This one was just okay for me. It was a cute romance, but the magic came in out of nowhere and kind of was just too much too fast right off the bat. I know a lot of people have really loved this one, but it's not one that'll stick in my mind for long. I think this could make a cool hallmark type of movie, but didn't hit the mark for me while reading it. I think many would enjoy this type of read though, so I'm in the minority here. The banter between Mason and Lyla was nice at times, but I would have liked if they were in the real world for a bit longer before switching over to the magical land.


Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Naughty or Nice Claus begins as an exploration of corporate greed - a toy company is sold to Mr. Klaus.
Lyla - who would have received her father's shares in the company had his retirement not revealed he was bankrupt - seeks to regain her father's company.

She plans to throw a Christmas party for the employees but Mr. Klaus forbids it. She holds it anyway but it ends in disaster. He then offers Lyla the chance to redeem herself if she will accompany him to a magical winter wonderland for the 12 days of Christmas. She discovers that he has told his family that she is his fiancee.

This book is rather whimsical and offers a fresh take on the holiday theme.

This was a cute, enemies-to-lovers Christmas read! I was intrigued from the start and could feel Lyla and Mason's chemistry from the very beginning of the story when they were just two coworkers bickering. I think the magic system was a cute touch, and I enjoyed the twist on the stereotypical Santa Claus who has a workshop full of presents and elves to a more magical workshop that didn't focus so much on materialism.

I wish we had gotten more time between Mason and Lyla being workplace enemies and her being thrown into the world of magic and the town of Yule since it happened so fast. I also think the ending was kind of rushed. Because of that third-act breakup, I was hoping for more of a powerful ending, but it was still cute nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to this eARC!

This was such a different kind of Christmas story. It’s like the modern retelling of Santa Claus. It’s a magical story. There’s a family and whole community grieving the death of their leader. Lyla and Mason are constantly arguing, but when their not their chemistry is off the charts. This is a great book to get you into the holiday spirit. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Christmas cannot come soon enough! But at least I had this book to read while I wait for the holiday season to come around the corner!

It was honestly so easy for me to fall in love with this book, because it's Christmas themed, with some good old enemies to lovers romance, and slow burn love you can't help but root for. There was an obvious chemistry between our two main characters that had me grinning, laughing, and pouting to myself as I read this book.

This is a book you can't put down, but at the same time you don't want to put it down because you need to get to the end to know what happens to these characters you easily fall in love with. The banter all around, the side characters, and this magical winter wonderland that Kate creates absolutely blew my mind. If you're looking for your next holiday read, this is it!

This book read exactly like a Hallmark movie! While I don't necessarily enjoy those movies, I did enjoy this book! Considering I read this book on a beach on a VERY hot September day, the fact that this was a Christmas story did not escape my mind. I couldn't put this book down!
I very much liked this stories version of what Klaus and the Christmas gift delivery is. It was different and enchanting!
Seeing Mason breakdown little by little was endearing. His show of emotion really made me connect to him. My heart reached out to him when he discovered Lyla's (discarded) plans, but he still stuck for her when she needed him.
One line summed up Lyla perfectly in my opinion... "The man had more layers than a tiramisu, but she was determined to figure him out." And she didn't give up on him either, even when he seemed to give up on her!
In all honesty, I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book so that I can add it to much Christmas book collection! It will 100% be an annual Christmas re-read!

Lyla grew up expecting to take over the family business, Except her father has mismanaged the business and sold his 51% of shares to Mason Klaus. Klaus is an investor who can help turn the company around. Instead of working with Lyla, he works against her and makes decisions she never would causing tension between the two. When he cancels the company Christmas party, she decides to treat the staff herself. At the party, Lyla finds Klaus in his office, drunk. She takes him home but the staff somehow manage to start a fire in the office kitchen.

Klaus shows up at Lyla’s to inform her of the fire and offer her a deal, come home with him to be a buffer with his estranged family and he will forget her party caused the office fire. She agrees and is swept away to his village and soon the two stop arguing and start to fall for each other.

Of course, it would not be an enemy to lovers without additional content! But you’ll have to read the book for that!

Overall, I enjoyed The Naughty or Nice Clause. I thought it was well-written and well-paced until the end. The lead-up to the switch from enemies to lovers was a slow burn but a good slow burn. You wanted to shake them both to get it together but when it finally happened it was perfect! I did think the ending wrapped up too quickly. I would have liked another chapter or maybe an epilogue.

It was frustrating that Lyla worked for Klaus for a year and never made some kind of thought about the name for a woman who LOVES Christmas.

I enjoyed the author's unique take on Santa Claus and the North Pole. It was a little different than your usual Christmas book or movie.

For those worried about graphic content, there were a few almost racy scenes and when they finally hook up it was descriptive but not carried on for long. There was also the use of a swear word in the sex scene. I do not recall it elsewhere in the book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you like cheesy Christmas movies on lifetime this would be a fun read!

This one missed the mark for me... too rushed, too much too soon, and just not enough substance.
It was one I found myself skimming to finish. it honestly felt like a first draft... not the final copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's a good little Christmas romance. I really enjoyed it and I finished it in one sitting! The only issue I had was that the end felt rushed. I feel like the author could have done more with it. I'm hoping it ended like that because she plans to do a follow-up!

When Lyla's father retired as CEO of the toy company which has been in their family for generations, she was meant to receive his shares. Instead, she discovers the company is bankrupt and her father has given her shares to Mason Klaus, an investor known in the corporate world for his cold and callous nature. Much to Lyla's frustration, her only option is to run the company with him, despite their evident loathing for one another. 
When Mason cancels the annual Christmas party, Lyla throws it anyway only for the event of the season to result in a terrible fire. With the offices and Lyla's credibility ruined, Mason offers her a deal: he'll forget her part in the disaster, but she must join his family for the twelve days of their Christmas holidays. 
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. 
Wow totally gripping really enjoyable read totally recommend
Thank You NetGalley and CallaghanWriter
I just reviewed The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan. #TheNaughtyOrNiceClause #NetGalley

Tw: Death of a loved one, parent abandonment

👩‍❤️‍👨Fake Dating
☃️ Magical secret Village
🤡Scheming Ex

The Naughty or Nice Clause is a slow burn fantasy Christmas romance, featuring Mason Klaus a mysterious stern investor who butts heads with Lyla Smurfit the heir to a toy company. The Naughty or Nice Clause is a rivals to lovers low heat romance. When Lyla’s father retires she thinks she’s next in line to run the toy company that’s been in her family for generations, when she learns that she has to run it with Mason Klaus—a corporate investor with an icy reputation she’s not looking forward to working together. Mason is a thorn in her side, he doesn’t include Lyla into the day to day running of the company. When he cancels a Christmas party—a company tradition—without her knowledge, Lyla rebels and have the party anyways. When the party ends in disaster she strikes a deal with Mason her grinch like partner and she agrees to accompany him home for Christmas. When Lyla lands in a wintry wonderland barefoot with her cat Jones, she learns that Mr. Klaus has more secrets than he let on.

I enjoyed The Naughty or Nice Clause the world building was rich and I felt that I was truly transported into a secret village. I understood Lyla’s frustration with Mason and I loved watching two people who were practically strangers grow close. There was great sexual tension, a lot of will they won’t they moments and there was on page sex scenes that I enjoyed. I have two complaints regarding this story. One is no Epilogue, Lyla and Mason deserved a proper happily ever after. After everything happened I needed to see their arrangement work. Two, even though Lyla loved Mason I didn’t like that she didn’t really choose him. He showed up in the eleventh hour to choose for her.

This was my first time reading from this author and it won’t be my last. I hope to see more of Lyla and Mason because I don’t think their story is done.

2.5✨
This was a sweet, pleasant read-- one you can absolutely cozy up to this holiday season. It'll warm you up instantly!
There's a lot of magic in this one-- in fact this book read like a screenplay in many ways, it's *so* incredibly easy to imagine it streaming on Netflix or playing on the Hallmark channel this Christmas season.

This is unfortunately where my personal disappointment came in-- it felt like a screenplay too. When major actions/dialogue happened, I waited to feel something in return but didn't. The dialogue came up empty. It felt like an actor was missing to emote a particular emotion to get across to the audience how they were feeling. There was a sense of incompletion. There was also some repetitive actions, such as "winking" and "smirking," that caused distraction as well.

I never fully invested in this story, but I wanted to because it's ripe with potential. The magical Dust system, for example, was a lot of fun! The author is clearly very adept in storytelling, but the execution wasn't always there for me.

That said, I must stress again how perfect this would be as a script for a holiday film. So if you're obsessed with Hallmark Christmas tv movies please give this one a chance!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for providing me an arc in exchange for an honest review.

If Hallmark Christmas and The Proposal had a baby this book would be that baby. If either of those things piques your interest then this book is for you. I can't say I ever thought I would love or need a Christmas-themed book but I was wrong. This book was so good. I loved the story and the characters. It was predictable in some parts but in a good way. Kinda like how you know what's gonna happen in a Hallmark movie. They all have the same general story arc. Other times I was like oh my gosh that did not just happen. There is a little bit of spice in this book but a hell lot of sexual tension. If you like Christmas, one bed, enemies to lovers, and a fake relationship then this is a book you need to check out. There were minor grammar issues (missing words) but nothing that ruined the reading experience.

Thank you to Kate Callaghan, Independent Book Publisher Association, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review. The Naughty or Nice Clause comes out November 8, 2022.

The Naughty or Nice Clause is a enemies-to-lovers, workplace rivals, holiday romance with a dash of magic filled in. When Lyla is told by Mason, co-CEO and man she absolutely hates, that there will be no Christmas party this year, she decides to throw it herself. Everything was suppose to be okay, she didn't know someone would try to reheat a pizza in a toaster oven and then start a fire. So when Mason comes knocking at her door requesting her to come home with him for the holidays she feels like she has to say yes. What she isn't expecting is that Masons "hometown" is in fact the North Pole, or that when being introduced to his family he would claim that she was his fiancé.

This was the first holiday book I have read this season and I did think that it was very cute and magical. Although when reading the beginning I thought it was pretty slow and it took over halfway through to really get into in. Once I was able to get into I really liked how Lyla's and Mason's relationship developed, and I especially liked how Layla's relationship with Masons family progressed. The only other thing that I wasn't a huge fan of was how rushed the ending was, I feel like it would have really benefited from an epilogue. There was just too many "issues" that I felt weren't resolved, that I felt like could have been resolved with an epilogue or even just another regular chapter.

I loved this book. I wouldn’t change anything!

The authors note at the beginning was so sweet. Reading a novel that gave her joy and cheer and brought her back into the Holidays really hit me.

I loved the story of Mason and Lyla. Forced proximity, enemies to lovers, fake engagement - some of my favorite tropes. I loved the story and magic around Yule and the authors spin on the character of Santa Clause. Loved it!

What didn’t I like? I didn’t like that it ended when I wanted more of the Klaus family!!

If you’re looking for a cute, enemies-to-lovers/workplace rivals, holiday romance that’s filled with magic… then this book is for you.

Lyla is extremely hardworking and dedicated to her family’s toy company and constantly clashes with Mason, who obtained Lyla’s father’s shares in order to save the company.

They only interact a few times before she’s whisked away to Mason’s hometown. Did I mention that it’s a fake-dating trope too? The side characters were fun to read about and definitely proved that Mason is truly a softie, and not the big and brooding type he’s like at the office. The holidays are meant to be as a happy time for families, but I loved how Kate Callaghan showed grieving families as well. Overall, this was such a cute read and it made me so excited for the holidays!

My first Christmas read of the season (and it’s only September)

A (mostly) wholesome Christmasy enemies to lovers/found family/pretend relationship

I loved the relationship between Lyla and Mason and how it developed over the course of the book - especially how their suitable flirting/banter at the beginning turned into real flirting by the end

I’m an absolute sucker for hurt/comfort scenes and I was not disappointed when I read them - does it make me bad that sometimes I want a character to feel a bit of pain just so their love interest can comfort them? It probably does but we move past that

I feel like some parts of the description could have had a bit more detail because sometimes I would read a paragraph or two and a few things would happen in such quick succession that I would then have to reread it to make sense of it in my head. Like at one point they fell over and she was on top of him, and then the suddenly she’s walking away from him - even though we never actually read that she stood up it was just implied. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but for me personally it helps me to imagine what’s happening better in my head so the actions of the characters then flow better

Also I felt that the ending felt kind of rushed - like one minute they’re happy, the next they aren’t together anymore and then suddenly they are back together - maybe that was just the way I was reading it - I don’t know. But I do wish it had an epilogue, maybe like 6 years into the future where we got to see how they balanced their jobs and relationship, and if they did ever get officially engaged and if they ever had children

*thank you netgalley for this arc in exchange for an honest review :) *

this book was a page-turner! i loved it! it was so sweet!

if you are looking for a good enemies to lovers, forced proximity, kind of workplace romance, hidden identity mixed with opposites attract in a holiday romance setting, you have found the right book!

i have enjoyed this book, it was easy to follow and the banter between our two main characters made their scenes together so interesting....especially the falling in love part!

the grinch and the christmas lover gets together and the grinch's heart ends up turning from black to gold. i loved learning more about our mmc and finding out that there's more than what meets the eye.

4.5/5 stars (i didn't like the fmc's confusion/hesitancy at one particular scene but i'm the same way lol)

I love a good holiday-themed rom-com and this book was certainly that. I won't rehash the plot as the book blurb covers that well. I really enjoyed watching Mason and Lyla's relationship grow and really enjoyed both their interactions with Mason's fun and loving family.

The book did have some misses for me, though. Mason taking Lyla home with him seems abrupt - there was not a prior hint of attraction between them. The language Mason uses during the open door love scene just doesn't fit with the rest of the book (I have no issue with the use of expletives or other dirty talk in love scenes - it just didn't make sense to me here). The ending also wasn't quite the HEA I would have liked. It felt like there were still several major open issues left unaddressed. But most of the book was enjoyable. I give it a solid 3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book. The opinions herein are my own.

I think I loved this book?! It was definitely a grower - the more I read, I got so into it. I pretty much read it in one sitting to be honest! The ending was sweet, but I was dying for an epilogue!