Easy to read, short novella based around Christmas.
Would definitely be interested to read a follow up of their lives now and whether they are still together

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

A short story, or so it seemed. I didn't find a lot of depth to this nor was there much of a chance to connect with the characters.

This was a fun, cute novel. I loved the LGBTQ+ themes and enjoyed the tropes that the author used. It had some swoon-worthy moments, but it's not one I'll reread.

A very cute, quick read with a happy ending – just what I needed for the holidays! This is the first LGBTQ romance (or perhaps "romance" in scare quotes!) I've read where none of the characters dies, and I think it's important to note that whenever authors do that, THAT IS NOT A ROMANCE. I purposely sought out a holiday romance featuring a lesbian or bisexual couple, in search of this cozy, happy ending for them, and Make the Yuletide Gay delivered exactly what I was looking for. Lots of "is she or isn't she into me?" questions from each of the main characters, as they're thrown together in an "oops, there's only one bed!" situation at a B&B during a snowstorm. They enjoy hot cocoa together, go ice skating, and of course enjoy being in that single bed together – woohoo! If you are looking for a very feel-good holiday read, featuring a mixed-race couple (and boss/coworker shenanigans), then give this book a whirl.

Sweet holiday novella I should have actually read a month earlier. Nevertheless I can enjoy a Christmas romance even in summier so no harm done. It was a quick, easy and enjoyable read. I liked the main characters and their connection, but with Nicola's baggage it would have worked better as a novel. Her issues were just a bit too big to be solved so easily in this length and I would not have minded to get a bit more pages on this romance.

*** An ARC was provided by Netgalley in exchange for a honest review. ***

“Grace saw Nicola’s beautiful, beautiful face all day. When not seeing her beautiful, beautiful face, she saw her beautiful, beautiful ass.”

An age gap, cute romance between a chummy junior editor cum temporary personal assistant and her socially awkward senior editor.

The novella started out with the characters lusting after each other but solidified into something more. Grace Taylor had a crush on her senior editor, Nicola Valentine. After a business trip she discovered that her crush was not so one-sided after all.

The build up was sexy, both main characters have some baggage but it added background to the storyline and helped readers understand them better. Overall an easy and happy read for the holidays.

I just reviewed Make The Yuletide Gay by Ivy L. James #Netgalley

Three and a half stars. I liked the premise for this, although I didn't realize it was a novella. While reading, though, I solidified the opinion that it would work better as a full-length novel. Nicola just has too much baggage for a holiday romance novella. There's a lot of childhood trauma rendering her EQ a little crippled. Grace was great for her, and clearly their feelings were mutual and mostly equal, which was great to see. Yet it shouldn't be surprising to anyone when a couple of nights don't cure her and she pushes someone away for no reason. She needs therapy, and in the meantime, Grace deserves better. But I liked the characters, and would have been able to ship them together if there had been more show of helping Nicola overcome her past.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Pub date: December 14, 2020

This this LGBTQIA+ novella was a cute holiday workplace romance. While I’m not sure the relationship is wholly believable in how fast it progresses, as the initial kiss seemed unlikely to happen in a real situation, I still enjoyed the characters together and was rooting for them.

Junior editor Grace Taylor’s annual family plans are ruined when her temporary boss, senior editor Nicola Valentine, informs her of their holiday travel plans to a publishing conference. Grace has been harboring a secret crush on Nicola for a while, and when a snowstorm strands them at a B&B with only one room, temptation will be hard to ignore. Uber professional Nicola Valentine is having a hard time being snowed in when adorable Grace, and she’s having trouble fighting her attraction in the confined space. She’s got a lot of baggage she’ll have to work through to let Grace in, or perhaps the pair were doomed all along.

This book is like the pie you have after a Christmas meal. Did you neeeeeed it? Probably not. Did you inhale it in two bites and enjoy every drop? Uh, duh. Of course you did. I devoured this book in two days (would have been one but I had to work today), and it was delectable. Like a Hallmark movie, but gay and with some actually hot scenes.

I love a good workplace outside of work romance, particularly in a “we’re trapped oh noooo gotta share the bed” situation. It’s super light, which I think we all need this holiday season. It moves quickly, and the characters are delightful, particularly one of the supporting characters.

For me, Christmas isn’t over until New Year’s and even then, it’s a toss up as to whether the tree will get put up right away, so if you still want to ride the high (or the chill) of the holidays, pick up this book and settle into a nest of blankets.

Thank you to NetGalley and NineStar Press for an eARC of this title.

This was a very sweet Christmas novella about a boss and her assistant and the unspoken feelings they have had for each other. Obviously things happen pretty fast in this story as it is a novella, however I thought that the chemistry and connection between the two characters was great. They both pinned after each other and it really did feel like that on the page.

I liked how the two of them had little moments together that led up to the end. One thing I really enjoyed about the story was that it discussed anxiety and childhood trauma. I do wish that there was more discussion of those things, but in a very short novella I know that there isn’t the space for that. I do enjoy that it was messy and complicated, because sometimes life is messy.

The ending was not my favourite, but I think overall the story was very sweet and had a nice amount of Christmas. It was definitely a good read.

Rating: 3.5/5

“You are getting dangerously close to becoming my new favorite assistant.”

I loved it! It's short and sweet story about two employees, secretly desiring one another . Nicola is a shy one, with lots of insecurities and I liked the development of her trust in Grace. Perfect for this time of year.

So cute! What a delightful Christmas novella for a Sunday afternoon. I the characters, I love a grumpy one and a sunshine one pairing, I love a cute b&b with personal touches (in fiction, can’t say I’ve ever been to one in real life!)

I loved this story. It was sexy, had enough both drama and sweetness, it was engaging to read it, you feel for Nicola and her past... I loved both characters and this is a solid 4 stars.

This is a sexy, Christmas age-gap novella about a jaded editor, Nichola, and her bright-eyed assistant, Grace, who must attend a conference for publishers over Christmas, but run into a few road blocks (literally).

This has some of my favourite tropes for romance: hurt/comfort, there was only one bed, literally falling onto each other, snowed in, and a bunch of other adorable tropes and clichés that make my heart soar. It's both a boss/assistant and age gap relationship-- which should make me weary-- but since it's well-done (in my opinion) it actually just makes it all the more sexy.

There were some times where I really didn't understand Nicola's train of thought, and where I thought Grace was overly eager since their relationship was only developing over a few days, but you can ultimately see where they're both coming from. I really enjoyed James' writing style and am going to check out her other works ASAP. With a lot of mushy feelings and a happy ending, this was the lesbian holiday romance I needed!

CW: abuse, neglect, boss/assistant relationship, sex

Contemporary romances aren't my usual go-tos but with a snappy title like "Make the Yuletide Gay" I knew I had to take a read.

This is a holiday romance that follows Grace who is the assistant to Nicola on their way to a conference over Christmas. Nicola is the harsh grumpy grinch and Grace is the upbeat festive type. Through this story they get snowed into a bed and breakfast that somehow only has one room and one bed which the housekeeper encourages them to share, and this is where they fall in love.

For me personally, I couldn't get past the unrealistic and completely unprofessional situation that this was. I'm cool with the concept of boss:assistant romance and even getting snowed in but I feel like they should've been strangers or co-workers or something less formal. Like as a boss you should've sorted out the issue and would've have slept in the same bed as your assistant because YOU'RE A PROFESSIONAL and that's literally your job - it would make more sense if it was like lower level co-workers and that was out of their control / professional level. The dynamic made all the situations really weird and cring-y for me. PLUS, having the housekeeper basically force you together was reallyyyy strange.

If that dynamic in this situation doesn't rub you the wrong way then this is a light and easy holiday romance.
* I received an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This novella, James’ debut, is about Nicola and Grace, boss and secretary respectively, who have to gon on a trip together for work during Christmas. The thing is, both of them have feelings for each other. It’s a heartwarming sapphic romantic comedy with a Christmas setting, the kind of thing you’d want to find on Netflix by the beginning of December: it’s cute and entertaining, as well as having well-constructed characters, especially Nicola.

The process of reading this book, at least for me, was fast. I read it in less than a day, it truly felt like binge-watching a Netflix show (I’m dropping hints that I’d absolutely watch a cinematic adaptation of this book made by Netflix, did y’all notice?). It was fast, but not rushed, though, so kudos to James for nailing the pacing!

I really enjoyed that their attraction to women wasn’t a problem in the narrative. Their problems were unrelated to their sexualities and it feels good to read something that isn’t focused on the overwhelming experience of LGBTphobia for once. However, I think it could’ve been talked about more. The story is in a modern setting, meaning that labels and the experience of LGBTphobia exist and while it doesn’t need to be the focus of the narrative, a brief mention could happen. There could be a mention of their ‘out status’: is Grace out to her family? What about at work? They could’ve talked about their previous relationships, too (the part where they talk about the space Grace takes in the bed and she implies that she’d slept with someone next to her at some point, would be a good introduction to the subject).

Besides, seeing the ‘lesbian’ label used casually in a novella as lighthearted as this one would be meaningful and it’d help normalize it, as it’s usually seen as inherently sexual. It’s only mentioned once near the end of the story, by Grace, and I would’ve liked to see it more often in the narrative. Finally, a detail I appreciated was the fact that it’s mentioned that Nicola started therapy by the end of the book. It’s a fairly popular trope to imply that romantic love can heal everything, even mental illnesses, which is... not the case. And that detail being a part of the story actually touched me, since it’s not a recurring theme.

If you want a cute and quick Christmas sapphic romance that has a happy ending, then you should get ‘Make the Yuletide Gay’. The plot isn’t complex, there are enough Christmassy situations to set up the mood and enough fanfiction tropes to get you emotionally invested.

I thought this was a solid debut and a very cute holiday romance novella. I don't typically read novellas, as I am generally drawn to novels with complex character development. The character development of both Grace and Nicola was very good, although I think the author was aiming for an ice-queen in Nicola whereas for me she came across as very shy and introverted with just a touch of PTSD.

Highly recommend a read if you are after a cute holiday novella to get you in the holiday spirit.

Many thanks to Netgalley and NineStar Press. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

*spoilers*

This was a sweet easy to read novella.

Grace is a book editor acting as Nicola’s temporary assistant at their company. Nicola ends up having to cover a book conference at short notice, when of course there are no other methods of transportation available to them than sharing hours in a car.

The story is somewhat predictable to begin with. They end up in a B&B because the weather gets too bad for them to continue their journey. There’s only one room available.

The things I liked about the story was their connection about their backgrounds. Whilst they had an inevitable split during the narrative due to inability to communicate, it was due to the past and not a hurt one or the other had inflicted and it was resolved relatively quickly.

I found the epilogue to be a nice sweet way to sign the story off and I did find myself wishing this had been a longer story, as I feel it would have been less predictable with more to help with the tropes.

Whilst it contains the usual kinds of things, it was still a sweet, easy page turner that I enjoyed reading. I think Christmas romance fans find this an enjoyable way to pass an hour or so.

I received an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short and sweet holiday themed story about a boss- subordinate romance in which they fall for each other over the course of a sort of disastrous emergency business trip. Both characters have less than stellar childhoods, but Grace, a junior editor for her and her temporary boss's company was saved by her adoptive family. Nicola is still haunted by feelings of inadequacy fostered by her own horrible family. So, as you can imagine, some road trip shenanigans happen and the women actually fall for each other. But it still is a bit of an up hill battle because of Nicola's almost crippling sense of inadequacy that props up when Grace starts to grow more serious.

It is a quick hitter that tries to work in a few things that doesn't quite work out for me because of the amount of time that I prefer to be allowed to breathe for things like that. Like I understand mentioning that Grace had a similar childhood to Nicola, but it just comes off as just telling us, and not showing us how Grace could emphasize with Nicola and help her heal a little. Instead, we get a wizened old lady to help Nicola move through her fears in order to have a healthy relationship with Grace. That's what bugged me the most about the book, but I think it is just because I would have liked it explored in more depth.

Other than that - this is a lovely holiday romance crammed full of hot chocolate, holiday decorations, ice rinks, and yes the paper crane from the cover. Nicola and Grace are easy to cheer for and I had fun watching them dance around each other for most of the read time. I could do without the deeper plot points because they just feel added in for more drama as opposed to something that could be explored further. If you want your holiday cheer, this is pretty much it.

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.