Member Reviews
The banter between Layla and Mason was wonderful. The descriptions really create a winter wonderland in this Christmas romance. Also, enjoyed the fantasy twist that was added. A solid 4 stars.
Like The Christmas Chronicles but for grown ups!
Lyla loves Christmas but she doesn't love the man who has the lion's share of the company that her grandfather started, until she begins to know the real him...
It's a chick lit book with a whole heap of Christmas magic- the characters are likeable, the setting enchanted and the story escapism. I really enjoyed it !
This was the perfect magical Christmas romance to kick off the season of holiday reading. If you love cheesy Hallmark Christmas movies (I mean that as a compliment) than this is the book for you! It's got all your favourite tropes: grumpy/sunshine, fake dating and a sprinkle of enemies-to-lovers (definitely not full send enemies-to-lovers but the kind that comes with the grumpy/sunshine category).
My only complaint would be that for me the beginning of the story felt kind of choppy, there wasn't enough build up to the romance. It kinda felt like I was rushed to get the good part of the story. But once you hit the good part, it's fantastic!
3'75.
The Proposal but make it Hallmark.
I loved this story so much, it was like watching a movie. I also read it at the perfect time which also helps.
The only thing that I didn't really like is that the ending felt really rushed. From the council scene, it all just went way too fast and it felt underwhelming, specially the romance.
Still, I really liked it, the story made me feel warm inside. It was super cute!
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc.
The Naughty or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan
.
Ever since Lyla’s father sold his shares of the family company to business man Mason, Lyla has butted heads with Mason. So after an accidental fire at work, Mason asks Lyla to come home with him for Christmas as a favor.
.
What I liked:
-The banter between Lyla and Mason was fun.
-I enjoyed reading Lyla’s reactions to every discovery of Mason’s family and the village he grew up in.
-A fake fiancé trope is always fun. 😁
.
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 This was a quick and fun read. Some of it went a little too fast and things progressed a little faster in parts I could have wanted to go slower. Also I would have loved to see a certain character get a little more retribution, but I had to tell myself “this is a romance, not a revenge story”. 😅😅
This is a super cheesy Hallmark movie re-write, I could not get past the pointed obviousness of the co-CEO Kl;aus and who seriously names their protagonist Smurfit? I gave up.
Super cute romcom! I loved the atmosphere of this holiday romance. The dynamics between the two main characters and the family of the male lead was so fun. The only thing that bothered me was the ending. I felt that it needed to be fleshed out more and actually I was quite confused as to what even the resolution was. Him giving her the bell didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I just needed more emotions to really buy into the romance between them. Overall would recommend though.
The story of Lyla and Mason. He is not who she thought he was, and how will she react to his news? A fun festive read.
An delicious book to read and all the xmas vibes made me feel so warm inside. I really enjoy the whole idea of the book, the fact that he is like a grumpy santa claus. The fake dating trope made THE difference to me. That's nothing like WOW, it's cutie and enjoyable, so it's a nice reading to spend the time and forget our problems for a a while.
The Naughty or Nice Clause is a sweet and well written christmas romance book. I did find it slow at times, and I probably wouldn't reread it, buy it was still a nice book
3.5 stars
This book was so cute! I really loved the setting and the magical elements to it. Yule screamed Christmas which really got me in the holiday spirit and it reminded me a lot of The Santa Clause (which was amazing because it’s my fav Christmas movie🫶). I loved reading about this cute little town and all the people who keep it running.
I really loved the characters, especially the whole Klaus family🥹, and enjoyed the found family aspect. The romance plot was fairly predictable and kind of felt very flat/under developed but I still thought it was cute. I thought the concept of the story as a whole was fun and I had a good time reading this.
Despite being a little underwhelmed with parts of the book, I would read it again just for the vibes because the whole atmosphere was so festive and made me so ready for the holidays. If you’re looking for something to get you in the Christmas spirit that has a side of romance, this is the book for you.
Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc!
4.5⭐
If you like Holiday Hallmark movies, then this is for you! I LOVED this one. A great book to start my holiday reads. I finished this so quickly. It was such an adorable and easy read. The aesthetic is very beautiful. You'll feel like you're in it while reading. The Yule, the people, the Klaus family, the touch of magic, it's perfect!💗 The banter and chemistry between Lyla and Mason is amazing. I love the enemies to lovers and fake dating, but the guy is secretly inlove with her the whole time trope. I eat it up everytime! I also love all the unique spins on the Santa Claus myth and how it is different from what we know, and more realistic than what we imagine. Read to find out🙊 I love every character💕 well except for Natalie and Frederick, they can go to hell. I'll be happy to kick them out of Yule my self. Going back, this book is so cute, and the pace was really good. Not too slow and not too rushed, just enough to get us to know the characters better and still be hooked. My only problem is the ending. It left me hanging. I wanted more of their love story!🤧 Even just an epilouge, and I would be happy🥺
I really recommend this if you're already in the mood for Holiday reads. It's sweet and magical.
I just reviewed The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan. #TheNaughtyOrNiceClause #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]
I am obsessed with this. One of the most perfect Christmas stories I've read so far. It has Grumpy/Sunshine, Fake Dating Santa's son. This is the book you need for the Christmas season. Curl up with this book with a fire going, fluffy blanket and hot cocoa. This is a 5 Star read for me and also I will be rereading it I loved it so much.
A super enjoyable Christmas romance! It reminded me of the Santa Claus movies and a Hallmark movie wrapped into one. The perfect Christmas read for someone who doesn’t want their holiday romance to be too cheesy.
This was a cute Christmas Romance novel and a very quick read! Thank you NetGalley, CallaganWriter, and publisher for this ARC. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves cozy romances to get an early start on this holiday season!
The perfect holiday read. The love-hate relationship between the characters and sprinkled with secrets, magic and temptation are the perfect recipe for a happily ever after story. Definitely worth picking up.
Thank you #NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for giving me the opportunity to read this!
The brooding earl
==============
New ng review
The naughty or Nice Klaus
Kate Callaghan
A new twist on the Santa Claus and toy making village with inhabitants allowed - if they press hard enough and make the arguments good enough to go on a trip and live outside the village fora while -to explore or go to college or..
So we have a Mr Klaus coming to ‘help’ a toy company run by Lyla Smurfit.Yes all puns intended.
This toy company took over or partnered with smaller companies and enabled them - by running their marketing and logistics for instance. But during Lyla’s father’s time, the company had begun to struggle. This may of course have been because he was distracted by the wives he kept marrying - and divorcing - after Lyla’s mother’s death. Though this was implied rather than stated.
So Klaus came in as a White Knight with51% of the company shares and Lyla had the remaining 49%. This meant that his decisions were implemented and she could only argue with him when she disagreed.
The story line begins near Xmas of course. The toy company is about to have its annual Xmas party for staff and clients - which he had cancelled - unknown to Lyla until that morning. Of course this leads to an argument and Lyla has a brilliant idea to hold a staff party in the offices that she will pay for with food from the internal cafe.
Things begin to go wrong from there and then perhaps rather right as Lyla finds herself in Yule- the Xmas village and learns the secret of what is carried on the sleighs to the external world.
We do have some big reveals and some nice family interactions, with the village and family being inclusive and some wolves too with a scary element.
Overall a light and Xmas froth of a story.Suitable for YA audiences.
3.5 stars!
Enemies to lovers, office place romance, pretend fiancés, except his hometown? It's The North Pole. And he's the son of Santa Claus.
This was such a fun read! I'd love to be teleported away to the North Pole and asked to live in a Winter Wonderland. I think this was such as sweet romance, that checked all the boxes.
I'll definitely be keeping my eye on any future releases from this author!
This was a really fun, quick read! I enjoyed both of the main characters and their chemistry together. The take on the North Pole was very interesting and unique. The ending was just a little abrupt and I would have loved to read more of the main characters together, but this was a nice slow burn with a good build up to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!
This was not the Christmas romance I was expecting. And not in a good way.
First of all, I was quite pleasantly surprised with the fantasy aspect of it all. Though, that is my fault as I didn't read the genres properly, and went into this thinking I was getting a spicy romance. However, I was not disappointed with the fantasy aspect. It brought a bit of a magical Christmas feel to the story. The little village of Yule seemed sweet and like something out of a hallmark movie.
However, I didn't enjoy the writing. I thought it was quite bland and it didn't provoke much emotion from me. I think this is what made it difficult for me to enjoy the story and the "romance" aspect. I felt no chemistry between Mason and Lyla. And, can I also just mention - what kind of surname is Smurfit?!
On that thought regarding Mason and Lyla, the first line of the blurb on Goodreads is, "Being Naughty Has Never Been So Nice!"
How inaccurate this statement is about this book is unbelievable. This book was not "naughty" at all. The readers have to wait until the book is almost over to read one smut scene that was very underwhelming. It was not worth the wait.
It took me much longer than I anticipated to finish this book, and by the end, I, unfortunately, didn't feel it was worth it.