3.5 stars

This book was so cute! I really loved the setting and the magical elements to it. Yule screamed Christmas which really got me in the holiday spirit and it reminded me a lot of The Santa Clause (which was amazing because it’s my fav Christmas movie🫶). I loved reading about this cute little town and all the people who keep it running.

I really loved the characters, especially the whole Klaus family🥹, and enjoyed the found family aspect. The romance plot was fairly predictable and kind of felt very flat/under developed but I still thought it was cute. I thought the concept of the story as a whole was fun and I had a good time reading this.

Despite being a little underwhelmed with parts of the book, I would read it again just for the vibes because the whole atmosphere was so festive and made me so ready for the holidays. If you’re looking for something to get you in the Christmas spirit that has a side of romance, this is the book for you.

Thank you to NetGalley for the e-arc!

4.5⭐

If you like Holiday Hallmark movies, then this is for you! I LOVED this one. A great book to start my holiday reads. I finished this so quickly. It was such an adorable and easy read. The aesthetic is very beautiful. You'll feel like you're in it while reading. The Yule, the people, the Klaus family, the touch of magic, it's perfect!💗  The banter and chemistry between Lyla and Mason is amazing. I love the enemies to lovers and fake dating, but the guy is secretly inlove with her the whole time trope. I eat it up everytime! I also love all the unique spins on the Santa Claus myth and how it is different from what we know, and more realistic than what we imagine. Read to find out🙊 I love every character💕 well except for Natalie and Frederick, they can go to hell. I'll be happy to kick them out of Yule my self. Going back, this book is so cute, and the pace was really good. Not too slow and not too rushed, just enough to get us to know the characters better and still be hooked. My only problem is the ending. It left me hanging. I wanted more of their love story!🤧 Even just an epilouge, and I would be happy🥺

I really recommend this if you're already in the mood for Holiday reads. It's sweet and magical.

I just reviewed The Naughty Or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan. #TheNaughtyOrNiceClause #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]
I am obsessed with this. One of the most perfect Christmas stories I've read so far. It has Grumpy/Sunshine, Fake Dating Santa's son. This is the book you need for the Christmas season. Curl up with this book with a fire going, fluffy blanket and hot cocoa. This is a 5 Star read for me and also I will be rereading it I loved it so much.

A super enjoyable Christmas romance! It reminded me of the Santa Claus movies and a Hallmark movie wrapped into one. The perfect Christmas read for someone who doesn’t want their holiday romance to be too cheesy.

This was a cute Christmas Romance novel and a very quick read! Thank you NetGalley, CallaganWriter, and publisher for this ARC. I would definitely recommend to anyone who loves cozy romances to get an early start on this holiday season!

The perfect holiday read. The love-hate relationship between the characters and sprinkled with secrets, magic and temptation are the perfect recipe for a happily ever after story. Definitely worth picking up.

Thank you #NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for giving me the opportunity to read this!

The brooding earl
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New ng review
The naughty or Nice Klaus
Kate Callaghan
A new twist on the Santa Claus and toy making village with inhabitants allowed - if they press hard enough and make the arguments good enough to go on a trip and live outside the village fora while -to explore or go to college or..
So we have a Mr Klaus coming to ‘help’ a toy company run by Lyla Smurfit.Yes all puns intended.
This toy company took over or partnered with smaller companies and enabled them - by running their marketing and logistics for instance. But during Lyla’s father’s time, the company had begun to struggle. This may of course have been because he was distracted by the wives he kept marrying - and divorcing - after Lyla’s mother’s death. Though this was implied rather than stated.
So Klaus came in as a White Knight with51% of the company shares and Lyla had the remaining 49%. This meant that his decisions were implemented and she could only argue with him when she disagreed.
The story line begins near Xmas of course. The toy company is about to have its annual Xmas party for staff and clients - which he had cancelled - unknown to Lyla until that morning. Of course this leads to an argument and Lyla has a brilliant idea to hold a staff party in the offices that she will pay for with food from the internal cafe.
Things begin to go wrong from there and then perhaps rather right as Lyla finds herself in Yule- the Xmas village and learns the secret of what is carried on the sleighs to the external world.
We do have some big reveals and some nice family interactions, with the village and family being inclusive and some wolves too with a scary element.
Overall a light and Xmas froth of a story.Suitable for YA audiences.

3.5 stars!

Enemies to lovers, office place romance, pretend fiancés, except his hometown? It's The North Pole. And he's the son of Santa Claus.

This was such a fun read! I'd love to be teleported away to the North Pole and asked to live in a Winter Wonderland. I think this was such as sweet romance, that checked all the boxes.

I'll definitely be keeping my eye on any future releases from this author!

This was a really fun, quick read! I enjoyed both of the main characters and their chemistry together. The take on the North Pole was very interesting and unique. The ending was just a little abrupt and I would have loved to read more of the main characters together, but this was a nice slow burn with a good build up to the end.
Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter for providing me access to this eARC for my honest opinion!

This was not the Christmas romance I was expecting. And not in a good way.

First of all, I was quite pleasantly surprised with the fantasy aspect of it all. Though, that is my fault as I didn't read the genres properly, and went into this thinking I was getting a spicy romance. However, I was not disappointed with the fantasy aspect. It brought a bit of a magical Christmas feel to the story. The little village of Yule seemed sweet and like something out of a hallmark movie.

However, I didn't enjoy the writing. I thought it was quite bland and it didn't provoke much emotion from me. I think this is what made it difficult for me to enjoy the story and the "romance" aspect. I felt no chemistry between Mason and Lyla. And, can I also just mention - what kind of surname is Smurfit?!

On that thought regarding Mason and Lyla, the first line of the blurb on Goodreads is, "Being Naughty Has Never Been So Nice!"
How inaccurate this statement is about this book is unbelievable. This book was not "naughty" at all. The readers have to wait until the book is almost over to read one smut scene that was very underwhelming. It was not worth the wait.

It took me much longer than I anticipated to finish this book, and by the end, I, unfortunately, didn't feel it was worth it.

This is a cute holiday read! I didn’t love it but I didn’t hate it! I would recommend it for a fun December read to my friends for sure though as I think it’s a quick one to read and December is always a good month for a cute festive holiday read like this one! At times I found myself getting a little bored with the story line but it made me laugh and the characters were quite likeable in my opinion!

The Naughty or Nice Clause is the story of two business partners, Lyla and Mason Klaus, as they struggle to navigate the fact that Mason purchased 51% of the company shares from Lyla's father and fights at every turn. Is he really the grinch he acts like or is there more behind those dark eyes?

After going against his wishes when it came to the company Christmas party, she finds him less than sober in his office. She leaves her employees unattended in the office to get Klaus home safe and while she is gone they accidentally set fire to the office. In his anger about the fire, he makes her promise to accompany him back to his family home so he is not alone,

When they arrive, unconventionally, Lyla meets his family and begins to see an entirely different side to him. Is this a side she could possibly understand better or even love?

This is a story of love, magic, family, and loss. It will hit you right in the Christmas cheesy love feels and I could completely picture this as a Hallmark Christmas movie. It was cute and a quick read.

I was hoping for some more character development. Some of the way the love story was happening seemed a bit out of place and I felt like the passion could have been explored more. Klaus was a likable character and definitely would have like to see maybe from his point of view. The ending was also a little rushed.

I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

If you have been around for a bit, you know romance is not my favorite genre but I am a sucker for a good holiday romance AND an enemies-to-lovers trope. The characters were wonderful and I especially enjoyed getting to know Mason's family members.

It is a predictable plot, but it is still heartwarming and cute. There is also even a little spice scene . Lyla and her cat Jones were a fun pair and even though Mason's emotions sometimes gave me whiplash, it was a fast read and perfect to get me in the mood for the upcoming winter/holiday season.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and Kate Callaghan for this ARC!

I really enjoyed this whole spin on the Klaus family and hope that we get another book set in this world.. hint hint the younger brother... The depth of the world building really made it all work for me.

An absolutely lovely Christmas story.
Grumpy boss theme with a true holiday-spirit twist!

Cute and romantic slow burn- but I do think that calling it "adult" is a bit much...
Not even a kiss before 70% in...

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This book tells us the story of Lyla, the CEO of a toy company. It all starts when his "associate" Mason forbids her from celebrating the Christmas party with the entire company and clients. Seeing this, she decides to do it on her own at the office without being aware of everything the party will entail.
When they're having the party, she goes to the offices to get one of her things and discovers that the lights in Mason's office are on. She walks over, thinking someone has snuck in there, but the last thing she expects to see is a very drunk Mason.
Lyla has no choice but to drive him home because he can't tell her his house address. The next morning, Mason shows up at her house telling her that there has been a fire in the office and she will have to do what he asks now.
From that moment on, they moved to a magical world where everything is possible, and the spirit of Christmas is the greatest thing.

An interesting and perfect book for the Christmas season. It is perfect if you like an enemy to lover and he fell first.
A novel that shows us that Christmas isn't just a gift but all the people around us and that we don't realize we have it until we lose it.
A book about overcoming the death of a family member and also about overcoming and confrontation the loss. Also, how a new person in your life can change everything completely.
We also see how the characters evolve, mainly Mason. Mason's little brother, Kevin, has enchanted me, in the moments when he seemed he was a character with a lot of joy and light.

Oh yes, I love stories in which the Christmas village plays a big role.
Especially when the protagonists fight more at the beginning than is good for them.

The book is funny and also makes you think that life is too short and sometimes you just have to give in.

I also want to be able to travel by bell.

Sweet very well described story in a great setting that sometimes presents the protagonists with an adventure.

Have fun reading!

Kate is the only author that could make me break my “no Christmas before thanksgiving rule” and be excited about it. This book was everything I wanted it to be, it was cozy, witty, and relatable. Plus there’s a little spice tucked in there for added measure. I love Lyla and found her to be such a great character, her love for Christmas and her families legacy was heart warming. Mason took some time for me to warm up to but he proved to be the perfect grump in this book and by the end I was completely on his team. The supporting cast was a lovable hoot, there was only one character I wanted to throttle. (If you know you know) The world building was perfect, exactly what I would expect if a fantasy author and hallmark had a baby! I loved all the little details, the magic bits thrown in, and the way it all tied together. The concept of Christmas in this book is so unique I adored the concept and loved the execution. Definitely pick this up if you like •fake dating •enemies to lovers •sunshine grump• and a slight miscommunication.

A holiday book only for those that believe in that Christmas 💫MAGIC💫!
Mason Klaus is the grumpiest co-CEO of Lyla's family toy company. So grumpy that Mason actually cancels the company's Christmas party! Lyla finds a way to make sure the party still goes on but it ends with a fire in their building.
Mason tells her he will forget about the fire if she will go home for the holidays with him. In his words, "a buffer" for his family. What could possibly go wrong?
When Mason introduces her to the secret and magical village as his fiancée, she has no choice but to go along with the story - because the cost of bringing an outsider to their magical land is far too high.
Like I said, this is only for the biggest Christmas fans because there is a hint of magic in this story🎅

First, thank you to Kate Callaghan and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I won't lie, this wasn't my favorite book. From the beginning, I was lost. I felt like I had entered into a story that had already been going on, so I had no idea where the story was taking place, what events were transpiring, and so on. It was a lot of push and pull in terms of setting and how the plot progressed.

There was also a major lack of chemistry amongst the two main characters, which was off putting. The fake dating is right up my alley, but this story just didn't hit that trope like a nail on the head. It was difficult to follow their "love" that they developed for one another, as it all seemed too forced and unloving, which was what made this story not my favorite.

In the end, the story was tied up poorly, as well, which made for a story that didn't stick with me much.

As for the title - incredibly creative! I loved the idea behind clause/Claus/Clause and how the play on words was perfect for this book. Just wish I enjoyed the story itself more!