I wanted to love this one!
First, the names. I'm sorry but they were way to Christmas puny and just bad. The initial idea of the story was really good. Cranky guy working at a toy company and seems to hate all things Christmas, a jolly girl who loves Christmas so much it would annoy anyone. Sounds like a great grumpy sunshine plot. But, I wasn't a fan of the lying, the overly sweet, or the random come home for Christmas and pretend to be engaged to me in front of my whole town aka soon to be empire. I think if there was a better background on the MC's then the story of them would have been more believable to me.

Oh my god i didnt see this coming!! Klaus as Santa Claus family??!!
Lyla and mason are enemy in the office, they always bickering and bringing the worst in each other. Like a mirror. One party change everything, they make a deal and Lyla the one who surprised with everything involve by magic.

Yule is beautiful place where Santa work happend. Everything describe in detail make me can imagine the place clearly. I hope this book become movie oneday.

Thank you to NetGalley for provide this book, it is pleasure to review this book.

#TheNqughtyOrNiceClause #KateCallaghan #CallaghanWriter #IndependentBookPublishersAssociation #IBPA #NetGalley #ARC

I really enjoyed this one. I thought her take on the Santa Clause theme was very unique and different.

I wish it were longer. I really enjoyed all the characters and the Christmas feel to it.

Perfect for when you want something you can finish in a day. There's romance, Christmas and some fantasy wrapped in this book, and its perfect for the holiday season. Tons of tropes to pull you in: workplace romance, enemies to lovers, forced proximity and a few more. I enjoyed this title so much that I will go out and get a physical copy.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this cute, funny and romantic Christmas novel. It was predictable but a fun ride nonetheless.

3.5 stars

The book was cute but at times it was hard to root for the main character. I think some more character development was needed to get behind the romantic relationship between Lyla and Mason.

DNF at 47%

In my opinion, an enemies-to-lovers romance depends on the strength of the characterisation during the enemies dynamic - what substantial conflict is causing the main characters to consider each other enemies? What in the characterisation of each hints at how well they will eventually work together... and how does each need to grow before they will recognise their romantic destiny? That's a lot of heavy lifting for the enemies dynamic to do!

I love Christmas and I really wanted to enjoy The Naughty or Nice Clause. This book delivered on its Hallmark Christmas movie promise, serving the aesthetics of a secret Santa romance set in the North Pole (or "Yule"), unfortunately accompanied by the same somewhat bland characterisation that comes with those same holiday flicks. The narrative voice did not grab me well enough to look past the cartoonish feel of the enemies dynamic, which hindered my buy-in for the transition to lovers.

Though unfortunately The Naughty or Nice Clause couldn't hold my interest this holiday period, and reading this novel became an obligation rather than a pleasure, you may enjoy this book If you have a soft spot for Netflix or Hallmark Christmas movies. It's an easy read so it may be a good one to be able to pick up and put down during the busy holiday period.

Thankyou to NetGalley, CallaghanWriter and Kate Callaghan for providing an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Lyla and Klause run a toy business together.
When Klause forces Lyla home with him she realizes he is more Clause then Klause. Can these 2 pretend to be engaged to help eachother.
I didn't think they really had chemistry. It was just all of a sudden they liked eachother.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

I did enjoy this short, sweet romance for the most part. The romance was enemies-to-lovers, and it was clear Mason liked Lyla from pretty early on. It was a bit of a slow burn with lots of side plot. The ending was incredibly rushed, though, which was unfortunate because I would’ve liked a smoother resolution, but all the same, this was a light, easy romance read perfect for the holidays.

picked this up on a complete whim just based on the title and honestly i enjoyed this a lot more than i was expecting! but really i'm a sucker for enemies to lovers and especially fake dating tropes and this had both of those

overall i don't really have any strong feelings about this book but i enjoyed the romance and it gave me the magical christmas vibes i was looking for so that's a win to me!

I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This book has a bit of a The Santa Clause feeling to it, and with the title, that's fitting. Lyla is the 49% shareholder in a toy manufacturing company that has been in her family for years, but her dad sold his shares to Mason Klaus, giving the controlling percentage to an outsider. Mason and Lyla butt heads like nobody's business because he wants to change all the things, including canceling the company Christmas party. Lyla wasn't cool with that so she used her own money to throw a party for the staff at the office. Things were going great until she saw Mason drunk as a skunk in his office and decided she needed to get him home before any of the employees saw him.

Next thing she knows, she's being whisked away to a mysterious location in her pajamas by a jingle bell. Of course she finds out the location is the North Pole, or Yule rather, and she has to pretend to be engaged to Mason, because otherwise her being there is very much against the rules.

I have very mixed feelings about the way the romance between Lyla and Mason developed. Parts of it felt very natural while other parts very much did not. Like the moment in the cabin after he played the Beast to her Belle felt natural, but his behavior while they were shopping for her didn't. But I mostly enjoyed the way it bloomed.

There were some mechanics about getting to and from Yule that made aspects of the story not really make sense as well. Like if you can travel to and from Yule by jingle bell, then why couldn't they just go back to Lyla's house to get her clothes? There are other details kind of along those lines that just didn't feel very thought out.

But this book did give me the magical Christmas feelings I was looking for, so overall I give it 3.9 out of 5 stars.

This was a cute story! It’s an enemies to lovers with a fake dating trope. It was definitely an interesting story. I haven’t read one like this before. I liked Lyla and Mason back and forth. They are very cute. There was no spice and they really didn’t have much interaction when it came to building their relationships. I think I would have enjoyed more of that to be honest. I also would have liked to have seen Natalie be put in her place. Overall it was a cute story I would definitely recommend reading. Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to review this arc. I really enjoyed it this holiday season.

Part Hallmark Christmas movie. Part spicy romance. Throw in family drama and jealous ex and you have this awesome story. This may be my favorite Christmas book I’ve read.

Love the cute holiday vibes and the magic of the story and the family relationships throughout the book. Fun light romance. Easy read. Overall recommend.

The Naughty Or Nice Clause was such a fun holiday read. This definitely had Hallmark Christmas movie vibes. This Enemies to Lovers/Grumpy Sunshine trope romance features Christmas loving Lyla, part owner of a toy manufacturing company and the grumpy scrooge Mason her new co-owner who has a different idea of how the company should be run. While there is a little bit of romance in this book I think it's more of a found-family cute holiday read with an amazing take on the origin of Santa Clause. It was an enjoyable read, but I would have loved a little more banter and romance.

The story begins with Mason canceling the company Christmas party and Lyla going behind his back to throw the party anyway. The party results in a fire that could potentially damage Lyla's credibility. Mason offers Lyla a deal: Lyla will have to spend the next 12 days of Christmas with his family and he will forget her part in the disaster. What follows is a magical trip to a fantastical winter wonderland and one small catch Mason left out about how they will have to pretend to be engaged.

A special thank you to @NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I think this book was a great holiday refresh. The banter between Lyla and Klaus is hilarious and I love the sarcasm. The story could've used more of a reveal for the plot twist. I think some of the information had lackluster reveals. This book was easy to read and was lighthearted with some deep personal side plots. I enjoyed reading this book, I just had wished there was more substance. It seemed like there was some plot holes and I wished I got to see more of these characters. I think it could have been written at a little slower of a pace to build some suspense. I really did like this book and I would read another book by this author.

Such a Sweet Holiday Romance.

This is a good book to cuddle up with next to presents with a holiday drink. The author’s writing is fun and simple to read which makes the holiday spirit even better.

This was a fun Christmas romance with an interesting take on the magic of Santa Clause. I enjoyed reading about Yule and the village. Slow burn, enemies to lovers, fake dating, office romance, but make it Christmas? I’m sold.
3.5/5 stars.

I was drawn to this book partly because of the cover and partly because I kept seeing it and I didn't want to miss out on what might be a big holiday hit.

It was a little bit of a bumpy ride for me. There was little foundation provided to build the story upon. it relies on the familiar trope of enemies-to-lovers. But we are only given a little glimpse of the enemy part before quickly progressing to lover.

It is a short book so there isn't a lot of room for set-up. I didn't realize that they were in Ireland until a few chapters in. The characters don't have accents or use words that would indicate they are Irish - we had to be told.

A bit more time is spent on the world-building of Mason Klaus's village but even then it is pretty superficial. At times, I felt like this was a Hallmark movie wannabe - you know the Christmas movies that have the premise of a Hallmark movie but not the budget.

I did like the world of Yule. I liked that the author had a different take on the Santa Claus mythology.

I felt that the pacing was a bit rushed. It was as if the story was just there for the sex scene and we needed to hurry up and get there. The Naughty or Nice Clause does have a bit more heat but it is pretty much just one scene.

The obstacles to their relationship were often contrived and not overly inspired. You know the contract thing is going to come back to bite her. (While I'm on this point - why was she using Mrs. Klaus's email account. What email doesn't offer web-based access so that a user can login from anywhere?) At least when Lyla runs off it isn't because Mason yelled at her but because her cat got out.

This book had a lot of potential. I think a little more time and space would have made it a better book. If you are looking for quick, superficial read then this one is good for that.

My review will be published on Saturday, December 24 - https://www.girl-who-reads.com/2022/12/4-christmas-novels-for-your-holiday.html

Such a great Christmas read! I loved the banter and rom com feel. The characters were fun and I loved seeing how the story progressed