Never downloaded. Been having trouble with books downloading. Would still like a copy of this to review.

The Worst Christmas Wife is a holiday rom-com that promises festive fun, laughter, and a sprinkle of yuletide magic. The story follows Ava Brown, who, after being fired from her job due to a credit-stealing boss, gets a new lease on life working for the holiday grump, Hendricks Cole. Hendricks, cold as winter and handsome as a snowstorm, proposes an outrageous plan—fake engagement to showcase a softer side of himself in order to win a major job.

The book certainly offers plenty of seasonal cheer, it falters in its execution of romance. The chemistry between Ava and Hendricks, while initially promising, never quite materializes beyond the surface attraction. Their connection feels more superficial than deeply emotional, leaving readers with little sense of the growth or depth that makes a fake relationship trope compelling. The plot, although filled with potential for humor and heart, ends up feeling formulaic and lacking in the spark that could have made their connection feel truly meaningful.

Ultimately, The Worst Christmas Wife is a light, quick read that’s perfect for a cozy holiday afternoon but doesn’t offer much in terms of lasting emotional impact. It serves its purpose as a holiday distraction, but it doesn’t stand out in a crowded field of Christmas-themed romance novels. If you’re looking for a no-fuss, easy read to pass the time, this might fit the bill, but don’t expect anything more than a simple, surface-level holiday romance.

Rating: 2.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Katie Bachand for the ARC of The Worst Christmas Wife!

Hendricks Cole is one of the most prominent architects in the business but his longtime assistant is retiring and he refuses to consider any of the candidates. Desperate to be out of there, the assistant hires the next person through the door: Ava. Ava is struggling to break into the interior design business and after being unceremoniously fired lucks into the job as Hendricks' assistant. But when Hendricks is gunning for the biggest design score of his career for a director of insanely successful Christmas romance films, he decides what he really needs is a wife to sell himself as a person who values love and family. But can Ava fill that role as well?

This was a cute Christmas romance! Hendricks was perfectly grumpy and Ava was the consummate professional. While the side characters weren't overly developed, they still added some sparkle to the story. Overall I recommend this book. I do not recommend listening to the audio through Audible as it is AI and terrible.

Katie Bachand’s The Worst Christmas Wife is a delightful and humorous holiday romance that captures the chaos and charm of the festive season. The story follows a protagonist who finds herself navigating the trials of marriage and the pressures of Christmas preparations, all while grappling with her own insecurities and expectations.

Bachand's writing is witty and engaging, filled with relatable moments that resonate with anyone who has faced the challenges of holiday planning. The characters are well-developed and endearing, each bringing their own quirks to the narrative. The blend of humor and heart makes the story both entertaining and poignant, as the protagonist learns to embrace imperfections and prioritize what truly matters.

The pacing is brisk, making it a perfect read for cozy evenings during the holiday season. Themes of love, acceptance, and the importance of family shine through, reminding readers that the true spirit of Christmas goes beyond perfection.

Overall, The Worst Christmas Wife is a charming and enjoyable read that will leave readers smiling. It’s a perfect choice for fans of lighthearted holiday romances looking for a dose of festive cheer.

Such a cute story. I love Christmas romance novels and I really like the storyline of fake couples/fiancé's. These stories always start as a ruse and turns into the real thing. Ava's former boss always took credit for her ideas and she is in search of a new job when she was fired from her last one. Hendricks is losing his executive assistant to retirement and is looking for someone new before he pitches his ideas to a very famous client.
Ava is hired on and has to convince Hendricks that in order to impress the potential client he needs to be less like scrooge and more human. In order to win over the client, a proposed fake marriage contract comes in play. Ava and Hendricks have to pretend to be madly in love, but as time goes by the arangement seems less fake and more true.

i liked this book but the first part wasn’t really my thing but in the end i think it’s a really great book to read in the christmas season

What an adorblle holiday story. It is a fast read but a light one to read around the holidays. Everyone loves a billionaire to lovers love story and this one fits the bill. I hope to be able to read more of her books!

Ava is a young, frustrated interior designer obsessed with Christmas and is currently searching for a new job after her last boss stole her designs, took credit, and fired her. Hendricks Cole is a self-made architectural billionaire, who is also a grumpy, Scrooge, and his PA is about to retire. His PA pushes Ava onto him, realizing whether or not, they both need each other. Hendricks is also trying to win the pitch to build Camryn Wren's, a famous writer, producer and director, to build her forever home, and realizes he needs Ava's help to learn everything about her,
Camryn is famous for her Christmas romances, so Ava suggests for Hendricks to watch a few movies to understand her vibes, but what he takes away from it is that Camryn is all about family, and if he is a married man, he has a better chance at commission. He proposes a fake marriage contract to Ava enlist her help until he end of December or until he gets the contact, while Ava gets a decent amount of money, free will to decorate his homes, and his client list.
Hendricks is all about the blueprints and lines when it comes to the house, so when Camryn tells him he wants the house to feel like a home, he must enlists Ava's help even more so they can pull together their designs for her new home.
If you like Christmas Hallmark movies, opposites attract, fake-relationship romances, then this is right up your alley. Hope into this cute lil Christmas romcom before the holiday season!

Cute holiday rom com with a marriage of convenience/workplace romance trope. You'll like this if you can't get enough of the Hallmark channel during Christmas, completely predictable but cozy.

This is a closed door, fake marriage romance between a boss and employee with a grumpy/sunshine trope. The characters felt pretty flat and there was no palpable connection between the two main characters. The secondary characters felt more fleshed out than the main characters. If you like Hallmark Christmas movies, though, this might be for you.

The way this MMC describes the MFC after meeting her and she works for him just made me so uncomfortable. The writing is not very good and is quite bland. Definitely not for me!

Ahh this was such a cute read! If you are a fan of cute hallmark movies, then this is definitely something you’d enjoy. Think of grumpy boss and sunshine assistant. Fake marriage trope. And fun side characters.

I really wanted to love this book.
The story is cute, and super christmas-y but it is BORING. Reading this felt like walking through quicksand. It was so hard to get through.
The characters were lovable, but something just falls flat.

This was such a sweet christmassy story!!! 🥰
It gave me a perfect christmas vibe right in the middle of March. The only thing that could make this book more perfect would be to read in December!
The story revolves around Ava and Hendricks, that after starting working together find themselfs in a fake relationship/marriage for work purposes.
The banter.... ohhh the banter. 🤭
What starts as both of them giving each other sarcasm and pickyness, slowly grows into friendship and even partnership, and of course, love.
Hendricks is kind of Scroogy and has a tough exterior that breaks with Ava's Cristmas spirit and joy.
I loved both main characters, but also Geoffrey and Colin as well. It's so good to be able to love side characters as well.

Being an interior designer who loves Christmas made Ava good at what she does but having a boss who took all her designs and then firing her made her on the hunt for a new job.
Hendricks Cole a self-made billionaire wasn’t where she thought she would find a job but his need of an assistant because his is retiring finds her thanks to his assistant thinking Ava is just what he needs as her replacement.
The story has so many characters that I really liked, and this made the story so fun to read.
Thank you NetGalley and Katie Bachand for The Worst Christmas Wife. This is my personal review.

This was a quick and cute holiday read. I am a sucker for a Christmas romance and can read them all year round. This one really did the trick for me. This was giving me all the Christmas feels and felt like a hallmark movie in book form. I recommend to anyone looking for a cute Christmas read!

It was the perfect holiday read. I love watching Hallmark Christmas movies in the winter and this book was a Hallmark movie in written form. It had some of my favorite tropes: grumpy/sunshine, office romance, fake marriage. It was short read, and the character dynamics were great. All the characters are mature and self-possessed, responsible adults. The dialogue was witty, the Christmas-y setting warmed my heart. I loved the romance between Ava and Hendricks.

I wanted this to be a cute holiday read for me, but unfortunately I just couldn’t get into it enough to keep pushing through.

This was a cute and wholesome Christmasy book. I loved the Christmas aspect and the fact that they were an architect and designer. The writing was pretty good and I enjoyed reading it, however I didn’t feel their chemistry. Their relationship felt pretty bland, I didn’t feel that they were actually in love. It just felt that they were friends at most, definitely not lovers. I also love the fake relationship trope, but I feel that in this book there just wasn’t a good enough reason for it, he just randomly thought that he should get a fake wife. All in all I enjoyed reading it so thank you netgalley for it 😊😊

This was Christmas and fake dating at it's finest! Absolutely adorable and definitely put me in the Christmas spirit.