This was a great modern take on the Santa Claus story, a magical setting for a romantic tale of two office enemies. Loved the found family and the atmospheric setting.

This was a really cute christmas romance! Not much steam, but it really didn't need it. Very much so enemies to lovers. I think my favorite part though was it's take on the North Pole and the things that came with it-I enjoyed seeing it come to life and a different perspective than what we usually think of in regards to Santa's workshop.

Lyla Smurfit runs her father’s toy company with Mason Klaus, a no-nonsense investor whose demeanor puts the Grinch to shame. Lyla is constantly in opposition with Mason’s financial choices and cutbacks, so when Mason cancels their company Christmas party last minute, it’s the last straw for her. Lyla decides to throw the party without his permission, only for it to go horribly wrong and end in a fire. with the building out of commission for several weeks, Mason is willing to forgive Lyla only if she accompanies him on his dreaded return home.

Lyla is then brought to a magical winter wonderland, otherwise known as the North Pole. here, she realizes that Mason is actually part of a very important family in his village. as she becomes acquainted, she is horrified to learn that Mason is introducing her as his “fiancé”, because outsiders other than those to be wed are strictly forbidden. though Lyla knows the consequences are dire if their secret is revealed, she isn’t prepared to “love” this self-absorbed Scrooge. but the North Pole is a magical place, and crazier things have happened…

I had no trouble getting through this book just for the setting alone. there’s truly nothing cozier than losing yourself in a book set in the magical place we dreamed about as kids. it was so fun to be a part of this book’s version of the North Pole, & I loved the unique tweaks Callaghan made to the traditional tales of Christmas.

you get a little bit of everything in this story; fake dating, return of the crazy ex, family tension, the works. i really enjoyed the set of characters overall, but I wasn’t suuuper on-board for the romance between Lyla & Mason. obviously wanted it to happen, but just didn’t get any head-over-heels vibes from them. I also thought the ending was incredibly rushed; which, I guess in hindsight, if it meant more time getting to enjoy the North Pole scenes, it was worth it. 🤷🏼‍♀️

general consensus: came for the Christmas romance, stayed for the North Pole vibes.

thanks to @netgalley & @callaghanwriter for my #advancedreaderscopy!

Sickeningly sweet like a Hallmark Christmas movie (I might've to change genres for a little while or I'm risking becoming the Grinch🤦🏻‍♀️) Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion 🎅

The Naughty or Nice Clause was cute and predictable (not in a bad way), very much a sweet holiday romance. Like a hallmark movie but a book! Thanks to netgalley and the author.

The Naughty or Nice Clause was a cute Christmas read that follows Lyla and Mason business partners at a toy company. When a Christmas party mishap causes a fire at the office Mason offers to forget the whole thing if she will join his family for Christmas. They soon find themselves in Yule a winter wonderland with many surprises.

I loved the likeable characters but wish some of them were more developed and were given a little more background on them. I was a little disappointed that this had a disclaimer that it was 18+ but the spice was lacking and only happened over a short chapter.

All in all I didn't hate the book but felt like it had the potential to be so much more than it was. My rating is 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced reader copy.

The Naughty it Nice Clause- 3⭐️

Being Naughty Has Never Been So Nice!

When Lyla’s father retired as CEO of the toy company which has been in their family for generations, she was meant to receive his shares. Instead, she discovers the company is bankrupt and her father has given her shares to Mason Klaus, an investor known in the corporate world for his cold and callous nature. Much to Lyla’s frustration, her only option is to run the company with him, despite their evident loathing for one another.

When Mason cancels the annual Christmas party, Lyla throws it anyway – only for the event of the season to result in a terrible fire. With the offices and Lyla’s credibility ruined, Mason offers her a deal: he’ll forget her part in the disaster, but she must join his family for the twelve days of their Christmas holidays.

Taken to a fantastical winter wonderland, Lyla hopes that she might discover some of the secrets Mr Klaus is hiding, and maybe even a way to get her company back. However, when Mason introduces her to the secret village as his fiancée, she is horrified to realise she has no choice but to go along with the pretence – because the cost of bringing an outsider to their magical land is far too high.

Readers! Please note: this is an adult low fantasy romance with mature content and not suitable for those under 18. This is a stand-alone novel with a guaranteed HEA. ',
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✨My Opinion✨
This was a cute Christmas time read. I liked the couple. This was an enemies to lovers, office romance that was VERY slow burn. The spin on Christmas magic was very well explained and thought out. The family dynamics were well established and believable. There was a cat. I know, I know… but thankfully the cat was continually present and even used as a plot device. Thank goodness it wasn’t introduced then forgotten like many other books. The MC’s last name is Smurfit? I’m all about a fun Christmas book… but Smurfit, like Smurf? And only for the single joke about it. That was awful. The other thing that really didn’t impress me was the scene that was directly taken from Beauty and the Beast. I wish there had been a different plot device than that.

I received a ARC copy of The Naught or Nice Cluse by Kate Callaghan through NetGalley in exchange for a honest, unbiased review.

3.5 stars, rounded down.

Not your typical Christmas story but still enjoyable! Very light hearted and a quick read. It was cute and a good book to read in one sitting next to my Christmas tree. Definitely had festive vibes!

The main reason I kept it at 3.5 stars was because I really didn't connect with any of the characters. With that said though, I also didn't dislike any of the main characters which was a plus!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

💭 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀
The book has a fun premise. It tells the story of Mason, a Santa Claus' descendant who has to take up the mantle even though he's a grumpy, hotshot investor & CEO. The heroine is the heiress of the company which was taken over by Mason.
🎅
The description of Yule town sounds amazing 💗- makes me think of the village in How the Grinch Stole Christmas or Hogsmeade in Harry Potter (well, the modern times version, that is). If we dig a bit further obviously there would be questions on how the village can co-exist in secret all this time, but overall I can still suspend my disbelief (Christmas fantasy!). I quite enjoy reading about the explanations and various descriptions of how the village runs (the operations, reindeers, etc.).
🎅
I like Mason - I feel that he's quite a responsible one, especially how he thinks about running things. Lyla, on the other hand, is a bit too immature for me, but she does grow as a character throughout the book. I think her Christmas-loving personality fits this story really well -- makes sense for her to be open to the concept of Yule town. I like that she's genuinely curious of how the town operates (me too!)
🎅
While I really like the worldbuilding, unfortunately for me the romance feels a bit too forced. Lyla and Mason has potential, but if I have glimpses on their working dynamics before the story starts (e.g. with a prologue or flashback chapter), I would have been more invested in the couple. I also think that the conflicts in the third acts were resolved too fast and too convenient (was done off-screen). There's also one additional conflict at the end that I thought wasn't necessary. It definitely reads better as a general fantasy story than a romance story.

🌟 𝗥𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ⭐⭐⭐💫 3.5/5
If you're looking for the book equivalent of hot cocoa and Hallmark Christmas movie, try this book! I enjoyed the cozy worldbuilding with wintery & Christmas-y description of Santa's North Pole Village.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to review an ARC of this book. This romance is a cute addition to the growing subgenre of Christmas books. It has all of the romantic tropes you could possibly want, including the ever popular enemy to lover concept. I also found it read quite quickly. I liked pretty much everything about it except Klaus, who felt a bit flat and less fleshed out than the other characters.

4 stars! Not just your “typical” holiday rom com.. So many bonus points for the LGTBQ+ characters!!!! Read this! You will not be disappointed!!!!

*as always thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for the free book.

I struggled a lot to have a clear opinion about this novel, beucase there's something I've enjoyed very much, and something else that didn't satisfy me.
First of all, let me tell you that if you're looking for a lovable Christmas romance, this book is absolutely for you. I've really enjoyed the atmosphere and also that little addition of fantasy elements that makes the story "sparkle".
I haven't totally understand how this Klaus' thing worked, and how the village sustained itself - I think it needed a little bit more details here and there - but it was really cute. There were also entertaining moments that I've really appreciated, not to mention good secondary characters that increased my interest for the book. Lou, Kevin, Mrs. Klaus and the villagers mentioned where a good addition to the story. Then, the romance. I'm not totally convinced that the dynamics between Mason and Lyla were always clear, but from a certain point I was absolutely into them and maybe for that reason the end was....dissatisfying. I've read it thrice to be sure I didn't miss something, but I still really don't understand Lyla's decisions that leaded to such anticlimax final.
Same for the last chapters: after the predictable plot-twist, everything happened too fast. I think there was the need of few more chapters, expanding those moments so to give the story a good closing. But actually, I think that lots of details could and should have been deepened more (backgrounds, primary and secondary character's feelings included).
I don't know. I think the potential was really good, but there was still work to be done to improve it. Such a pity.

There is a lot going on in this story in terms of the "real" world and then the fictional world of Yule. The real world set up between Mason and Lyla is done very well. It feels like a solid, traditional enemies to lovers/grumpy male and sunshiney female working together and the heroine pulls the grumpy male out of his funk and helps him believe in the miracle of Christmas again.

Instead, what we see is Mason, who for pretty understandable reasons doesn't want to take on the level of Christmas excitement that is thrust upon him because of his birth order and family obligations. Once the supernatural aspect of the story happens, it doesn't feel quite as funny or entertaining and Lyla comes across as unsympathetic in it as the story progresses.

I think the story would've worked much better had the dynamics stayed the same in both worlds. The ending felt rushed and kind of anti climactic, but you can tell the author took a risk on this novel, which I commend her for. I didn't hate this novel, but I felt like the execution was a bit clunky.

This book was perfect for the holiday season! It had all the cute Christmas vibes, and the enemies to romance you hope for in a book like this. It was a quick read and captured me quite early on.

The downside for me was that I found myself questioning the Klaus character quite often. He would switch his opinions rather radically, while I (as a reader) couldn’t really figure out the insight into what drove him to those changes. It also meant that the ending felt rather rushed.

Other than that: supercute!

This was an okey read. I liked the romance bit quite a lot, but the fantasy bit was not as good as I had hoped. Overall it was a good read and I enjoyed it. Perfect christmas read.

When Lyra's father retired, he left his shares in the toy factory not to her but to a cold corporate investor, Mason Klaus. Following a disastrous party Lyra is tricked into pretending she is his fiancé whilst visiting his family.
This should have been a easy festive read with a classic love hate relationship. However I found myself hating the Klaus character. Coercion, lying and kidnapping did nothing to endear me to him. He bullied Lyra into getting his way too many times.
It definitely left me cold.

Enjoyable, fast short read that’s perfect for the holidays, complete with magic. Lots of tropes on tropes in this, which made for fun reading. However, the big issue to temporarily cause issues comes super late in the book and all of a sudden they’re happy. I do which we got a little more of the part where they started to actually like each other and they didn’t just get a happy ending so fast. No work, instant gratification is what it felt like.

TCalling all Hallmark movie execs - MAKE THIS INTO A MOVIE! I could not put this book down. It was funny, cute, and fantastical. Mason and Lyla's banter was perfectly hilarious. Callaghan wrote differences into the typical North Pole that made this story unique. It didn't feel like other seasonal books I have read!

Enemies to lovers trope of course, but I liked this one more than I usually do. Kevin was one of my favorite characters. He's young, unfiltered and his comments were perfectly timed to break up some of the more serious spots to keep it light. Also I want to be BFF's with Mrs. Klaus.

Super cute short fun Christmas story! If omg did I feel the tension in the air with Mason and lyla!! I’m sooo glad that got taken care of!! Super cute fun read for the holidays! Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read!

I thought this book was so much fun! This satisfied my craving for a funny, cute Christmas romantic comedy. I genuinely enjoyed the characters. At the beginning I had a hard time being interested in Mason's moodiness, but as soon as we ended up in Yule, I was SOLD! Ugh, I love Christmas. This was such an enjoyable take on the North Pole and the family of Santa Claus, especially Santa himself not being around and us really getting to know Mrs. Claus (Klaus). I loved Lyla's sass and spark and I thought she was such a strong character. This book also deals well with grief without becoming too heavy to fit in the holiday romcom genre.

I only took off one star because I felt like the dialogue / scene descriptions were a little clunky in the first few chapters. It felt more like I was being told, rather than shown, what everything looked like and how I should feel about it. The book picks up and the dialogue and descriptions do feel more natural as the story progresses.

Definitely will recommend to my circle!