Cute Christmas novella! I didn't know what to expect from title, but it wasn't this and I loved it. It starts out with little birdie may trying to deliver her letter to Santa when she gets caught and the elf decides to help her. He ends up telling her that she will end up hating Christmas and she does, He is now known as her Christmas curse it was never the same after that day. Fast forward 20 years later She is a successful writer who writes romance books about Santa, and she only dates fake Santa's. After finding herself on her annual writing trip after breaking up she runs into this bartender who looks like Santa who turns out to be Nick the curse bringer of '99. After realizing who he was she wants to stay far away but gets snowed in. When they were younger, she renewed his faith in Christmas he wants to do this for her one Santa at a time.

Cute christmas book. Birdie Mae wanted a Furby when she was younger and believed in Santa. She ran into this boy who ruined Christmas for her. After that, she seemed to have a "relationship" each Christmas with a fake santa. Until one day, she encounters that same boy from her childhood and sparks fly!

I didn't know quite what to expect when I started this book, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Anyone who has ever looked at a silver fox of a man and gotten the warm fuzzies all over will appreciate this story. I definitely laughed out loud quite a few times, but this story did come with an underlying serious story at its backbone. This was a fun listen with a wonderful happily ever after. 2/5 spice

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just finished this audio book this morning and it’s a perfect quick listen for this season
Though definitely toeing the line of finding yourself on the naughty list by listening.

This woman takes loving a silver fox to the next level.
Did I know Santa spice was a thing? Nope.
As I mad at it? Apparently, also nope!

3 ☆
Birdie Mae has a thing for Santa! Most of her short-term relationships are with good-looking Santas. They say the spirit of Christmas finds you on holiday vacations. Then Birdie Mae runs into Nick, a man she hasn't seen in twenty years and never wanted to see again. Except now he's her hot bartender, complete with a silver-fox beard, a twinkle in his eye, and looking a lot like her kryptonite: a jingle-belling Santa Claus. It's five days until Christmas, and she's stuck in a snowy town straight out of a Hallmark movie.

The cover art and the interesting fact that she dates Santa Claus during the holiday season! This book was just okay. Nothing special; it wasn't amazing, but at the same time, it wasn't bad. It was just missing something. The good thing is it does give you the holiday feels and Hallmark vibes.

The audiobook was good! The narrator did a great job. Her male voice was good, and when she switched characters, I didn't get confused about who was talking.
• Slow-Burn
• Christmas Novella

Thank you, Netgellay, and Dreamscape Select for the audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎, 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒌𝒚, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒍𝒆 @𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒕𝒂_𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌’𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏.

This was adorable! I loved Birdie Mae and Nicholas. the banter was good and i enjoyed their moments of realization and coming together even under the strange circumstances. Isabelle Turner, the narrator, did a really good job at capturing both Nicholas and Birdie Mae.

the premise of this story was super cute, Birdie Mae thinking Christmas is cursed by her past St Nicholas, the cute older elf at the mall. years later, Birdie is still angry with him and now collects santa boyfriends around the holidays and writes spicy santa romances. only to take a writing retreat and coming face to face with said curse giver and newly developed -- hes a HOT SANTA look alike!! for it being a novella, there was growth and character break throughs which i loved.

sweet and simple holiday romance with hot santas.

This is a super cute Christmas story. A perfect novella for the holiday season and a perfect standalone.

The banter is so much fun between Birdie Mae and Nic.

This is a chance encounter while they were younger, that changed their lives. And a second chance that brings them back together.

Isabelle Turner did a wonderful job narrating the book.

Thank you to @penpalpr for this gifted eALC. A perfect holiday treat.

-Holiday romcom
-Cozy, snowy small town
-Age gap
-Forced proximity
-Opposites attract
-Hallmark vibes

I LOVE BIRDIE MAE AND NIC!!! This audio is absolutely PERFECT! I loved getting to revisit this little novella 🥹 it makes my heart SO HAPPY! It was one of the first Julie Olivia books I ever read!! So I’m grateful for the ALC!!


Thanks to Pen Pal PR for the ALC in exchange for an honest review!!

Looking for a completely Christmas read this year? Pick this one up. The Fake Santa Apology Tour was filled with humor and puns that made me chuckle. The plot flowed well and was quite interesting. I highly recommend the audiobook as well!

Thank you Julia for my gifted audiobook!

3.5 stars.

"The Fake Santa Apology Tour" by Julie Olivia is a pun-filled age-gap Christmas romp with great characters and a lot of chuckles. I would be lying if I said I didn't have a blast reading this book because I did. It is very fun, and will certainly put you in the mood for the season. It is a fast-paced, quick novella with lots of Christmas cheer in the form of multiple Santas, sorrys, silliness, and gift giving (*raises eyebrows up and down*). It's slightly kooky, but I didn't mind at all. There is also a little sentimentality here, too, which I appreciated to break up all of the jokes and romantic antics. The main characters, Birdie Mae and Nick, have excellent banter and chemistry with one another. I really liked the narrator, Isabelle Turner. She does a great job reading this book! It's not my favorite Julie Olivia tale, but it's still very good. I recommend it for all of your holiday reading needs!

Thank you to NetGalley, Julie Olivia, and Dreamscape Select for the complimentary ALC of this book. All opinions are my own. I was not compensated for this review.

I just finished a fun holiday book, and it really reminded me of The Time Traveler's Wife! It's such a sweet story about two people who fall in love, proving that age is just a number. I loved how it captured the magic of their connection!

This novella was a quick, fun, and quirky read! I enjoyed the narrator a lot, she added so much depth to the characters. As with all of Julie Olivia’s books, this one was naughty and nice. The spice was just the right amount. If you enjoy the age gap trope, add this one to your TBR!

It was a good novella - I would have liked it better if it was dual POV. Nice length. This was my first book by Julie Olivia. I will be reading more.

This was a very cute Christmas story I knew who he was before she did though lol it was romantic and sweet and the epilogue was beautiful

The concept of this book is so wacky, I loved it! A Santa look-alike who hates Santa and a woman who only dates Santas is a weird match but it works here. I had so much fun with the concept and the characters. There's banter, age gap, small town vibes and a little bit of kinky spice. Plus tons of Christmas puns! What's not to love?

Narrator Isabelle Turner did wonderfully. I enjoyed her voice and thought she did a good job.

Would recommend if you are in the mood for a quick holiday novella with laughs and spice!

Such fun, interesting, and funny holiday story. The writing as always beautiful and meaningful with so many great quotes. The narrator did amazing job with this one! All voice changes are so good and perfect for this book.😍
If you looking for small town, holiday romcom with all fun Christmas themed moments this one is definitely for you 🎄

“What can I say? I like the idea of a fantasy man doing fantastical things. It’s all a lie in the end, but who cares? All men tell lies, after all. At least these guys are up front about theirs.“

Quite possibly my favorite Christmas book ever.

What I liked:

This is fun, short, sweet and delightfully steamy. I love Birdie Mae and Nick - the chemistry is palpable with these two.

The setting: the little town is so dang cute, and why do I want to try a peppermint beer now?

The narrator is fantastic.

What didn’t work for me:
Absolutely nothing.

The Fake Santa Apology Tour is a great small-town romance that will get you in the holiday spirit. When Birdie Mae was eleven, she had a run-in with a mall Santa Elf named Nickolas. Birdie Mae believes that day was a curse and it's the reason she hates Christmas as an adult.

The story picks up twenty years later, and thirty-one-year-old Birdie Mae is a published author and a serial dater of Santa Clauses. She usually dates them for a short time and then moves on, only to date a new Santa next holiday season.

Birdie Mae gets stranded in a small town on her way home for Christmas and when she goes into a bar for a drink her very own Christmas curse is her bartender. I enjoyed this enemies-to-lovers scenario. Nicolas tries so hard to find out why Birdie Mae is hesitant to date him and he really does a lot to make her feel good. He makes her start the Santa apology tour where she apologizes to Santas for everything she has done in a form of therapy.

My biggest hangup with this book is simply just a “me” problem. The beginning of the book is twenty years earlier, we know Birdie Mae is eleven but we don’t know Nicolas’ age. We know he is under 18 and older than 11 but old enough to work so my guess is 15-17. So let's just say 17 that would make him 37 during the story. He is just described as someone who looks so much older and I could not get past it.

Thank you Netgalley and dreamscape for the free ALC. My opinions are being left voluntarily. What a fun and unique Christmas book at first I didn't understand where it was headed or why we started in 1999 but understood the importance later on. The audio was well done. The length was perfect.

4.5/5☆

If cheesy was a book, this would be the one but it was still a fun time. The Fake Santa Apology Tour is a quick, Christmas read filled with fake Santa's and holiday cheer and humor. Admittedly, I likely would not have chosen this book if it was a full length novel but I liked it for what it was; short, sweet and to the point.

The narrator did a great job with this one and I enjoyed listening.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select | Julie Olivia for access to the ALC in exchange for an honest review.