I was looking forward to reading this book as i was given the opportunity to read it by @netgalley, however I found it to be disappointing. There were some laugh out loud moments but overall it seemed to be repetitive and rather boring. The characters were also very immature.

This is a book that will make you laugh, make your smile, make you cry, and make you fall in love. Nick and Noel are a delightful couple—best friends forever, trying to figure out their growing feelings, while dealing with exes, insecurities, and the grief that has held Noel back for 10 years. It was fun, and sometimes frustrating, as I became involved in their loves, their stories, their love. Snap this up and enjoy a great read this holiday season!

As a friends-to-lovers romance, this was precious. With a friendship that dates back to childhood, Nick and Noel had a comfort with each other that felt so authentic. As expected from the title, their shared love of music was such a sweet touch and I loved the songs sprinkled throughout the story.

Based on the title, synopsis, and the small-town setting of Mistletoe, this wasn’t as Christmasy as I expected. With Nick fresh from a breakup, much of this story involves drama from the ex-girlfriend … who was infuriating. We’re not supposed to like her, but with a lot of stereotypical mean-girl tendencies, she felt too much like a caricature to me.

There were still a lot of moments I loved. Like I said, the romance was great. I really enjoyed seeing Noel learn to open herself up to the possibility of love. And the side characters, especially the comical Pike, were wonderful. But the ongoing bullying towards Noel from the ex-girlfriend dampened the holiday cheer a bit.

This was a very cute friends to lovers story that had some great friend and family relationships in it. For me it started to feel very repetitive by the end which made it a bit boring. I enjoyed Nick and Noel's characters and loved their banter. Their characters had such great chemistry I was definitely rooting for them to end up together!

The cover alone is going to help it become a best seller for the holidays. Wow. It’s gorgeous. Well executed and super adorable!

I really loved this book right from the start. I think it captures small-town romance, friendships, and life really well. I think what I loved most about it was how real all of the small-town scenarios felt. I love the best friends to lovers trope, so I was immediately shipping Nick and Noel, but I did feel like some of their interactions were a bit awkward, or not how I envisioned them to be after the build-up. Aside from those small quirks, I blew through this book and read it in a day, and just found this to be a really fun, heartwarming, holiday read. I especially loved how the town was called Mistletoe, and all of the main character’s names were Christmas themed :) I hope we get to visit the town of Mistletoe again, because there are definitely some characters I’ll miss!

I really liked the bond between Nick & Noel, and Nick's family. To my recollection, this is the first book I've read where the female MC is a military vet, which made it stand out a bit, even though we hear almost none about that.
What lost the points are the friends, especially Amber. Over-the-top would be putting it mildly. It felt ridiculous. And being BRUTALLY honest, the music did nothing for me. The town of Mistletoe was SO IN TO CHRISTMAS that I wondered how they dealt with the other 3 seasons. (Were there no Jews?) Anyway when legit EVERY LITTLE THING IS CHRISTMAS sprinkling in Christmas music didn't feel like it added anything special.
Overall, I feel like I've seen this Hallmark movie where longtime friends suddenly break up w/their SOs and realize the other is smoking hot. Luckily I love Hallmark movies, especially when sprinkled with smutty sex scenes. I give it 3 stars but I WOULD recommend it for anyone looking for a fun holiday read.

As soon as I finished this one, I instantly started singing “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas”. I know the first day of Fall was last week, but this put me in the holiday mood and now I want to put up my tree & decorate.

Nick Winter is just coming out of the military and expecting a warm welcome home, but that all goes sour when his long time girlfriend breaks up with him. At least he can rely on his usual shifts at his family’s Christmas tree farm, endless Christmas music, and his very best friend, Noel Carter. What started out as just a fun night out, ended with a kiss that changed everything. Can Nick & Noel navigate their friendship turn more or will they lose each other in the process?

This was honestly the perfect combination between cute, sappy, corny, and funny. It was like a Hallmark Christmas movie on steroids, mixed with the movie Bridesmaids. The banter between Nick & Noel throughout the book really made me laugh. I love seeing a strong female MC who can hang with the guys, but also has flaws and issues that she needs to work on. I could definitely relate to Noel in different situations and see a little of myself in her character. I really enjoyed this one. It’s such a perfect read to get yourself in the mood for the holidays!

Thank you to Netgalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, & Codi Hall for this e-arc. Check out Nick & Noel’s Christmas Playlist out 10/5!

I've read several holiday romances this year and this is a mixed bag. It has the right elements. A town called Mistletoe, Idaho. Cheesy Christmas names, Noel, Nick and his sisters Merry and Holly. Of course Nick's family runs a Christmas tree farm. But then there are immature actions, raunchy language (not cursing but words like nut sack, dude juices), slut shaming and an over the top mean girls side storyline.

The main story is cute. Nick returns home from eight years in the military only to have his one and only girlfriend dump him. Noel has been his life long bff and on impulse to make an ex jealous the two kiss. They hash and repetativly rehash, do they want to give a relationship a try because they can't live without each others friendship. Noel has some extra baggage as her parents died ten years before on Christmas Eve and she has never been in a real relationship. Everyone is a little invested in whether the two can make a go of an relationship.

I smiled more than I cringed so I'm giving it three stars and am looking forward to the next book in the series. This book does have curse words and intimacy and I'm not complaining about those in my comments above. This story introduces several side characters that I'm sure will be ready to couple up soon. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Casablanca for the free book. This was a cute holiday-ish romance. I could’ve went for more of the Christmas elements, but I enjoyed the journey between Nick and Noel deciding if being just friends or being something more. There’s lots of drama, funny friends, and some trauma to work through. I do wish Noel had been encouraged to try therapy more by those around her. She did do a lot of growing, and I was so glad to read about how she changed as a person throughout the book. It was an overall fun story - perfect for the upcoming holiday season.

This is a friends to lovers romance at Christmas time but I think I am missing something as it seems it would be better as an audiobook. I didn't like these two, they seemed immature and while I thought I was getting a Christmas romance this turned out to be more sexy time than I like in a book. I put this down to me not being the right reader for this material and I definitely won't be reading the next in this series...But that cover is adorable.

Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist by Codi Hall. Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Casablanca for the free ARC.

Rating 3 stars
Genre Romance

When I saw this cover and synopsis, I definitely wanted to add this to my Christmas TBR! My favorite part of this whole story was that it was set in Idaho. As two Idaho girls, we always love reading stories set in our home state. I enjoyed the main characters and the overall story; however, some of the mean girl side of the story was a miss for me. Overall, I had hoped to like this one a little more than I did.

Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist is a sweet and festive story, perfect for kicking off the holiday season! Take a friends-to-lovers Hallmark-esque storyline, add a few steamy scenes and a playlist with a lot of range, and you’ve got this fun story. There were a couple aspects of the story I wish we got more of—I would’ve liked the playlist motif to be a little stronger and more frequent and to have seen the background characters personalities and relationships more. But overall, I really enjoyed this read and would definitely recommend it to those looking for fun holiday reads!

When I first started this book, I was like holy crap, what a cheesefest. Everyone has a Christmas related name and they live in a town called MISTLETOE. Really? But then I kept reading.

Nick and Noel are childhood friends who grew up together. Noel’s parents died unexpectedly when she was young, and that loss has left her jaded. When Nick comes back from his deployment and starts to reconnect with Noel, he realizes himself noticing things about her he never did before. This is such a hopeful, adorable childhood friends-to-lovers story. I enjoyed it so much, and sped through it. There is a split perspective that goes between Nick and Noel. I really enjoyed being able to see things through both of their eyes.

I will absolutely be recommending this book to everyone, especially closer to November/December. BookTok will LOVE this. Bonus- there is a whole playlist at the end of the book that includes all of the songs mentioned in the book and more (including one by Taylor Swift!).

This book is the perfect light Christmas romance. I would recommend this to fans of “In a Holidaze” by Christina Lauren and “It Happened One Summer” by Tessa Bailey.

Thank you so much to SOURCEBOOKS Casablanca (via NetGalley) for this advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

this book is so fantastic! please pick it up as soon as possible! this is so good and so cute and so wonderful and all the great and beautiful things. for realz.

I love Christmas books, so when I saw Nick and Noel's Christmas Playlist by Codi Hill I knew I was in!

The story was a cute and fun holiday romance. I listened to it on audio and really enjoyed the narration between the multiple narrators. It went quickly and was an easy listen.

I really enjoyed both of the main characters, Nick and Noel. Nick, just home from the military was really a wonderful character, just a really nice guy. The book starts out with Nick arriving home to find out that the girl he has been in love with has been cheating and dumps him. I felt rather sad for him because he thought Amanda was the girl for him. Noel, who is a nurse the perfect best friend for Nick, but after the breakup, he realizes that she has been there for him through everything and looks at her a bit differently

I did not like Nick's ex-girlfriend Amanda at all, and I thought the author spent too much time with her in the story, however, she was the perfect catalyst for some much-needed drama between Nick and Nora and their relationship.

But, this isn't your typical Hallmark Christmas movie type story, there are some pretty steamy sex scenes thrown in., but I will admit, it did help spice up the otherwise typical story.

There were a few things that I did not like about the books, the first being that I felt it was WAY too close to Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, and I thought that Hall could have been steered from what seemed like a reliance on that story.

Also, there were times, a lot of them actually, where I felt both the main characters and the secondary characters were so immature in their actions, but maybe, being older, I was not the target audience for this book. However I do read YA books and have really enjoyed them, so I am not so sure that was the problem.

But of course, being a music lover, I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the books and the audio ( I used them both ) was the excellent playlist at the end.

All in all, it was a cute read.

Noel: “Glad to be back home?”
Nick: “Absolutely. In fact, I may make a special playlist about what home means to me.”

When Nick Winter comes home to stay after serving in the military, he is shocked when his long-time girlfriend dumps him. Similarly, Nick’s best friend Noel, an orphan who has known Nick since they were in diapers, is surprised when her hook-up partner posts a romantic picture with a different girl on social media. To save face in front of their exes whilst at a bar celebrating Nick’s homecoming, Nick and Noel share a passionate kiss on the dance floor…what should have been awkward turns out to be very enjoyable! But Noel, who is no stranger to loss, has a hard time committing; is it worth risking her relationships with Nick and his family, some of the only people that Noel is close with, for a chance at something more? Things get even more complicated when Nick and Noel’s exes try to rekindle their relationships and some of Nick and Noel’s friends reveal a few unexpected holiday surprises.

Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist is a sexy slowburn “friends to lovers” holiday romance novel that uses the fake dating trope. This book would be perfect for lovers of The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, and Hang the Moon by Alexandria Bellefleur. This book deals with themes such as death and loss, love and heartbreak, character, overcoming fear, family, female roles, loneliness, reunion, war, vulnerability, as well as inner and outer strength. The moral of the story, as Noel comes to realise, is that you shouldn’t let your fears of loss and heartbreak keep you away from romance and love; “[she] realised that by pushing her parents and past away, she hadn’t been able to move forward with her life. It left her stunted and closed to all of the possibilities life had for her, including love.”

First off, Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist exceeded my expectations! I loved how there were a lot of chart toppers and Christmas songs referenced throughout this book. Nick has the perfect playlist for every type of occasion and there is even a playlist included at the end of the book—I will definitely be listening to this non-stop in December! I liked how even though this book was “Christmasy” (e.g. Nick’s family’s Christmas tree farm, the Mistletoe Christmas Concert, as well as a lot of the main characters’ names), it wasn’t overdone. Although ideally suited for the Christmas season, Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist could be read at any time of the year. Lastly, I’d like to share one of my favourite quotes from the book that I think perfectly describes Nick and Noel’s unique relationship: “Unicorns are overrated. You’re a Hippogriff.”

Some minor cons for me were that this book was a bit of a tear-jerker because Noel does a lot of reminiscing about her late parents. Also, even though it was comical, I was not a fan of the stripper show at Brews and Chews, followed by finding Nick’s ex-girlfriend, Amber, to be extremely annoying; she kept on showing up even though it was clear that she was an unwanted source of conflict for the other characters. Lastly, I found that all the drama going on at the end of the book got wrapped up unrealistically fast.

Since this is the first book in Codi Hall’s Mistletoe Romance book series, I am really hoping that there will be another story featuring these wonderful characters. It would be great to find out if anything happens between Nick’s sister Holly and her “Grinch” of a neighbour because there seemed to be some flirting going on. Overall, Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist was a fun, engaging, and romantic read that is perfect for Christmastime!

Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist was one of my most anticipated holiday releases of 2021. Unfortunately, this book is more juvenile antics and mean girls than holiday spirit and festive fun.

This book had so much potential. I loved the setup: lifelong best friends who had been mostly apart for the last eight years while Nick was in the service. Nick’s family took Noel in after the death of her parents and love her like their own. I love books with big families, lots of love, and close friendships...this could have had so much emotional depth between their history and Noel's grief, and, while it had its moments, it focused far too much on the mean girl aspect of Nick’s ex and petty jealousy from both her and Noel’s ex (who wasn’t really her ex so much as a bed buddy). Between that and the often-childish dialogue (and really stiff, awkward dialogue to boot) I often felt like I was reading a book about teens rather than a pair of late-twenty-somethings.

I had high hopes of this one being a hit for me, but it was a complete miss.

I was really excited for this one, but I got to chapter two and I just couldn't do it. Nick and Noel, ok chistmasy names but not terrible, Then the sisters being Merry and Holly and living in the town of Mistletoe I just couldn't. It felt way to hallmark for me, and that is not my type of read.

I could not get enough of this sweet friends to lovers Christmas romance, and all of the other characters in Mistletoe. The friendships and family dynamics were so incredibly wholesome and charming. However, there is angst and loss in this book that is dealt with really well in my opinion. It added so much depth to each character and made it go above and beyond your typical Christmas romance. Watching these characters grow and mature was so rewarding.

The romance between Nick and Noel was so sweet. It started out with a brief fake dating that turned into real dating with two friends trying to explore their chemistry and attraction to each other. I’m not normally a friends to lovers trope fan, but this one was expertly done! I definitely recommend picking this up.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Casablanca, and the author for kindly sending me this e-arc in exchange for my honest review. This book is out 10/5/21!