Wow! This fun novella was everything I wanted is an angsty, steamy holiday read! It wasn't the most graphic, with really only 1-2 descriptive scenes, but the tension and angst was perfection. I also really loved the neurodiversity that was represented in the main character! It was a perfectly sweet yet spicy Christmas book. A enemies to lovers co-worker romance that is perfect for this season. Highly recommend! This was the first book by this author that I read and I know I will read more of her stuff in the future!

Story: 4.5 ⭐️
Steam: 4 🔥 med smut - slow burn but worth the wait!

This novella was absolutely adorable. I enjoyed it from start to finish! Our heroine is sweet and spunky and our hero is grumpy and protective. This is definitely a book you want to curl up with every December 👌🏻 it’s going on my annual Christmas read list!

This was an absolutely delightful holiday novella!

Honestly, the comparisons to The Hating Game and You’ve Got Mail are perfect, especially if you have always been a little salty that The Shop Around the Corner had to close at the end. Not only that, this is a surprise hockey romance, which was such a fun discovery! The scene at the hockey game and what came after might be my favorite in the whole book!

Gabby and Jonathan work together in a local bookshop, so this is a forced-proximity grumpy/sunshine workplace romance with tons of layers to it, including an epistolary side! I can’t believe how much she managed to put into this novella, but I could have read their story all day! It also slow burns so well, and there were so many soft moments that I found myself smiling nearly the whole time while reading. There’s really great representation (I especially appreciated the T1D rep!) but that’s something this author always does so well!

This gave off such heartwarming holiday vibes, I absolutely recommend you put it on your holiday TBR and for any time of year you’re craving a sweet burst of romance and fun!

A perfect, cozy holiday romance novella to get in the right spirits for Christmas and all the joy of love!

This is my first book by Chloe Liese (despite the fact that I have all the books in the Bergman Brothers series as physical copies, I know, shame on me) and I was definitely not disappointed. It is not a full-length novel, which makes it the most perfect read to dive into when it's dark and snowing outside with a cup of hot chocolate and warm blankets surrounding you. which was exactly what I did when reading the book

I adore the main characters AND their bickering AND their workplace rivalry AND the looks and the small touches... To be honest, it is incredible how a book, not even a full-length one at that too, can bring so much joy while reading! And apparently also when I try to write this review and once again falls in love with it.

The Mistletoe Motive isn't just a cozy, adorable workplace rivals romance, but it also has great representation; Gabriella is autistic and demisexual and Jonathan has Diabetes type 1. It is great to finally have found an author who portrays it more like it truly is in the reality, from my perspective, (but obviously this depends from person to person!!) and not just something authors do to get cred for "inclusiveness".

Also, I need to point out how much I love and enjoy when a story doesn't have unnecessary drama or a conflict that's been dragged out. Top points for that!!

It’s December 1st and this is the perfect Christmas story to start your holiday reading! This is a romance story that has sunshine and grumpy , rivals-hate to love dynamic.

Jonathan and Gabriella have such a sweet, slow burn, witty, funny and emotional relationship. Their relationship was such a fun thing to read, seeing them go from bickering back and forth to having sweet moments and I loved seeing ace rep in a romance book. The way Chloe wrote Gabriella and her being demisexual was so special to me to be able to relate, feel valid and seen in a romance book is the most comforting thing.

This christmas book is hands down one of my favorite that I have read. It is so much fun and it is An #OwnVoices story with autism rep, demisexuality and type 1 diabetes

2021 Winter Bingo (#SnowInLoveBingo❄️): Winter Wonderland

Content Note: [toxic ex-boyfriend who won’t leave heroine alone (hide spoiler)]

A wintry Christmas delight. Chloe Liese’s craft is so good — everything is tightly intertwined and nothing is superfluous. A+ execution of “the heroine thinks the hero hates her and the reader is screaming at the heroine for not realizing that he’s loved her for ages.” The You’ve Got Mail retelling aspect is faithful for the opposites-attract personality clash but deviates in interesting ways. Gabby’ ex being the heir of a big chain bookstore… perfect subversion, haha. I also appreciated eliminating the more cringe/deceptive aspects of the source material. I loved the autistic/anxiety/demisexual rep for the heroine and the Type I Diabetes rep for the hero.

There’s some bookstore-related plot points that I *highly* question, but I waved my quibbles away. Let’s just pretend it’s a fantasy world without Amazon and that ebook/audio retailer rights work differently, lol.

This is a Kobo Original, but I definitely think it’s worth the effort to download the Kobo app if you’re intrigued by the blurb. There’s a Kobo-exclusive audiobook as well if you prefer that option.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I admit I was a tad nervous that this wasn’t in the same world as the beloved Bergman Brothers series. I was worried for nothing! Chloe nailed this one with the banter and snark — So much snark between this pair. The tension and buildup was toe curling good and had me on the edge of my seat in anticipation of THE moment.

Grab a cozy blanket and a peppermint hot cocoa for:
* a slow burn romance that will set you aflame
* Bookstore workplace rivals
* Neurodiverse, demisexual female lead and a type 1 diabetic male lead
* Enemies to lovers
* Perfect for fans of You’ve Got Mail

Listen, Chloe is my favorite author and Christmas is my favorite holiday. So I knew this was going to be a winner. But I was still somehow blown away (as always) by Chloe's lyrical word-smithing, her ability to singe me with a slow burn and to bring representation to her page seamlessly, because everyone truly does deserve a love story.

I'm not an e-book highlighter by nature, but I always find myself highlighting passages in Chloe's books. Jonathan and Gabriella have this beautiful exchange in which they say "Thank you for trusting me" and reply "Thank you for being safe to trust", and if that just doesn't wrench your romance-loving heart, then well, I don't know what will.

Being a relatively new bookstore employee, I see so much of my day to day in the nuances of this book, so I absolutely loved that part, but book lovers will totally identify with Gabby and Jonathan's passion for their store. I'm a sucker for a romance set in a bookstore, so that just added to my enjoyment of this one.

If you only have room for a few holiday romances this year, I highly suggest you consider this one.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a mild to moderate steam rating.

What a wonderful holiday novella!
I would say if you loved/liked The Hating Game definitely read this. Jonathan and Gabriella have Lucy and Josh vibes for sure! I loved their interactions from the first moment and they just got better and better!
The humor was spot on too. I kept giggling to myself the whole time reading this. I probably looked nuts if anyone was watching me! The story was the perfect length and the writing flowed nicely.
This is an own voices story too which is really awesome.
If you’re searching for a romance to devour in one sitting look no further!
Tropes here are: grumpy/sunshine, office/work romance, forced proximity, snowed in & enemies to lovers.

The Mistletoe Motive is a holiday romance that feels like a warm and cozy “blanket of festive bliss.”

ARC Review and Recommendation: Mistletoe Motive by Chloe Liese

This was my first time involved in a release blitz and it was fun participating, especially because I loved this romance so much. I ended up purchasing the audiobook and just started in on the way to work this morning🥰! Thank you @valentine_pr_ @netgalley @kobobooks and @chloe_liese for giving me this ARC.

“From the author of THE BERGMAN BROTHERS series comes a slow-burn, enemies-to-lovers holiday romance, perfect for fans of THE HATING GAME and YOU'VE GOT MAIL.”

Things I loved:
💌You’ve Got Mail vibes
🥊Enemies to lovers trope
🎄A joyful holiday queen vs Scrooge
📚Romance among books… on a ladder (Atonement anyone??)
🔥Slow, delicious burn
❄️Christmas/winter lines and metaphors (e.g. “hit me like a snowball to the solar plexus”)
☺️A stern hero who blushes
🌨Light conflict
🗣So much representation! Type 1 DM, Autism, Demisexuality
🙋‍♀️Heroine POV (Epilogue is the hero’s 🔥)
🙃 The joyful mood this book put me in 🤗
🎧 A perfect holiday playlist I’ve had on repeat

#ownvoices #chloeliese #themistletoemotive #holidayromance #enemiestolovers #kobobooks #kobooriginals #neurodivergent #workplaceromance #slowburn #youvegotmail #RomCom #disability #oppositesattract

Bookstore, talking books online, P and P, hockey, grumpy and sunshine, and the holidays- Sign me up!! Let's be honest this one had me at the author but you add in all those and normal Chloe writing and you get pure snowflake magic for this one! It's a longer novella so you get full storyline and plot build up. The setting, the leading peps, the flow and the slow burn were all just wonderful. I just loved this one so much!

This is one of the best holiday books out there!
Can I ask for more of this series with the roommates getting a HEA!! Pretty Please!

5 stars
3.5 steam (library ladder!!!)


Thanks to the author and PR firm for a copy of this book!

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this "own voice" Christmas story. What I got was a fantastic Christmas romance that had a You've Got Mail vibe to it. The author created a character who is on the autism spectrum, just as she is. Gabriella is highly functional, but is affected by many of the autism characteristics, such as not being able to decipher social clues very well, being assaulted by loud noises and often finding certain materials or clothing uncomfortable.

So how has she worked alongside her nemesis, Jonathan Frost, for over a year in the close confines of a small bookstore without sharing her condition with him? Maybe... he's picked up on more than she thought. Maybe... he likes her more than she thought. He's a prickly type. At least with Gabriella. He has his own issues that he hasn't shared with her, either. Also, she loves everything Christmas and he hates it! What???

This was a super cute story of two people learning to work together without anger, learning to listen with compassion and learning to deal with each other's situations and becoming a whole lot closer because of it.

I was gifted a copy of this book by Valentine PR. All thoughts are my own.

I was wholly unprepared for how much I would love The Mistletoe Motive! I could not put it down! This is my first Chloe Liese book, and I am obsessed! Her writing is delightfully funny and sweet. The characters are incredibly dynamic and endearing. I knew this would be a fun holiday novella, but it exceeded any of my expectations. Brew some cocoa, curl up by the fire and prepare thyself for this heartwarming, cheer-filled, steamy holiday romance!

“My heart swan dives off a snowbank and lands in a pillow of powdery glee. I smile so hard, my cheeks hurt. And then I impulsively type something so f*****g horrifying, I screech as soon as I hit send…”

The Mistletoe Motive is a clever, unique, swoon-worthy holiday romance. In this fantastically beguiling romcom, Gabby is hellbent on saving Bailey’s bookshop, despite opposition from her scroogeish co-manager. Johnathan Frost is a quiet, broody brass tacks type whose arctic glare creates a cold front worthy of his last name. The chemistry crackles between Gabby and Jonathan as Gabby fills the bookshop with holiday cheer and Jonathan’s frosty demeanor begins to thaw. I was giggling non-stop at Gabby’s clever antics. Jonathan is Darcy-level swoon-worthy.

“If I could but know his heart, everything would become easy.”


I am thoroughly enamored with Chloe Liese’s relatable characters, authentic dialogue, and sweet & steamy storytelling! Thank you for sharing part of your human experience and putting your heart & soul into this instant-classic holiday romance!

This was such a fun and quick holiday read! I’m usually not big on the enemies-to-lovers troupe, but I actually really enjoyed it in this book. Gabby and Johnathon have great chemistry and I liked how much they both loved the bookstore and how they manifested in different ways.

I’m not an own voices reviewer for any aspect of this book, so I can’t speak to the representation, but I do think it was woven well into this story.

My one issue is that I would have liked this book to be dual pov. Overall, I really enjoyed this one!

5 STARS!

"Good of you to join us...three minutes late."
I hate him. He's the prickly holly leaf in the Fraser fir garland of my life."

Oh, this was SO GOOD!!! This book was The Hating Game and the film You've Got Mail all rolled into one delicious and fun Christmas package.

I really don't read a lot of Christmas books or novellas unless they are follow ups to favorite characters of mine. But after a string of darker reads, I needed something fun and this was just what the doctor ordered.

I loved Gabby and Jonathan's enemies-to-lovers dynamic. And this had all the Christmas spirited forced proximity situations my black heart could desire...like getting caught beneath the mistletoe, even though they "loathe" each other.

I had not read this author before but I own Always Only You and it's been burning a hole on my shelves for months. I've heard excellent things. Well now you better believe I will be reading that series VERY soon!!

I loved the characters, the writing, the way the author captured the delicate emotions between these two characters and, of course, the romance!

And don't let that sweet cover fool you. This book is HOT! It's a slow burn but, I'm telling you, it was well worth the wait and I was here for it. This was open door, grade-A steam.

Chloe Liese is an absolutely incredible writer and she doesn’t disappoint with this very lovely Christmas romance!

This book was just a big Christmas hug! I couldn’t stop giggling and smiling because of how sweet it was! But along with the sweet there was also tension which I live for!!! Chloe Liese writes grumpy x sunshine books like no other and this was another exemplary example of her talent! Chloe’s writing is always so lyrical and beautiful and atmospheric. I’m always so swept up into the story when I’m reading her books. I don’t know how she does it... but everything she writes is just plain beautiful. I’m left with this feeling of wholeness and comfort and safety in every book she writes. Even if I don’t have direct experience with whatever she’s talking about, I *feel* it. She’s so incredibly talented.

This book was a perfect combination of The Hating Game and You’ve Got Mail mixed with the holidays and Chloe’s brilliant writing. It’s simply amazing! This book is pure Christmas JOY. The sheer amount of joy and happiness and holiday-ness I felt was just absurdly amazing. Not surprisingly, I was smiling the entire time just absorbing all the amazingness of this book.

If you love grumpy x sunshine, a very hot hockey player who also happens to be insanely grumpy, and a girl who is a big ball of sunshine and joy (with a scene that involves a P&P Mr. Darcy hand flex moment!!!!!) you will absolute love this book! It is perfect for the holidays and frankly I’ll probably read it any time of year because of my love for it!

*Thank you so much to Chloe Liese and Valentine PR for an arc in exchange for an honest review.*

Once again, Chloe knocks it out of the park. This sweet Christmas novella brings some of my favorite things together – Christmas, hot chocolate, bookstores, grumpy/sunshine, hockey, and people who feel misunderstood who just want to be loved for who they are.

This book brings awareness to individuality in a way that is both joyful and hopeful. Chloe writes characters who are vulnerable, “different,” and incredibly brave.

Some of my very favorite things about this book:
-It’s a book about other books – Jonathan and Gabriella both talk about other books and tropes, like one bed tropes, historical romance, etc., and so do Mr. Reddit and MCAT. Love blossoms from learning about others love, and it becomes an all-encompassing approach to different types of love.
-The joy – there’s an energy of joy in this book that you want to feel during the holiday seasons, and yet Jonathan is Mr. Frost about the holidays. Gabby brings that energy and joy enough for the both of them, and it’s beautiful to witness that joy spread to everyone she touches.
-Vulnerability. There is so much vulnerability in these pages, and especially for a novella, I feel like that vulnerability allows the reader to get close to the main characters quickly.
-Diversity. I love that Chloe writes characters that aren’t often seen in books. She really GOES THERE and it works so well in her stories, it feels authentic, genuine, and real. I know other people will read this story and identify with the characters, maybe for the first time in their lives. I’m grateful for Chloe’s bravery in writing on tough subjects.
-The playlist Chloe provides for the read along is SUPER fun! Check it out on Spotify here!

While I don’t typically read novellas (I prefer like, 400+ pages to get to know my characters), I seriously fell fast and hard for this story. Plus, it’s STEAMY, because… ROMANCE PEOPLE!

Rating:
5 Stars
Steam Level: 3

I'm really loving these shorter Christmas stories and this was no different.

The Mistletoe Motive is a short swoony Christmas story set in a bookstore in New York. Jonathan Frost is the quintessential Christmas grump and the co-manager of the store Gabby Di Natale is full of Christmas cheer.

We have both a MC with Autism and a MC with diabetes and I love Chloe's representation of both. No one looks at diabetes and thinks swoon. But it's real life for so many people and it's relatable. What Chloe does is weave romance through these realistic, inclusive scenarios and makes them sexy. Again her representation of autism in her hero taught me so much, it's something close to my heart and I'm forever impressed with the way Chloe authentically portrays neuro-diversity.

This was singular POV so we missed out on Jonathan's POV but for this story it really worked. Being neuro-divergent some of Gabby's struggles aren't the same as everyone else's and part of that is not being able to read Jonathan well. Having Jonathan's POV would have made his feelings too obvious and detracted from the mystery and the romance.

Received an Advanced Reader’s Copy from the publisher through ValentinePR as part of the blog tour in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

The Mistletoe Motive is everything a good enemies-to-lovers lover would love. Except, perhaps because it’s set during Christmas or just because it’s Chloe Liese who’s written it, the book is sweeter than any other you’d find off the shelf in its genre. It’s sweet from the very beginning.

Without giving away too much, I can say that TMM definitely reads a little like The Hating Game and You’ve Got Mail had a baby together. I won’t lie, in the first few pages it reminded me a little too much of The Hating Game before the differences started appearing and the similarities fading. That being said, I think any grouch vs. sunshine book is going to remind us of The Hating Game *shrug*.

However, Chloe brings a lot of emotion into her stories in a way that I’m really starting to recognise. Her side characters are as well layered and complex as her protagonists and her protagonists are *chef’s kiss*. I have never had any complaints with her books and frankly I was thankful this was a novella because Chloe is the QUEEN of slow burn and angst and she’s burnt my fingers off with my own Kindle before.

Chloe and good rep are like me and food. When one exists the other has to exist. Her books are, for me, some of the most relatable work I’ve read and The Mistletoe Motive only continues to prove it. She also draws beautiful images of the coziest book store ever and I was so envious of fictional characters it was getting absurd. Truly, this book is a book nerd’s demise and we will walk into it willingly. What a way to go.

::imagine GIF of Katniss screaming “I VOLUNTEER” here please::

The book is a treat in every sense and I highly highly recommending this lovely, humour-filled, delicious (literally because of all the talk of food) read to anyone who wants a quick experience of Christmas before it arrives. Five stars.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Thank you to @kobobooks , @valentine_pr_ and @netgalley for the ARC. The Mistletoe Motive is available now via Kobo (you can find it on the Kobo app). Thank you to @emilyisoverbooked and @thankstomylocallibrary for another great buddy read!

I only recently found Chloe Liese and she quickly became an auto buy. Give me a Bergman Brother any day of the week. This holiday novella did not disappoint and is the perfect read to kick off December. It was a low-angst enemies-to-lovers story with a charming supporting cast of characters and a little hockey throw in for good measure. As with all of her books, this was a perfect blend of sweet, sass, swoon, and steam, especially with how thoughtful Jonathan was with Gabby’s needs. I always appreciate Chloe’s authenticity, sensitivity, and transparency with the disabilities she touches in her books and that was in full form here. Just a delightful holiday read.

Quotes: The LOL: “I told Siri to play a music station, Gabriella, not get on her knees.” The swoon: “I don’t think it’s silly or odd or strange or juvenile to hold on with both hands to the best parts of who we are when we’re young and not let life take that from you. I think it’s brave and badass and infuriatingly impossible not to admire you for it.”

Song for Gabby and Jonathan: Mistletoe by Justin Bieber: “I don’t wanna miss out on the holiday
But I can’t stop staring at your face, I should be playing in the winter snow, But I’ll be under the mistletoe”