This IS a Holiday Romance! Such a lovely holiday rom-com. It's an enemies to friends to lovers. Always the little sister, Nina has a crush on Tristan, her brother's best friend but is devastated when he makes fun of her ears and calls her Gremlin. As the years go by, their interactions consist of trying to get the better of each other through a series of pranks. Then the holiday hits and Nina must put up with the Prince of Darkness (Tristan) showing up to ruin her holiday with her family as the guest of her brother but suddenly Nina has to rethink what she feels for Tristan and Tristan likewise. Sparks fly, hidden trysts in the closet, suddenly there seems to be sparkles on the tree. It's a lovely warm and cozy romance set amongst the holiday season. Sometimes you need a break from everyday stress, so this is just a feel-good book for when you want to relax and enjoy a pleasant read. Many thanks to #netgalley #camilla isley #thisisnotaholidayromance for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for a review.

I was initially intrigued by this book and felt that it started off well.

The banter between Tristan and Nina was soooo good. I found myself chuckling at some of their comebacks. Between brother’s best friend and an enemies to lovers, I don’t know what I loved more.

However, the further I got into the story the harder it became to remain intrigued. The plot seemed rushed, granted yes this was a story that took place during the holidays so the window of time is pretty small. But by that point it became to insta love for me. I understand Nina had a crush on Tristan but he was a complete 360 in terms of his feelings for Nina and I had a hard time reconciling that with the banter at the beginning of the book.

Also Tristan’s familial issues seemed to be glossed over in some regard and I felt they could have gone more in depth to show how they defined him as the character he developed into.

The writing also seemed a little disjointed at times and I found myself having to reread some sentences in order to have them make sense. It was also hard at times because while there were some mature themes with swearing and sexual themes, it also toggled back into those of a closed door romance. Almost like the author could not make up their mind as to what type of romance they were writing.

Overall, this book was cute but I found myself wanting more. If you’re looking for a quick holiday read to get you in the spirit of the season then this would be perfect for you.

I've read others by Camilla Isley and was so grateful to receive this book! This is Not a Holiday Romance was a cute Christmas read. I'm a sucker for forced proximity, enemies to lovers, and best friend's little sister. All three are my catnip! I enjoyed the banter between the characters. A prank war brings me so much joy and some were really clever (I'm looking at you watch prank!), but there were moments when the pranks became a bit destructive, and that wasn't something I loved. I appreciate that these characters weren't "new adult" (She's 28 or so and the guy was 33, I think), but there were also emotional immature moments that had me questioning their ages.

But overall, if you're looking for a fun, quick, mellow spice, holiday read then this will be your jam. It had me smiling, giggling, and turning the page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Camilla Isley for the privilege of reading This is Not a Holiday Romance.

This is the enemy-est enemy-to-lovers book I've ever read. Nina has been plagued by The Prince of Darkness, aka her brother's best friend, since she was thirteen. Tristan's parents are practically non-existent in his successful life. Thankfully he has his best friend Dylan who has been his family since they were college roommates. Dylan's annoying little sister, aka Gremlin in his book, makes quite the sparring partner. The two of them have mastered the art of hatred. When Tristan comes home with Dylan for Christmas, the way he and Nina are going at each other, one way or another, threatens to ruin the holiday for everyone.

"Tristan Montgomery is a Viking king come to pillage my home, defile my peace, and ruin my holiday cheer."

"But then he meets my gaze, his blue eyes startlingly earnest. "I'm not the monster you believe me to be."

"If this is what selling your soul to the devil feels like, then please sign me up for an eternal sentence in hell."

I loved how Camilla played with darkness-related words and themes throughout the book. This book is just a lot of fun. The pranks they play on each other are both painful and hilarious. (Nina is a bit over the top at times.) When their open feud threatens the holiday joy of the entire family, the pranks become more subversive. Which eventually leads to other subversive behavior. This story is hot without being explicit. It's hard to put this one down.

Many thanks to NetGalley for sharing an advanced copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Fabulous holiday rom com even if the title disagrees.
This is my 2nd Camilla Isley book and she hasn't disappointed yet. Easy to read, this one was also short at about 250 pages.
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. What is refreshing about this one is that the enemy to lovers trope is very well written. There is actual hatred and hurt there! The insults, the pranks and banter will have you either laughing and relating and it's nice to see proper insults thrown around throughout the book. Proper gritty family type fighting.
It starts of a slow with many many insults abut once the juicy part gets growing the rest of the book will fly past.
I also sense this might be the first in a trilogy? With the ending easily leaving the door open for 2 more instalments.
Happy reading!

Many thanks to Boldworld Books who provided me a copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Dnf at 25%

Unfortunately this book wasn't for me. Didn't enjoy it at all at 25% and couldn't just not continue with it...

Sometimes you simply need a book that leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling, and this book certainly delivered that! Christmas romances are my favorite of all time and I was more than delighted to get a chance to read this one.

This is a Christmas friends to lovers/siblings best friend romcom. Wow! That pushes so many positive buttons for me. Add witty and playful banter (Isley does that so well), and the pages just flew by.

It's not all fluff. Tristan's parents are totally dismissive of him that he is deeply affected by it. There is also the deep tie and allegiance he feels to Nina's brother and parents. He definitely needs someone to call his own. He's always had a thing for Nina, but animosity on her part has been the core of their relationship for years. Seeing them work through that was great.

This book is definitely along the lines of Sarah Adams and Jill Shalvis. Go forth and enjoy this Christmas romance like I did when the temp outside was over one hundred.

Thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.

⭐️4.5
A breath of fresh air. This one checked all the boxes for me after several average reads lately.

This was a quick, entertaining, couldn’t-put-it-down read. Every single character was extremely likable and I love a great enemies to lovers premise.

For fans of Christina Lauren and Abby Jimenez, grab this adorable read asap.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6683816591

Pub date: September 4, 2024

Huge thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood books for this gem of an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is definitely one of favorites of Camilla’s! It was really enjoyable and went at a great pace. I love that it was a holiday romance that wasn’t overly complicated or had too many things happening in it. As the reader you get to really see the romance grow into something meaningful and entertaining. Having the story be a dual pov also makes this such a good read because you get both sides which helps understand Tristian and Nina’s emotions better. One reason it’s not a 5 star is because I felt the pranks were becoming drawn out and super childish for 20 something’s and I wish Tristian and Nina talked more and built a friendship outside of the bedroom.

Thank you Netgalley and Boldwood for allowing me a chance to read this fun story!

I’ve read other books from Isley, which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed so I was excited for this one but unfortunately it fell flat.

It was difficult to connect with Nina and Tristan, as there didn’t seem to be much emotional depth and their pranks were just downright childish. It was hard to believe I was reading about thirty year olds when they were acting like immature teenagers.

It started off strong but I struggled to get through most of it as I just found it… boring.

I’m still an Isley fan and happy to give another book of hers a go in the future.

Thank you NetGalley and Boldwood for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

What an entertaining brothers best friend, enemies to lovers book. If you enjoy pranks, you will love this book! I honestly had so much fun reading this book. The stage is set for follow up novels with some of the supporting characters, and I can not wait!
Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Isley and the Publisher for this very entertaining, highly recommended romantic comedy.

This book had a lot of potential. Ultimately, I found the characters a bit cliched or one-dimensional. I wanted more depth and more maturity from the characters, especially Nina. She acted very childish. I mean her mom scolding her for breaking a vase? Hiding from family members in her room with Cheetos? It all seemed immature to me. I wanted to love this, but it fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This was a quick and cute read. This is an enemies to lovers that was so witty. I loved it.

I really enjoyed reading this book! It’s got quite a few of my favorite book tropes in it, too! Enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, but when you throw in forced proximity, a lot of pranks, and set it during the Christmas season: chef’s kiss. You could feel the hatred and tension between Nina and Tristan. It was such a fun read I loved every minute of it!

A huge thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

This was a cute Christmas time story. Enemies to lovers, brothers best friend. I liked the banter between these two although I did find some of their pranks a little juvenile for 30 something’s. After years of battling it out they set down their swords and find they actually like one another. This was a pleasant read filled with love laughter and the magic of Christmas. I hope we get to see the continuation of their relationship if there are spin offs of Nina’s friends. Thank you to NetGalley for sharing his advanced copy . I’m leaving this review voluntarily

Its difficult what to say about this one as some of the way through I thought it was humorous and fun, however, this soon became very tedious and childish and the FMC had tantrums and moaning about being "blamed" for stuff when she had actually done them.. I know it a book but still this just left me very bored after a while. At about 50% though I skipped to the last few chapters and didn't feel like I had missed anything.

Sorry not the book for me.

This brothers best friend romance This Is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley centers on the relationship between Tristan Montgomery and Nina Thompson.

This is my first book from this author, and I'm disappointed. This is in no way a rom-com, even if it's marketed as one. This book was too insta-love for me, and their connection felt forced, and everything between them just came out of nowhere. This was cute but boring most of the time, and I was counting down the pages until it ended. I wish there had been more development and substance in the plot. I also hoped we would see Tristan working on his problems and growing on his own.

As for the characters, Nina pissed me off most of the time; she acted immature and childish for most of this book, even though she's an adult; it just felt as if I was reading about a teenager in an adult's body. Tristan was more mature than her, but there were moments when I questioned my decision to read this book. His thinking made me put the book down on more than one occasion.

*Thank you to NetGalley, Boldwood Books, and to the author, Camilla Isley, for providing me with this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Camilla Isley has quickly become an auto read author for me!! I was lucky enough to receive this book as an advanced reader copy and I absolutely adored it!!! Nina and Tristan have had a 15 year feud over some misunderstandings and after getting snowed in for Christmas, things take a turn!!! The banter is on point and I love all the side characters too! Of course, the epilogue is great and it makes me think there could be more in this universe! Definitely suggest grabbing it when it releases 9/4 so you can read it this coming holiday season!

This is Not A Holiday Romance
By Camilla Isley
3.5⭐️

This is a short and fast paced holiday romance! It went by in a blur but it was so fun and cute. I loved how Nina and Tristan messed with each other for years, their pranks and banter was my favorite part. I really wish the romance had been developed a bit more because it gave major insta love vibes. Everything fell together a bit too fast and the characters felt a little one dimensional which wouldn’t be a huge problem if this was a purely a smutty book but since its a clean romance that doesn’t have much of a romantic connection or development, it ends up reading more like a cute christmas-adjacent short story.

I didn’t know this would be a clean/closed door romance so it was a bit surprising to see that but I didn’t mind too much. The tension and flirting sort of makes up for it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Boldwood Books for this gifted arc!

This book is everything & more. I had a right good laugh when I was reading it. It's fun & flirty and very fast paced. The characters have been written perfectly to the point I sometimes thought I was watching a Christmas film and not a book. I can't wait for this to come out so I can gift it to my friends!!

Utter perfection