I've read most Amanda Radley books, and I love Christmas books, so it was a no-brainer that I was going to read this one. I really enjoyed it, lots of Christmas fun and sweetness and a sweet romance, too.
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Five stars if you are looking for Christmas content; three stars if you are looking for romance, so I am splitting the difference and giving this one 4 stars.

Oh, who doesn't like Christmas stories? 'Tis the season, right? Amanda Radley is fun to read, so this book is no exception. But, even though quite nicely written, I feel like it should've been a bit romance in it - it felt a bit rushed and it kind of got me the feeling '' Oh Lord, finally!''...
Also, I'd love to see A. Radley's novels become just a tad less G/PG-rated.

Known as "Christmas Girl," in her company, Ellie Pearce is abruptly promoted demoted when CEO Rosalind Caldwell's personal assistant quits. The Caldwell & Atkinson Christmas party is really well-known and a parting remark by the last PA makes Rosalind think that she might need a miracle to make sure that this year's party goes off without a hitch. Is Ellie that miracle? Rosalind doesn't think so at first but she eventually begins to see how Ellie's understated charms and wicked smarts might just save Christmas after all.
This is definitely a quiet story but and enjoyable one all the same. There was a little too much focus on Ellie's issues and the fact that she worked miracles in spite of them but otherwise a nice story.

Four stars
This book comes out December 14th, 2021
ARC kindly provided by Bold Strokes Books, Inc.
Opinions are my own

The book was okay. Given that it was very predictable, I was surprise how much I enjoyed the story. The characters were lovable. The party sounded amazing. This sweet romance will bring a smile to your face. I recommend 4.5 stars


Thank you NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books Inc for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As you probably know I’m a fan of Ms Radley’s books, long before she’d moved to BSB. Her first two books using this publisher were ok but not what I was used to reading. Ms Radley is one of those rare writers who can make me laugh out loud.
Being a fan of Ms Radley's helped me get over the first part of ‘Humbug’ that I found a little dull. Now when some books I read are slow I just shelved them but being a fan I decided to go a few more chapters. Glad I did.
Ellie Pearce wasn’t doing the job she envisioned for herself after her years spent at university. But after being turned down for every job she applied for she decides if she wants to keep a roof over her head she’d have to find something, anything. That’s how she finds herself working at Caldwell & Atkinson, a recruiting company. Now Ellie loved Christmas so much she celebrated it year round keeping her desk covered in decorations earning her the nickname ‘Christmas Girl’.
Rosalind Caldman, CEO of C&A was someone who worked just as hard, if not harder than most of her employees. The one thing she let someone else do was plan the annual Christmas party where not only the employee’s but their clients are welcome as well. Plus each year Rosalind wanted a different theme, hopefully surpassing the last party's success. But when her assistant quits with only a few weeks left before the party’s date she has to look for someone to take the lead on this project. Seemed to her that ‘Christmas Girl’ would be perfect to take the reins, finishing the planning. Big problem when they find all the work done so far was lost.
Now Ellie finds herself doing a task she’d never done before, all with Rosalind looking over her shoulder. Ms Radley does a great job turning what could have been a bust into a very enjoyable read.
ARC via NetGalley/ Bold Stroke Books

“Humbug” by Amanda Radley is an age-gap, workplace romance that takes place around Christmas.

Ellie Pearce loves Christmas and is known at her office as “Christmas Girl” for her year-round decorations. A few weeks before the annual office Christmas party she is given a new job as personal assistant to the CEO, Rosalind Caldwell.

Ellie has never planned a party before and especially not as one as infamous as their corporate party, which is known to be the party of the year. Also hindering her is the fact that the former assistant canceled all the plans she had made up to that point to get back at Rosalind. Ellie has a debilitating fear of heights which she’s also trying to overcome with her move up to the 22nd floor.

One of the things I really liked about this is that Radley went a bit off script with Rosalind. Most of the women in power in her stories are ice queens and Rosalind isn’t here. She’s dedicated to her job and her daughter but she’s shown to be a funny, caring person for the most part. I liked how Rosalind and Ellie respected and got to know one another as people as well as boss/employee.

While I did enjoy this as a nice Christmas read, I wouldn’t go into this looking for love and romance. There is a sweet, slow-burn romance but it doesn’t really come up until the last 25% or so (if that.) The majority of the books revolves around the planning of the Christmas party and everything that entails. I did like the message of this about the spirit of Christmas and it did feel festive overall.

My main issue with this was that there seemed to be a lot of telling rather than showing when it came to interactions between Ellie and Rosalind. They don’t spend a lot of time together but things get summarized to show they’re getting closer. I would have preferred to see the scenes rather than spend as much time as we did on everything else. A good portion of the book is Ellie working on the party and her dealing with her fear of heights.

I also didn’t love how vague Radley is about the characters. We know there’s an age-gap but are never told the ages of either character. There’s also no description given of either Ellie or Rosalind which hindered my enjoyment a little too. I’m one of those people who can see scenes play out in my head as I read and so they were both shadow people to me since I had nothing to go off of.

All in all, I think this is a sweet, heart-felt story. I think if you’re in the mood for a Christmas tale where the focus isn’t the romance, you’ll definitely enjoy this.

I received an ARC from Bold Strokes Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Humbug
Amanda Radley, 2021
New Release! A copy of this book was provided by Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Premise: Ellie is in the wrong job, but she figures she can just keep her head down. But when her love of Christmas decorations gets her promoted and tasked with saving the company Christmas party, she'll have to rise to the occasion, despite a debilitating fear of heights and a growing crush on her Christmas-hating new boss.

Oh, this was lovely. It might be one of my favorite Christmas romances I've ever read, in fact.

Ellie's obsession with Christmas is important to the plot, but her heartfelt reasons for it don't step over the line into too schmaltzy. Rosalind's dislike of the holidays is grounded, not extreme or petty, so their eventual compromises seem reasonable.

The romance builds steadily and sweetly. They both respect each other's competence, which I love, and work around each other's particular needs gladly. The main obstacles are circumstance (Ellie is currently Rosalind's assistant) and each woman's belief that the other couldn't be interested, so those are easily remedied once they get on the same page.

The main plot about rescuing the Christmas party is full of fun details and believable obstacles and solutions. Both Ellie and Rosalind are wonderfully kind and gentle around each other's most significant challenges (Ellie's fear of heights, and Rosalind is supremely protective of her immuno-compromised daughter.)

I didn't need the flash-forward epilogue, that felt excessive to me, and the physical element was pretty tame compared to most of what I read, but overall I loved this.

Humbug follows Ellie, a Christmas obsessed woman who works at a dead end job in a recruitment office. Ellie’s boss, Rosalind, surprises Ellie one day by making her become her own personal assistant after hers quit unannounced. Ellie is left with no choice but to take the job and soon finds that Rosalinds last assistant sabotaged the biggest party of the year and it’s her job to fix it.

This book was exactly what I thought I was looking for. It has a workplace romance between the boss and her newly promoted assistant and it was a sapphic Christmas romance, which is what I wanted to read this time of year. Unfortunately this book didn’t hit the mark for me. It was very heavy on what was happening within the workplace and not so much on the romance. Due to the lack of focus on the relationship, it was left feeling rushed and unnatural. The relationship was also only at the very end of the book and with this book being labeled as a romance it felt like there was not enough. Overall this book just wasn’t for me, but it is still a cute Christmas story for those who want one!

The synopsis of this book sounded like a very cute office romance, but reading the first quarter of the book, there was not a hint of romance in sight. It was moreso a story about someone planning the office Christmas party, which didn't interest me very much. Because of this, I didn't finish the book.

A cute Heart warming holiday romance.
Two person pov, Rosalind and Ellie.
A nice quick chrismassy, feel good book.

It felt very predictable and would have liked to feel more of a connection/spark between them.

Special thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this one. Again the age gap this authors loves worked very well for me. And although i really love the ice quuen trope, I also enjoyed that the MC here is not that much of an ice queen even in the beginning. I also liked that she had a kid and only a little standoffish because she was worried. Yeah so again a winner for me. Thanks.

This book was ok, nothing to write home about. In some ways I found Ellie very relatable, and the handling of her phobia was done accurately but also sensitive. Unfortunately aside from those things the characters weren’t anything special, and the book didn’t give me the festive warm fuzzies

A Christmassy office-based romance between high flying Rosalind and number crunches Ellie.

This is my first Amanda Radley book and I enjoyed the style although some elements (Ellie's fear of heights) were played up so much that it felt repetitive at times.

The Christmas party sounded magical and almost made me want to be there! A cute read (and kudos to the cover designer - gorgeous).

If you are looking for a sweet, holiday read, this is the book for you. When Rosalind finds she lost another assistant, and a vindictive one at that, she has to find a PA that can put together a last minute Christmas celebration for the company and its very important clients. A long comes Ellie, with her year round Christmas spirit and no experience what-so-ever of being a PA or putting together an enviable party. Ellie has to head up to the top floor of Rosalind's high tower environment....by the way, Ellie is literally scared to death of heights...what could go wrong.

If you enjoy the Ice Queen/boss-employee relationships, you will enjoy this book. I will say though, there isn't much initial romance, or really much interaction between the MCs, That was really the only issue I had with the story, no chemistry because really no romance unless you count that last few pages of the book. Don't get me wrong, you do really get to know the MCs, and the daughter, just not really together. I got more romance and love feelings in the epilog only really, BUT it still is a cute story of overcoming fears, a can do attitude and yes romance in the end.

I am not very familiar with Ms. Radely's books, but even though I had some struggle with this one, I will look for more from this author because I do enjoy her writing style and making her MCs likable even if they don't interact romantically during the story telling.

I received an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, but would have written the same opinion if I had come across this author on my own.

To see my Amazon review, it is under CC-Cute but not much romance

Thanks to NetGalley and Bold Strokes Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Ellie is known at work as Christmas Girl. She has garnered a reputation as someone who loves Christmas so much she listens to carols all year round. When she is promoted to be the CEO's PA she is given the task of organising an impossible Christmas Party. Throughout the book, Ellie and her boss, Rosalind, get to know each other and fall in love.

This book is very sweet and wholesome despite the taboo nature of the Ellie and Ros' positions. While there were some plot issues and loose ends, I really enjoyed the book because I am a sucker for a holiday romance. This is the second Amanda Radley novel I've read this year and I have to say, while I wish there was more romantic tension between the MCs, she writes really great kissing scenes that I feel with my whole heart.

I recommend this to anyone who likes a Hallmark Christmas movie, and wants a nice quick holiday read.

Overall, I give this book a 3.5/5 stars and will probably pick up another book by the author soon!

I enjoyed the sweet holiday romance. I liked the characters, dynamics and mixed tropes. I felt like Ellie's experience in the high rise apartment was very realistically written. I wish more information was given on the daughter's health challenges since Rosalind was written to sound neurotic about issues surrounding her care without more context. I wouldn't have even realized there were no sex scenes if I hadn't read other reviews after the fact. This book was perfectly fine without it. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

When reading an Amanda Radley book you know you can expect a romance, no intimate scenes but when she's at her best you'll get a great romantic experience with witty banter, great connection between the characters and a quite fullfilling reading experience.
In Humbug she throws in several tropes: boss/employee, age-gap, ice queen and that all in the very festive Christmas theme. Even though Ms Radley drew me in and I was interested in seeing what would happen to poor Ellie who loves Christmas and all of sudden gets to be in charge of the annual Christmas party at work. For a romance it didn't get going until maybe after 50% of the book. Since the romance moves slow I needed more reading time with Rosaling and Ellie together...the second half of the book was good start, but for me, not enough to believe in a happily ever after.

***Thank you Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for giving me the opportunity to review this book***

Humbug is a holiday romance that features two of my favourite tropes - ice queen with an age gap.
Rosalind is an icy boss who thaws for Ellie, her young, naive EA. The relationship development between the two was confusing in a way. One second their boss and employee, the next it felt as though Rosalind begins to fancy Ellie without really knowing her. It jumped a bit in this part of the story development.

Humbug is a very sweet romance though with a great festive feel to it.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bold Strokes Books for a copy of this novel. ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

When you set out to read an Amanda Radley book you pretty much know what you are in for when it comes to the romance. I think that is why this one was a bit of a let down. When I read a Radley book I expect lots of interaction between the characters, banter, joking, that at some point culminates into sparks and tentative steps into a romance. This one was slightly different.

This book covers a lot of tropes, office romance, age gap, opposites attract and the obvious holiday theme. So lots of things to consider here. Ellie gets ripped from her boring, yes very boring, existence by her boss Rosalind. She gets promoted demoted to Rosalind’s PA, she needs Christmas Girl to save her Christmas party. That’s basically how the mess starts. Rosalind doesn’t even know Ellie’s real name until Ava, Rosalind’s daughter comes in at just the right time. Ellie has acrophobia, severe fear of heights. And I mean it, it’s rather extreme and a lot of the story revolves around how she deals with her phobia. There isn’t a lot of interaction between Rosalind and Ellie for I’d say 50% of the book and I was just wondering where it was going. Radley’s writing is entertaining enough to keep me going but it took a little too long to get into full swing. The next 50% was much more fun, with the expected banter and joking, and finally seeing the characters growing towards each other. Still not extremely believable, I don’t necessarily see how they could become a couple, but it’s ok. I like it enough to just roll with it.
I have no real idea of their age, but it is mentioned on several occasions that there is a big difference. I gathered Ellie is mid to late twenties and I suspect Rosalind to be in her forties. Ellie seems so much older than the years I assume her to be, I’m not sure what to think about it.

As for hitting all the tropes, when working with an age gap I need to know the gap, it’s just this thing I have. And it is intensified by it being a workplace, even worse boss-employee relationship. Even if this line isn’t necessarily crossed. I do like that Radley points this out as well, or rather Rosalind talks about the power imbalance in these situations. And the holiday theme is omnipresent so it’s nice for all you festive people, I’m with Rosalind on this, I actually like this new term Humbug to describe us not too interested in Christmas people.

Anyway, this is pretty much what you’d expect from a Radley book, but it just kicks into gear a bit later than I would’ve liked. It’s an enjoyable enough holiday themed romance. Even if it takes forever to go there.