The book is charming and alive with Christmas vibes, many of which we see in plenty of Christmas books. But we love Christmas books and keep reading them. This one is a bit different in the sense that it's usually the guy who is grumpy and doesn't like Christmas or whatever, this time it's the girl. Sutton Alsop hates Christmas and then she stumbles upon the home of Mr. Christmas with its glitzy lights that could surely double as a runway. Gus Langston is known about town as Mr. Christmas, he runs an all-year-round Christmas village shop.
Sutton agrees to nanny for him over the holidays with him being a single dad. This is the cutest little family ever. Mr. Christmas has a secret that only Sutton knows, one that would surprise everyone in town. A spicy Christmas romance that was fun and full of laughter and good times. You'll be sure to read it more than once.

Pub Date 19 Oct 2023
I was given a complimentary copy of this book.
All opinions expressed are my own.

So cute and spicy! I loved the single dad/nanny trope! What a great way to get the holiday season started. The dynamic between Sutton and Gus is chef's kiss. And all the other characters just add to the enjoyment. It was like reading a Hallmark movie.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this great book!

This book was overall an enjoyable book. I liked the Christmas element of the book as I LOVE Christmas. The characters were likeable and the writing was easy to read unlike some books. I was able to read it in about 2 days. I would totally recommend to anyone look for a romance and wants to get into the Christmas spirit ; )

★ ★ ★ ★ //5
Confessions of a Christmasholic
by Joss Wood

THOUGHTS:

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for giving me the opportunity to read an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

If you love :
*Single Dad/Nanny Tropes
*Second Chance
*Falling Fast

This book is for you!

I just simply adored this spicy little holiday read. It gave me the warm fuzzy holiday feels with giggles throughout the book. The spice was just the right amount and not too overwhelming which is perfect for those just testing the spicy waters. This book was told in 3rd person which I enjoyed!! I loved watching the dynamic and relationship of Gus and Sutton, these two were absolutely adorable, funny and easy to love. This book was so easy to get lost in and the story line keeps you turning page after page until you hit the end. I loved sitting down and getting cozy with this book, a fire and a cup of hot chocolate. This book is the perfect holiday pick-me-up and should be on everyone’s TBR. You will not be disappointed.

All the Christmas feels wrapped with a Hallmark bow of romance!

Such a new take on a Christmas grump story! Loved the drunken intro of Sutton hating on Santa. She’s drunk, broke and homeless wanting to beat up the inflatable Santa in Gus’ front yard but Gus already beat her to it.

Needing some money and a place to stay Sutton ends up becoming Gus’ nanny of his adorable twins. His wife passed away and he’s been juggling a lot in life. No longer having fun or enjoying Christmas his life turns upside down the moment Sutton enters his life.

Rosie is so smart and curious. Felix is more shy and lets his sister do all the bossing. I do feel Felix didn’t get as much acknowledgement as Rosie so you didn’t click with him as much. The author is very descriptive of what Rosie wears but doesn’t mention much when it comes to him. Just something I wish was more equally brought to the story. I get Rosie is smart but making Felix seem way lesser was hard. Maybe it was just me and I got it all wrong.

There is spice in this holiday romance.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for this arc set to publish October 19th.

Attention fans of Hallmark holiday movies!!!

If you love Hallmark movies, this book is for you. A down-on-her-luck woman passing through town stumbles across a widowed father of twins. There’s a dog named Pig, a pig named Pepper, and hilarious supporting characters.

Sutton spent most of her life saving up to travel across much of Europe with her best friend. After the bestie backs out of the trip at the last minute and betrays her, Sutton decides to make the most of it and go solo anyway.

Once she runs out of money, she ends up in cute small-town-England, just before Christmas. Stumbling out into the cold after getting tequila drunk, Sutton sees a man punching an inflatable Santa. Looking to join in on the fun, Sutton proceeds to trip and fall in front of the mystery man. He turns out to be the local Mr. Christmas...who secretly might not like the holiday so much. Through a series of chaotic events, Sutton becomes a nanny to Mr. Christmas’ kids as she gets back on her feet. Love ensues!

I can’t help it that I want Christmas already. If you like slightly spicy, romance novels mixed with a Hallmark Christmas movie then this one’s for you. Sutton Alsop drunkenly stumbles onto Gus Langston’s front yard and destroys his Christmas decorations. He hires her as a nanny for his 4-year-old twins (Rosie and Felix) since his wife passed away 3 years ago. It’s a fun and easy read (219 pages)- I read it in one day. I was rooting for Sutton the whole time. I wish there was less internal dialogue at times since it took away from the scene and I wish the book had an epilogue as it ended a bit abruptly. If this was made into a movie I’d watch it. 4/5

Thank you to Net Galley and Harper Collins for the ARC.

A fun, cozy, witty holiday read to kick off the season!

If you enjoy an eggnog season read (with some spice), this small town, feel good, grumpy vs. sunshine romance is for you!

Thank you HarperCollins and NetGalley for an advanced electronic copy in exchange for a honest review. 3.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley, HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and Joss Wood for the opportunity to read Confessions of a Christmasholic. This is my honest and I paid review of the book.
Honestly going into this book I was excepting the usual cookie cutter, Hallmark movie kind of plot, characters etc that I’ve come to expect sometimes from books. However, I am very pleased to say this book did deliver the Hallmark Christmas movie vibes but with a whole lot of gingerbread spice! On top of all of that was a wonderful story about friendships, both good and bad, developing meaningful connections, making hard choices and figuring out what’s best for oneself despite being drawn in many directions and living your life in a way that makes you happy. This book is wonderfully written, it was funny with out some of the over the top, confusingly verbal banter I’ve suffered through recently in some other romance books. This book delivers a heartwarming experience without beating you over the head with a sturdy piece of mistletoe. I finished this in one afternoon (or 2 coffees, a cup of tea and half of a beer).

Sutton hates Christmas! . So much when a house looks like Santa vomited Christmas she drunkenly destroys every light, This house belongs to Gus Langston, single dad and Mr. Christmas himself.
Mr Christmas has a secret.
They were forced together for the holidays, and sparks between them are so hot they can melt the coldest of hearts!
I do recommend this book and love Ross Woods writing.

This was an extremely quick read that is silly, spicy and mostly fun. I read it in a couple of hours, so, if you are looking for something fast, that won’t take too much of your concentration, this Christmas romcom could be for you leading into the holidays.

Sutton and Gus meet each other when Sutton drunkenly stumbles into widower Gus’s outrageous Christmas yard display. From there she moves in to become a temporary nanny for his twins and she needs a lot of the townspeople in this quaint little English neighborhood. There are some cute and funny side characters, and relationships , but the relationship between Sutton and Gus felt way too fast and forced. We were told that there was instant attraction, but it was tough to feel it. I was also perplexed at how they were allegedly in love, because there were hardly any truly meaningful scenes that would have gotten them to that place in my opinion.

Another thing I really didn’t like was how Gus was sometimes mean to his kids. I have a sensitive spot for that.

The conclusion of the story was nice but very fast and we don’t get to learn what happens after Christmas. There was a lot of jolly Christmas merriment, which I did enjoy immensely but the repetition in the middle of the book and the unbelievable relationship between our main characters had me wishing for more.

Thank you for the advanced copy! I think a lot of people will like this book.

Just a fun and witty rom-com that you can read over the holidays! Once I started it, I couldn't seem to put it down. This Book had me hooked from just the first chapter. I would say that my only criticism would be that I felt that the ending was quite abrupt and I would have wanted to know what happened at the end a little bit more, but other than that I really enjoyed this read. The chemistry between the two main characters was unmatched! I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys...
single dad
small town
feel-good
grumpy x sunshine
strangers to lovers

Move over The Holiday, because this may be my new holiday romcom of choice. Witty, steamy, heartfelt and at times, laugh out loud hysterical, I want to pack up and move to small town England as long as their is a Mr. Christmas waiting for me. I loved the secondary characters of Moira, Eli and Will almost as much I loved Gus and Sutton (and the twins of course). Wood created the perfect English Christmas Village and provided enough history and real time events, to make you feel like you were part of the story. This was the first book I've read by Joss Wood and I will definitely be coming back for more. Get comfy, grab a hot beverage and dive into the perfect holiday tale and dream of finding your own Mr. Christmas (or punching an inflatable Santa, your choice.) This is my honest review after receiving an ARC of this book.

I loved it!! So cute, a holiday read! I really loved the way the author handled the ending, it left it open to you as the reader whether or not they will stay together in the coming year which gave it a sense of realism. I hate when books have a character give up on their hopes and dreams to stay with a significant other, especially after knowing them for 2 weeks.

If you are looking for a slightly spicy (like 1 or 2 scenes), Hallmark movie romance with grumpy sunshine, this is the book for you.

Also I loved that the dog was named Pig and the pig named Pepper. Why does this man have a pig in his house? Never explained, just accepted.

This was such a wonderful and enjoyable read!!!! I loved this book and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys a cute romcom. Thank you so much to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet, swoony, hilarious holiday rom-com. It had all the ingredients for the perfect Christmas story. Stranger stranded in a town, small town, single Dad with young kids obsessed with Christmas, Christmas markets and scenery, and characters finding their true meaning of Christmas. Sutton and Gus are hilarious, I laughed so much throughout this book, especially at the very real moments of parenting young kids. Rosie and Felix were beyond adorable and precocious, and were amazing side characters in this book. All the side characters were fun and added a lot of atmosphere to the story.
The love story between Sutton and Gus was beyond swoony and I loved their chemistry 🥵. I would have liked more development of how they got to the point of taking their relationship to the next level, it kind of snuck up on you; I like the buildup when you can see the characters start to have feelings. In the same regard, Sutton's relationship with Layla. I liked the layer this added to the story, it was a great foil to mending the "kind of" third act breakup, but since their whole background was kept a mystery until the end, it also seemed to come out of nowhere, and it was hard to believe the dynamic.
I really liked Sutton's character and her personal strength. She had very specific goals and even though Gus and his kids caught her off guard, she didn't just throw it all out to be with them.... it's the thing that drives you nuts in the Christmas Movies 😉
Overall I really really enjoyed this Christmas story. It was a very quick read that just made me feel happy and ready for all the cozy holiday stories to come!

This book had everything I love: holiday romance, spice, grumpy sunshine, and single dad, so I knew that it would take a lot for me to not like this book. Fortunately for me, I loved it!! This book as a few heavier topics, but all in all evens out to be a very well rounded Christmas romance. I’m used to the MMC being the grump in the “grumpy sunshine” so it was nice that the FMC was the grump this time! This book has definitely put me in the Christmas spirit… maybe I should go be a nanny??

Thank you NetGalley HarperCollins UK and Joss Wood for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Quick cozy Christmas read 🌲

-Small town
-Nanny
-Grumpy x Sunshine
-Strangers to Lovers

Loved the dynamic of the twins and Sutton. It was easy to follow along with the story. I would have loved to see an epilogue to see where the characters ended up after the last chapter. Some of the book seemed repetitive and I feel like could have been cut out for more character development for the side characters.

Thank you to NetGallary and Harper Collins for the chance to read the ARC copy in exchange for a honest review.

Sutton is a very entertaining character who falls (literally) into Gus's life. The opening chapter had me very entertained, as Sutton makes a few out of character mistakes that results in several broken Christmas lights and a drunken boxing match with an inflatable Santa.

The story itself is cute - Gus is a single Dad of twins, after his wife passed away in a car accident. He is referred to as 'Mr Christmas' around his small town, despite hating the holiday. As Sutton and Gus start to form a relationship, they have to navigate their past relationships and their future dreams before they can give their relationship a chance.

This is a fun holiday read with plenty of Christmas cheer. There are funny aspects, but the majority of the story is a bit uneventful. Rosie, one of the twins, is my favourite character in the book. I'd read future books written by this author. Recommended for fans of romcoms and the single Dad trope.

This was a cute holiday book. Loved the tension between the two main characters and the character development. If you are looking for a single dad christmas story, this will be a good book for you. I will say that the repetition of inner monologue during scenes was a little much. It ruined moments of seeing their relationship flourish. I loved seeing Sutton realize what a toxic relationship was and owning her own.