“There will always be an excuse, Noel. You can’t put your life on pause waiting for the perfect time.”

First and foremost, thank you Netgalley for this arc in exchange for a review.

2.5

This was a tricky book for me to rate. I was feeling like it would definitely be a 3, but the second half seemed to breakdown. The pacing became disjointed, we got a LOT more telling and not enough showing, and everything wrapped up extremely quickly.

On the other hand this was a cute Christmas romcom. It’s something I’d definitely watch on the Hallmark channel. There were some really cute holiday moments. But, like I said, some scenes felt rushed or not entirely fleshed out.

Kenton and Noel had some great scenes, but at times I wished we saw the scenes instead of being told about them (one example being when Kenton wanted to make Santa pancakes. We got a few sentences before, then we skip some time and are told it didn’t go well).

This novel is a forced proximity, enemies to lovers holiday romance that was so sweet it sometimes had me rolling my eyes at how cheesy I was. Which isn't a bad thing I just feel like it should be noted for those considering adding this book to your TBR.

Noel is a Christmas loving creative living in Atlanta who started her own design business and it isn't going as expected. Kincaid is a type-A corporate business man who is chasing the next big deal from New York to Atlanta. Kincaid is planning to work over the holidays to close the deal and Noel is unfortunately staying home because money is tight.

Through some unfortunately events, they both end up sharing Noel's apartment in Atlanta and so begins Noel's quest to make Kincaid enjoy the holidays. The Christmas activities are so cute and nostalgic I loved reading about their love story as they embraced the holidays and learned more about each other.

This novel slowed a bit in the middle and I struggled to finish it, maybe it was a little too long? The ending was a HEA and worth the read.

Thank you Black Odyssey Media and for the ARC.

Noel is broke and she needs money fast. Okay, she’s not broke broke but, her pockets are definitely light and she needs some kind of earned income with the quickness. On a wing and a prayer, Noel decided to cash out her retirement account and use all of her savings to start a virtual interior design company that has been less than profitable. She’s gotten a few contracts here and there but, nothing that’s going to get her out of the red anytime soon. Her bestie talks her into listing her apartment with Shared Space. Now, Noel would prefer not to have strangers in her personal space but, the bills are piling up and sis needs money expeditiously.

Kanton is headed to Atlanta for a last ditch effort to land a lucrative account for his global restructuring firm. Because this unexpected business trip is during the week of Christmas, getting a hotel room is virtually impossible. So, his assistant books him a listing through Shared Space. Before he leaves, Kanton verifies the reservation has been approved and all of the necessary passcodes to allow him entry have been sent. Well, color him confused when he pulls up to the listing to find the owner still occupying the space he’s paid for. What happens when these two, reluctantly agree to cohabitate for the next seven days?

Christmas In Spite of You was giving opposites attract with a lil forced proximity thrown in. Noel is a holiday girly who loves all things Christmas and Kanton is a modern day Scrooge who thinks Christmas is just another day unworthy of all the hoopla. Noel is determined to get Kanton to, at least, fall in deep like with the holidays before he returns to NYC. If holiday romances are your jam, then you’ll want to add Christmas In Spite of You to your holiday TBR. While I didn’t necessarily feel deeply invested in these characters, I did enjoy the feel good vibes. This story will pair nicely with the holiday season. Thank you to Black Odyssey Media and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I thought overall this book was cute. Like it didn't blow me away and it wasn't an awful experience. It was a cute Christmas happenstance.

I got an e-arc of this book on NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

For fans of made-for-TV movies with holiday haters turned Christmas enthusiasts, 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘠𝘰𝘶 felt equal parts sweet and predictable.

Christmas-obsessed Noel (yes, this level of cheese) Anderson has been striking out on the job front and very broke rents out her apartment while she goes home for the holidays. Unfortunately, she never booked a flight, and now they are expensive, so she attempts to cancel the reservation. It is made apparent she did not, in fact, cancel when business mogle with the movie star looks no-time-for-Christmas-because-he-has-a-deal-to-close, Kanton Joseph walks into her apartment. They agreed to stay together for the week… You can probably guess the rest.

There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this book. The spicy parts were very descriptive, and I feel the instant lust worked well in the scenario, given the meet-cute. While taking place the week of Christmas, the book didn’t feel too overly festive, and I loved watching the MCs compare their holiday experiences. Noel’s best friend brought some hilarious, if sometimes a bit crass, humor to otherwise simple dialogue. I did appreciate the other secondary characters as they added some dimension to our main characters, and I would love to see a book about Kanton’s executive assistant, Shelby.

Ultimately, this was too cheesy for my tastes without enough exploration beyond surface-level chemistry. It would be more enjoyable for those seeking a light, warm holiday read with a bit of festive fraternization.

ps. I am just about obsessed with this gorgeous cover!!

A quirky holiday novel that is a quick read. I wanted to love it but it fell short in too many ways. I’d recommend the library for this one.

This story was enjoyable and certainly will be a nice Christmas read when the holidays comes around! I wasn’t fully invested in the characters however I did enjoy the force proximity and how the characters were attracted to each other when they met. This book was a little slow at first but it does have all the Christmas feels and vibes with a dash of spice!

I love a good Christmas movie but I typically dont read Christmas books. But this one was soooo cute!! Kanton was everything & Noel was so stubborn. I loved their banter & how he showed up for her in such a short amount of time. Thank God for Simone keeping Noel in line because my girl was going to block her blessings 😩 Watching them fall in love was so cuteee!

My new favorite contemporary Christmas romance. I'll definitely re-read during the holiday season <3

My outward facing reviews can be found here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6788180997 and here: https://youtu.be/-ZPWQBfr-Jk

Also, no copyedit notes!

My one thing is I kind of wish the main character's name was "Noelle" the female spelling, as opposed to "Noel". I get the significance of the name choice (Christmas, etc) but I don't think if she was given the feminine derivative it would have lost the meaning or appeal. Seeing a girl with what I know to be a guy name for the most part is a little weird for me.

This was really cute!

I know I'm reviewing this in the depths of August, but the holiday vibes were delightful. As someone who is also big on Christmas (as a holiday), I really resonated with Noel. I think I had to psyche myself up to read the setup because procrastination is me, and that would 100% be something I would do. I'm really happy it all worked out in their favor.

Noel is such a sweetheart, and Kanton is your typical "I don't get it, but we're in it now" kind of guy, and their chemistry was really steamy and if I were to room with a stranger for a week during the holidays, I hope it would turn out similarly.

K.C. Mills has never really disappointed for me, and this was a really sweet holiday novella.

Thank you to Black Odyssey Media and Netgalley for an e-copy.

Enjoyed this book!! Grumpy/sunshine is my type of vibes. Nice warm book for the holiday season, with laughter and spice. Cannot wait to purchase a physical copy and re-read for the holiday season. K. C. Mills is becoming an auto-buy author for me.

This pulled me in so quickly. I really cannot believe that it was over as quick as it was.

I loved that Noel absolutely loves the holidays and is this bright sunshiny character (I apparently have been on a grumpy sunshine kick for far longer than I care to admit). I really did enjoy the opposites attract situation and the spin on one bed being one apartment was kind of fun to see how it would go. I think everyone has a scrooge in their life, its just how they become the not scrooge that matters, just like Kanton.

I will absolutely be reading this closer to December and suggesting it to my book club because I have got to share in the characters

This story is going to pair nicely with the holiday season. I enjoyed watching the characters partake in holiday activities and will be a great addition for those looking to really immerse themselves in the holiday spirit.

While I didn't feel deeply invested in the characters, I did find the story and writing enjoyable. The forced proximity and instant attraction between our two main characters had me eagerly anticipating when they would finally give in to the tension.

This book gave all the feel-good holiday movie vibes but with black main characters and a bit of spice. I will absolutely be recommending this during the holiday season.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Black Odyssey Media for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This was a super cute story with the perfect holiday vibes. Great for Hallmark rom com lovers who want to read something to get them into the holiday spirit.

Thank you, NetGalley, Black Odyssey Media, and K.C. Mills, for providing me with the arc Christmas in Spite of You. I will be giving an honest review in return.

Christmas in Spite of You

Trigger Warnings- sex scenes, assault.
Tropes: Forced Proximity and Grumpy and sunshine

What would you do if you were sharing your one-bedroom apartment with a sexy businessperson during the holidays?

Noel Anderson is a Christmas-loving woman. She has two big Christmas wishes on her list. She wants to go home for Christmas to see her parents. Her other wish is to land a new virtual design job. She wants to know about the virtual design job before Christmas. An email she received stated the hiring process would start after the holidays. Now Noel feels overwhelmed as she urgently requires cash for rent and other necessities.
Noel made a Shared Space ad listing her apartment for the holidays. Placing this ad will give her a chance to earn money. Whoever answered the ad would have the place to themselves. Noel had the perfect plan.

Kanton Jospeh, a businessperson, plans on renting Noel’s apartment to get close to a potential client. Once he gets there, he wants to arrange a meeting to make Brighton a new client. Both Noel and Kanton believe they will get what they want.

Unfortunately, Noel has a cold and cannot go home. This change in her plan causes Christmas-obsessed Noel to be grouchy. She decides to cancel the ad for the house guest. She puts in her cancellation and goes to sleep.

The next morning, after waking up, she finds a strange man cleaning her kitchen. The man is Kanton, who she notices is well-dressed and handsome. His looks do not put her at ease, so she charges into the kitchen and demands him to stop. Kanton finds her behavior amusing, but her body is sexy. He tells her he is the house guest and has a right to be there. They go back and forth about his right to be there. Noel finds out he does because her cancellation did not go through. Now she is stuck with the hot and Christmas-hating man for one week.

I love how K. C. Mills takes the time to give background information about Noel and Kanton. Mills provides information about both main characters’ traits, ambitions, family, life, and connections. Noel has a sweet and giving nature. Her positive outlook causes people to love her. She also has a wonderful support system. Noel’s supportive system inspires her to have hope for the future. They also motivate her to build a healthy romantic relationship.

While Noel has people who admire her, Kanton keeps people at bay. He wants a family but does not find a compatible significant other. The other thing he pursues is clients. His apprehension of having a genuine relationship may come from his mother’s behavior. She wants him to marry the perfect girl she picked for him. This is one reason He does not want to go home for Christmas. The author also describes that his family is not sentimental about Christmas. That is why he does not celebrate the holiday.

Once Noel finds out he does not celebrate Christmas, she makes this Christmas special. Her plan allows her and Kanton to have intimate moments, like watching romantic holiday movies and eating together. These small moments allow for the couple to share laughs and cuddles. It is a wonderful way to build up to the sex scenes. It makes their romance more believable and special. Overall, it was a heartwarming book about people finding love.

She does it again! I really love how K.C. had evolved as an author over the years. She is versatile and provides great stories with characters who are lovable.

I enjoyed this book. It definitely gave Hallmark Movie Channel movie vibes but not in an overly cheesy way. The meet cute between Kanton and Noel was funny, and their overall chemistry was great.

Noel was really "cute" and bubbly with her over the top Christmas spirit. I love how Kanton didn't give up when it seemed that things might not work out between them.

Thank you, Netgalley, Black Odyssey, and K.C. Mills for the advanced copy of this book.

4/5 stars
2/5 spice

Tropes:
Strangers to lovers
Forced proximity
Opposites attract
Grumpy/sunshine
Christmas themed
Dual POV

This was a fun read that has some great Christmas themed shenanigans. I liked both main characters, but more so Noel for her tenacity and sunny disposition. There were moments I didn't like Kanton and felt like he didn't deserve her but he did make up for it every time... so overall, he was good.

This will be a great Christmas romance for the season that has fun moments with diverse characters. Highly recommend for rom com fans and those who like to read holiday romances.

Thank you to Netgalley and Black Odyssey Media for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own and offered voluntarily.

At first, Kanton’s grumpy attitude didn’t sit right with me, but learning about his past made me understand him better. Noel, on the other hand, is Christmas personified—how fitting is her name? I loved her friendship with Simone; their sweet conversations had me tearing up. The spice was just right, not over the top. The third act breakup was new to me, but I enjoyed the chase of them finding their way back to each other. If this wasn’t an ARC, I’d have saved it for my December TBR because it’s got all the Christmas vibes I need!

Thankyou NetGalley for this ARC.
A perfect grumpy sunshine Christmas romance which feels like watching a Hallmark movie. If you are looking for a funny flirty romance to give you all the Christmas feels then definitely give this one a go.

Woefully this was a DNF for me - I think it was the timing, it truly didn't hit me this time of year and I found it difficult to get into. That's a me problem! But it also just felt pedantic for the bit I did read, a bit too Hallmark for me.