“The Fake Santa Apology Tour” is such a delightful listen, perfect for the holiday season. Julie Olivia crafts relatable characters and the storyline is engaging. It has the perfect balance of lighthearted moments and deeper emotional themes. I loved Birdie Mae and Nic, highly recommend this!

This was an absolute blast! I laughed so hard; it was genuinely funny, heartwarming, and adorably cute!
The characters were amazing, and the romance was delightful! I appreciated that it wasn't overly spicy.
I adored the writing style! I will definitely be exploring more works by this author.

LOVE LOVE LOVED this!! So festive, and the audio was so fun to listen to on my road trip heading to see family for the holiday season!

This is a cute concept of a story, but there were too many moments when the age gap bordered on questionable. Pacing was also lacking on this one and could have benefitted from more editing.

I was hoping this book would be holly jolly but it fell short. The main character only dates Santa which is very odd. It did have some laugh out loud parts but not for me.

Thank you to Julie Olivia and PenPal PR for this gifted audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

I know it is past the Christmas season but with the cold weather still here in Illinois I figured I would still post my review because what better way to beat the winter blues than with a heartfelt rom-com.

I will start by saying there is some spice in the book but like If It Makes You Happy it's minimal and well done. I also feel like the audiobook narration was well done and helped bring the story to life.

This was an interesting take on Christmas love where the FMC only dates fake santas around Christmas and then breaks up with them after. This story is really about facing what you're afraid of and healing in the process of forgiving. With the help of the person she least expected it from MMC who cursed her Christmas from childhood she has to face the holiday curse once and for all if she wants to move on with life and find love. This was a quick but heartfelt story and full of humour to help cut the tension.

This book has it all:
🌲 Holiday romcom
⛪ Cozy, snowy small town
🔥 Age gap
🤞🏼 Forced proximity
🫶🏼 Opposites attract
💕 Hallmark vibes

#julieolivia #thefakesantaapologytour #netgalley #netgalleyreview #romcombooks #spicybooks

i love this steamy little christmas novella so much! it was a fave last year when i read it and now that it's on audio!? YES PLEASE. i really enjoyed the relationship between Nicholas and Birdie and seeing them be fun and silly together. nothing better than a snowball fight in a holiday romance if you ask me

I absolutely loved this cute and quick Christmas read. It’s fun, sexy, quirky, and silly in the best ways. Would highly recommend for a quick holiday read! The audio narration was excellent and engaging.

I couldn’t put this down! So adorably perfect!
Julie Olivia nails it every time! The cross of funny, sweet and that perfect slow burn hits each and every time! Hands down a book to be read every holiday season!

DNF about 20% in. The narrators voice irritated me and I couldn’t bare it any longer. The story wasn’t terrible in the beginning but when we got into the storyline after their “meet cute” during childhood, I couldn’t take it serious anymore. Why is she an erotica writer…. Also the age gap made me kind of uncomfortable.

📚 ALC Review 📚
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Live Now!

Last night when I got the email that I received this ALC, I dug right into it!

I absolutely loved this! It was a cute Rom-Com Hallmark holiday book. If you want a cute, light, and fun holiday book, this is it!

When an elf tells Birdie Mae that he will help her get her letter in Santa pocket. Only to tell her as she leaves, that she will grow to hate Christmas. Which sets off the curse.

20 years later, their paths cross and the cruse is still going strong. She takes a vacation to a small town only to cross paths with none other than a hot younger Santa. Which turns out to be Nic.

What to expect:
🌲 Forced Proximity
🌲 Opposites Attract
🌲 Holiday Romance
🌲 Small Town
🌲 Dual POV

If you love a good Christmas romcom, look no further! Birdie Mae and Nic were both delightful, funny, but had depth and substance.

Birdie Mae had a bad mall Santa experience as a child, followed by the loss of her father, has taken away her love of Christmas. But not of fake Santas. They are her jam. She dates them and abandons them - her romances as fleeting as the holiday season. She's a also romance novelist who may use those Santa encounters to her advantage.

A recent breakup has her delaying her usual trip to inspire this year's book, and is pushing close to Christmas when she heads off on her trip.

Nic is the local bartender at her destination. He loves Christmas, hates fake Santas and is a bit of a silver fox Santa himself. He and Birdie clash at first, but sparks start to fly! Their interactions and banter were perfection and, while it does have real and sad moments, this book is a wonderful, uplifting holiday story that will make you laugh, and make you cheer for Birdie and Nic to get together!

Absolutely insane and yet still has some depth and spice?? Still really sweet?? Truly Julie Olivia can do no wrong apparently. The audiobook was so easy to listen too and was done so well. I felt like I just never took out my headphones I was so into the story.

The Fake Santa Apology Tour was the perfect fun quick Christmas audiobook for a one day listen! The plot felt new and fresh and I enjoyed it being relatively trope free!

I chose this book because I thought the concept sounded cute. While it was an enjoyable and fun read in the moment. It was also sadly forgettable. It's been a week now and nothing has stood out as memorable.

Final rating: 4.25 ☆

A fun, quirky, quick holiday romance. Honestly, dare I say the best holiday romance I’ve read this year??? 🤔

I read this digitally last year and really enjoyed it - but I think the audiobook is the way to go! Definitely recommend if you’re looking for a slight age gap, Santa kink, small town romance where you have a Santa lookalike (that hates all things Santa), and a girl who writes about and illustrates smutty Santa books for a living and exclusively dates Santa’s 🤭 Such a fun time and an easy recommendation! I’ll read anything Julie Olivia releases - she always delivers!

Thank you to Pen Pal PR, Julie Olivia, and NetGalley for gifting me a surprise ALC in exchange for an honest review 🩵🎄

A quick, enjoyable holiday read with plenty of Christmas touches. Character development is lacking but all in all wortnit.

I will say right up front that I was probably not the right audience for this particular book. I can see how it might hit the spot for some people, but unfortunately the main character's musings about the "sexy" aspects of fake Santas just made me cringe.

I was also a little uncomfortable with the fact that the two main characters first met when she was 11 and he was 17. Luckily, I felt like the author avoided making it TOO weird.

The connection between Birdie May's need to apologize to past boyfriends and her relationship with her mother seemed forced and convoluted.

However, the banter between Birdie May and Nick was pretty cute. They felt very believable as a couple and I like the way their romance was built up. The steamier scenes were very on-brand for them and didn't feel out of place. The Christmasy setting successfully put me in a holiday mood and I almost wish we would've gotten to know the other people in the town a little more.

Overall, it was a quick, cute read and if you have a secret crush on Santa Claus, this should really do it for you.

The Fake Santa Apology Tour is a sweet novella by Julie Olivia. Twenty years ago 11 year old Birdie Mae was determined to slip a letter to the mall Santa and was able to do so with the help of a red haired elf by the name of Nicholas Ryan. Birdie Mae was a Christmas devotee with a strong family, Nicholas thought little of the holiday as a foster kid who had grown up in the system and was soon to age out. In telling Birdie Mae that most people grew up to hate Christmas she takes it as a curse, especially after what happened later that night.

Now a successful Christmas romance author with a strong following, Birdie Mae has a penchant for fake Santas, be they mall Santa, parade Santa, or just in a Santa suit. Each Santa runs it course, usually by New Year’s. Christmas time is also the time of year she gets her plans together for the following year’s book offering.

This year Birdie Mae chooses a snowy northern small town as her place for inspiration. What she didn’t expect to find in this winter wonderland setting was the nemesis elf from twenty years ago. The red haired elf is more silver fox now but the same twinkle shines in his eyes. As they talk, much is learned about one another including ideas for Birdie Mae to heal from events twenty years ago.

This is a very interesting novella with well written characters. The story highlights that along with the joy of the holidays, many people are feeling anything but joyful. I did enjoy this book and do recommend it.

This was such a charming and Hallmark-esque story! A perfect introduction to Julia, with all the warmth and magic of the season. I can’t wait to see more of her writing journey and read what comes next!