Part Hallmark Christmas movie. Part spicy romance. Throw in family drama and jealous ex and you have this awesome story. This may be my favorite Christmas book I’ve read.

Love the cute holiday vibes and the magic of the story and the family relationships throughout the book. Fun light romance. Easy read. Overall recommend.

The Naughty Or Nice Clause was such a fun holiday read. This definitely had Hallmark Christmas movie vibes. This Enemies to Lovers/Grumpy Sunshine trope romance features Christmas loving Lyla, part owner of a toy manufacturing company and the grumpy scrooge Mason her new co-owner who has a different idea of how the company should be run. While there is a little bit of romance in this book I think it's more of a found-family cute holiday read with an amazing take on the origin of Santa Clause. It was an enjoyable read, but I would have loved a little more banter and romance.

The story begins with Mason canceling the company Christmas party and Lyla going behind his back to throw the party anyway. The party results in a fire that could potentially damage Lyla's credibility. Mason offers Lyla a deal: Lyla will have to spend the next 12 days of Christmas with his family and he will forget her part in the disaster. What follows is a magical trip to a fantastical winter wonderland and one small catch Mason left out about how they will have to pretend to be engaged.

A special thank you to @NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think this book was a great holiday refresh. The banter between Lyla and Klaus is hilarious and I love the sarcasm. The story could've used more of a reveal for the plot twist. I think some of the information had lackluster reveals. This book was easy to read and was lighthearted with some deep personal side plots. I enjoyed reading this book, I just had wished there was more substance. It seemed like there was some plot holes and I wished I got to see more of these characters. I think it could have been written at a little slower of a pace to build some suspense. I really did like this book and I would read another book by this author.

Such a Sweet Holiday Romance.

This is a good book to cuddle up with next to presents with a holiday drink. The author’s writing is fun and simple to read which makes the holiday spirit even better.

This was a fun Christmas romance with an interesting take on the magic of Santa Clause. I enjoyed reading about Yule and the village. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, fake dating, office romance, but make it Christmas? I’m sold.
3.5/5 stars.

I was drawn to this book partly because of the cover and partly because I kept seeing it and I didn't want to miss out on what might be a big holiday hit.

It was a little bit of a bumpy ride for me. There was little foundation provided to build the story upon. it relies on the familiar trope of enemies-to-lovers. But we are only given a little glimpse of the enemy part before quickly progressing to lover.

It is a short book so there isn't a lot of room for set-up. I didn't realize that they were in Ireland until a few chapters in. The characters don't have accents or use words that would indicate they are Irish - we had to be told.

A bit more time is spent on the world-building of Mason Klaus's village but even then it is pretty superficial. At times, I felt like this was a Hallmark movie wannabe - you know the Christmas movies that have the premise of a Hallmark movie but not the budget.

I did like the world of Yule. I liked that the author had a different take on the Santa Claus mythology.

I felt that the pacing was a bit rushed. It was as if the story was just there for the sex scene and we needed to hurry up and get there. The Naughty or Nice Clause does have a bit more heat but it is pretty much just one scene.

The obstacles to their relationship were often contrived and not overly inspired. You know the contract thing is going to come back to bite her. (While I'm on this point - why was she using Mrs. Klaus's email account. What email doesn't offer web-based access so that a user can login from anywhere?) At least when Lyla runs off it isn't because Mason yelled at her but because her cat got out.

This book had a lot of potential. I think a little more time and space would have made it a better book. If you are looking for quick, superficial read then this one is good for that.

My review will be published on Saturday, December 24 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/12/4-christmas-novels-for-your-holiday.html

Such a great Christmas read! I loved the banter and rom com feel. The characters were fun and I loved seeing how the story progressed

I quite enjoyed this read up until the point of the "steam", it seemed really disjointed and like the author wanted to make the read sexier than she was used to. I also wasn't ready for the magical aspect of the book, took me completely off guard. But other than that, this was a fun easy read..

cw // death of a parent

If there is one word that can describe this book, it's magical. You start thinking it's gonna be something and you end up, like the main character, in a fairy tale. It was like reading a beautiful christmas movie from the 2000s and it was a lovely experience.
Lyla and Mason are complete opposites and see themselves in a situation where they have to pretend they are engagement to protect their secret that they actually can't stand each other. And if you know me, fake dating is my favorite trope ever, so i am a little biased. I loved watching them actually fall in love and most of the book got me giggling, twisting my hair and kicking my feet. Although Mason can be a douche when he wants to and Lyla can be very impulsive she always means the best.
The side characters are lovely and I wish we got to see a bit more of them, we got a couple lgbt characters which was a sweet surprise. I did miss more of her relationship with her dad being developed although that might've been the point.
The plot line was a bit cliche, which mostly didn't bother me cause i am indeed a sucker for cliches, but we also did get the classic "mean girl" who is in love with Mason and that part was a little meh for me.
The ending was a bit rushed, i wish we got to see Mason's POV and understand more of his characters, but at the end of the day it was a nice quick read for the holiday season, i absolutely adored it and it made me interested to check out more of the author's work. Even made me want a sequel, who knows?

Thank you NetGalley for sending me the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I loved the originality in this read. I found myself reading this but felt like some of the chemistry between the characters was missing. I enjoyed the story overall but did not feel their connection at some points in the book. I loved the home for the holidays vibe, the Mr. Klaus feel, and the story line. I think it is a good read for this time of year, and the book ended really strong.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC of this read and for allowing me to share my honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Fight with you, flirt with you - I’ll do whatever you want if it keeps you close.”

This book has all of my favorite tropes:
- enemies to lovers
- Slow burn
- Rivals on work
- Fake engagement
- Small town romance
- Christmas time 🎄

The protagonist Lyla has inherited half of the family's toy business. Unfortunately, however, the other part was sold to Mason Klaus, a handsome and arrogant man who hates Christmas.
In a moment of weakness Mason confides to Lyla his difficult relationship with his family, so she decides to accompany him to his family's village for Christmas break.
Once there, Mason introduces her to everyone as his future wife. Meanwhile Lyla will take the opportunity to discover the secrets of the Klaus family and get the total shares of her toy company..

The Naughty or Nice Claus is the perfect book for the Christmas time 🎅🎄
The story is bizarre but very funny and romantic.
You’ll be all in love with Mason madly.
I adored all the characters in this story that captivated me from start to finish.
You absolutely must read it!

I haven’t read many Christmas rom coms but I really enjoyed this one. It had a good combination of childhood memories of Christmas and adult perspectives. I did not see the whole bell thing coming but it was a pleasant surprise.

☑️ fake dating
☑️ enemies to lovers
☑️ forced proximity
☑️ one bed
☑️ he fell first AND harder


I liked this book and the penultimate chapter was EXCELLENT. However I was slightly disappointed by the epilogue as it just felt a bit anti climactic which was a shame. Overall a really nice easy read with good plot line and characters.

A pretty straight forward holiday romance. Although the romance was on the lackluster side. It would have been better if there was more development in the chemistry department. The pacing was fine but some parts felt a bit rush. It took me a couple of tries to finally finish the story. Overall, it was an average read. 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley, Publisher & author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Such a cute Christmas romance. This was the perfect mix of fun, Christmas-y atmosphere, and spicy love. I LOVED the Yule scenery and the description of the Christmas magic was literally the best holiday vibes. The romance was perfect. It is sorta enemies to lovers but more like "never gave him a chance" to lovers. Very cute and Mason has my heart.
This should be a must read ever season.

My sincere thanks to the author and NetGalley for the gifted review copy. This book is available now.

Thank you to NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I absolutely love Christmas books and I really liked this one. It was lighthearted and easy to read. It was honestly really cute. But in some parts, it did feel rushed. But it didn't really take away from the story. This is one I will recommend.

DNF @ 17%

I’m not finding anything that I like about this book. I don’t like that we’re thrown into the work rivalship 1 year in. I don’t really understand any characters. And there is something about the writing style that just don’t enjoy. It is very cringy and I can’t get past it.

I received a copy of this from @netgalley as it sounded the perfect cute read to start the Christmas season.

When Lyla’s father retired as CEO of the family toy company, Lyla expected to take over and is furious that he sold shares to Mason Klaus, who strictly controls spending as the company is close to being bankrupt. When an accident occurs, he offers Lyla a deal - he’ll forget her part in the disaster, but she must join his family for the twelve days of their Christmas holiday

Taken to a fantastical winter wonderland, Lyla hopes that she might discover some of the secrets Mr. Klaus is hiding and maybe even a way to get her company back. However, when Mason introduces her to the secret village as his fiancée, she is horrified to realise she has no choice but to go along with the pretence – because the cost of bringing an outsider to their magical land is far too high.

While the premise was good, somehow this fell a little flat. There were cute parts that are typical of Christmas romance movies, but this didn't translate as well to the novel. There felt like there were a few too many clichés and the interaction between Lyla and Mason while cute at times lacked that spark. It felt like the end was too rushed and seemed too conveniently wrapped up.

If you love Christmas romances, then this will appeal. It is overall a quick and easy read and the scenery will leave you wanting to go on holiday in a winter wonderland (if you are like those of us in the Southern Hemisphere who don't have a white Christmas)

Really warm Christmas read. I enjoyed the characters and the ties to tradition. The story flowed well and the pacing was even. The author wrote really relatable characters. Super cute fake dating read.

I thought this book was very predictable. The whole idea of a grumpy son of Santa Clause trying to stay away from becoming his dad has been reused over and over. I didn't like the chemistry of the characters. I thought they were both very bland.