This is a romantic comedy set during Christmas. It follows Ava who gets the perfect job just before Christmas, one problem, her grumpy, handsome new boss. To get a big client, Hendricks, her boss, offers Ava his client list in return to be his fake wife for Christmas.

I thought this was a sweet Christmas romance. I enjoyed hearing how Ava would transform a space to a Christmas wonderland. Some of the fake relationship moments were funny, especially when they were around friends and family who were in on their antics!

Tropes:
Workplace Romance
Grumpy X Sunshine
Fake Relationship

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I LOVED this book!! It was so Christmas-y, it definitely got me into the spirit of the holidays! This book is great if you want something quick and easy to read this holiday season. I loved every single character, especially the gay friends. This was just a really fun read. Thanks NetGalley for the ARC!

Hendricks needs a wife to land a major job with a huge client. Ava needs a job and a client list. She loves Christmas and he is a major grump. Hendricks' PA is retiring and hires Ava as her replacement. The two must work together to land a contract with Camryn, who is famous for her gushy Christmas romances.

I enjoyed this book. It was a cute and quick holiday read. Ava wears down Hendricks with her extravagant Christmas decor. This has the feeling of a Hallmark Christmas movie. It was a sweet story that includes enemies-to-lovers, fake-relationship and opposites attract romance.

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this book!
This was a cute book! It had a lot of sweet moments ❤️. I appreciated that the FMC was smart, driven but also not a “Grinch”, like most people portray strong women! I love that she was such a big ball of joy but could defend herself and didn’t need rescuing.
The biggest tension was the MMC, who was the “Grinch” in this story. He is the grumpy boss who is reluctant for most of the book to embrace her and Christmas in general. I did like him, especially at the end, when he decides to embrace everything- he embraces EVERYTHING! And it’s cute!
It’s an easy, cute read for the holidays!

Sigh! I loved this book so much. It was so stinking cute. It didn’t hurt I read it by my Christmas tree with instrumental Christmas music playing. This will be a yearly read for me! Perfect perfect Christmas love story.

I really enjoy the fake dating trope. What could make that better - Christmas. This was a really cute easy read about an anti Christmas boss and his new Christmas loving assistant. A fake relationship is needed to win a new high profile client. From there real romance blossoms.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I picked this book because I love marriage of convenience books! Unfortunately, this one didn't work for me.

First of all, this was closer to fake dating as they weren't actually married. That's fine thought I like fake dating too. I just didn't really connect with the characters. They were flat and didn't have much personality. I also didn't feel like this book really captured the grumpy sunshine vibe it was going for.

I did enjoy the descriptions of the holiday decorations but we mostly heard they were great and didn't get much description.

Finally, these characters don't even kiss (except maybe at the very end but if so I've already forgotten). I don't mind closed door romance but this went beyond that and felt like all sexuality was excluded from the relationship with the exception a few small mentions of attraction.

There are lots of great Christmas books, I would recommend skipping this one. It just falls short in a lot of ways.

I get that is a holiday romance book, but the story felt kind of flat to me. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it.

Hendricks Cole, a grumpy architect, hates Christmas. When his assistant retires, she hires Ava Brown, a Christmas loving designer. When Camryn Wren, a famous movie director, selects Hendricks company as a finalist to build her winter retirement home. To win her over, he feels that he needs to have a family and asks Ava to be his pretend wife. The two opposites must work together to show Camryn why they should work with them all while trying to pretend to like each other.

This book is a Hallmark movie in book form. It was cheesy, full of Christmas spirit, and family shenanigans. I thought it was cute but not something I would read again. The beginning lagged and I felt the book rushed at the end.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you for the ARC Netgalley and publisher. This was a fun holiday novella. Basically if you want a Hallmark Christmas movie in book form that you can read in one night….this is it.
Tropes:
- grumpy/sunshine
- fake relationship
- forced proximity
- boss/assistant
I did find Ava a bit snobby and materialistic for my liking but overall the dynamic between Hendricks and Ava was really sweet. 3.5 ⭐️

The Worst Christmas Wife was filled with all the Christmas spirit I want in a Christmas romance! I love that the main character was Christmas obsessed. I enjoyed the storyline and I felt it was interesting but not heavy, there were no major bumps in the road which was soothing to my anxious little being. This was a comfort read for the holidays.

An absolutely cracker of a Christmas romance with all the bells and whistles - fake dating, eggnog, best friends going above and beyond, and two people falling in love. Bachand has delivered a top tier cosy romance perfect for inhaling with a mug of hot chocolate by your side. Ava and Hendricks, despite their adherence to standard romance tropes, felt incredibly real and believable. Of course, there were some stereotypical moments, for example a fake dating contract, but their banter and genuine affection for one another gave the story a level of charm. I can definitely see myself looking into more of Bachand’s Christmas stories.

It was a sweet Christmas romance, very similar to the TV movies that come out every year. The fake marriage trope was fun, and I liked that it was within the idea of a business run by a couple. It has a lot of cliches, which you will either love or hate, gay best friends, over the top spending, old lady "matchmaker," etc. Ava and Hendricks had good grumpy/sunshine chemistry. Overall it was a very quick holiday read that put me in the same mood as the movies do, pleasantly entertained for a few hours.

I read this book in a day and I never looked back! The twist and the plot were pretty easy to identify but the different POV's kept me intrigued to see how everything was going to unfold. A couple of the characters were so unlikable that it made it hard to feel bad or connect with them in any way. I do wish that the ending would've given a little more, I wanted to know how the characters dealt with the aftermath.


*I received a copy of this eARC via NetGalley*

I was extremely bored the whole time. It had no way to keep me entertained. The romance wasn't really there. This did not live up to my expectations

Genre: Romance
Trope: Fake Dating, Grumpy/Sunshine
Rating: 4⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Read if you like: Hallmark Christmas Movies

I thought this was a fun, Christmas read! I felt like I was watching a Hallmark movie unfold before my eyes.

3.5/5 ⭐️

I loved the relationship between Ava and Hendricks, and the way she was able to warm up his heart without being too pushy or annoying.
This is the perfect Christmas book, with no angst and all the smushy feelings scattered around it like snowflakes.

It could've easily been a 4 ⭐️ read, but the ending was too rushed. I felt like it needed a couple more pages, but regardless, it was a lovely and light read!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publishers and of course the author for gifting me this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a quick fun drama / romcom ish book that is not overly complicated. Features tropes such as fake dating, grumpy rich boss, which then turns into a super cute christmassy romance.

I am a fan of fake dating romances and I felt like this one is just as cute. I did like the story idea and how it all unfolded. It definitely had me laughing at some points!

This is a harder book for me to review since I did like the character and story, but the execution was a bit off.
Where I stumbled a little bit was with the book's point of view. It is from a third person viewpoint, but it does not flow. It almost feels at times as if the characters are actually thinking/recounting and it is a little muddled because of this. I get where the author was going, but almost felt like maybe it should have been sectioned by character instead. I also would have enjoyed a more developed story.

First off, I love the setting of this book. The scene that is laid out by the author is the most magical winter wonderland and I adore it. I also love the characters very much. There was just enough of banter and of course we love confident women. My only negative would be the pacing. They went from acquaintances to in love in basically a week. While I can be okay with insta love, I am more of a slow burn girl. However, this was a very cute Christmasy romance that is perfect to read for the holidays.