This is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley is my first holiday book for this year and I'm so happy about that because I thoroughly enjoyed it. The story begins with Nina trying to avoid her brother's best friend, Tristan, whom she calls "The Prince of Darkness". The two of them absolutely don't get along and when Nina finds out he will be spending Christmas with their family, she is furious as she had planned a nice relaxing vacation. But, when the two of them bickering constantly begins to cause problems for the rest of the family, Tristan realizes that he's had enough of it and actually finds Nina attractive. His mixed signals have her feeling topsy-turvy leading to the two of them deciding to have a short-term secret romance. They have to be careful though because they definitely don't want Nina's brother to find out what is going on. The story is cute, fun, and festive with some spice thrown in.

Absolute delight! This festive rom-com follows Nina Thompson, who dreads spending Christmas with her brother’s best friend, Tristan—the guy who has been her nemesis since they were teenagers. But when they get snowed in together, their prank war takes a surprising turn.

Isley’s writing is witty and engaging, making it easy to fall in love with the characters and their hilarious antics. Nina and Tristan’s chemistry is undeniable, and their journey from enemies to something more is both heartwarming and entertaining. The festive setting adds an extra layer of charm, making this book a perfect holiday read.

If you enjoy enemies-to-lovers stories with plenty of humor and heart, “This Is Not a Holiday Romance” is a must-read.

Whilst this is not a holiday romance it is a fun, festive friends to lovers novel set during the Christmas holiday period.

Friends to lovers and forced proximity are two of my favourite tropes and together they always make for a great story.

The characters are wonderful and I loved the build up of the burgeoning romance between Nina and Tristan, their banter and japes.

Many thanks to Rachel's Random Resources for my tour spot.

This is Not a Holiday Romance is an enjoyable and highly entertaining festive romance.

This holiday rom-com had everything I could want in a holiday book, and then some. The story of Tristan and Nina’s budding romance and their efforts to conceal it from everyone was both exciting and emotionally resonant. There were moments that tugged at my heartstrings just enough to make me fall in love with this book.

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Review for 'This Is Not A Holiday Romance' by Camilla Isley.

This book has fantastic descriptions that set you straight in the scenes. The cover, title and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.

OMG!!! I absolutely LOVED this gorgeous page turner and I cannot WAIT to get stuck into more of this fantastic author's previous and future books! I absolutely adored 'It's Complicated' and 'It Started With A Book' by Camilla and was a bit dubious whether this book would be as good as it but I had nothing at all to worry about as Camilla absolutely smashes it yet again with another fantastic page turner so a HUGE WELL done to Camilla who is obviously an extremely talented author. If you have never read any books by this brilliant author yet then start now by picking up this copy, I guarantee you wont regret it!! I absolutely adored the unique storyline which is hard to come by when it comes to books as I have read hundreds of them over the years! However, Camilla has created an absolutely gorgeous storyline, yet again, which I absolutely loved!!!! Well, you may have noticed I have started reading festive books regular and very early considering it is only September but it doesn't matter if you are the type who doesn't want to hear the word Christmas until the day or whether you have already started thinking about getting the decorations down because regardless of how you feel about Christmas you will absolutely LOVE this adorable story!! The storyline is stunning and is ram packed with friendship, pranks, romance, festivities, humour, fun, sarcasm and so, so much more!! It truly is is an absolutely fantastic, fun, romantic read!!! This is one of those books that are very easy to read and perfect for any reading situations whether you are laying on a beach or curled up in front of a fire as regardless of where and when you read this book Camilla will whisk you into the book with Christmas all around you in no time. It is an absolutely ideal read for anyone who is looking for a gorgeous and relaxing read that will have you hooked from beginning to end. I absolutely LOVED the stunning descriptions Camilla has created which made it so easy to picture everything that was going on which had been helped by Camilla's fantastic evocative writing skills. I cannot wait to get hooked into more of Camilla's books so I hope she is busy writing her next page turner while I get stuck into her previous books!! This is definitely one of those books that will turn a frown upside down and make life seem a lot brighter. Grab your copy today and fall in love with this page turner today!!!

I absolutely fell in love with all the characters were all an eclectic mix and each one of them were realistic and strong. I was completely invested in them all. It also makes them more realistic, believable and made me feel even more for them than I normally would. I adored watching the dynamics, friendships and relationships develop and change between Nina, Tristan and the rest of the characters. They were all just fantastic and memorable characters that had me laughing, shouting, smiling and so much more thanks to Camilla's emotive writing skills and brilliant characterisation. The pranks between Nina and Tristan and the bickering made me laugh out loud and the chemistry was just sizzling! It is obvious that Camilla actually cares about which shines through in the depth of her writing and is something I always love seeing when I read a book as it makes me even more invested in them when they are so realistically created!! They quickly felt more like friends than fictional characters which led to the only downfall of the book and that is that these amazing characters live only on the pages of this brilliant book. However, they will also live on in my mind for a long time and I already miss them! There were just so many amazing characters that I loved getting to know that I could write about them all day but I don't want to bore you so I'll start to wrap it up here. Camilla's fantastic evocative writing skills ensures each of the characters come to life in front of your eyes as you turn the pages. Each of the characters are memorable and unique in their own ways and they are a group that I wont be forgetting any time soon! I am gutted I may not meet them again but am definitely looking forward to more fantastic characters created by this absolutely brilliant author!! Well done Camilla!

Congratulations Camilla on yet another absolutely fantastic and fun read that I just could not put down!!! I cannot wait to read more of your previous and future books. I would absolutely love to see this book turned into a movie!!!

Overall a unique, unputdownable, festive, hilarious, gorgeous and fun page turning book!! A perfectly relaxing and stunning read!!!!

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BOOK: This is Not a Holiday Romance (ARC)
AUTHOR: Camilla Isley
PUB DATE: 9/4/2024 by Boldwood Books
PAGES: 241
RATING: 4 stars
GENRE: Chick Lit, Romance

A BIG Thank You to @netgalley, @boldwoodbooks, and the author for gifting me an advanced digital in exchange for my honest review!

QUICK & SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: This sweet romance will undoubtably put you in the holiday spirit! It’s an enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity that is filled with fun pranks between Nina & Tristan that is both cute & festive. Fans of Emily Henry & Lynn Palmer are sure to love this one.
There’s minimal spice, so add some red hots to your cider, and snuggle up for this rivalry!

It's a 3.5 stars. This book gave me what it promised: a Christmas rom-com full of magic, love and laugh. I think I'll read it again when december comes

i loved this! it was so fun and the chemistry between characters was killer! the cover is also super cute. definitely gonna add this to my collection

Their pranks are childish....

Nina and Tristan prank each other, instead of hooking up. This has gone on for years. Until, one Christmas, surprise (no surprise) they are attracted to each other.
The tropes are packed, brother's bf, enemies, forced proximity.
3.5 because they act like teenagers.

<b> Real rating: 4.5 stars</>

Enemies to lovers? Check
Spicy? Check
Forced proximity? Check
Funny? Check

Camilla Isley has done it again. I don't know how she does it, but all her books are just readable and exciting and great. I love that this one was no longer a closed-door novel, something that irked me with her previous work because of how much chemistry the characters usually have.

Tristan and Nina have known each other for years and they were sworn enemies, only joined by Dylan, Nina's brother and Tristan's best friend. When Tristan's Christmas plans with his family fall through, Dylan invites him to spend the holiday with his family, like he did several times before. Much to Nina's annoyance.

Their pranks on each other get out of hand at one point and the two realize that they are actually very attracted to each other.

I am not a fan of the third-act breakup, which is why I shed a point, but other than that, I LOVED everything about this book.

Can't wait for more, because Hunter and Rowena have spin-off potentials.

Another great romance read by Camilla Isley and even better it is a Christmas one!

This one follows the two main characters Nina and Tristan who have been sworn enemies since they were teenagers. As they are forced to spend the Christmas with Nina’s family together we see the characters see each other in a different light.

This was really quick read and one I found I could not put down, I just flew through it.

If you have not read Camilla Isley’s books I highly recommend.

Nina and Tristan were both wonderful together, they started off as sworn enemies, destined to play pranks on each other as revenge! But the attraction becomes too much and along comes the sizzle!!

This was such an easy book to read and each chapter, very easily and quickly, pushed me along to the next one until i had read it all!

I loved this book, from start to finish it was a very entertaining read, full of very funny moments it kept me giggling along throughout.

This Is NOT A Holiday Romance is a wonderful, enemies-to-lovers, forced proximity, brother’s best friend rom com and I thoroughly enjoyed everything about it…..

I really enjoyed this book, the banter between Nina and Tristan was laugh out loud, the way they fell in love was cute and hear warming. This story had me laughing and crying. Thank you for some to read and review this ARC

First of all thank you for approving my request!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The authors writing style had me hooked throughout this book.

I didn't want it to end, a book I really couldn't put down.

This was a cute book. It's pretty light, and the revenge fighting was fun, but immature. For the age of those characters, Nina & Tristan, it seemed as if they would be teenagers, the way they fought & carried on.

Once they finally got it together I think the book really came together. It needed their maturity for it to all make sense, and mesh well.

I'd recommend this for a light read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a very quick, enjoyable read for me. The perfect romance escape. Despite the title, it definitely is a holiday romance. If you enjoy Christmas romance movies and shows where there is an enemies to lovers trope and the romance happens quickly over the holiday week, you will love this book! Just the right amount of steam 🌶️🌶️ too. I enjoyed the epilogue and I hope the author spins this book off into a series focusing on each of Nina’s roommates. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC copy of this book.

Nina is looking for a peaceful Christmas holiday, but when Tristan arrives and they are all snowed in, the previous feud and revenge pranks are game on. But under all the games lies something a little bit more heated, and maybe this holiday their scheming could lead to something else… But only for the holidays.

This enemies-to-lovers novel has funny moments and a little bit of spice. At first, I kept forgetting that the character of Nina was older, as she acted a lot younger, however, I liked the way this narrative allows our characters to grow.

 I also really like how Isley writes about the sibling relationship between Nina and Dylan.

This was a great Christmas read which I can see as a hallmark movie.

If you're looking for a Hallmark Christmas story with a dash of spice, look no further! This rom-com comes in the form on enemy to lovers, forced proximity and best-friend's sibling/sibling's best-friends trope as it is written in both Nina's and Tristan's POV. I loved that this story was wrapped up in a Christmas bow and would definitely recommend this as a holiday read.

This Christmas, Nina Thompson wants to avoid Tristan, her brother best friend. Since he humiliated her several years ago, they seem to be engaged in revenge schemes. When Tristan unexpectedly crashes her family’s Christmas, Nina’s dreams of a peaceful holiday vanish and she braces herself for one last prank. However, when they find themselves snowed in, with no way of avoiding each other amongst the holiday festivities, they discover their heated exchanges have been masking a different kind of sizzle.
Whilst this book moves from enemies to a romance, it does centre largely around Nina and Tristan’s pranks. Whilst a cute romance, I did find Nina’s outbursts quite dramatic and not one expected of a woman in her 30s. The book did find them reaching a truce as they begin to see each other in a different light, with plenty of wit. A funny and sweet romance.
This book I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This Is Not a Holiday Romance is Camilla Isley’s newest standalone holiday romantic comedy. It is a hilarious enemies-to-lovers, brother’s best friend, forced proximity romance.

Nina Thompson lives in a New York City apartment with her best friends, Hunter and Rowena. Her older brother, Dylan, lives a few blocks away with his billionaire best friend, Tristan. Nina and Tristan haven’t gotten along since their high school days, and she refers to him as “the Spawn of Satan, devil incarnate, and Prince of Darkness.” Their relationship is one of mostly avoidance and escalating prank wars.

Unfortunately for Nina, Tristan unexpectedly crashes her family’s Christmas get-together. A snowstorm makes it impossible to avoid each other and their secret attraction to one another. They have a secret fling before finally realizing that they might have genuine romantic feelings for each other.

I have read all of this author’s stories and This Is Not a Holiday Romance is her best holiday story yet! It is a wonderful rom-com that is full of sparkling banter between the main characters. The sizzle and snap between Nina and Tristan are off the charts, and the sibling affection between Nina and Dylan is adorable. The friendships also add to the charm of the story. This Is Not a Holiday Romance would make an entertaining and enjoyable movie; the author’s descriptions are so clear that it’s easy for the reader to visualize the scenes. I hope that the author writes Hunter and Dylan’s story next.

I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Boldwood Books for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.