This is the first book by this author I’ve read and overall enjoyed it. It’s a fun book to read over the holidays and I loved the special little piece we got about Christmas.
I liked the family dynamics but they almost took over the book from the main two characters. There was also a lot of over sharing in the technical side of the story and the ending was so quick.

Not the gift I was expecting.

The premise of this story is very solid and interesting, which is why I wanted to read it. We have two characters that are on different sides of the company table so to speak, we have Lyla who is trying to save her family’s toy company and then Mason, who is doing the dirty work of trying to save the company—making the hard choices to cut programs, no holiday party, no extended time off for the holiday—kind of a Scrooge.. They don’t like each other, butting heads at every turn, fighting for their view to be the right one.

Lyla finds Mason drunk in his office, and after hearing that he doesn’t have his driver, and when the taxi driver says he’s not taking a sleepy drunk guy home, Lyla agrees to ride home with him to get him safely tucked into bed.

And we see the juxtaposition of the two, his home is sterile and cold, prim and proper and all that jazz. While Lyla’s home is more artful, warm, creatively decorated for Christmas.

Then we have the rest of the story that I was expecting, this magical world. Basically, Mason Klaus, his family are the Clauses—but they don’t do actual gifts of coveted dolls and bicycles—and they live in a secret village called Yule. Again, all of this is rather interesting. The Klaus family is modern, as is the village really, and everyone is happy that Mason is back to take his dearly departed father’s place as the new Klaus.

Mason and Lyla’s relationship for a good portion of the book is pretty combative, those rare moments we see Mason softening towards Lyla are obvious to both the reader and Lyla. Her moments of sympathy and understanding towards him are clearly seen. However, in the time frame this story takes place, I never felt it was enough to warrant a romance to blossom. It felt forced at times, and all the tropes are in place to have a furthering of romance and sensuality, but yet it never seemed to be taken advantage of.

To be frank, I would have preferred this to have been developed as a series, and I would have read it. All the elements were there, rich characters, a mystical land, a female rival/villain that could have been used more effectively, and the politics of this land were interesting enough that it could have sustained at least a three-book arc. Not to mention there is a younger brother that I would like to see more of, what’s his story? I wanted to see more of where things were going with him. I mean that sincerely, I wish this were a series and not a standalone romance. The slow burn romance that is given here would have worked much better and been more believable as a series.

I enjoyed the book, didn’t love it, but as stated above, it this were a series, I’d absolutely give it a go.

This is a mild enemies to overs tomance with one toasty intimate scene.
The author does a splended job of world building. I wish the characters had more depth.
Klaus is angsty and Lyla is pretty much a dustmop. I didn't connect or become emotionally invested.
The former scheming girlfriend was annoying and predictable but so easily overcome and ignored.
Maybe if there was more pressure for Klaus to marry.
There was a bried fresh diversity angle and it was an enjoyable read but I've seen this plot so often on chick lit media.

This was a cute holiday rom-com that I would love to see made into a hallmark movie! The relationship was adorable!

What happened if a little elf told you that your greatest enemy will turn out otherwise by Christmas Day? That is what happened to Lyla Smurfit and Mason Klaus when Lyla took a little trip back to Mason’s hometown after a series of events that happened.

The perfect book I needed right this moment and I love every minute of it! Giving off all the right Christmas-y vibe even in September, I am already looking forward to Christmas.

I love the twist in the book that I was not expecting at all — combining magic, Christmas and love — how could anyone resist this?

I also enjoyed the conversations between each character and was glad that I managed to have more than just a glimpse of them.

A lighthearted read, perfect for anyone at any time and with this book, I hereby declare I am looking forward to Christmas!

1.5⭐️ Is this a romance? Where?

This review is going to contain some mild spoilers, but I need to rant a little and it’s kind of impossible to do it without talking a bit about the plot. Fair warning issued - here we go.

This is a fantasy book riddled with odd grammatical choices and even odder character traits. Both main characters are unlikable for completely different reasons. The FMC, Lyla, is a complete pushover who believes herself the strongest, most badass person around - only to backtrack and fold instantly when anyone puts even a single ounce of pressure into her or questions any of her choices. She might be decisive, but fails to follow through with her choices at every point in the story. Mason, the MMC, is a narcissistic, entitled guy - the embodiment of white, cis and straight dude - who spends the entirety of the book bouncing between hot and cold with her, only to resent her at every turn for not reading his mind. The number of sexist/condescending comments he makes to Lyla are just laughable. Just to name a few:

- “This is the last stop, and then you can eat as much as you like”. – Spoken like a true father with a toddler - because why would you listen to her when she’s trying to communicate her needs. That’s nice.

- “Don’t fidget” – Barking orders at her when she’s in a stressful, new environment that YOU have thrown her into, because of course.

- “I only bought this dress so I could take it off”. – And in one sentence (plagiarized from Ms. Taylor Swift, might I add), the author changes the words by putting them in a man’s mouth, making clear why women are often scared of taking gifts from men. STOP MAKING “GIFTS” TRANSACTIONAL – if you think women own you shit (that being their time, their energy, their attention, their body, etc.) after buying them something THEN YOU ARE TRYING TO BUY THEM, NOT GIVE THEM GIFTS. So here, the fact that her wearing that dress made the MMC feel entitled to finishing the night undressing her says SO MUCH. I hate it here.

- “You were wrong about me, but I was right about you. Entitled, selfish, out for no one but herself”. – And this is the sentence that broke me - Mason refuses to take a good look at himself in a mirror, apparently. Throughout the entire book, this man has been pissy, then mildly sweet, then back to cold. He took her from her home to some middle of nowhere “magical wonderland” where she’s unable to scape, forced her to lie to everyone in the village, and to his entire family, under the threat of someone erasing her memories if she’s found to be lying at all. Then she’s forced to interact with pretty much everyone as if she was his fiancé – everyone except him, it feels like. This isn’t slow-burn, it’s just passionless. The fun thing about forced proximity or fake relations in books is where they have to act as a believable couple when they’re around others. Here, he spends his days working and she is mostly left alone with his family. I liked his little brother, Kevin, so much more than I liked Mason at any point in this story. After all this happens, he still calls HER selfish and entitled. I just couldn’t anymore. It’s the lack of self-awareness for me.

The third act conflict was predictable, and it would be laughable if it wasn’t for the fact that it’s:
1. Completely normal business-partner behaviour;
2. She tells herself “I deserve to suffer” (literal quote from the book) over it - which is so fucking dramatic - only for her to admit not even a full page later that “I never even did it, but I thought about it. Mason found out.”- again literal quote. HE KNOWS YOU DIDN’T DO ANYTHING, AND YOU WERE JUST TAKING STEPS INTO MAKING SURE YOU WERE A GOOD BUSINESS PARTNER TO HIM, AND HE’S STILL MAKING YOU FEEL LIKE SHIT ON PURPOSE. I just… I can’t…

I could keep going, but I think I’ve made my point - and I don’t particularly enjoy picking apart someone’s work. So, no, I do not recommend you read this book. I gave it a 1.5 because at least I could finish it… it was hard, though.

1.5/5 ⭐️

*Thank you Net Galley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review*

A nice quick cosy weekend read, perfect for the holiday season; refreshing to have a spin on the traditional holiday books.

The main characters just were not likeable and even the holiday setting couldn’t improve my feelings on this one.

To be fair this wasn’t the usual type of book I would read and had it not been an eArc I probably wouldn’t have kept reading it.

It did have potential there with the settings and the author is great with descriptions of the people and places. It’ll be the perfect book for some people but just wasn’t for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and callaghanwriter for this eArc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This may be the book for you if you like holiday angsty romance similar to a Hallmark holiday movie. While I felt the tension between the two main characters, Lyla and Mason, I didn't feel the love connection. I would like to have seen better character development that would make the characters and their love connection more believable. I did enjoy the different take on Santa Claus and the spirit of Christmas, but I would like to have been shown, not told. All in all, it was okay. I enjoyed it but saw many places where things could have been improved to make it great.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. This was such a cute and unique Christmas book. It would be perfect for a holiday movie and I have to say that I enjoyed this even more than I expected I would. Lyla is on the outs with her co-CEO Mason. Lyla's family used to fully own the toy company and now Mason seems to be overruling her at every step and his policies and behaviors are very Grinch like. Somehow Lyla and Mason end up together in the ways of many a good 'fake dating' trope romance. Why did Mason leave home ten years ago, never to return...until now. With Lyla as his fiancé? They can't even stand each other so how will they pull this off? Lyla adores Christmas and all its trappings and Mason is so cold he won't even face the window that looks out onto the Christmas ice skating rink across the street. But Mason and his family are more than anything Lyla's wild imagination could ever have believed. I don't want to give much away but this has some great fantasy elements and a ton small town Christmas vibes. There is a thin line between hate and passion and its written fairly believably here. There are a couple of times where Lyla bothered me a bit because something would be blatantly obvious and she would have to do mental gymnastics to to realize what it was. I wish the author could have found a way around some of these little elements. Otherwise this was a joy to read.

I rated this book 3.5 Stars and really wanted to rate it higher. I enjoyed this book so much and wanted more. I didn’t think I was ready for a Christmas book, but this sweetly magical story put me in the mood. It could’ve been better with more in-depth characters, but I loved so many things about it anyway. The explanation of Klaus’ actual job during the Christmas season was a beautiful idea. Loved Lyla and Mason and I hope the author brings us more stories of their world.

Thank you to CallaghanWriter for this ARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
#TheNaughtyOrNiceClause #NetGalley

This one was just okay for me. It was a cute romance, but the magic came in out of nowhere and kind of was just too much too fast right off the bat. I know a lot of people have really loved this one, but it's not one that'll stick in my mind for long. I think this could make a cool hallmark type of movie, but didn't hit the mark for me while reading it. I think many would enjoy this type of read though, so I'm in the minority here. The banter between Mason and Lyla was nice at times, but I would have liked if they were in the real world for a bit longer before switching over to the magical land.


Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for letting me read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Naughty or Nice Claus begins as an exploration of corporate greed - a toy company is sold to Mr. Klaus.
Lyla - who would have received her father's shares in the company had his retirement not revealed he was bankrupt - seeks to regain her father's company.

She plans to throw a Christmas party for the employees but Mr. Klaus forbids it. She holds it anyway but it ends in disaster. He then offers Lyla the chance to redeem herself if she will accompany him to a magical winter wonderland for the 12 days of Christmas. She discovers that he has told his family that she is his fiancee.

This book is rather whimsical and offers a fresh take on the holiday theme.

This was a cute, enemies-to-lovers Christmas read! I was intrigued from the start and could feel Lyla and Mason's chemistry from the very beginning of the story when they were just two coworkers bickering. I think the magic system was a cute touch, and I enjoyed the twist on the stereotypical Santa Claus who has a workshop full of presents and elves to a more magical workshop that didn't focus so much on materialism.

I wish we had gotten more time between Mason and Lyla being workplace enemies and her being thrown into the world of magic and the town of Yule since it happened so fast. I also think the ending was kind of rushed. Because of that third-act breakup, I was hoping for more of a powerful ending, but it was still cute nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for access to this eARC!

This was such a different kind of Christmas story. It’s like the modern retelling of Santa Claus. It’s a magical story. There’s a family and whole community grieving the death of their leader. Lyla and Mason are constantly arguing, but when their not their chemistry is off the charts. This is a great book to get you into the holiday spirit. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Christmas cannot come soon enough! But at least I had this book to read while I wait for the holiday season to come around the corner!

It was honestly so easy for me to fall in love with this book, because it's Christmas themed, with some good old enemies to lovers romance, and slow burn love you can't help but root for. There was an obvious chemistry between our two main characters that had me grinning, laughing, and pouting to myself as I read this book.

This is a book you can't put down, but at the same time you don't want to put it down because you need to get to the end to know what happens to these characters you easily fall in love with. The banter all around, the side characters, and this magical winter wonderland that Kate creates absolutely blew my mind. If you're looking for your next holiday read, this is it!

This book read exactly like a Hallmark movie! While I don't necessarily enjoy those movies, I did enjoy this book! Considering I read this book on a beach on a VERY hot September day, the fact that this was a Christmas story did not escape my mind. I couldn't put this book down!
I very much liked this stories version of what Klaus and the Christmas gift delivery is. It was different and enchanting!
Seeing Mason breakdown little by little was endearing. His show of emotion really made me connect to him. My heart reached out to him when he discovered Lyla's (discarded) plans, but he still stuck for her when she needed him.
One line summed up Lyla perfectly in my opinion... "The man had more layers than a tiramisu, but she was determined to figure him out." And she didn't give up on him either, even when he seemed to give up on her!
In all honesty, I cannot wait to get my hands on a physical copy of this book so that I can add it to much Christmas book collection! It will 100% be an annual Christmas re-read!

Lyla grew up expecting to take over the family business, Except her father has mismanaged the business and sold his 51% of shares to Mason Klaus. Klaus is an investor who can help turn the company around. Instead of working with Lyla, he works against her and makes decisions she never would causing tension between the two. When he cancels the company Christmas party, she decides to treat the staff herself. At the party, Lyla finds Klaus in his office, drunk. She takes him home but the staff somehow manage to start a fire in the office kitchen.

Klaus shows up at Lyla’s to inform her of the fire and offer her a deal, come home with him to be a buffer with his estranged family and he will forget her party caused the office fire. She agrees and is swept away to his village and soon the two stop arguing and start to fall for each other.

Of course, it would not be an enemy to lovers without additional content! But you’ll have to read the book for that!

Overall, I enjoyed The Naughty or Nice Clause. I thought it was well-written and well-paced until the end. The lead-up to the switch from enemies to lovers was a slow burn but a good slow burn. You wanted to shake them both to get it together but when it finally happened it was perfect! I did think the ending wrapped up too quickly. I would have liked another chapter or maybe an epilogue.

It was frustrating that Lyla worked for Klaus for a year and never made some kind of thought about the name for a woman who LOVES Christmas.

I enjoyed the author's unique take on Santa Claus and the North Pole. It was a little different than your usual Christmas book or movie.

For those worried about graphic content, there were a few almost racy scenes and when they finally hook up it was descriptive but not carried on for long. There was also the use of a swear word in the sex scene. I do not recall it elsewhere in the book.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, if you like cheesy Christmas movies on lifetime this would be a fun read!

This one missed the mark for me... too rushed, too much too soon, and just not enough substance.
It was one I found myself skimming to finish. it honestly felt like a first draft... not the final copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and CallaghanWriter, Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA), Members' Titles for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

It's a good little Christmas romance. I really enjoyed it and I finished it in one sitting! The only issue I had was that the end felt rushed. I feel like the author could have done more with it. I'm hoping it ended like that because she plans to do a follow-up!