I typically shy away from novellas as they tend to leave me feeling a bit disappointed - either the romance is too rushed or the ending too abrupt. But when I heard that Chloe Liese was putting out a holiday novella-ish book, I was immediately on board, no questions asked. While I have deep love for the Bergmans (from her Bergman Brothers/Family series) I was thrilled to read two totally different characters/dynamics from Liese. She has a gift of teaching her nuerotypical readers without sounding preachy while also making nuerodivergent readers feel seen.

Often times authors will represent characters on the spectrum as being emotionless and disconnected - which can be misleading. I love that Gabriella had all the feelings! She was brimming with emotions and her joy was contagious. Gabriella and Jonathan are the ultimate sunshine/grump enemies to friends to lovers. Their banter is sharp and funny - but never mean or degrading. Jonathan and Gabriella are both living with differences - whether physical, emotional, medical, or behavioral - but they have each made peace within their lives and have fully accepted and embraced their differences... The chink in their armor is deciding to be vulnerable enough to allow others to fully know and see them as well.

The Mistletoe Motive is a charming, funny. and swoon worthy story that is perfect for the holiday season... (but let's be honest, I'd read it while lying on the beach in the middle of summer). It's a cup of hot cocoa (or warm milk) in the frosty holiday season. The Mistletoe Motive is shorter than Liese's other novels, but a little longer than a typical novella. While the length is a bit shorter, Liese does not skimp on plot, character development, or romance. A quick and lovely read! Thank you to NetGalley, Chloe Liese, and ValentinePR for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Mistletoe Motive is magical. Sexy. Tender. Bookish in the best ways. Chloe Liese is, hands down, one of my favorite contemporary romance writers. Period. And I loved her very first holiday novella so so much.

In The Mistletoe Motive, two co-managers go head to head in this workplace enemies-to-lovers romance. Gabby adores the holidays. Peppermint hot cocoas, made just right. Decorations. Christmas music. Everything. Jonathan is the Grinch personified. They both want to save Bailey’s Bookshop, and unfortunately, they’ll have to work together if they want to accomplish that by the New Year.

The autism representation! The Type-1 diabetes representation! Liese strives to present authentic, inclusive romances, and every time she blows me away. Her use of sensitivity readers is amazing, and she provides content warnings for her books. If you haven’t read any of her books, you are MISSING OUT. Go read The Mistletoe Motive, and then check out the Bergman Brothers series. They’re AMAZING. Just like Chloe.

Thank you @chloe_liese @netgalley @valentine_pr_ for a copy of this fun novella. This was everything you want in fun holiday romance with a grumpy/sunshine MC and enemies to lovers trope. For a novella, it had everything I love with slow burn, great bantering and lots of fun moments.

I loved everything about this holiday novella. The enemies to lovers trope was executed perfectly and the added shared workplace aspect is perfect if you loved The Hating Game. I loved all of the banter and bickering. It felt very realistic.

Truly where this book shines is in Liese's strong grasp on Own Voices fiction. Her writing has better authenticity than any writer I've ever read. In each of her books I learn something about neurodivergence along with other conditions. Her ability to make some readers feel seen while also educating other readers is a gift.

The characters in this book are fantastic. They both have some pretty serious flaws and experience growth. While the book is written from Gabriella's perspective I didn't miss Jonathan's because the dialogue was exceptional. Many times as they bickered I laughed out loud.

Sometimes in a novella the romance gets rushed, but Liese found a nice flow and it was perfect. I loved how it played out and how they communicated with each other. This book is full of amazing kisses and plenty of open door steam.

This was an amazing story. I could easily reread it again right now!

I received an advanced copy of this book through ValentinePR. This is my honest review.

Thank you to Valentine PR and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review

CW: type 1 diabetes representation, autism representation, demisexual representation, discussions of ableism and brief mentions of an ex who can't take a hint

I would recommend if you're looking for (SPOILERS)

-m/f frenemies to idiots to lovers
-work place romance
-a Christmas time bet
-a twist on you've got mail
-opposites attract
-grump/sunshine
-an appreciation for romance books
-a hockey playing, emotionally constipated grumpster
-slooooow burn

This book was a joy to read. The setting, the twists on well-known tropes that only Chloe can make. The banter that had me cackling. Two MCs that struggle being themselves, because opening yourself up, trusting someone is just plain hard. As always Chloe handles the representation of neurodiversity and type 1 diabetes with such nuance, care, entirely relatable.

Honestly, all I wanted was more. More of the flirting. The tension in the car after the hockey game, I was sweating. These two. I just want to quit my job now and go work at a bookstore and meet a grump of my very own. The perfect level of light angst as they fought to keep the bookstore open, the sexual tension building as you are screaming at these two to just bang it out already. This was a wonderful holiday novella that I highly recommend.

Steam: 3

Disclaimer: I am social media mutuals with the author and think she's a romance writing genius

It’s rare that a novella knocks it out of the park for me, but Chloe absolutely nailed it! The Mistletoe Motive is the sweetest, most delightful story that may have actually cracked through my Scroogey “no-holiday-cheer-until-after-Thanksgiving” heart.

Chloe writes Gabriella so beautifully and authentically. And Jonathan is such a delicious hero. The nods to Pride & Prejudice and You’ve Got Mail had me absolutely swooning. This novella packed so much into a short story, showcasing Chloe’s mastery of the genre while at the same time you could tell she was having so much fun with it. It just felt like such a joy to read. The single POV with a switch at the epilogue worked perfectly. I can already picture myself curling up in front of my Christmas tree (put up after Thanksgiving, of course) for a reread of this every year.

Thanks a million to Valentine PR for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

GABRIELLA AND JONATHAN WERE SO PRECIOUS 🥺

Chloe Liese is one of my favorite authors, and I loved The Mistletoe Motive as much as her other books! The tropes and the Christmas vibes were a perfect match, and I was drawn into Gabriella and Jonathan's story from beginning to end.

Their grumpy/sunshine dynamic was so adorable, and I absolutely adored how their relationship evolved throughout the story. They've been co-managers of an independent bookstore for a year and are like cats and dogs. But with Christmas coming up and one of their jobs on the line, they will get to know each other better and confide in each other. Jonathan doesn't have a POV until the epilogue, but it was clear that he had feelings for Gabriella, and I thought it was so cute that he knew little details about her, her likes and dislikes. As for Gabriella, even if she thought she hated him, she couldn't stop thinking about him and started to trust him more and more. Their relationship and dynamic were so adorable, and my favorite part was probably their reaction when they found out they've been talking to each other online for the past year too. THE PUREST THING!!

Overall, The Mistletoe Motive was a beautiful Holiday story. I fell in love with Gabriella and Jonathan and appreciated the representation that Chloe Liese included, as she does in all of her books.

This book was so cute!! It's enemies to lovers but really they're head over heels for each other slow burn romance! There's autism, Type 1 diabetes and demisexual representation that is beautiful. This book was a perfect holiday bookstore romance read and just what my heart needed!

ALLLLL the stars for The Mistletoe Motive! Gosh, Chloe is just such a tremendous writer. The way she describes things is sublime, and she is the master of slow burns with high payoffs.

Gabriella and Jonathan are the enemies-to-lovers, grump/sunshine, workplace romance couple of your dreams. Gabby's the creative, idealistic dreamer and Jonathan is the cold, calculating businessman. When they are tasked with saving their beloved, but failing bookstore before Christmas, they predictably clash. But over time, they get to know each other and see the true people behind their grump and sunshine personalities, which leads to an attraction as strong as it is unexpected.

I really appreciated the autism, type 1 diabetes, and demisexual representations. They were included in the storyline without being a main focus, which I always feel helps to normalize these different conditions.

This book is the perfect read for a snowy afternoon, sitting by a blazing fire, sipping on hot cocoa. It's on the shorter side, somewhere between a novella and a novel, so curl up and get reading!

this is the year of cute, adorable and steamy holiday novellas and i am so here for it!

when chloe announced this was an enemies to lovers, epistolary workplace romance, my soul left my body for a few seconds. give me all the met online first tropes and i’ll be the happiest girl in the world. as for the other tropes… it delivers. it delivers so perfectly. gabriella is the purest sunshine ever, and even though i don’t like the holidays, she made me excited for them. if she was a real person, she would be the kind of person you love to be close to because she can make the worst day better with just a few words. no wonder why jonathan is so whipped. i’d be, too.

this is a novella but honestly, it doesn’t feel like one. maybe because it’s a (perfect) slowburn, because their banter is exquisite, or because even though it’s single pov, both of their personalities were super strong and carried the entire book, but it never felt short or rushed. well, yes, it felt short because i could read a thousand pages book about them bickering and kissing, but you know what i mean.

gabriella and jonathan were so lovable, together and separately. i can’t wait for everyone to read this gem and love it as much as i did.

the mistletoe motive is out on december 1st, and up for preorder on kobo!

rating: 5/5
steam: 2/5

I would give The Mistletoe Motive all the stars if I could! This book was everything I was hoping for and so much more. I stayed up to read it two nights in a row and now have the worst book hangover because The Mistletoe Motive was just that good! Everyone needs to read this! Chloe Liese has been a favorite author of mine since I read Only When It’s Us, but she blew me away with The Mistletoe Motive.

I loved everything about this story and can already tell I will be rereading it at least once a year. This has enemies to lovers, grump and sunshine, and forced proximity. It is basically all of my favorite tropes rolled into one book. Liese is a master of the slow burn and it played out perfectly as Jonathan and Gabby fight their attraction for each other while trying to fight to keep their bookstore afloat.

I love how Liese includes diabetes and autism rep. Creating characters like these two is one of the reasons she’s a favorite. Gabby and Jonathan both typically protect these parts of themselves but learn to be vulnerable with each other. Oh and the pride and prejudice references were amazing!

I was sad when it was over and I wish there was more, but I loved absolutely everything else about The Misletoe Motive! Thank you Valentine PR and Chloe Liese for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

I will update when I share on my bookstagram account.

“I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that my skin’s humming and my cheeks are warm, and the sound of my name on his lips echoes in the snowy silence.”

The Mistletoe Motive is an enemy coworkers-to-lovers Christmas novella from one of the finest - Chloe Liese. We get her perfected slow burn style with a nice hat tip to It’s A Wonderful Life, as Bailey’s Bookshop is threatened by the bigger, more powerful chain, Potter’s. Gabriella and Jonathan have fun, quirky chemistry and you can’t beat the indie bookstore setting for a fun holiday romance! I devoured this in one perfect evening.

Read if…
🎄You’ve been listening to Christmas music since November 1
🎄Your favorite Christmas movie is It’s A Wonderful Life
🎄Pride and Prejudice is a favorite classic
🎄You dig indie bookstore settings
🎄You’re autistic, demisexual, or have T1D

And, of course, don’t forget to listen to the Spotify playlist as you read! Chloe is a queen of book playlists.

Thank you so much to Chloe Liese, Kobo, and Valentine PR for this ARC!

I feel like the luckiest person in the world when I get to read a book that stirs my emotions the way The Mistletoe Motive did. Author Chloe Liese surprised her fans with this sparkling Christmas novella, a book that radiates joy and love and wonder. She does it all with her own special touch, reflecting her belief that everyone deserves a love story. In this book, we are gifted with Gabby and Jonathan, two complex characters in this enemies to lovers story, who shine in ways that are unexpected and lovely. Each scene crackles with tension and passion, building with each touch, each argument, each smile, leaving me breathless. This book is also a brilliant portrayal of a character who is neurodiverse, and another who is a type 1 diabetic—exceptional traits that are the hallmark of a Chloe Liese novel. Only when their vulnerabilities are revealed can Gabby and Jonathan truly open their hearts to what the other is offering. I’m still wrapping my head around all of the feelings that this book brought out in me—feelings that I felt deep in my heart. Although this is a novella, it is a full-fledged story with highly-developed characters, with prose that is beautiful, sentences that I read over and over. To top it all off, this book takes place mostly in a struggling bookshop, with literary conversations that lit up my bookworm heart. The Mistletoe Motive also pays homage to beloved movies such as It’s A Wonderful Life and You’ve Got Mail.

"Your capacity for joy," he says quietly. "It's humbling."

This beautiful line from The Mistletoe Motive best sums up how I feel about Chloe and her work. Her words are humbling. Every single character she writes makes me feel seen and loved and vulnerable. Her stories make me feel safe. And cozy.

The Mistletoe Motive is just a perfect little gem of a book. It's full of love and acceptance and open-hearted honesty. You will fall in love with both main characters (their NAMES! so perfect!!) and the lovely gaggle of secondary characters.

It's a privilege to see two characters who respect each other and boundaries. Two characters who can be brave together...it's a rare and precious thing.

And. the. STEAM. Holy cow, these two have sparks, flames, and roaring FIRESTORMS in each other's presence. Utterly perfect.

5 stars

Thank you to Chloe Liese and Rakuten Kobo for a free advance copy of this novella. All opinions are my own.

I devoured this book yesterday with my Peppermint Mocha and want to hibernate in a Winter themed bookstore with a grump. Ok I could take my husband book shopping, it's the same vibe lol. He also doesn't like Christmas music but that is from working in retail and he's Jewish so.
I recommend that everyone do the same and pre-order. This novella is superb! Chloe's inclusion of neurodivergent and disability rep always brings me back for more and has made her my top auto-buy author. I am just so over the moon that she made a Christmas novella. The way she explores raw emotions, the difficulties of being in a neurotypical world and representing people with disabilities in a romance is so authentic. Everyone deserves love and I love reading stories that are about real people that may not have seen a person like themselves as a hero or heroine in a story.
+ hockey!
+ enemies to lovers!!
+ steamy buildup to steam!!!

Thank you valentines pr , kobo and netgalley for the e-ARC and including me on this tour

This book gave me reading butterflies!! I just loved the enemies-to-lovers cuteness between Gabby and Jonathan. Their back and forth banter made me grin the entire time I was reading. I loved the holiday aspect of this book with a grumpy/Grinch hero and a holiday-loving, sunshine heroine. The story is told from Gabby's POV, but I loved that we get an epilogue from Jonathan's POV.
This is a workplace romance (set in a bookstore!!) with an autistic heroine who is demisexual and also a hero with Type 1 diabetes. The forced proximity of the bookstore, plus a slow burn had me turning pages so fast. I would 100% picking this one up this holiday season, or any time of the year!

Thank you NetGalley, Valentine PR, and Chloe Liese for this ARC.

I’m upset with myself that this is my first Chloe Liese book. Her other series just came on my radar, but a holiday novella? Sold. What made this book different from the rest? Well, for one this is the first book I’ve read where a main character is autistic. It’s already known, so for new readers it’s not too much of a spoiler. I love how Chloe took pieces of her and put them into Gabriella. I know that there are several different autistic levels, and Gabriella is on the lower level. But she does have trouble reading others social ques. She thrives on routine. But one thing she doesn’t thrive on is her co-worker/co-manager. Johnathan is a grump. Which after further looking in to, he was a grump to others but a total softy for her.

I won’t give the whole book away. Had I dedicated the time I could’ve finished this book in one sitting. That’s how captivating Chloe’s writing is. I loved everything about this book. Not once did I find myself skipping over words because they were too drawn out. Or rolling my eyes at the side characters. I found myself wanting eventual books for them. That’s how detrimental they were to Gabby and Johnathan’s story. Since I’m not too familiar with Chloe’s writing, I didn’t know how well the romance scenes would play out. Would it be a fade-to-black? Would it be too descriptive and drawn out? Would it be a wham-bam thank you ma’am? From the first kiss (which sets the tone for the characters) I was just itching to see how they would progress. I was not disappointed. Let’s just say…if you were sitting in front of a fireplace that’s the type of heat to expect from them.

After this book, I know in 2022, I will be reading more of Chloe Liese.

Oh Chloe. You're such a writing master. Your inclusivity of all is just so infectious. It makes me want to strive to always be a better human.

Gabby is a neurodivergent individual who is living her best life as a manager at a bookstore. It's the absolute best. Aside from her curmudgeon co-worker Jonathan.

This quick novella is sure to get you in the holiday spirit as you meet these infectious characters. As per Chloe's typical you should expect extra swoony gestures, very honest communication, and steamy galore!

This is a must read.

Thank you @kobooriginals @chloeliese @netgalley for the advanced reads copy. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced by outside sources.

Ok I freaking LOVED this! It was so cute and funny and the absolute perfect holiday read!

It kinda felt like if You’ve Got Mail, The Hating Game and Pride and Prejudice had a holiday baby, this would be it. And I ate it up! Couldn’t nor did I want to put this book down!

Holy crap did this one burn slow! Gabby goes to work everyday thinking she facing her nemesis. They toss barbs at each other and have some great bicker banter, but that slowly turns into sweet sweet sexual tension. Haha

I absolutely loved both Gabby and Jonathan. I enjoyed all the hurdles they had to overcome and peeling off their many layers of figuring things and each other out. They had the best chemistry. Gah! I loved it! Every single second!

I also love that Chloe gives her characters some of her characteristics. I feel like I learn something new in every book about certain things people with autism can and do go through, amoung the other topics she brings up.

This was just such a fun, sweet, spicy holiday read, that will definitely get you in the holiday spirit! Now I’m going to go put up my Christmas tree!

I had heard so many good things about Chloe Liese stories and I am glad I got to start her books with The Mistletoe Motive. The Mistletoe Motive has so many amazing tropes: Work Place Romance, Enemies to Lovers, Grumpy Hero- Sunshine Heroine, Autistic and Demi-Sexual Heroine.

Jonathan Frost is Grumpy and misunderstood person who's capitalism and business approach is hated by Gabriella since the moment they met each other. Words fall short to describe Gabriella, the way she finds happiness in small things, her love for books, friendship is so beautiful to see. While I had laughed so much seeing JonathanGabriella bickering, they had me in tears when they showed their vulnerable side to each other.

As it's my first ever read from Chloe, I love how she put JonathanGabby's struggle generally in their words and all wanted to do after reading that part is to hug them both while protecting from the world.

I am hoping Chole won't be leaving JonathanGabriella here and would be giving us some more in future.

Thankyou Netgalley, Valentine PR for the providing Arc in exchange of honest Review.