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nineinchnails's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
this was really cute! i don't really gravitate towards novellas but i was trying to avoid a book slump before it came (hoping that worked) so it's what i needed today. i actively avoid holiday romances but it wasn't too obnoxious with the christmas stuff in this book. enemies/rivals to lovers would work better in a full-length book imo because there's time for a more natural development but i still enjoyed this! the characters don't have much depth and they're pretty frustrating but overall it was a fun and easy read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Stalking and Toxic relationship
Minor: Medical content
Autism and Diabetesdrtx_bwt's review
emotional
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Ableism and Toxic relationship
kelly_e's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Title: The Mistletoe Motive
Author: Chloe Liese
Genre: Romance Novella
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: December 1, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Brief • Angsty • Steamy
📖 S Y N O P S I S
He loathes the holidays. She loves them. She’s full of festive cheer. He’s brimming with Bah, Humbugs. Besides unreasonably seasonable names, the only thing Jonathan Frost and Gabriella Di Natale have in common is a healthy dose of mutual contempt. Well, that and the same place of employment at the city’s most beloved independent bookstore, Bailey’s Bookshop. But when the store’s owners confess its dire financial state, Jonathan and Gabby discover another unfortunate commonality: the imminent threat of unemployment.
With the Baileys’ requests to minimize expenses, win new customers, and make record sales dancing in their heads, Jonathan and Gabby conclude—barring a financial Christmas miracle—one of them will soon be cut from the payroll. Neither are willing to step down from their position, so they strike a bargain: whoever has more sales in December gets to stay on in the new year; the loser will resign. With a lifetime's worth of festive tricks up her sleeve, Gabby should easily outsell her nemesis, except the unreadable Mr. Frost’s every move seems purely designed to throw her off her game.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabby's deceptive ex won't quit pursuing her, and her anonymous online friend suggests they take a break. Worst of all, as the pressure mounts to save the bookshop and her job, Gabby meets a new, tender side of Jonathan. Is this the same man she's called her cold-hearted enemy?
Maybe he’s got a motive she just can’t figure out—or maybe Jonathan Frost isn’t as chilly as she once thought. Maybe Jonathan and Gabby already know—and love—each other in ways they never thought possible.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Chloe Liese's Bergman Brothers series has quickly become a favourite romance series of mine, so I was interested in picking up The Mistletoe Motive when I stumbled upon it at a local garage sale. Knowing it also takes place in a bookstore was the icing on the cake, and it was one of the holiday books I put on my TBR for the holiday season.
With strong You've Got Mail vibes this open door, grumpy/sunshine romance was a quick, fun holiday read. The bookstore setting was fantastic. The writing was accessible and flowed easily. Even though everything is fairly predictable, I enjoyed how Johnathan and Gabriella really opened up to one another and how they come together to save the bookstore.
Chloe Liese is known for writing romance with diverse characters, and here she offers positive, authentic representation of neurodivergence, specifically autism; asexuality, specifically demisexuality; and chronic illness, specifically Type I diabetes. She details in her author's note at the beginning that two of these are her lived experience and how she uses her own experiences to shape her characters.
Overall, The Mistletoe Motive was fun, steamy holiday romance I enjoyed. At 179 pages, this novella explores so many things, but it never felt like I needed more. It's probably not a book I'd consider re-reading, yet I definitely look forward to continuing to explore Chloe Liese work and would recommend this as a cozy holiday read.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a bookstore romance
• fans of enemies-to-lovers trope
• Hallmark movie enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Just because you’re loving them differently than they love doesn’t make it any less loving. My mom says there are countless kinds of love, and love enough for everyone. That love is an infinite resource whose expressions are just as innumerable."
Author: Chloe Liese
Genre: Romance Novella
Rating: 3.75
Pub Date: December 1, 2021
T H R E E • W O R D S
Brief • Angsty • Steamy
📖 S Y N O P S I S
He loathes the holidays. She loves them. She’s full of festive cheer. He’s brimming with Bah, Humbugs. Besides unreasonably seasonable names, the only thing Jonathan Frost and Gabriella Di Natale have in common is a healthy dose of mutual contempt. Well, that and the same place of employment at the city’s most beloved independent bookstore, Bailey’s Bookshop. But when the store’s owners confess its dire financial state, Jonathan and Gabby discover another unfortunate commonality: the imminent threat of unemployment.
With the Baileys’ requests to minimize expenses, win new customers, and make record sales dancing in their heads, Jonathan and Gabby conclude—barring a financial Christmas miracle—one of them will soon be cut from the payroll. Neither are willing to step down from their position, so they strike a bargain: whoever has more sales in December gets to stay on in the new year; the loser will resign. With a lifetime's worth of festive tricks up her sleeve, Gabby should easily outsell her nemesis, except the unreadable Mr. Frost’s every move seems purely designed to throw her off her game.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Gabby's deceptive ex won't quit pursuing her, and her anonymous online friend suggests they take a break. Worst of all, as the pressure mounts to save the bookshop and her job, Gabby meets a new, tender side of Jonathan. Is this the same man she's called her cold-hearted enemy?
Maybe he’s got a motive she just can’t figure out—or maybe Jonathan Frost isn’t as chilly as she once thought. Maybe Jonathan and Gabby already know—and love—each other in ways they never thought possible.
💭 T H O U G H T S
Chloe Liese's Bergman Brothers series has quickly become a favourite romance series of mine, so I was interested in picking up The Mistletoe Motive when I stumbled upon it at a local garage sale. Knowing it also takes place in a bookstore was the icing on the cake, and it was one of the holiday books I put on my TBR for the holiday season.
With strong You've Got Mail vibes this open door, grumpy/sunshine romance was a quick, fun holiday read. The bookstore setting was fantastic. The writing was accessible and flowed easily. Even though everything is fairly predictable, I enjoyed how Johnathan and Gabriella really opened up to one another and how they come together to save the bookstore.
Chloe Liese is known for writing romance with diverse characters, and here she offers positive, authentic representation of neurodivergence, specifically autism; asexuality, specifically demisexuality; and chronic illness, specifically Type I diabetes. She details in her author's note at the beginning that two of these are her lived experience and how she uses her own experiences to shape her characters.
Overall, The Mistletoe Motive was fun, steamy holiday romance I enjoyed. At 179 pages, this novella explores so many things, but it never felt like I needed more. It's probably not a book I'd consider re-reading, yet I definitely look forward to continuing to explore Chloe Liese work and would recommend this as a cozy holiday read.
📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• readers looking for a bookstore romance
• fans of enemies-to-lovers trope
• Hallmark movie enthusiasts
🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S
"Just because you’re loving them differently than they love doesn’t make it any less loving. My mom says there are countless kinds of love, and love enough for everyone. That love is an infinite resource whose expressions are just as innumerable."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Cursing
Minor: Stalking, Gaslighting, and Ableism
jillkaarlela's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Taylor Swift songs: “I Can See You (TV)”, “The Way I Loved You (TV)
Age rating: 16+ (2 spicy scenes, 0.5/5🌶️)
This was a holiday version of “You’ve Got Mail” and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! This was an extremely tender, yet quick, holiday romance and I loved every second of it. I love how Chloe Liese adds such great representation in her books!! This book contains an autistic and Demisexual FMC and an MMC with a chronic illness (T1D). All of these are handled with such care!! The way that the MMC was so attentive to her sensory needs and accommodated them without saying anything, even before she told him she was autistic?? WE LOVE TO SEE IT! He truly saw her and loved her. Chloe Liese men are just superior.
Even if you don’t love Novellas, I think you would still love this. It gave everything it needed to give, and more, all in under 200 pages. I don’t know how she did it, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.
Age rating: 16+ (2 spicy scenes, 0.5/5🌶️)
This was a holiday version of “You’ve Got Mail” and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! This was an extremely tender, yet quick, holiday romance and I loved every second of it. I love how Chloe Liese adds such great representation in her books!! This book contains an autistic and Demisexual FMC and an MMC with a chronic illness (T1D). All of these are handled with such care!! The way that the MMC was so attentive to her sensory needs and accommodated them without saying anything, even before she told him she was autistic?? WE LOVE TO SEE IT! He truly saw her and loved her. Chloe Liese men are just superior.
Even if you don’t love Novellas, I think you would still love this. It gave everything it needed to give, and more, all in under 200 pages. I don’t know how she did it, but I wouldn’t change a single thing about it.
-the banter?? Top tier!!!
-The chemistry?? SIZZLING!
-The emotional connection/intimacy? AMAZING.
I had been having such a bad holiday, since I am sick, and this completely brightened my mood. I almost stayed up all night to finish it in one sitting!! It is just the perfect pick-me-up romance.
I had been having such a bad holiday, since I am sick, and this completely brightened my mood. I almost stayed up all night to finish it in one sitting!! It is just the perfect pick-me-up romance.
Chloe Liese truly can do no wrong in my eyes. At this moment, I have read everything she has published, and I love all of them so much.
HIGHLY recommend!
Content Warnings
Minor: Toxic relationship and Chronic illness
amanda_reads13's review
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Gabriella works at an independent book store with her grumpy co-manager, Jonathan. They are complete opposites and do not get along at all. With the possibility shutting down, they must put aside their differences to try to save the store.
This was a cute, fluffy, and predictable Christmas novella.
Gabriella and Jonathan have never got along. Gabriella is sunshine to Jonathan's grumpy. Gabriella has autism and struggles to interpret people's emotions. Jonathan doesn't know and this leads to a lot of miscommunication between the two.
Jonathan is actually very sweet. He has paid close attention to her and has picked up on many of her sensitivities (ie. Loud noises, strong smells,...). He goes out of his way to ensure that she does not have any extra stress (ie. Not telling her about a meeting 2 weeks in advancing, knowing she will worry). He very obviously has feelings for Gabriella, but she hasn't picked up on it.
Since this is a novella, the enemies to friends to lovers trope moves very fast. Gabriella is a demisexual and only develops attraction to someone once she has formed a close emotional bond. I feel like their "bond" wasn't a strong enough workaround for this since I think there needs to be a deep sense of trust for an emotional bond. I think it would have made more sense if their "friendship" period had been a bit longer.
I think the whole toxic ex could have been cut. It didn't really add much to the plot line.
Tropes: opposites attract, enemies to friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine
This was a cute, fluffy, and predictable Christmas novella.
Gabriella and Jonathan have never got along. Gabriella is sunshine to Jonathan's grumpy. Gabriella has autism and struggles to interpret people's emotions. Jonathan doesn't know and this leads to a lot of miscommunication between the two.
Jonathan is actually very sweet. He has paid close attention to her and has picked up on many of her sensitivities (ie. Loud noises, strong smells,...). He goes out of his way to ensure that she does not have any extra stress (ie. Not telling her about a meeting 2 weeks in advancing, knowing she will worry). He very obviously has feelings for Gabriella, but she hasn't picked up on it.
Since this is a novella, the enemies to friends to lovers trope moves very fast. Gabriella is a demisexual and only develops attraction to someone once she has formed a close emotional bond. I feel like their "bond" wasn't a strong enough workaround for this since I think there needs to be a deep sense of trust for an emotional bond. I think it would have made more sense if their "friendship" period had been a bit longer.
I think the whole toxic ex could have been cut. It didn't really add much to the plot line.
Tropes: opposites attract, enemies to friends to lovers, grumpy/sunshine
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship
maryrose__pat8's review
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
wilybooklover's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Ableism
annahamburger's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Ableism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, and Stalking
marleywrites's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This novella was perfect. 1000 stars to this book. I adored it. These characters are fantastic and their story is funny, charming, and hopelessly romantic.
This is a new favorite story of all time. I loved it so much. The autistic representation was spot on. I felt so seen. And it made me feel really hopeful too 🥺
Things I loved in no particular order:
- it’s set in an indie bookstore & there are literary references
- he’s grumpy she’s sunshine
- forced proximity; coworkers where he’s the only other coworker
- she’s got an online friend that she confides in and has never met but he lives in her city
- HES THE ONLINE FRIEND
- he fiGURES OUT he’s the online friend
- the bookshop is sinking, he finds a way to save it & keep both their jobs
- she’s autistic and he loves her for who she fully is!!!
- THE BANTER
- he has to prove to her that he’s there to support her and she starts to TRUST HIM
- he’s just so gentle and protective and
- she’s demisexual and he’s equally as emotionally driven as she is (rather than one track kind about sex)
- AAAAAHHHHHHH
This is a new favorite story of all time. I loved it so much. The autistic representation was spot on. I felt so seen. And it made me feel really hopeful too 🥺
Things I loved in no particular order:
- it’s set in an indie bookstore & there are literary references
- he’s grumpy she’s sunshine
- forced proximity; coworkers where he’s the only other coworker
- she’s got an online friend that she confides in and has never met but he lives in her city
- he fiGURES OUT he’s the online friend
- the bookshop is sinking, he finds a way to save it & keep both their jobs
- she’s autistic and he loves her for who she fully is!!!
- THE BANTER
- he has to prove to her that he’s there to support her and she starts to TRUST HIM
- he’s just so gentle and protective and
- she’s demisexual and he’s equally as emotionally driven as she is (rather than one track kind about sex)
- AAAAAHHHHHHH
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Alcohol
emily_mh's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This book had one of my favourite set-ups for romance: he’s been pining forever, there’s a You’ve Got Mail twist, AND there’s the perfect amount of jealousy from the hero. As well as this, it’s super Christmassy. I think a bookshop in wintertime is automatically so, but add in a Christmas sales competition and decorating and themed events, and it becomes even more so.
While I was really enjoying the romance, it lost me in the end. Some of the language ended up being a little TOO cringey for my liking, I wanted the love declaration to go a little differently, and I don’t think the epilogue should have been set 9 years later.
As a side note, the playlist the author includes for the book was a WONDERFUL addition. It really set the atmosphere for each chapter and enhanced the Christmassyness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Cursing, and Stalking
Minor: Alcohol, Misogyny, Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Vomit