Member Reviews
This was actually super cute!
Was it a crazy romance to remember? Absolutely not. In fact, in my opinion, it was barely a romance. I mean, the first kiss was like...72% in or something!
There of course was a "third act" break up, which I'm not a massive fan of half the time, but it didn't drag on too much so I didn't mind it. It really could have done without though especially since it took SO LONG for them to finally get together. It's like all the "relationship stuff" was packed into the last 20% of the book.
I liked both of the MCs. I wouldn't say Klaus was a book boyfriend at all but he definitely had moments. And I loved Lyla to death. She was a great FMC. I also loved the whole found family aspect for her. Found family is some of my favorites to read.
Despite the lack of romance that I was looking for, this book was still cute, entertaining, and Christmas-y! I loved that it's based in the North Pole and I loved the whole take on the place (no elves, special dust, etc).
I would still recommend it but with the preface that it's a slow slow sloooooow burn of enemies to lovers.
Thank you Netgalley and CallaghanWriter for an ARC. All opinions are mine and mine alone.
Like a Hallmark movie meets The Santa Clause! It was a lot cheesy and the dialogue occasionally felt stilted/unrealistic, but this was a very cute, cozy, holiday read. I especially liked the very orignal twist on Santa's workshop and the North Pole-- I actually kind of wish this had been fleshed out more!
This was a sweet romance about a couple - one who loves Christmas and another that needs to learn to accept it and all of his families obligations. If you can get past the first few chapters that are very predictable and repetitive - it does get better. If you are looking for a holiday romance, this isn't a bad option.
A quick, easy, cute and festive read, that is full of tropes that I adore. I couldn't put it down and it put me in such a festive mood. I loved it
I am a sucker for holiday books and this one did not disappoint. It was enemies to lovers. Think The Hating Game but with Christmas.
Mr Klaus and Lyla work together at a toy factory. Lyla's family owned the company but it was going through financial trouble. Mason Klaus took over partial ownership and they had a rocky working relationship.
Mason's father passed away and then Mason asked Lyla to go home with him for the funeral (more demand than ask).
The twist with the book is the magical realism of the "North Pole." I don't want to spoil it, but I really enjoyed the change from the traditional Santa Clause and elves story.
I can totally see Hallmark doing this as a movie! Fun little adventure out of reality.
If you like cheesy Christmas movies (who doesn’t) then you’ll love this book.
This book is enemies to lovers set during the 12 days before Christmas and follows Lyla and Mason, 2 co-owners of a toy making company.
I found this book to be a cute, easy read and it made me feel so happy and warm while reading it.
I really wanted to give this 5 stars but I found the ending to be quite rushed. I think if we had of gotten a few more chapters from during and after the romance conflict instead of just the few short chapter at the end it would have been perfect. Overall I still really enjoyed reading this and found myself squealing out loud at some points over how cute Mason and Lyla were.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an E-ARC to read and review.
Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an E-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 ⭐️
First, I got everything I expected out of this novel. A cute and light Hallmark movie-style rom-com with a magical holiday plot twist. It was cozy, fun, and light. Very easy to read and perfect for some mindless holiday cheer.
Read this if you love Christmas, Hallmark movies, Work Place Romance, Fake Dating, and Bully Romance (MMC/FMMC banter is on the meaner side.)
The pacing of the story, in the beginning, was a little hard to follow and I found myself re-reading dialogue because I could not tell who was saying what BUT once I got a feel for each character and where the story was heading I got the hang of it.
You can almost say that the writing style also improved as you got further through the book.
However, I personally really enjoyed this book! I thought the characters were great and the story was fun and unique.
You can tell that the author is used to writing fantasy romances because the MMC would randomly create an intense amount of tension for no reason😂 I personally loved this. It was like a hallmark movie with a dash of the enemies-to-lovers tension that I enjoy in fantasy.
This was a very cute book, heavy on the Christmas, light on the romance. I enjoyed the initial office enemies premise and looked forward to the slow burn to a romance, but when the Christmas part of the book kicked in it took over and overshadowed the romance. A cute, enjoyable read as long as you go in with the right expectations.
The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan was a fun holiday read. If you love festive and romantic Hallmark movies, you will love this book. I love a good enemies to lovers trope! This was a cute book with a spice level of 1/5🌶️. So if you’re into the Christmas romance but don’t want any spice, give this one a try.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!
This is a super cute Enemies to Lovers story with an amazing Christmas twist. I enjoyed reading this one and it was exactly the magical feel good story I was looking. Highly recommend to all romance lovers.
This book is a must-read if you're looking for a simple, straightforward Christmas read that strongly resembles every Hallmark movie. It's also ideal for you if you enjoy the Christmas lover and the Grinch getting together. We can't forget the bantering! So perfect, ugh!
From the beginning, the bantering between Lyla Smurfit and Mason Klaus, who run a toy company. The annual office Christmas party was cancelled by Mason, however Lyla has plans to continue the party behind his back. Before she noticed the light on beneath his office door, she believed she had gotten away with it. Unfortunately for her, it wasn't two partygoers wanting to get close; instead, it was the one and only Mason Klaus, who was sad and intoxicated.
Considering the condition he was in, Lyla finds herself having to take an Uber ride with Mason to his house. She is awakened the following morning by a furious Mason who informs her that her secret Christmas party had caused a fire to break out in the office.
The next thing you know, Mason must return home, but he does not want to travel alone, so Lyla decides to accompany him. What does she not anticipate is that his home would be the freaking North Pole.
What a lovely story to start the holiday season! I loved the twist on the North Pole and the classic Christmas myths. The realistic touch but still with some magic was done amazingly! I also enjoyed the enemies to lovers aspect. Jones was my favorite! I love a sassy cat that just wants him human to be happy. I loved this one!!
As if being blindsided by her father's decision to sell his shares in the family business to an outsider rather than give her full control wasn't bad enough, he seems to have given them to the most frustrating man alive. The tension between Mason and Lyla comes to a breaking point when an unauthorized Christmas party trashes their office and Mason spirits Lyla away to his family's mysterious home for the holidays. But Yule is fiercely protective of its secrets and to escape unscathed, Mason and Lyla must convince his family and the entire town that she's his fiancée, a ruse that might be easier to pull off if she wasn't secretly scheming to get her company back.
This felt like a Christmas movie in book form, a sugar cookie in book form, the magic of Christmas with a little romance sprinkled in. It was a cute, easy read and one I finished in less than a day. Most of the major plot points were easy enough to guess if you watch as many Christmas movies as I do, but it was still charming.
I thought twist on 'Santa's' workshop was the best part of the story, I would read an entire book on the Klauses and the sleigh engineering department. The main characters themselves weren't really the stars of the show, that honor goes to Jones the cat, and the Klaus siblings. Really hoping for spin offs featuring Kevin and Lou.
If you're looking for a quick, adorable Christmas read, this is the perfect one. Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy.
This was cute, but overall underwhelming. The character development and banter felt forced. It was an adorable Christmas novel, but nothing more than that.
I got a copy of this book from Netgalley. I had no idea it was magical! What a cute story. What starts as an enemies-co workers takes us to a fake fiancée and magical lands. It was a cute story with a little bit of spice and I enjoyed it. I don't typically care for books written in the 3rd person but this was easy to follow and had a cohesive storyline.
This was a really cute Christmas story! The characters were good, the plot was good. I feel like we never really get Christmas books about grouches, it shows that you don’t need to be joyful for the holiday season. I didn’t realize how punny the main love interest was, but it did make some sense in the long run. I didn’t expect it to turn out how it did, I didn’t think that it would be that way but that’s just how it ended up. At parts, I found that it dragged but I was still interested enough for me to continue on.
I also feel like the third act conflict was way too late and went through in a weird way. It hit at around the 90% mark and before that point I was confused on if it actually happened or not. But it did happen, and then it did resolve quickly in time for the couples happily ever after.
Thank you to NetGalley and Callaghan Writes for the eARC of this book.
I would give this more of a 2.75 stars but rounded up for good measures. This book was "meh" at best. I enjoyed the Christmas/holiday feel of it, but the writing was mediocre. I had trouble really getting into the book because everything seems pretty predictable, without any pizzazz. The writing style felt a little weird. Would I recommend, not really. It's not my cup of tea but could be someone else.
The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan was a fun holiday read that had a lot of the things that I enjoy about Christmas books all wrapped up into one.. It was magical and festive without being too cheesy. I thought the dialogue was more realistic than you sometimes find in these types of books and I love a good enemies to lovers story!
All around I enjoyed this book a lot!
Please find attached my more in depth, but spoiler free YouTube book review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2IHDCB9XOc
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book!
While I absolutely LOVED the premise and setting of this book, and the idea of the Klaus family, I was so let down by the spice in this book.
There was one spicy scene, and it was so short.
The setting was fantastic and SO atmospheric, but it just didn't make it a good read for me.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.
Lyla and Mason are two complete opposites who share the same toy company. Lyla loves Christmas, Mason seems to hate the whole ordeal. However, when his dad dies and he receives a letter from her sister, he asks Lyla to come with him. Lyla accepts, but not even in her wildest dreams, expects what she is about to experience.
Mason is from Yule, a magical village in North Pole, and Lyla is about to discover its secrets. Not only that, but Mason announces to everyone that she is his fiancé. She is thrown into this world, and while there, she discovers who Mason really is.
A lovely Christmas tale of romance and magic. Great imagery, beautiful characters, LGTBQ+ representation, elements of magic, and good chemistry between the main characters.
Both characters have their own personal trauma, but will they manage to overcome it?
If you love Christmas, this is a nice story. for the holidays.