I was so excited to read this book. Based on the synopsis of it, I had high hopes that it was going to be my new favorite holiday read. Only to be very sadly disappointed. I forced myself to finish it so that I could leave my honest review - but I did want to stop reading it about 25% through.

I found this to be a confusing story - it was very hard to keep track of who was who due to all the side characters. I also think it was very odd that once the two main characters fell in love, the book turned more into a ‘relationship with your parents’ type of story. I was confused as to why it went and ended in that direction. I also wasn’t fond of the way the author kept repeating the female main character’s constant self esteem issues. I think if the author would have only mentioned it a couple of times, it would have been fine but when it’s mentioned as many times as it is in this book, it’s almost as though the author was trying TOO hard to get that point across.

If you need any trigger warnings, mine would only be that there is sexual harassment in this book (depending on how you portray it).

Even though I wasn’t the biggest fan, I am thankful to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read it. I am interested in reading more from this author, maybe this was just a fluke!

Secret Santa follows Carolyn Harrison and Jamie Fitzsimmons. Two people that seem to have a shared hatred for all things Christmas and holidays. Carolyn has has a crush on her boss for ages but never felt she belonged in his circle but little does she know, he feels the same way. Because they work together and with his standing to the media, she's never felt she could act on it. Plus, her conservative father built a lack of self confidence in her at a young age. Jamie has had a crush on Carolyn since he first met her, but he has a set of rules for women after some of his own trauma and refuses to act on it. Fate seems to step in and when they get each other for Secret Santa at the office, they're forced to find out a bit more about each other.
Tropes include:

🎅 Workplace Romance
🎅 Tragic Pasts
🎅 Holiday Romance
🎅 Oblivious to Love
🎅 Emotional Scars

I really flew through this book. Secret Santa wasn't the typical cookie-cutter Christmas read. Both Carolyn and Jamie suffered from majorly toxic parents and how that had such a lasting impact on both of them moving forward with their own relationship together was really well done. I think anyone would enjoy this if they're looking for a Christmas read with a splash of spice and a lot of drama. My only issue with this book is the lack of trigger warning for elements of cheating, miscarriage, and assault on page. Luckily, I wasn't triggered by these themes, but they still really took me by surprise.

Thanks to NetGalley, Jezabel Nightingale and Victory Editing for the ARC! 😊

This Review was posted to GoodReads on 11/18/2024.
It as posted to Instagram on 11/20/2024.

TRIGGER WARNINGS
-Miscarriage (not MCs)
-SA
-Cheating (in past)

I honestly struggled to figure out how I wanted to rate this book. The first 30% was extremely slow-paced and repetitive. The two main characters are already lusting after one another, even though they have never had a full conversation. This includes inappropriate jokes from coworkers regarding both of them. However, as we got closer to the middle of the book they started interacting more and had an insta-love connection (which, given their similar life views and circumstances, I believe worked extremely well).

Two high points I would also like to mention is the Australian representation as well as the way the author handled their trauma (the MMCs family has so much drama, they could be the next Kardashians and I LOVED IT).

One problematic element though that I believe must be addressed is the lack of trigger warnings, specifically for the second point I mentioned above. It was fairly detailed and was triggering for me, especially since I wasn't expecting it.

As a whole, I would recommend this book to those whom the trigger warnings will not affect and enjoy spice and insta-love. A huge thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Carolyn is a sports reporter at The Daily Online, an online news outlet owned by Jamie Fitzsimmons. She’s had a major crush on Jamie her entire tenure. Little does she know, he feels the same!

I did not care for this book and probably should have DNF. I felt the writing was disjointed. The main story was cute, but all the drama was ridiculous, almost to the point it seemed the writer wanted to include every possibility. The spice was forced and overly done. The best analogy I have for the book would be poorly directed, cheesy Netflix Christmas movie that is rated PG, then you add in the cut X rated scenes. I just didn’t like it and would not recommend to anyone.

Loved the chemistry between Jamie and Carolyn. If you’re looking for a great romance book that offers a bit of spice this is the perfect read for you! Highly recommended this author and will be looking forward to their next book

I posed this on Goodreads on 11/18/2024

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was a 1 star rating.

I really wanted to like this book, however, I found it hard to let myself go and enjoy the author's intent of this book.

I found myself wanting to DNF this a few different times but I kept on going through.
I somewhat liked the characters but thought that they weren't fleshed out enough, potentially because there was so much time devoted to secondary characters that didn't really serve much of a purpose to be honest.

I don't understand how both main characters HATED Christmas, seemingly the whole point of the first few chapters and then never really talked about again.

I know this is a book but I can not believe that the author allowed growth between the two main characters but then did not deliver any justice by allowing the MMC's father to just drift into abyss and not share what he did with the community/authorities. I get that this is supposed to be fluffy holiday rom com but the author chose to incorporate this plot and then chose to just leave it and pretend like it's a totally normal thing that powerful men are able to get away with things without actual consequences. (Which totally happens but the the way that the author chose to have this end was annoying/frustrating.)

I wanted to love this book so badly. The synopsis made this book seem so good, but it really seemed to fall short. I just could not get myself to enjoy the characters at all and I found it to be very boring and unrealistic. It's possible this book was just a huge no for me, and I have seen plenty of positive reviews, so I wouldn't totally rule this one out if you are interested!

A huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc and this opportunity.

I loved the book. It was the cutest rom com. I really liked the author’s style of writing. I would recommend this book to anyone.

This was nowhere near as good as I had hoped. The writing was choppy, pacing was off, characters were unlikeable, and there should be a trigger warning.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest opinion.

I liked the set up of the story. But that it's a Christmas story is more of a side note because this book is much more than that. It focuses mostly on the relationship you have with your parents once you're an adult yourself. I enjoyed the twists and turns it offered but I felt that some of the emotional moments were cut short. I would've liked to explore the consequences of some of the actions a bit more.

I think this book was a cute little fast paced romance. I loved the office setting and the chemistry they had together. It was definitely a little spicy but not too much as there was still a plot. I think the only thing that was a bit frustrating was the constant self deprecation and disbelief of her self worth. Otherwise the story was really cute.

A Christmas office romance set down under? what more could you ask for?
Secret Santas and not so secret crushes made this a quick easy and enjoyable read.

Secret Santa by Jezabel Nightingale is a dual POV holiday romance that focuses on Journalist Carolyn and her Managing Director Jamie. With complicated pasts, big feelings, and a decent spice level, Jezabel has created depth and layers in her characters that draws you in and keep you invested throughout the book. While an easy and light-hearted read, the story touches on deeper topics, allowing them to play out without overwhelming the narrative.

Secret Santa balances tender romance with character growth, exploring how two people can shed the baggage of their pasts to find a love that’s authentic, empowering, and enduring. The spicy scenes are perfectly placed and go into delectable detail so I wouldn’t recommend it to a younger audience, but this festive romance is perfect for readers looking for a deeper, character-driven holiday story.

Secret Santa is available on Amazon now!

This was so cute and i thoroughly enjoyed this book! Carolyn is a reporter and works jamies company where she covers sports and writes their stories. She has a major crush on jamie. jamie is also obsessed with carolyn ever since he met her but feels he shouldnt cross any lines do to their work relationship. this was such a cute holiday book and i really enjoyed this book. i highly recommend this to everyone.

3.5⭐
Carolyn has had a crush on her boss, Jamie Fitzsimmons, since she first met him when she applied to work for him as a sports reporter for his media company, but she has never had the nerve to act on her feelings - especially because she doesn't want to ruin her reputation which has been drilled into her by her conservative father. This Christmas, she has drawn his name for the secret Santa, and she doesn't know what to get for the man who has it all! On the other side of things, Jamie has had a crush on Carolyn since he first met her, but he's only known woman to want to be with him for his money so he will not break his rules about acting on his feelings when he knows it would all just go wrong. He has Carolyn's name for secret Santa, but with a $20 limit, a nice pair of earrings is out of budget, and so is that new car he's tempted to buy for her!
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The first third of this book wasn't written the best, with a lot of the information being told instead of shown and the writing felt a bit amateurish, however as the story began to pick up the writing also improved. This wasn't your classic "feel good holiday romance" in that there are quite strong themes throughout of trying to overcome toxic parents and the lasting impact on how Carolyn thought about herself, as well as themes of cheating partner's in Jamie's father (who also assaults Carolyn on page). However this is sprinkled throughout Christmas parties and Carolyn and Jamie dancing around their confusing feelings about each other.
I think, if this sounds appealing to you, and you're wanting a festive romance this is definitely worth picking up despite my issues with the beginning of the story, as I did quite enjoy the rest of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley, Jezabel Nightingale and Victory Editing for gifting me an eARC in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own :).

I was quite invested in Carolyn and Jamie's story - I honestly couldn't put the book down.

Told from dual perspectives, Secret Santa tells the story of "Bossman" Jamie and sports writer Carolyn. They've always been attracted to each other and their inner monologue proved to be interesting as it highlighted their vulnerabilities. It did take a while for them to actually interact with each other, but once they did, the story became more fast-paced.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!!

What a great book!! It had me hooked from page one! I couldn’t put this down. I finished it in one sitting. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters. This was a first for me by this author but it will not be my last!!

This one was a struggle. It started off cute, and I enjoyed the whole staff and the dynamics. Then it just sort of went downhill. Both of our main characters are so self-sabotaging, and it gets old quickly. I thought I would feel more tension with them, but their interactions were just so clumsy. The writing is choppy, and maybe it's a difference in countries, but the grammar was off to me.

There also 100% needs to be some trigger warnings for some of the content! I was caught off guard, even though it's not our main characters, I still would have liked to have known about that particular content ahead of time.

Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

What’s better than a Christmas romance? An AUSTRALIAN Christmas romance!

Jezebel Nightingale’s Secret Santa is a slow burn romance that is not only set in Melbourne Australia, but continues to subtly pay homage to an Aussie Christmas through fine details scattered throughout the story including the inclusion of pavlova nests and a reference to Mem Fox’s Koala Lou. With strong characters, the perfect balance of witty and heartfelt moments, and a male MC who’s not afraid to allow himself to show some vulnerability, what’s not to love?

If you’re after a spicy, slow burn Christmas read or a Christmas story set in a warmer climate, this book is for you! I honestly couldn’t put it down!

Thank you to Jezebel Nightingale and NetGalley for this ARC.

Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinions are completely my own.

A spicy little Christmas romance with fun supporting characters. I wasn't the biggest fans of our couple nor their families, but I adored Donna and Anton