This is a Cute Friends to Lovers Christmas Romance, and this is the first book in the Mistletoe Romance series. I loved this book, and the characters in this book was so much fun getting to know. I felt the romance between the two main characters in this book so cute and fun. If you are looking for a fun book to get you into the holiday spirit with all the angsty moments and swoon worthy kisses, this book is it. From the adorable Christmas themed named characters to the perfect snow cover small town dripping in Christmas charm, this has everything to get you into the holiday spirit.

A feelgood story of friends to lovers. With a slight festive feel. (but really could be read anytime.) easy read

This is the perfect book for Christmas in any month!! I can not wait to get a print copy of this one. The cast of characters is adorable and it was a simple and easy read to escape too. If you are looking for a story to whisk you away from the summer heat then look no further than right here!! It was super adorable and fun!

I decided to read this one to give myself a little Christmas in July. Other than some character names and a couple situations, there isn't a lot of Christmas in this, so it is suitable for any time of year as well! I thought this was a pretty cute romcom with great chemistry between the main characters. It had a lot more friendship drama than I usually enjoy in a book and I didn't like any of the "catfight" aspects of this book. I also felt like the characters seemed to be a lot younger than their ages would suggest, perhaps because of the situations with younger siblings and family dynamics in the story. This just didn't end up feeling like an adult romance between the girl on girl drama and sibling involvement. Overall, it's a quick and easy read and I always enjoy a Christmas themed romance.

Thanks so much Netgalley and Source Casablanca for the chance to read this advanced e-copy in exchange for my honest thoughts.

* f/m romance
* childhood best friends to lovers
* fake dating (briefly)
* found family trope
* christmas theme
* dual pov

Tw: grief

Nick and Noel, the childhood best friends, who haven't seen each other in 8 years are finally reunited. Nick had served the army over these years. Now, they were both dumped by their partners, so they decided to make them jealous and... kiss each other. One fake but spectacular kiss leads to "what if..."

Nick is a hopeless romantic. He dreams of getting married and having children. Unlike him, Noel doesn't want to get involved. She lost her parents 10 years ago and she's still grieving. Now, she is scared of losing her best friend too.
But Nick knows what he wants and he will prove that their relationship is worth the risk. The communication was so good. They were so open and honest about their feelings. It's really rare in romance novels.

If my relationship isn't like theirs, I don't want it. The partner who would call me Hippogriff (compare me to a mythical bird beast)
instead of some cheesy names, who would make playlists for me, who would fight for me and stand by my side, who would tease me and make me laugh while I cry, who would accept me just the way I am, and most importantly would be my best friend. Isn't it the description of the perfect relationship?

One thing that made me mad was that Noel was forced to be friends with her bully. Nick and Gabby didn't see how much she was hurt by Amber. I'm sorry, but if someone hurted my friend, I wouldn't even speak to them.

I loved Nick's family, his supportive parents and messy, adorable sisters who rooted for Noel's and Nick's relationship. But my favorite side characters were Anthony and Pike. They reminded me of Chandler and Joey from "Friends".

Even if it is a light and warm story, the topic of the parents' death is throughout the whole book. I don't deal with a grief very well, so there were moments when I cried like a little baby.

I really recommend this book. It made me wish it was Christmas right now. I hope I can read more Codi Hall's books in the future (hopefully about Pike🤞)

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist
Codi Hall
Nick and Noel
This best friends to lovers tale features Nick and Noel. She picks him up when he musters out of the army. And the first thing he does is go over to the woman he sees as his fiancé through all the years of his deployments. But she rejects him. MeanwhileNoel finds out that her boyfriend has broken up only by seeing him with his new girlfriend on instagram. As they go out with friends a couple nights later, in walks his ex and then her ex. Nick and Noel get into a lip lock to show that they are over them, not wanting to look like chumps. But the kiss is electric for both of them. However, Noel is too scared to lose her best friend if things don’t work out and Nick feels rejected by her. But they can’t ignore what they felt and what they are coming to feel as they slide from friends to lovers.
I would recommend this book to my patrons.

This charming friends-to-lovers book gave me all the cozy feels! From all the little nods to Christmas to Nick and Noel's playlists, this book is full of heartwarming cheer!

In this duel POV, we see life-long friends Nick and Noel reunite after Nick returns from 8 years serving overseas. Their parents were close friends so when Noel's parents died when she was 16, they became her family. Noel still has hang-ups from 10 years of not dealing with the grief of her parents' death and Nick is dealing with the breakup of his long-time girlfriend Amber. Amber and Noel have a long-held rivalry from high school that is compounded by Noel now "dating" Nick (it starts out fake to make Amber mad but turns into more) and being the Maid of Honor for their mutual friend Gabby.

The story and characters are so much fun! Anthony and Pike, while slightly immature, are a hoot! Nobody likes Amber, not ever herself lol. Nick is so amazingly sweet and I loved how Nick and Noel exchanged playlists-my husband did this for me when we were dating! They're relationship, while it has its hiccups, is deep-rooted in their long-time friendship so they're bantering back and forth is endearing. You don't want to miss this sweet read to get you in the mood for Christmas!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a sweet friends-to-lovers story that I wish was less one-dimensional and much more Christmasy!

There were a lot of things to love about this book. The story was sweet and there were some solid bantering and laugh-out-loud moments. I loved the family elements and the relationship between Nick and Noel was very realistic and it was lovely to watch how they progressed from friends to lovers. I also loved all of the music references and the playlist at the end!

I was sad to see that there actually wasn't much Christmas; outside of the time of year, everyone's name, and the town, the holiday elements were pretty lacking. The story could have been picked up and plopped at any other time of year and nearly nothing would have to be changed. I just wanted more of the holiday magic!

Sadly there were a few things that got very disappointing and repetitive quickly for me. Most of the characters were one-dimensional and fell into clichés that I wish we were over in 2021. With how immature nearly everyone acted and all of the references to high school that there were, you could have told me it was YA (and not a good YA at that) and I wouldn't have doubted it. The plot and conflict got so repetitive that by the time the final scene at the concert happened I actually yelled at my book, "NO! NOT AGAIN, PLEASE!"

All in all, it wasn't a fantastic book, but it wasn't horrible either. And despite how repetitive everything got, I was surprised it didn't drag while I was reading. The pacing kept me engaged, I just wish it had lived up to my hopes for this story!

Thank you @sourcebookscasa for the #gifted copy of this book. This review is my own.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 4.5/5 Stars
🔥🔥🔥 2.5/5 Steam Rating
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝗼𝐛𝐞𝐫 5𝐭𝐡 2021

Do yourself a favor and go preorder this book now!!! This is the PERFECT romcom to snuggle up with this holiday season!

This book is a (childhood) Best Friends to Lovers trope, with a side of Fauxmance and a Small Town Romance. There’s a whole slew of characters that you’re going to fall in love with, even a villain you’ll enjoy hating! The banter between all of the characters will have you laughing and falling even more in love with them. While this is a light hearted story, the vulnerability and grief that Noel faces had me tearing up at one point.

Nick & Noel’s Christmas Playlist is brilliantly written with the perfect balance of sweet, spicy, emotional, with a dash of cat-fighting. Add in the perfect music playlist and you have yourself an delightful holiday romcom!

So why not give this a five star you ask? As a military wife AND nurse, there were a couple things that I felt were not quite realistic. Were these big things? No way. It was just something that stuck out to me since it’s the life that I live. I also would have loooooved a touch more steam, because Nick & Noel are HOTT!!!

This was a great story! I’m a big fan of romcoms and this one did not disappoint. The storyline of friends that turn into more is a common trope but I love the way it was done. The characters were relatable and likeable (well most were). I loved the supporting friendships.

Nick and Noel were best friends for the longest time. Noel had a terrible tragedy when she was younger. This caused her to keep her distance and to never be in a relationship. Nick was patient and sweet. It was wonderful to see Noel open up and let go of her fears.

The addition of music as a backdrop was fabulous! Connecting to music really made this story come alive. I will definitely read this again during the holidays.

WOOHOO! Christmas came early for me! I placed this book on my wish list, and the gods of publishing decided to bestow me an ARC copy of this book!

In rural PA, the trend of "Christmas in July" is going strong everywhere you go. In the spirit of this, I wanted to do this review as my nod to the trend.

Nick and Noel's Christmas is a gift to every fan of the friends to lovers trope. I don't know about you, but I was a HUGE fan of the anthology Let It Snow (yes, I'm slightly dating myself, but it was peak romance to my tweener 2008 brain). There was one particular short story in this clump entitled "A Cheertastic Christmas", written by John Green (a staple name in early 2000s romance). This book is giving me a huge throwback vibe to that story, as we read about the kick ass tomboy commitment-phobe heroine, and the soft cinnamon roll hero.

Our story focuses on Nick Winter, who starts the story dating his best friends high school bully. Returning home from being enlisted, he expects to have the best Christmas ever, complete with lots of canoodling by the fire. However, once he returns , his ex girlfriend has left him for a Thor wanna be. Suddenly the only predictable thing in his life is his best friend Noel, but not so predictable is the sudden hot feelings he feels for her.

Like I said, this book was SWEET in all the best ways, as we have a friends to lovers romance that felt believable. We had back story that hinted at a moment in their past, that showed feelings changed. I've read some friends to lovers romances that make you think "What? Where did this come from?". This book was relatively low angst, and high on the ooey gooey Christmas feelings. However, there were some things that annoyed me. First and foremost, I understand that Nick is the "good guy hero" but his behavior with Amber was annoying to me. I felt like he should of stood his ground more, as well as defended Noel more. Additionally, for someone who is supposedly Noels best friend, it seems out of character for him to date someone who bullied her all through high school, especially since he's so thoughtful throughout the rest of the story. Because of Nick's lack of backbone (yes I get this goes with the cinnamon roll thing... but can't we have a softy with a back bone?). Besides that, it makes me sad that he fell for the "mean blonde girl, with big boobs routine", when he had the opportunity to be with Noel. Because of this, I'm giving this four stars.

I look forward to seeing the rest of the books in the series (specifically Pike and Anthony, as well as the rest of the sisters). I loved the realistic, relatable friendships that were formed throughout the story, as well as Noel with her three musketeers in Pike, Anthony and Nick (even if it did hurt my heart over the Pike and Noel situation). That being said, please do us a favor and DO NOT give us Amber's story, I know some people like a redemption story... NOT ME, Amber is NOT salvageable. However, I would love to get Gabby and Drew's story, she seemed really fun and sweet!

Overall, I would recommend this if you're looking for a sweet, slightly steamy Christmas read. I want to thank Netgalley and Source Books Casablanca for an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Heat Level: 🔥🔥🔥
#NetGalley #NickandNoelsChristmasPlaylist

A cute Holiday friends to lovers. I loved the story of finding your true love in your best friend and taking a chance at love after loss.

I don't eve know were to start. I can say I absolutely loved this book! Everything about it from the characters to the way the story built up was really good. I was drawn in from the very beginning. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that likes romance with a little PG in it. I also loved that it was a Christmas book. Definently a 5 star book for me.Thank you for the ARC Netgalley and publisher.

DNF
I found the premise intriguing but the execution left a lot to be desired. It was like reading texts from middle schoolers trying to be sexy? The writing was immature, people don’t talk like this anywhere.

Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist is a sweet best friends to lovers romance set during the holiday season. Best friends since they were in diapers, Nick and Noel have spent the past few years apart while Nick has been stationed overseas. Now that his service is over, Nick heads home to the town of Mistletoe to finally reunite with his friends, family and really begin his life with his high school sweetheart Amber. Only things don’t go quite as expected and it doesn’t take long for Nick to realize that what he truly wants has been right in front of him this whole time.

This book is more than a sweet romance though. The author does a great job dealing with the issues of grief and trauma. Noels life turned upside down when she was in high school and it was nice to see her work though her grief and grow when she fits finally able to take the time to unpack it. The romance between Nick and Noel was sweet and steamy. The progression from friends to more than was very believable and seemed to happen naturally. The moments between our main characters and their friends (Anthony, Pike & Gabby) were hilarious and broke up the romance as well. All in all I very much enjoyed this book and it put me in the mood for Christmas! I will be saving the playlist for upcoming season.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for granting my wish and putting me in the Christmas spirit.

Don’t mind me while I am sitting on my sunny deck reading a Christmas Romance book in July. If you are looking for a fun book to get you into the holiday spirit with all the angsty moments and swoon worthy kisses, this book is it. From the adorable Christmas themed named characters to the perfect snow cover small town dripping in Christmas charm, this has everything to get you into the holiday spirit.

This has the trappings of the perfect Hallmark movie with a naught twist. Nick and Noel sizzled the pages with an undeniable chemistry that was flirty and fun. There were so many interactions that left me giddy with happiness balanced out with others that gave meaning to the story that went past superficial topics.

The humor and witty banter within the group of friends was a nice break between the will-they won’t-they tension that was slowly giving me heart palpitations. The friendships were the backbone of this story. Where true friends will call you out on your shit, but will be there the next day to help you sort it out. I adore the strong bonds between multiple characters that allow Nick and Noel to mature and grow.

This book is the perfect soundtrack to get you into the holiday spirit. There’s sadness and complexities that this book addresses, but it’s done in a way where the heaviness of the topic doesn’t overshadow the lightheartedness. I don’t want a lot of Christmas, there is just one thing I need. This book on repeat from now until December. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for granting my Christmas wish and gifting me this ARC.

A fun romance about life long friends friends who become more. Good characters and a sweet holiday story.

Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist by Codi Hall is a wonderful, funny, heartwarming, and festive contemporary romance that I truly enjoyed.

I always like a great friendship to romance narrative. If it is done right, even though it is used often, it can be truly wonderful. This was definitely in the column of wonderful. I loved the pacing, the dialogue, the humorous moments, and wit and banter. The chemistry between the two main characters: Nick and Noel is fantastic. I enjoyed their respective backgrounds, the complexities, and how they complimented each other well during the progression of the novel. I also really loved how it all played out at the end. Before I knew it, I realized that I was able to devour this book in 2 days.

I also enjoyed the literal Christmas music playlist mentioned at the end of the book! Now I am most certainly in the festive mood. Where are the Christmas cookies when you need them?

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Sourcebooks Casablanca for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.