First of all, I have loved the entire "Dating" series by Monica Murphy. However, that said, you don't have to read the previous books to enjoy this one. It truly does read very easily as a standalone.

Holidate gives us Candice, a young woman who received a trust fund when her mother passed away. Her mother wanted to be sure her daughter would always be taken care of. Instead of being the spoiled little rich girl one would imagine, she is very caring and giving. She is a supporter of so many charities that it may be to the point of "over-involvement". Candice is on numerous committees and not only gives generously of her time, but her finances as well.

Candice is asked by one of her fellow committee members for a favor. Isabelle asks her to escort her son, Charlie, heir to the community's Christmas Tree Farm, to numerous events during the Christmas season. Her hope is that he will be able to network and make additional business connections to benefit the Tree Farm. But, you have to wonder if Isabelle's intentions all along are more of the matchmaking variety.

Candice is a person who loves everything about Christmas. However, Charlie is the polar opposite, which is odd since it's his family's livelihood. Throughout the course of the story, you grow to understand why they each feel the way they do. Charlie is such a cranky man and he isn't the kindest to Candice. It's understood that he works a great deal but he still makes things difficult for her. Of course, their chemistry kicks in and muddies the waters. Candice has been attracted to Charlie since she first met him and he was to her as well, even though he tried to resist her. There's simply nothing more fun than seeing a grumpy man melt when he finally realizes he's met the woman of his dreams.

This was a quick and easy read that made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It's the perfect book for not just the holiday season, but anytime of the year.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and Ms. Murphy for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Holidate was a sweet, very Hallmark-esque holiday story that was enjoyable. Both Candace and Charlie were great characters. Candace loves Christmas and I loved that about her. She was sweet, spunky, so kind to everyone and also a bit lonely. She devotes so much of her time and money for their community so she doesn’t think too much of what she had lost. Charlie on the other hand is the complete opposite, he is the equivalent to the Grinch. He is very jaded with the holiday season and just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately for him, he is to be taking over the family business, Sullivan Family Christmas Tree Farm and his mother wants him to become more social. During one of Candace’s many committee meetings, Charlie’s mother is present and requests Candace’s help. Next thing she knows, Candace and Charlie are attending holiday events together. Both are initially not too keen on this idea, but the more time they spend with each other emotions come into play.

Overall, Holidate was a cute story and I did like the two main characters, but something about the way they were forced to work together didn’t mesh with me. I really did like Charlie’s mom, but the way she meddled was a bit off putting. And Charlie was a grump, I knew that going in, but I didn’t always like the way he treated Candace. And some of his reactions to what people thought about him seemed a bit off to me. But I did enjoy the holiday feel to the story, the happily ever after for Charlie and Candace and also because I actually live in the Monterey Peninsula, that was a nice connection.

Thank you Netgalley and Social Butterfly PR for the complimentary copy of Holidate. All opinions are my own.

**I voluntarily read an early copy of this title courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review**

Holidate is the third book in the Dating series and we met the heroine, Candice, in book two, as she is Jared's sister. I so enjoyed the first books in this series, so I was excited to get my hands on this one!

Candice Gaines loves Christmas. She is involved with just about anything she can be in order to bring Christmas cheer to those in her hometown. She is able to focus on giving back due to the fact she inherited a large sum of money from her late mother and she's a very generous soul.

On the flip side, Charlie Sullivan is not a fan of Christmas, yet his family owns a Christmas Tree Farm, so he has no choice but to be immersed in it! He much prefers to stay behind the scenes, to run the farm and avoid the commercial elements, yet his parents are getting to the age where they are wanting to turn over more of the responsibility to him and have him be more visible.

Charlie's Mom decides to take matters into her own hands and enlists Candice to help get him more comfortable with being more in the public eye. As the two begin to spend more time together, will Candice be able to turn "the Grinch" into a Christmas loving guy or will it totally burn out like a string of Christmas lights?

This was a quick, easy read, but it was really great. This is one instance where the old adage "opposites attract" really was the recipe for a fantastic couple and an engaging story!

A great festive read.

Candice is helping out Charlie as a favour to his mother. She loves christmas and he hates it, but as you get to know them you realise they both have their reasons for feeling this way. Will they still be together when Christmas is over?

I liked how the book is told from both of their points of view. It was good to catch up on the stories of Candice's friends and brother, who featured in previous books in this series.

Looking forward to the next book in this series.

I feel like I really could have loved this book, especially now I'm over my first person narrative phobia but the main character, Candice, was SO irritating. It was like reading about a happy bouncy 16 year old.
I don't know if it's because she was in the category of "new adult" and that's not really my bag but I found that I just couldn't get into this because she just got on my nerves so much.
The writing wasn't bad and I liked the idea of the plot but unfortunately I just couldn't get past Candice's annoying personality. 1.5 stars.