Thanks to netgalley and Kate Callaghan for an advanced copy of this book!

I don’t often read festive books but this was such a fun, cosy read that’s just getting me ready for the Christmas season! I love a winter setting ❄️

I was pretty hooked right from the get go and wondering how these two characters could get to a place to be together. I loved the slow burn romance in this, executed really well and you really are rooting for them!

I ADORED Yule, it would definitely be my kind of place as I love Christmas and all the little whimsical parts I just kept wanting to know everything about this town! The Klaus family were so welcoming you can see why Lyla likes it here too.

My only downside was that once the romance got going it was very quick and an abrupt ending but other than that i really enjoyed this one.

The Naughty or Nice Clause

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you need a cheesy Christmas book with some magic in it, look no further!

Lyla and Mason are coworkers who hate each other but are forced to fake an engagement while visiting his family for Christmas. I really enjoyed these characters and being swept away with a little bit of magic!

This is the first Christmas book I’ve read this year and I really liked it. It’s a very quick read and it was also a very cute story. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my faves so finding this in here really made me like it more.

A 3 stars read for me :)

I’m voluntarily reading and reviewing the ARC for this book. All these opinions are my own.

4 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the characters. It was really nice to see the characters care so much professionally. Nothing felt contrived and it was a very refreshing read.

Lyla has such great character growth and it’s nice to see her welcome the new town. You can tell how much she truly cares for Yule and how much she wanted the best for the Klaus family.

Mason was so caring and I’m so happy that he mended the relationship with his family. It was great seeing him not as grumpy when he returned home and how he was enjoying the good things in life. I’m a sucker for fake dating romance so I really enjoyed the cute moments between Lyla and Mason.

This was a good read! The Christmas vibes were amazing and I really felt like I was transported to Yule with them. It felt like The Santa Clause movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Naughty or Nice Clause gives all the Christmas-y feels! Kate Callaghan filled this one with my fav tropes - enemies to lovers, small town romance, and fake dating/engagements. Was not expecting to be transported to Yule! Thank you NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for the ARC.

3.5 stars: a Christmas time story with some magic and some romance.
I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers aspect and the magic of the town of Yule. The hero, Mason Klaus was definitely a grump and was cold, then hot, cold, then hot, again and again. It became a bit repetitive at times. I was hoping for a bit more romance and connection between the main characters as well. Overall though, a fun and quick Christmas read.

I loved this!!! It was a very cute and quick Christmas read. I liked the different take on the Santa Clause legend and how magic worked. The characters were all great and well-developed, including side characters.The only issue I had was that it featured the miscommunication trope, which just isn't for me. Other than that, is was a lovely, festive read!

This is an enemies time lovers, fantasy romance book. Klaus came in to help Lyla's family business, which her father sold 51 shares to. Lyla was understandably upset. Well one night, Klaus got drunk after receiving a letter from home. Well, Klaus room Lyla to his home town, which is called Yule. Santa Claus was Klaus' father. So, the town us wanting Mason (his real name), to stay. Very cute story. Loved ut

Fred Clause meets A Hallmark Christmas Movie.

This one deals with a lot. You have your grumpy/sunshine trope. A true hate to love dynamic. An hero who is at time just down right unlikable. There is a small town with some meddling players in the mix.

It overall a good read, but definitely on the sadder, more dramatic side of the holiday spectrum, in my opinion. There is a lot that Mason & Lyla have to go through to get their HEA.

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🎄Small Town
🎄Holiday Romance
🎄Grumpy/Sunshine
🎄slow burn
🎄low steam

3.5 stars rounded up.

Upon her dad’s retirement from the family toy company, Lyla Smurfit expects to receive his shares. Instead, she learns of the company’s financial woes and that her father’s shares now belong to ruthless investment banker Mason Klaus, leaving Lyla with no choice but to run the company with him despite her immediate dislike of the callous businessman.

When Mason goes so far as to cancel the company’s annual Christmas party, Lyla throws one anyway, only to have it result in a fire that damages both the building and Lyla’s credibility. With the offices in need of repair anyway, Mason offers Lyla a deal: he’ll forget about her role in this debacle if she comes with him to spend their twelve days of holidays with his family.

When she winds up in the winter wonderland of her dreams, Lyla is keen to discover what other secrets close-lipped Mason has been hiding, and possibly get her control of her company back. But when Mason introduces Lyla to his secret village as his fiancé, she’s horrified to realize that she must go along with it because the consequences of bringing an outsider into their midst are more than she’s prepared to face.

This having been a year of significant loss for my family, I’ve been trying to get myself into the festive spirit by reading winter- and Christmas-set books. When I read the premise of this one, I couldn’t help but grab it and, though I will say I wasn’t prepared to deal with the hero’s grief and how much it reminded me of my own, that aspect was also somehow helpful too. Mason was definitely a grouch, but he turned out to have been hiding a heart of gold the entire time. I really enjoyed seeing little bits of the real him inch out from behind his gruff façade, I only wish we’d gotten more of that sooner. I really wanted to see him absolutely pour his heart out to Lyla and I don’t think that was ever realized as much as I wanted it to be. I also wanted her to have this big epiphany of realizing how truly great of a guy he was, which she did do, but she didn’t really talk much to him about it, and she still doubted him a lot. I still felt like he and Lyla fit, and I definitely felt the chemistry between them, but they kept getting interrupted every time things would start to get good, so I was left at times feeling like there was a lot of build up and not enough resolution. The grand gesture was also not quite all I’d hoped, though I appreciated that the angst was not drawn out, I just wanted maybe one more deep, real conversation between Lyla and Mason that didn’t center on doubts and fears so much.

At times, it was difficult to keep track of the days in this story because it seemed everyone would get up for breakfast and then a few pages later be going to bed again so that threw me off just a bit. I also have to say I was not a fan of the other woman cattiness and I really wanted to see her get a comeuppance that never really came. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this story and its festive setting, and it did help me get into the Christmas spirit. This is a new to me author that I will read again.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Amongst other romance books, this is definitely up there. I was actually quite surprised that I enjoyed this. The setting is absolutely perfect for Christmas (well, duh), and the atmosphere was nice and cozy. I actually thought the character development was pretty well done and the plot was quite strong. All characters were also tended to equally, as in they had personalities and backgrounds that didn't come off as weird. Also, the main character wasn't absolutely crappy and selfish (like most main characters in romance novels tend to be).
I personally thought the beginning came off as a bit rough but that always tends to be the case with any book so I can forgive it for getting way better later on.

I just reviewed The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan. #TheNaughtyOrNiceClause . I want to thank NetGalley for allowing me to read this advanced copy because it didn’t disappoint. If you like Hallmark Christmas movies this is the book for you. It had a cute love story and a good supporting cast. It was the perfect book to read this time of year.
Lyla has been on her own every since the death of her mother. The one thing she did have was her family business, a toy store. That is until her father gave his share of the company to Mason Clause. I won’t give the rest of the plot away so you can enjoy it for yourselves.

Thank you NetGalley and IBPA for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

➼ The Naughty or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan - out on 8/11/22


3☆ for this adorable Christmas read!

can we all appreciate that cover though? 🎄

if you're looking for a book to put you in a festive mood then search no more! this book. is. it!
this romantic comedy, sprinkled with a dash of magic, is the perfect read now that the holidays are near.

Lyla, a toy company owner with a love for Christmas, barely tolerates the investor, Mason Klaus, hired by her father to save the family company. However, in a twist of events, Lyla finds herself in with Mason in his hometown. Not only that, but he introduces her to his family as his fiancée!
Enemies to lovers, here we go!

This was such a fun read and I'm so glad I picked it up!

Lyla and Mason are co-owners of a toy manufacturing company in Dublin where Mason is the "enemy" to the coMpany. He's cancelled the annual Christmas party which seemed like a power play to Lyla. When Lyla decides to go ahead with the Christmas party, she runs into a drunk Mason with a letter from his family saying his father died and he needs to come home. He blackmails Lyla into coming home with him, which just happens to be Yule, the home of Santa Claus. With Mason as the heir apparent to the Klaus line.

The book was an interesting take on rhe North Pole and all that Christmas has to offer. So points for originality. But I didn't love the massive amounts of secrets. The storyline was kinda boring. Maybe I'm just getting too specific instead of enjoying a book for what it is. There was a influx of exclamation points from a character that wouldn't make sense to speak in exclamations.

Natalie was a nice villain. And a nice little side story.

Clearly the author pulled from beauty in the beast at one point.

I dunno. Cute read. 3 stars. You might like it you Might not. I did like it :)

Thank you NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for the advanced copy

Is Mason Klaus really just a Scrooge, out to destroy the Magic of Christmas? And can Lyla manage to get back the shares to her family's company that were meant for Lyla before Klaus came along... All while trying to resist him and his unbelievable world of magic?

I love a good enemies to lovers trope and The Naughty or Nice Clause really delivered. Other tropes used in this story were forced proximity and fake relationship.
This was a quick, fun read to cozy up with and the writer put a refreshing spin on our traditional Christmas stories.
Some of the descriptive writing fell flat at times and the dialouge felt a bit stiff. But I enjoyed it nonetheless. Kinda like those pesky holiday movies. Cheesy plots and cheesier acting. But that's what I love about it!

For as quickly paced as this book is, I was pretty disappointed with how late into the story the characters finally got together. But, it wasn't a deal breaker for me (I felt the same way at the end of Pretty Woman)... I also wish there had been a little more chemistry between them earlier on... I needed about another three chapters or so, lol!

Overall, I give the story 3/5 stars
And 2/5 steamy chiles

Such a charming Christmas story perfect for staving off the winter blues. It's warm, fuzzy and full of Christmas cheer. My only issue is that the writing felt a little stunted at times with needless statements and the dialogue felt unnatural sometimes as well.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

2.5 stars on this one. I have to admit that I was not prepared for all the magic, so that probably skewed my view.

Enemies to lovers trope, which I typically enjoy, but upon the bell ringing transportation to the North Pole, I thought,”Oh no..😬”

What I liked: Mason’s family. His siblings and mother were such a cute group, and all did a great job of pulling me in and made me root for the return of Mason and Lyla to the town.

What I didn’t like: The romance felt forced, the love scenes were largely glossed over. The connection between the characters was just not very believable.

The end could have been a bit more developed. The story wrapped up nicely, but it felt rushed in the final pages.

I recognize that this was considered a romance and a fantasy, but I still found the premise so unbelievable it took away from the story, Not only the fact that the male MC was literally Santa, but also that he basically kidnapped the female MC and held her captive for two weeks until she eventually fell in love with him. Weird. Every bit of this plot got more and more unpredictable, all the way up to the psycho ex-girlfriend, I really did not enjoy this.

This was a lovely fun Christmas read, perfect for getting into the festive mood!

This was a typical fun romance but with an interesting little twist… Welcome to ‘Yule’. With a ring of the bell, Callaghan didn’t wait long to whisk us to the magical world of Christmas. I really enjoyed the added little festive details and fantasy elements which really put me into the Christmas world.

This started off with the workplace enemy’s to lovers and fake dating tropes which Kate done by setting up the characters and their defining characteristics beforehand as the two opposing main characters. It was a typical holiday romance, it was lighthearted with some drama. The build up of the romance and tension was great, the novel left me with a warm feeling and a great mood. This was a really sweet read and perfect for anyone looking for a fun Christmas book, I only wish the ending was savoured more.

Lyla is fed up with the business partner she didn’t want making all the decisions for her company and cancelling the Christmas party was the final straw. So when she throws one anyway and there is a fire in the office it sets her off on an unbelievable adventure with the person she least expects.
I was quite surprised by this book. I love a Christmas romance but this was just really fantastical and caught me off guard at the beginning. As I read it I got more and more involved with the characters and in the end I really enjoyed it. I’d recommend it to anyone who likes a cheesy festive romance and doesn’t mind suspending belief for a bit.