Do you have any holiday books on your radar yet? Unleashed Holiday is a cute romance that starts in October and includes a fall festival, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Chelsea and Andrew knew each other in college but split up after a misunderstanding. Years later they meet again when personal trainer Andrew moves back to his hometown to open up a gym next door to Chelsea's dog training business. I liked Andrew's character but I had a harder time with Chelsea who always seemed to misjudge Andrew.

Give this one a read if you like: second chance
enemies to lovers
forced proximity
family drama
fall/winter holidays

The story is rounded out with a couple of cute dogs, a Christmas tree farm scene, and goats. This book is available now. Thank you to the publisher for my e-copy of this book.

Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade is fun holiday book that also happens to include very cute dogs. Chelsea Higgens is a dog trainer with a thriving business. She loves the location of her business and her neighbors. But, when Andrew, a former acquittance, moves into her building to start a gym business with his unruly dog her troubles begin.

This enemies to lovers book is funny, thoughtful, and had delightful animals. The characters were well developed and the author did a nice job sharing their backstory. It was enjoyable to learn about dog training and hanging out with the Chelsea’s and Andrew’s dogs. The fall and Christmas setting was festive and charming.

I appreciated the themes of family, friendship, and not judging others since you have not walked in their shoes. I loved rooting for Andrew and Chelsea and appreciated their happily ever after. I recommend Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade.

I was given a copy by the publisher and not required to write a positive review.

Dogs. Christmas. Enemies to lovers but also kinda second chance romance. Yes please!

Chelsea owns a dog training service and that, her pups and her family are her life. She's still mourning hard over the loss of her dad. Then her world is upended when her enemy and former one night hookup, Andrew, opens his gym in the same building where her business is. He immediately is on her nerves. His overzealous dog knocks her down and hurts her wrist. Andrew offers her some strength training for her wrist and she offers some dog training in return. These two are definitely the Bickersons. Then that somehow becomes some fun banter.

Chelsea finds herself attracted to Andrew, although she fights it hard. They decide to spend some time together over the holiday season, and I don't have to tell you where that goes.

They did have some miscommunication from their prior interaction to work through. Their banter was fabulous and I was rooting for them to become a couple!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Berkley for an ARC and Let's Talk Books Promo for allowing me to take part in this Berkley Buddy Read!

Author Victoria Schade pens a cute contemporary romance filled with dogs, cats, and goats in Unleashed Holidays.

After many years apart, Chelsea and Andrew are reconnected, much to their chagrin. They had a drunken encounter on a boat during a friend’s co-ed bachelor party that didn’t end well and is coming back to haunt them! They also didn’t get along in college despite being in the same friends’ circle. They are now neighbors since their individual businesses share the same complex and parking lot. It’s one adventure after another each time their paths cross.

Memories forever haunt Chelsea, and since she doesn’t think highly of Andrew and his abilities, actions, or even his intelligence, things between them get snarky fast. There are hints of what could happen if they let their guard down and learn to communicate. Their pets bring them together, as does his mom and her mean girl goats that Chelsea offered to train. But will it be enough to let go of the past and at least for them to be civil to each other?

Several storylines are nicely tied together, and there’s warmth and caring in the tale offered by family and friends. There’s also tension, anger, tears, sorrow, romance, tenderness, and love.

Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas play a significant role in the story, along with how Chelsea deals with them after her dad’s death several years ago. The story has twists and turns as Chelsea and Andrew seem to take one step forward before everything goes haywire. They each have their own issues they are dealing with and help each other in times of need, but could there be more?

When they agree to get together for fun, what is Andrew really suggesting? As the story nears the end, there’s lovely closure, happiness on many fronts, and love. There is a happily ever after in the offing, and I wouldn’t mind crossing paths with these characters again.

I love the cuteness and the vivid colors on the cover. It definitely drew me in! Having only read one previous book by Ms. Schade, I look forward to reading more since this epitomizes a contemporary romance—one of my favorite genres!

Unleashed Holiday is an emotional read with cute animals, holiday books, and a hint of romance.

I rated the book 4.5 stars but rounded to 5 stars here and on other sites.

Loved the inclusion of dogs in the book, but the story just wasn't for me. It was a bit too serious for my liking, but it wasn't a super-emotionally deep book; it felt like it tried to be funny but it just wasn't (at least for me).
I felt it was taking a long time to get to the heart of the conflict between Andrew and Chelsea; it was obvious that something had happened in their past, but what? It took maaaannnnyyyy chapters to understand Chelsea's animosity to Andrew and then at the end, the explanation on his side, along with hers made me go "really? THAT'S what kept them apart?"

I skipped a number of chapters to go to the end to see how Chelsea and Andrew got together and the ending wasn't compelling enough for me to go back and read the skipped chapters.

The dogs and goats were great, though!

Thanks to Berkley Romance for the eARC. All thoughts are my own.

I needed something cozy and uplifting and Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade delivered everything and more! If you are new to Victoria Schade, she writes the best blend of contemporary fiction and romance always centered around an animal lover, their furry friends, and a love interest. This is a must read for the dog-lovers out there!

As for the title, this book truly delivers on holidays unleashed. Don’t let the Christmas-tree cover fool you, this book is a holiday bonanza, starting with the lead up to Halloween, then covering Thanksgiving in the middle third, and bringing it home with Christmas. The perfect book to get you excited for the holidays ahead!

About the Book | Unleashed Holiday

Dog trainer Chelsea Higgins is doing fine—her business is thriving, while her personal life is a bit stalled. When her former nemesis (and once brief fling) Andrew moves back to town and opens his gym in the same building as her dog training business, Chelsea is furious. How dare he come into her space and life after everything that has happened between them?

With a new puppy unexpectedly adopted into her home, a trio of skittish goats that she is working to train, and her grief over losing her father, Chelsea has enough going on without Andrew and his unleashed dog, Dude running around. After Dude injures her wrist, Andrew and Chelsea work out a deal—three dog training sessions in exchange for three rehabilitation sessions.

Despite her best efforts to hate him, things start to thaw between Chelsea and Andrew. Has he changed or did she misjudge him all along? Chelsea works to process her grief and focus on her family with the holidays upcoming, but is it possible she’ll get the gift of love as well?

My Thoughts | Unleashed Holiday

Victoria Schade has a gift with writing the most heartwarming stories. They are funny, engaging, and I always fall for the characters and the dogs. I look forward to each book of hers because the stories sing to the soul, healing me and giving me my warm and fuzzies back.

Chelsea is another fantastic character. She’s a blend of so many things, but she has a great heart and she cares so much for the animals and people in her life. Her grief over losing her father has made her retreat some from those in her life. Part of Chelsea’s story is about how she processes and moves on. How she welcomes the family she has and is able to continue with their beloved family traditions even though her dad won’t be there.

Chelsea and Andrew have instant chemistry, but they don’t immediately jump into their attraction. This isn’t your average enemies-to-lovers book, though it has some elements of that. There are a lot of feelings and history between Andrew and Chelsea that need to be resolved. I loved how Schade put healing before their chemistry. The relationship thawed in a slow and realistic manner as they both realize they may have grown and also misjudged one another.

The animals are a constant delight! The goat training is a funny addition that warmed my heart. I also found many of the dog scenarios so realistic. The challenges of a new puppy, no matter how experience you are with dog training. The dog who doesn’t like to be on his leash (not unlike my own dog…) and wants to chase that cat at all costs. The animals who bond instantly with certain people but take longer to get to know other dogs.

I also thought the family elements for both Chelsea and Andrew were a wonderful addition and added to the cozy holiday themes. Things aren’t perfect—particularly for Chelsea—but everyone is trying to heal in their own way and respecting that you can nudge others, but you can’t force them to heal sooner than they are ready.

Each holiday was introduced at just the right point and they felt organic to the story, not forced. I loved that this wasn’t a whirlwind Christmas story, but it spread over months and different holidays. The themes of those holidays came at just the right points, from learning to have fun and be a little wild at Halloween, to appreciating those in your life (whether friends or family) at Thanksgiving, to the magic of Christmas that also comes with the pressure to have it be a certain way.

Absolutely charming and full of heart! Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

4 Stars
Happy Pub Day to this book! I loved the cover of this, my husband has always grown up with a boxer and we have a French Bulldog now, so I loved the Boston Terrier and Boxer in this story (and Birdie, of course). Though the ending was predictable, it still made me tear up and I loved how the relationship grew between Chelsea and Andrew. I'm so glad Chelsea's character growth got to where it did in the end, I understand she was grieving but I didn't like how she treated her mom (who was also grieving even though Chelsea wanted to keep forgetting that). Overall, this was a super cute, festive, romance read that sucked me in from the beginning.

Thank you NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for the ARC!

With a title like Unleashed Holiday, a few different ideas can come to mind and Victoria Schade was clever with this one. The book begins with our main character: Chelsea, a dog trainer and she’s getting ready to head home but ends up seeing a dog in her parking lot. Chelsea tries to help but ends up hurting her wrist and we meet the dog’s person: Andrew.

We quickly find out Chelsea and Andrew have a history. I won’t get into specifics but the two knew each other in college and they never really got along. Somehow, these two just can’t stay away from each other though as Chelsea offers to help Andrew train his puppy while he offers to help her build up her strength at his gym. From there, it was only a matter of time as the attraction was already there.

What I enjoyed most about this book was that there were lots of cute and frankly, realistic moments with the animals. Chelsea and Andrew both have dogs which isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. In addition, Chelsea also helps Andrew’s mom train her goats which might seem odd but is a surprisingly fun addition. Plus it adds to that delicious forced promixity all of us romance readers love.

While Unleashed Holiday is a romance, it doesn’t shy away from other topics including dealing with grief, toxic family members, and reconnecting with friends. Chelsea is dealing with the loss of her father and has a lot of negative feelings about it. As for Andrew, no one seems to understand why he’d give up such a “stable” athletic career to own a gym and then the two are hanging out with their college friends who moved away.

Another aspect worth noting is that Unleashed Holiday isn’t just a “Christmas” book. The cover does look Christmassy yet these characters celebrate three holidays together. We follow them during Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas so now would be a great time to pick it up. It’s also pretty steamy for having such a cute cover.

While the third-act conflict really played into the “second-chance” aspect, it’s clear these two were dealing with misunderstandings from the start. As a romance reader, that annoyed me but I think that if you’re just going in for some cute and fun moments, it’s a good one for the holidays.

I think that if you’re a dog lover and enjoy Hallmark movies, then Unleashed Holiday will work for you. Even if you don’t love Hallmark movies, I think you’ll still have fun with Unleashed Holiday.

A romance with a backdrop of dogs? Need I say more? This book was so adorable.

The doors are open but the spicy scenes are minimal. I thought they were superbly sensual, beautiful and romantic.

🌶️🌶️/5

This was a sweet heartwarming book, but light on Christmas. Given I read it in September, that's a good thing.

4.5 stars

Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade is a cute story thanks mainly to a handful of dogs and even some goats with great personalities and charm. There's not a lot of holiday in this holiday rom-com, but there are plenty of laughs along with some deeper issues the main characters need to resolve to move on.

So many aspects of this story are thoroughly enjoyable. Unfortunately, I struggled with the main character and narrator, Chelsea, which impacted my entire reading experience. Her grief over her father's passing and her family's reaction to her reason for being stuck in that grief weren't authentic to me. It ultimately felt self-indulgent and disrespectful, which made her a difficult character to get behind. Though, Andrew - Chelsea's second chance love interest - is a character whose situation and reactions felt one hundred percent believable and saved the story for me.

I loved the way Chelsea's and Andrew's relationship played out. It is so gradual and subtle, often taking a backseat to their growth journies. I found this to be so refreshing and genuine.

The story's pacing is very consistent, making its medium pace feel even faster than it is. That's partly due to the first-person narration from Chelsea's POV. I don't know that the setting is significant, but that didn't significantly impact my enjoyment of the story. I just simply forgot where it was taking place.

Unleashed Holiday is a lovely choice for animal lovers, particularly those with a soft spot for dogs.

I've shared this before, but Victoria Schade is an auto-buy author for me. As a dog mom, I can always find a bit of myself within the pages of her novels. With the animal expertise that I have come to know and love (Victoria is a dog trainer), UNLEASHED HOLIDAY offers widespread appeal thanks to the pawsitively fun take on the quintessential elements that make up the perfect small-town holiday romance.

"The difference between my two dogs was striking. Bird was the quintessential good girl, a sweet and loving companion who after a lifetime of big ball-fetching energy had mellowed into the perfect couch potato. Edith was clever to a fault, catlike with her affections, and way too big for her black and white britches. Things were stable between the two opposites, but I was still bummed that they weren’t besties yet."

The above quotation means a lot to me. I rarely see the portrayal of pet disappointment in stories. Due to her reactivity to other dogs, I've experienced this with my dog, and even though I feel bummed at times, it doesn't mean that I love her any less.

I absolutely loved that the book took place between September and December. It's never too soon to get into the holiday spirit, but it was so much fun getting to experience Halloween and Thanksgiving considering most holiday romances focus only on Christmas. UNLEASHED HOLIDAY has the perfect mix of silly antics and more serious topics, such as navigating grief during the holidays and the struggles to maintain long-distance friendships.

"I took a deep breath and wished I could bottle the moment. That familiar, comforting scent of fall leaves, a breeze that was cool enough to make you wish you'd worn a hoodie even though it was still warm in the sunshine, and two dogs reveling in the freedom of sniffing whatever they wanted to."

The feelings/sensations described truly encapsulate fall, making it the perfect read to pick up on its publication day on 9/26. Many thanks to Berkley Romance and NetGalley for the complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own, and I can't recommend this one enough!

An absolutely adorable story of a unexpected romance around the Christmas season. Who doesn’t love romance,dogs and Christmas. A great Christmas read .

I just reviewed Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade. #UnleashedHoliday #NetGalley

2.5 stars. 5 for the doggie goodness, 0 for the lackluster romance, 4 for the fall vibes. Somehow this math maths out to 2.5 stars, just trust me.

A few things to note:
- This book is so fun and fully satisfied the dog lover in me! Dude, Edith, and Birdie were such sweet bebes
- This is not a Christmas book. It’s a fall book. December starts 2/3 of the way through.
- There were a lot of pop culture references that I didn’t get, but it didn’t impact the book overall. I just felt very not hip.

I think I really just need to give up on reading second chance romances. They always feel immature to me because the lack of communication trope is always in full, and I absolutely hate it. The romance here felt very unrealistic and immature, and I was never super impressed. Honestly I spent most of it hoping that Andrew and Chelsea would just be friends at the end and would start a dog school / gym hybrid something, but alas, it’s a romance novel and of course they end up together. The couple needs to go to counseling together because good golly their relationship will not last if they can’t even have one honest conversation. Grow up.

I thought this was a super cute enemies to lovers! I really enjoyed the banter between the characters. Anytime there are dogs involved in a story, it's an instant read for me. Not only does an author have the task of creating a regular character, but also creating a dog with personality can be also hard to do. I think Victoria did a great job with the loss of a parent and it wasn't too deep but enough that you can definitely feel the sympathy for the character. Overall, a really cute read that I would recommend to anyone who's a dog lover!

Isn't this an adorable cover? It's also quite telling. The dogs are happy, seeming of the same mind, ie a walk, but the humans, um, not so much. They seem to have the same goal, carrying the Christmas-tree-to-be, but are not only facing opposite directions but walking in a different direction, too. Rather gives us a hint that while there will be happy, fun moments, probably with dogs, there may be some serious conflicts between the humans of the story. As it turned out, that is exactly, well, as it turned out.

I liked that the book was a nice blend of the expected and unexpected. I definitely wasn't expecting goats. On a more serious note, I also appreciated the way the author handled not just the romantic difficulties of the main duo but their family issues, including Chelsea's extended grief over her father's death. Despite Chelsea's, let's call it prickly response to Andrew which bordered on cruel at times, I liked both Chelsea and Andrew all the more after meeting their families and seeing how they had met, dealt, or maybe not dealt with the related relationships. At times it often seemed a question of who rescued who, which applies to both human and canines. I, of course, liked the dogs and appreciated the fact that rather than just give a breed and color, the author shared their unique personalities with us, not to mention the same of the dogs' humans. I really, really wanted to give sweet Birdie both a hug and a treat, that's for sure.

I won't share the plot. It's not only well done in the blurb but, well, this is a holiday romance. If you're a fan, you know it'll end happily ever after despite some serious bumps in the road. You will find out why Chelsea and Andrew never really got along in the past although, well, it doesn't take much to see that an attraction has existed since then despite both of their best efforts to deny and repel each other. You'll also get to see what business means to them, not to mention how difficult it is for two very self-sufficient, self-motivated people who refuse to share vulnerabilities to come together. Chelsea has even tended to exclude old friends from her life, vowing that the companionship of her beloved Birdie was enough. In other words, via their relationships with each other and those about them, especially family, we learn a great deal about Chelsea and Andrew long before they quite come to acknowledge the truth.

Bottom line, I highly recommend this book. Not only is it full of cute dogs and humor but it explores human nature, attractions, self-protections, and family relationships. And, yes, there are goats. Mean girl goats. Seriously, give this one a read. It's fun, intriguing on several levels, and you'll wish you knew these people....and their dogs. My dog Daisy definitely gives this one four paws up and a tail wag, her equivalent of a five star rating. Thank you #NetGalley and #Berkley for introducing me to author Victoria Schade. I have already planned a library trip to get started on some of her previous work. What can I say? She's a dog person with a sense of humor and humanity. Loved this one!

Thank you so much to Berkley Romance for an advance copy of this book!

This is my second Victoria Schade book and it will not be my last. I absolutely loved the first one I read by her and this one I love even more. If life would have allowed, I would have devoured this in a day's time because I was that into it! And I read this at the perfect time as this book includes Halloween, Thanksgiving and of course Christmas.

"If it's that easy to make you happy then I've got nothing to worry about."

In my opinion this was such a great holiday book - it gave me heart, a little spice, banter & animals! I am going to try to explain how much I love this book so as you may know from prior reviews, when I am excited about a book it becomes a very chaotic review. I will do my best though.

I absolutely loved Chelsea and Andrew as a couple. The dynamic of them to knowing each other years prior and then both just leaving each other lives for reason I am not spoiling. I thought the pacing of their relationship felt right and not too rushed or too slowed. This is a slow burn but I didn't feel like I was being dragged on for too long where I was getting angry. There was enough tension as well as other moments to keep me engaged. The two of them together just made me so happy and Andrew just made me swoon. There was. moment when the couple were arguing and he just held her - "Something's wrong. Tell me why you're upset." *faints*

Compared to the other book that I read by Schade the clinical animal talk was not too much and even more minimal compared to that one (granted the FMC was in a different position). There wasn't anything said that I was confused about. I also thought the addition of the goats was a fun element! That was also a great bridge between Andrew's family and Chelsea. I love how neither family was perfect because hey that's life. And I thought each storyline was given enough space without being too much. Despite the cartoon cover, this book does dive into some deeper topics such as parental death & grief.

This book just really made me happy & I am so excited to see what Victoria has coming up next! I also really need to start working on her backlist.

You'll love this if you love a slow burn, second chance romance, enemies to lovers & a love for animals all set around the holiday time!

Swoon Meter: 10/10
Karaoke Meter: Sadly no

I am a bit surprised at how much I fell in love with Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade. I had low expectations regarding the Unleashed holiday. But imagine my surprise at how much this book became my favorite read. It literally made my day.



Unleashed Holiday focuses on Chelsea Higgins as she reunites with her former nemesis, Andrew. She never thought that she would see Andrew again after all these years. And imagine her surprise that he would be her neighbor since he bought the building next to hers.



You would think that Chelsea would ignore her former nemesis. But no, she has literally been hyper-focused on him ever since she saw him at the park lots. And she keeps running into him even though she is trying her best to ignore him. It’s kind of like the universe wants them together. They just need to have an honest conversation, especially since they share an awkward moment from the past. I know, right? I knew there was a moment that they had in the past that made them more tense with each other in the present.



Let’s focus on the present between Chelsea and Andrew. They may not like each other, but they still harbor deep feelings for each other. You can just tell from every interaction they have with each other. It’s just filled with so much tension and sparks whenever they connect their eyes with each other or when they are bantering with each other. You just want them together already. But they still need to sort out their issues before. It does entertain us as readers when they are fighting with each other.



While I was giddy about Chelsea and Andrew denying their chemistry, I also felt for Chelsea because she was dealing with her grief, especially since it’s the holiday season. It’s always hard to lose a loved one. It’s always harder when it’s the holiday season because you are remembering so much without them here. It’s something that Chelsea is struggling with because she knows she is still dealing with her grief. It won’t go away, and it’s what Chelsea struggles with while she continues to deny her feelings for Andrew.

Chelsea and Andrew both want the empty space between them to expand their businesses- her dog training, his physical training. These two have a back story so this is a bit of a second chance-enemies-to friends-to lovers tale that has the added benefit of.....dogs! Andrew's wild young dog causes a wrist injury for Chelsea so they decide to trade services- he helps with her rehab while she trains that pesky pup. This is enhanced by family dynamics and, of course, it's Christmas. I especially liked the banter between these two well crafted character.s. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Unleashed Holiday by Victoria Schade!

Unleashed holiday is a fresh and fun christmas romance about former rivals who need to work together after a small accident occurs. I loved the characters, the dogs, and how the author was able to seamlessly weave more serious issues into a romance that feels lighthearted!