A CEO of a toy company getting whisked away to the secret Real North Pole by her workplace cranky nemesis? Sounds good to me!

This book had so much promise — I’ve been on a low stakes fantasy kick and was really impressed and endeared by the North Pole world that Kate Callaghan has created as a backdrop for this workplace enemies to lovers story. The hero, Mason Klaus, has brought our main character, Lyla, with him back to the North Pole after the passing of his father (YES, his dad is SANTA CLAUS). Mason’s homeland is a secret to all who do not live within its limits, so the two enter a fake engagement to prevent Lyla’s memories from being erased. Lyla becomes enchanted by the small town and all of its holiday spirit. It’s warm, it’s amusing, and it’s very cozy. However, the town is really the only bright spot in this holiday romance.

What starts off promising ends up bogged down by a main character who I had a lot of trouble rooting for in any way, a complete lack of chemistry between the two main characters, and writing that felt stilted and choppy. No amount of Christmas spirit could save it for me and no one is more disappointed than me…

What can I say about this book? It has all the tropes I love: fake dating, enemies to lovers and it takes place on CHRISTMAS!!! what could i not like??

I liked the main characters and thought they had a lot of chemistry. The romance between the characters left something to be desired but just a little, nothing that made me not enjoy the story. And can I say, again, how cool is it that is set on Christmas ? It has that whole Christmas vibe that I love.

Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for the ARC

THE NAUGHTY OR NICE CLAUSE By Kate Callaghan

Lyla was meant to inherit her father's shares in the toy company that has been in the family for generations, instead her father sells his shares to Mason Klaus.

😊What i liked -

✔ Christmas Romance/Fantasy Romance/Enemies To Lovers/Fake Relationship.
✔ I loved the friction between Lyla and Mason, their attraction was equally lovable.
✔ I am so glad I went in blind with this book.
✔ I absolutely loved Mason's family, they were quite different and colourful.
✔ This book gave a whole different perspective on Christmas gifts. This book was emotional, full of christmasy love and lots of smiles.


🤔What could have been better -

✔ Okay not a big could have been better so not mentioning.


📚Who Should read :

👶Beginners
💝Romance Lovers
🎄Christmas Romance
💞Enemies To Lovers


📈My Rating : 4.5/5


Thank you, Kate Callaghan for a copy.

This book came out at the perfect time. One of my favourite Christmas movies The Santa Clause came back with a TV show this year on Disney+ and the premise of this book kind of reminded me of that. Also, definitely the most festive romance I read this year, which is much appreciated.

This book built a good world but the romance was a little lacking for my taste. The ending also felt super rushed and left me dissatisfied in the end.

Cute holiday read, I definitely had some good laughs. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it. I read this as my holiday book for Christmas

An enemies-to-lovers, fake dating coworkers romance… except one of them is Santa Claus. The two main characters had too many close encounters with no payoff, and I don’t actually understand how or why they fell in love. We went from zero to 60 quickly, but there were a lot of potholes on the way. Plus the fantastical Santa construct just felt flimsy.

Rom-com meets science fiction meets fairytale magic

Lyla inherits her father's toy company only to realize it is not a thriving business. The business is bankrupt and a new co-owner has her father's shares The new owner is not touchy feely and has no plans to run the company with the holiday spirit Lyla wants. Then Lyla discovers a secret about her new business partner , one of magic and Christmas spirit. She is whisked away to another land and now needs to figure out if she can have it all with Mr Klaus

If you like rom-coms that delve into the world of science fiction you will like this book which requires some imagination and a leap of faith

While this book was pretty predictable, I still enjoyed it. It had a great story line and fake relationship romances just… they get me. I wish there was a little more spice in this book, but it was overall a great book to read during the holidays.

Thank you to Netgalley and Independent Book Publishers Association for the early arc!

Great book. It was the perfect holiday read. Romance mixed with imagination. Great story line that drew me in.

While predictable, The Naughty or Nice Clause was a pleasant, escapist read over the holidays. Lyla's family owns a toy company but when her father retires, he brings in Mason Klaus as majority shareholder instead of putting her entirely in charge, Lyla doesn't much care for Mason., who is entirely too businesslike for her taste.

When Mason tells Layla he's been estranged from his father and would like someone to go home with him when his father passes away, she agrees. Layla is suddenly transported to to a magical winter village. Upon arrival, Layla is introduced as Mason's fiancée and she plays along to help him out. Of course, her ulterior motive is to get her company back and Mason out of it.

The book was an entertaining read, Seeing the characters of Mason and Layla try to meet their own goals but then adjust to one another provides some funny and poignant situations.

Recommended for those who enjoy light reads and playful romance.

I really liked this book. It was cosy, comfy and atmospheric. The romance was adorable, lacking a little bit of spice though, but overall a fun holiday romance read.

If you liked "Just like Magic" by Sarah Hogle, you will like this book, romance, fantasy Christmas story. It is not as funny as Hogle's book, but you do get this fun little village with all it's Christmas wonder. This book brings out the kid in you and then add some romance. It was a fun read and I enjoyed it very much, I loved all the characters and really could see this played out in a movie.

Lyla's CEO father has retired from their family toy company and she is now meant to receive his shares of the company. But when the time comes she realizes the company is bankrupt and her shares have been given to an investor Mason Klaus ( lol! last name tells it all). He is also know in the corporate world for his cold and callous nature. But as they start to work together, everything seems to go wrong for Lyla and worries she will lose the company to Mason. Mason said he will forgive all that if she spends twelve days with his family for Christmas. She soon discovers there is more to Mason then this man that she butts heads with. Is he really the man she thought he was, and when you open your heart can you put in back together after the magic ends?

Thank you to NetGalley and Callaghanwriter for copy of this book for my honest review.

A fun and quick Christmas romance.
I loved that we got to go to the hub of Christmas itself,
I wasn’t keen on the MMC and would’ve liked more spice.
But apart from that a thoroughly enjoyable read!

I loved this holiday, stand-alone novella! It has all the best Christmas vibes and a beautiful romance.

The characters were interesting, detailed, and extremely diverse! They were beyond lovable and I truly found myself excited to read about them. There was so much representation in this novella that I really loved.

With some fake dating, forced proximity, found family, and rivals to lovers wrapped up in slow burn wrapping paper made this novella the perfect read.

Quite expected it to be a fast paced and hot Christmas romance story but it's actually a slow burn one and one of the cutest romance I've read so far! The magical world of The Yule and how the Clause really works for the outside world has sold me out. The small town-esque and festive spirit is everywhere too. There's some emotional part as well that's nicely done ( not too much or less). It's a fun read for me!

I really wanted to like this book as the synopsis seemed like it would be up my alley, but this just wasn’t a good book and I ended up not finishing it because it felt so poorly written and the story wasn’t great.

This wasn't anything that special, and I found the writing a bit childish. Still, it was a quick and easy read, which is what I wanted from it in any case.

I found the characters a bit annoying, and the story itself was somewhat predictable. But for a holiday romance, it did its job.

I'm still on the holiday reading train, so of course I had to add THE NAUGHTY OR NICE CLAUSE to my list, a Christmas workplace romance set in a Winter Wonderland. yes please!

The story truly felt magical, and I'm all here for a workplace romance with Santa's hot son and forced proximity environment. Overall it was a fun read just the lighthearted romance I was hoping for.

*many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for the gifted copy for review

3.5 🌟
The book presents a retelling of the story of Santa Claus, and I have to say that I liked how they present the world and the things they told us; Despite having some differences, it still manages to convey a lot of magic and I found it original.

The location where much of the story takes place is Yule, which is a beautiful snowy town that made me want it to be real. It has his leader who watches over the town, a council, and a whole team behind Christmas organization.

In terms of characters, we have Lyla, who sees the family toy business as one of the most important things to her. She is strong, independent, and somewhat stubborn. Mason is a great businessman, but he has earned a reputation as cold, cruel, and mysterious.

We have the Klaus family, who I have loved a lot, they are very cute and different from each other, but without a doubt, my favorite has been Mason's brother Kevin, who in my opinion has been the best-constructed character, he is a cutie.

Lyla and Mason's relationship is somewhat difficult since they hate each other and have to share the administration of the company. On top of that, for twelve days they have to spend time together pretending that they are a couple and thus avoid getting into a situation that would bring bigger consequences for them (especially for an outsider like Lyla). As the days go by, they will get closer, getting to know each other and discover a version of the other never seen before in the office.

If I'm honest, I didn't like the romance very much, I couldn't feel enough chemistry between the characters, and it didn't make me sigh or want a similar romance. Although, yes, several situations between them made me laugh, in general, I felt their relationship was very forced and lack of connection.

As for the ending, it felt very rushed. I would have liked there to have more development, because since is a short book, it seems to me that it took too long for something to happen between them and then deliver us an ending that made me want more, maybe that would have helped me connect more with the characters and their relationship.

On the other hand, the theme of families and reconciliation is discussed a lot, something that is always good to keep in mind in the celebrations, its message about it is positive and beautiful.

In general, I would say that it is a tender story that probably does not have many novel elements, but I thought it was good to read at the time and soak up the Christmas spirit.