This was my first Lauren Blakely book and won't be my last. It was cute and corny and funny. I enjoyed the billionaire fake dating with a holiday twist! This will be a great holiday read for anyone looking for a good time.

This started out strong with a dedication to "anyone who ever wanted to bang under a Christmas tree," but nearly immediately fizzled with a man encouraging a woman to "Take that eggnog, baby. Take it all."

If you like raunchy, tongue in cheek Christmas puns, this book will be a delight for you.

I've now read this book twice! I blew through the book both times in less than 48 hours. Likeable characters with a fun plot. Great holiday read....even New Year's is a great time to read this one.


I was given a NetGalley eARC for my honest review.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and here is my review.

3.5 stars really. There were a lot of elements I really loved. The chemistry between Fable and Wilder was so good. The Christmas theme was so fun. I loved Wilder's daughter, Mac.

The only things keeping it from being a 4 star or higher are:
1) While the spicy scenes were so yummy......there was some cringy dialogue before or during that just kind of soured it a bit.
2) It was repetitive. The inner monologues were almost the same each time. Almost every page we were reminded that they were fake dating, but also was it fake?

I would sum this one up as Christmasy, spicy, funny and sweet at times. I recommend and I'll be reading more by this author.

I really enjoyed this as a holiday romance and how the storyline was used to tell the storyline. I thought it worked well in the romance genre and was enjoying the journey during this world. It had that concept that worked overall and that the characters were so well written and enjoyed going on this journey with them. Lauren Blakely has a great way of telling the storyline and engaged from start to finish,

While I appreciate the ARC of this book after starting the story I found this was not my cup of tea.

I do not plan on continuing the story not for any fault of the book or the author but because I just did not enjoy the overall story.

This was a soliid read! Full of your favorite tropes. At points it did feel a touch too long, but I would still recommend. Thank you Atria Books and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review

this book felt SO LONG I COULD HAVE DRAGGED IT OUT TIL DECEMBER. Since it was the eARC of the re-release I have zero idea how many pages it actually was but man a romance shouldn’t FEEL long.

Okay the eggnog moment in the beginning had me cackling so much. I enjoyed both characters so i won’t blame them for the 3 star but I will blame the author for the weird ass gift in the epilogue. I hated that so much. I know I would have liked this book more had I read the series however I feel like books advertised as stand alone’s shouldn’t make you feel that way!! Also a conscious billionaire like Wilder wouldn’t be okay with being a billionaire and I think I had a hard time looking past that.

Lauren Blakely’s My Favorite Holidate is the kind of Christmas rom-com that will make you want to deck your halls, spike your cocoa, and text your boss something wildly inappropriate.
Big thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for my gifted ARC—this book was like being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket while a hot billionaire fed me peppermint bark.

Let’s set the scene. Fable Calloway is a firecracker jewelry designer who catches her boyfriend getting frisky with the Thanksgiving caterer—AT HER BOSS’S PARTY. She dumps him (as she should), only to realize she still has to face him at her sister’s Christmas Eve wedding, where he’s a groomsman and she’s the maid of honor. Enter Wilder Blaine. Sexy billionaire. Single dad. Owner of impeccable forearms. Also, her boss.

Wilder has his own problem: his matchmaking aunt Bibi is on a mission to see him hitched by New Year’s, preferably to someone named Prudence or Margot or something equally exhausting. So when Fable proposes a fake dating scheme to save them both from public humiliation, family meddling, and ex drama? He’s all in. For the holiday season, they’ll be each other’s picture-perfect couple—complete with mistletoe kisses, popcorn ball competitions, one-bed chalets, and entirely too much practice making their fake romance look real.

The banter is razor-sharp and full of zingers. The chemistry? Yule log on fire-level. And the Christmas puns? Oh, they’re cringey, cozy, and constant—just how I like them. One minute I was laughing out loud, the next I was fanning myself with a gingerbread cookie. My favorite kind of chaos.

Wilder is the ideal holiday boyfriend—wealthy but humble, funny without trying too hard, and emotionally fluent. The way he adores his daughter Mac made my ovaries write a resignation letter. And Fable? She’s a hot mess in the best possible way. She’s clever, chaotic, deeply lovable, and has a gift for accidentally sexting her boss mid-meeting. Who among us hasn’t?

This book gave me the joy of a Hallmark movie, but with significantly more adult content and fewer mysteriously wealthy small-town bakeries. The spice is real, but it’s also sweet—think less “shock and awe” and more “candy cane-scented apology sex.” One scene had me howling and blushing when Wilder handed Fable a certain toy under the Christmas tree. I will never look at gift-wrapped boxes the same way again.

The emotional core of the story shines just as much as the spice. Both characters have wounds that feel real, and watching them slowly open up, support each other, and build something deeper was so satisfying. There’s a third-act moment that got a little too real—classic miscommunication, of course—but it was wrapped up quicker than Santa on speed.

My favorite quote? Easy:
“Shut up and practice kissing me.”
Iconic. I will be using this line all December. Possibly year-round.

There’s something so magical about watching two people fake their way through love until it becomes real—and Lauren Blakely leans all the way into that trope like it’s her job. Which, I guess, it kind of is. And thank God for that, because she delivers every time.

If you’re looking for something festive, funny, and a little filthy, My Favorite Holidate checks every box. It’s the fake dating, workplace, billionaire single dad romance of my cozy little dreams. It’s the kind of book you read curled up in socks that look like candy canes while humming Mariah Carey through a grin. I’ll be rereading this the next time I need a serotonin boost—or a reason to believe that love under twinkle lights still exists.

Spicy, sweet, and full of holiday charm! My Favorite Holidate brings fake dating, festive competitions, and undeniable chemistry together in one irresistible Christmas romance.

Lauren kills it every time, but a fun & romantic holiday read was even better! I loved how sweet these characters were, chemistry that was off the charts and just the right amount of holiday cheer to appease my holiday love (but not too much to overshadow the story). I will always pick up Lauren’s stories, this one was no different and such a great introduction the the author if you haven’t picked up any of her other books!

This book by Lauren Blakely made me a fan. Loved the holiday romance in this mixed with the small town vibes it was so cute and swoon worthy and the absolute perfect read for the holidays. The banter in this is top tier. Highly recommend! Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC!

I really wanted to love this. The premise of this book was really promising but I felt just didn’t click for me. I found it really hard to get into and really cringy. Though the relationship between Wilder and Fable was supposed to be fake, it was too much of an insta-love. There was no real question of will they actually fall for one another through this fake dating scenario or won’t they. I feel the book is just missing that tension and build up. Overall, it was an average festive romance.

I am just swooning over Lauren Blakely’s My Favorite Holidate, it is such a good fake dating holiday romance! Fable just caught her boyfriend cheating on her and now needs a plus one to her sister’s wedding, plus a teammate to the annual week-long holiday competition, and who better to ask than her generous, single dad, billionaire boss. Wilder too needs a plus one to get his aunt from matchmaking him, but with each day, it’s not just the competition heating up, and these two can’t seem to resist their feelings. I loved Wilder. He is giving and generous and loving, some of his giving felt a little over the top, but I loved how he had an appreciation for the simpler things too, and he just is so good to Fable! And to his daughter too! Their relationship was so sweet. And Fable is so steady and such a great balance to him. I loved the small town vibes, the Christmas competition, the banter! It has everything! It’s steamy and funny and emotional. There’s a vulnerability in these characters. There is a lot going on, and I think it maybe could have been a little shorter, but I had so much fun with this holiday fake dating romance! It is festive and sexy and just left me with a smile on my face.

A swoony, feel-good holiday rom-com full of flirty banter, festive vibes, and undeniable chemistry. With her signature charm and humor, Blakely delivers a story that’s both lighthearted and romantic, perfect for cozying up with by the fire.

The fake-dating setup is executed with heart and heat, and the characters are so easy to root for. It’s the kind of holiday read that makes you smile the whole way through.

Lauren Blakely wins me over, every single book.

Her writing draws me in, like magic.
And the tropes! I think she lives to torture me because she uses all my favorites! 😍

My Favorite Holidate was such a fun holiday read.
Cheesy at times, predictable, but it'll get ya on the spirit! 😉

4.25 Stars!

Starting off strong, WILDER. Like, *chefs kiss* to all of Lauren’s MMC’s. His giving love language is acts of service and gift giving and it SHOWS throughout the whole book perfectly. Plus being a billionaire just makes it so much easier.

Our FMC, Fable walks in on her (now ex) cheating boyfriend and now has to go through the awkwardness of being in the same wedding party for her sisters wedding. What else to do other than find a fake boyfriend?

Wilder and Fable make the cutest fake couple. I love that they do tell Wilders daughter Mac the truth about their relationship. There were such cute scenes, but I do feel some could have been trimmed just because we got extra context that I felt wasn’t necessary to the main plot.

Single Dad ✅
Billionaire Romance ✅
Office / Workplace Romance ✅
Fake Dating ✅

Fable finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her, and now she needs to find a date to her sister's wedding because her ex will be there. Her billionaire boss, Wilder, offers to help her out and be her date to the wedding held during the Christmas holiday. This book was funny, steamy, and festive! I gave it s 3.5 stars.

The premise of this book was super promising. And the beginning totally pulled me in, I was all in on the cozy holiday vibes and the fake dating setup. Wilder and Fable made such a cute pair, and honestly, Wilder and his daughter Mac were the standouts for me. Their relationship was sweet.

I also really appreciated how this book handled Wilder’s ex-wife. Such a refreshing example of healthy co-parenting and mutual respect.

That said, the middle did start to drag a bit. It felt like things kept moving without a lot of payoff, and I found myself wishing for a little more plot development. Basically, it’s a spicy Hallmark movie with extra steam and a little less structure.

Still, it was a cute, festive read with heartwarming and even nostalgic moments. I just wish it had been a little shorter with better pacing.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

I loved reading this right after Christmas in July. It definitely got me in the mood for fall and winter... and now Christmas can't get here soon enough. Fun holiday romance with characters that make it easy to root for them.