—often for the benefit of bystanders, or to meet familial expectations.
Yet in private, their interactions reveal a very different reality. As early as their night in the town jail, there are signs of emotional complexity and magnetic pull.
They find themselves not only physically attracted but also emotionally curious about one another. This duality grows throughout the book, especially in scenes like the motel stay or their heart-to-heart moments during party planning.
The novel explores how people often suppress genuine feelings in order to conform to social roles or avoid vulnerability. The tension between their outward enmity and inward yearning adds both humor and poignancy to the narrative.
Their journey is as much about self-discovery as it is about romance, revealing that true connection requires dropping the mask. When they finally kiss under the mistletoe at the public Christmas party, it marks a pivotal moment where their private truth becomes publicly acknowledged.
The novel suggests that personal authenticity is more rewarding than reputation management. And that courage lies in choosing to be emotionally honest, even when it risks scrutiny or conflict.
Emotional Vulnerability and Personal Growth
The characters’ arcs in A Festive Feud are deeply rooted in emotional growth, particularly as they confront their insecurities and open themselves up to change. Emma begins the story as someone deeply entrenched in her sense of duty and image.
She’s organized, perfectionistic, and driven by a need to uphold her family’s legacy, even at the expense of her personal desires. Her interactions with Jackson slowly chip away at this rigidity, forcing her to admit feelings she’s tried to repress—not just romantic ones, but also fears of inadequacy, loneliness, and failure.
Jackson, in contrast, is portrayed initially as confident, irreverent, and emotionally detached. His growth emerges as he begins to recognize the emptiness of his bravado.
Through Emma, he is compelled to be more introspective and to admit how much he yearns for connection, not just flirtation. Their second night together, more intimate than the first, becomes a turning point in this journey.
Emma begins to see herself as more than her family’s spokesperson, while Jackson starts valuing emotional honesty over charm. This transformation isn’t sudden; both resist and backtrack, particularly Emma, who continues to assert emotional boundaries out of fear.
But by the end, especially during the public party and epilogue, they both demonstrate a fuller understanding of themselves. The novel uses romantic comedy not just to entertain but to explore how emotional maturity requires vulnerability.
Being willing to be seen in one’s entirety. Love, in this narrative, is not a fairy tale escape but a product of honest reckoning with one’s flaws and fears.
Tradition Versus Change
The story constantly navigates the tension between maintaining cherished traditions and embracing necessary change. Set during the Christmas season—a time already rich with tradition—the plot uses the holiday backdrop to amplify the stakes around custom and heritage.
Emma is the most obvious defender of tradition, clinging to party planning protocols, visual aesthetics, and her family’s sense of propriety. Jackson, on the other hand, brings a more relaxed, modern approach, prioritizing experience and enjoyment over appearances.
Their partnership forces both to question what traditions are worth preserving and which are simply outdated rituals upheld for the sake of appearance. This conflict is not just between the two of them but also mirrors the broader dynamics in Strawberry Hollow.
A town resistant to change but quietly yearning for reconciliation and renewal. The Christmas party becomes the ultimate arena for this thematic exploration.
It blends Emma’s structured vision with Jackson’s playful improvisations, symbolizing how honoring the past doesn’t require resisting the future. The event’s success—and the families’ surprise at it—shows how openness to change can lead to stronger, more inclusive traditions.
The novel suggests that tradition should serve the community, not the other way around. And that evolving customs can still carry emotional significance.
Emma and Jackson, by redefining what the holiday celebration looks like, also redefine what family and community connection means. Their love story is thus paralleled by the town’s own transformation, making this theme both personal and communal.