Mason and Lyla are work rivals of the worst kind. He bought the majority shares of her family's company and she wants nothing more than to live up to her legacy. When he receives news that his father has died, Lyla agrees to accompany the work grump home as a favor in hopes that she can convince him to give up his position. She is shocked to find that home for him is Yule, aka the North Pole, and Mason is returning to fill the position of his late father Santa Clause. The family is grieving the loss of Mr. Clause and coincidentally, Lyla too has recently faced the loss of her own mother. They are brought together by their kindness, grief, and magic.

Overall, this book borrows a lot from certain other tales--Beauty and the Beast, the Santa Clause--but I didn't mind much. It was simple, cute, and sweet. And I love and magical holiday tale for Christmas.

I really enjoyed this slow burn Christmas read. The characters were beautifully written and the setting was fantastic. I loved the style of writing. The ending was beautiful and sweet and could have only been made better by an epilogue filled with next year’s Christmas joys. This was the perfect read for the season!

Review posted To Goodreads, Amazon, Books-a-Million, and Barnes & Noble (both covers)

📖My Thoughts📖

What a perfect story to get someone in the holiday spirit! I love a good holiday book that gets you in the spirit. This was like reading a book on the Santa Claus movies, only the adult version. I loved the premise of this book. It was magical, festive, heartfelt and even had a dash of spice (to go along with the spicy eggnog). What’s not to like? I wish that it had been just a tad longer to allow us a little more time to indulge in the magic and I’m not entirely sure I’m completely sold on the ending, but nevertheless, it was a really good book that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Thank you Netgalley, Kate Callaghan and CallaghanWriter for the opportunity to read and review this book. 🎅🎅🎅🎅

This was a fun Christmas read. This sort of felt like a blending of The Hating Game and the Santa Claus 2. The main character was a bit annoying and I really don't like the whole "this information is need to know" or "don't worry about it" aspect. I guess that can be considered a miscommunication trope. That really took me out of the story. I would have also liked to seen more of Yule and some more explanation that we did. The relationship dynamic was the focus of the story. I feel like this could make a really cute movie. I enjoyed it overall.

I really wanted to like this but it really didn't work for me! The concept is super cool. Lyla, our main character, goes to the North Pole to act as the new Santa's fake fiance. It immediately seems like Lyla is not down for this, and it only gets worse. Mason Klaus, the new Santa, is a bad person. The author doesn't want us to think so, but he is. He is aggressive and mean, and heavily gaslights Lyla. He is not ever likable, and Lyla really isn't either, which ruins the totally unique concept and romantic tension the author created.

I also think the author needed a little more world-building. It is twelve days before Christmas but everyone, except Mason's sister, is pretty calm. The old Santa just died and a new one came in. Why isn't there more stress? This also relates to the lack of page time Mason's family gets. His brother, sister, and mother are the most interesting characters in the book, and I would love to know what it was like for them to run the North Pole for years. Instead, we get tons of Mason angst. It's frustrating when a book has good bones but is not executed well.

Overall, I can not recommend a book with an emotional abuser who never has consequences for his actions. I wanted to love this but can not get past its unlikable main characters. This almost works, but it never does. I hate saying this, but its how I feel. I look forward to reading better Christmas romances this season!

3,5 ⭐

This was such a cute read!! I loved it so much and the only reason I have to give it 3,5 stars is that I thought the ending was disappointing. I felt that the whole book was very slow in describing the world of Mr. Klaus, which I appreciated very much. But the way the love interest between the MC was written... It was so quick and sudden that I didn't see it coming and didn't enjoy the outcoming. It was a happy ending after all, but I feel that the love story plot is lacking a lot of elements to understand how the love between Lyla and Mason develops which makes me question its value.

Nevertheless, I love the Klaus family and the magical atmosphere surrounding Yule. Truthfully, that's the highlight of the story.

Overall it was such an amazing read, I just would love to have more details on Mason and Lyla's spark!

You should read The Naughty and The Clause if you are into:
•enemies to lovers
•small town romance
•christmas romances
•magic realism
•spice level: 0.🌶

Finally I would like to thank the author for providing an e-arc in exchanging of an honest review!

This festive love story was an unexpected delight. I imagined enemies to lovers, workplace romance but I got something very different - magic!
Lyla owns 49% of her grandfathers toy making business. She is in love with the company and with Christmas. She works extremely hard to keep the business afloat as well as the employees that are like family to her.
Mason Klaus, majority share owner of the company is the grumpy boss, always holding that 51% over Lyla’s head.
The novel opens to Lyla finding out her annual staff Christmas party was cancelled by Mr, Klaus but she’s determined to celebrate the festive season regardless of her boss.
Lyla, in the middle of her DIY Christmas party, stumbles into her boss who’s considerably drunk and very loose lipped compared to his sober self. Lyla has to help him get home but by the next morning she wakes to banging on her door. A fire has happened in their building and a hungover Mr. klaus admits defeat and has to return home after 10 years away. As a way of paying reparations. Lyla is tricked into spending 12 days with Klaus in his family home following the recent death of his father.
But something quite extraordinary happens: they’re teleported to a snowy dreamland. Or, as it turns out, a secret and magical town called Yule where Klaus is from. In disbelief, Lyla is further disorientated by suddenly finding out she has to play the role of doting fiancée.
This novel reminded me of the movies The Santa Clause and Fred Clause. It was a heartwarming and slightly spicy romance mixed with the literal magic of Christmas and family responsibilities. It was really cute.
Thanks so much for the chance to review this book. It was wholesome and easy to enjoy.

This was a five star read UNTIL THE END BECAUSE WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT. I was just so invested- like I thought it was gonna be so cute and perfect and then it ends just like that and I don’t like it at all.

I can never turn down a Christmas romance, and this one did not disappoint! I loved the whole book and now I can't wait for christmas. Not only does this book have a magical twist I did not see coming, but it had several of my favorite tropes, including enemies to lovers. It was very light hearted and cute and I truly enjoyed it. This story is a very unique romance story and is truly worth reading!

Lyla is forced to work with Mason Klaus, the equivalent of a corporate Grinch, who her father gave his shares to when he retired. Mason cancels the company Xmas party, a years-old tradition, but she has it anyways and it results in a fire and damages. As penance, she agrees to go home for the holidays with Mason. He takes her to a secret Christmassy village and introduces her as his fiancee. Will this magical experience change her life forever?

The narrative is endearing, a bit on the whimsical side, okay a lot. This is a very fun read that you will gobble up. Reveling in the absurdity of the situation, I really enjoyed the interjection of Lyla's thoughts on what was happening at given moments, some of them quite hilarious. Her external quips are also a hoot. A lot of the time she is successfully channeling the readers' thoughts.

The excuse used to get Lyla to go to the village is a bit flimsy and the animosity between them seems a little forced at times, but their butting head and hot n' cold attitude toward each other is entertaining. The book shines with the worldbuilding of the secret village. And the hints along the way of what we readers suspect is the truth, are amusing.

The story points out that want and need might be two completely different things or unexpectedly may change without you noticing at first. An enemies to lovers, fake fiancee, cute and a little bit sexy Xmas romance with a twist on the Santa mythology. Put a little Xmas magic in your holiday by reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

The Naughty or Nice Clause was the perfect way for me to start my holiday reading! It was such a fun romance and I loved the magical aspects that the story had.

It had an enemy to lovers, workplace romance which is some of the tropes I really love so I enjoyed the aspects of this.

Not only was the whole atmosphere and story magical but I also loved the chemistry that Lyla and Mason had.

I rated the naughty or Nice clause 4.5 stars! I highly recommend it!

Thanks to netgalley and Kate Callaghan for an advanced copy of this book!

I don’t often read festive books but this was such a fun, cosy read that’s just getting me ready for the Christmas season! I love a winter setting ❄️

I was pretty hooked right from the get go and wondering how these two characters could get to a place to be together. I loved the slow burn romance in this, executed really well and you really are rooting for them!

I ADORED Yule, it would definitely be my kind of place as I love Christmas and all the little whimsical parts I just kept wanting to know everything about this town! The Klaus family were so welcoming you can see why Lyla likes it here too.

My only downside was that once the romance got going it was very quick and an abrupt ending but other than that i really enjoyed this one.

The Naughty or Nice Clause

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you need a cheesy Christmas book with some magic in it, look no further!

Lyla and Mason are coworkers who hate each other but are forced to fake an engagement while visiting his family for Christmas. I really enjoyed these characters and being swept away with a little bit of magic!

This is the first Christmas book I’ve read this year and I really liked it. It’s a very quick read and it was also a very cute story. The enemies-to-lovers trope is one of my faves so finding this in here really made me like it more.

A 3 stars read for me :)

I’m voluntarily reading and reviewing the ARC for this book. All these opinions are my own.

4 stars! Thank you to NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed the characters. It was really nice to see the characters care so much professionally. Nothing felt contrived and it was a very refreshing read.

Lyla has such great character growth and it’s nice to see her welcome the new town. You can tell how much she truly cares for Yule and how much she wanted the best for the Klaus family.

Mason was so caring and I’m so happy that he mended the relationship with his family. It was great seeing him not as grumpy when he returned home and how he was enjoying the good things in life. I’m a sucker for fake dating romance so I really enjoyed the cute moments between Lyla and Mason.

This was a good read! The Christmas vibes were amazing and I really felt like I was transported to Yule with them. It felt like The Santa Clause movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

The Naughty or Nice Clause gives all the Christmas-y feels! Kate Callaghan filled this one with my fav tropes - enemies to lovers, small town romance, and fake dating/engagements. Was not expecting to be transported to Yule! Thank you NetGalley and Kate Callaghan for the ARC.

3.5 stars: a Christmas time story with some magic and some romance.
I enjoyed the enemies-to-lovers aspect and the magic of the town of Yule. The hero, Mason Klaus was definitely a grump and was cold, then hot, cold, then hot, again and again. It became a bit repetitive at times. I was hoping for a bit more romance and connection between the main characters as well. Overall though, a fun and quick Christmas read.

I loved this!!! It was a very cute and quick Christmas read. I liked the different take on the Santa Clause legend and how magic worked. The characters were all great and well-developed, including side characters.The only issue I had was that it featured the miscommunication trope, which just isn't for me. Other than that, is was a lovely, festive read!

This is an enemies time lovers, fantasy romance book. Klaus came in to help Lyla's family business, which her father sold 51 shares to. Lyla was understandably upset. Well one night, Klaus got drunk after receiving a letter from home. Well, Klaus room Lyla to his home town, which is called Yule. Santa Claus was Klaus' father. So, the town us wanting Mason (his real name), to stay. Very cute story. Loved ut

Fred Clause meets A Hallmark Christmas Movie.

This one deals with a lot. You have your grumpy/sunshine trope. A true hate to love dynamic. An hero who is at time just down right unlikable. There is a small town with some meddling players in the mix.

It overall a good read, but definitely on the sadder, more dramatic side of the holiday spectrum, in my opinion. There is a lot that Mason & Lyla have to go through to get their HEA.

Melli’s Book Breakdown
🎄Small Town
🎄Holiday Romance
🎄Grumpy/Sunshine
🎄slow burn
🎄low steam