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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Simple and sweet! I appreciated the author’s attention to character building in such a small span of time, as well as her effort to inclusion and respectfully describing neurodivergence. I felt like I had known the FMC and MMC forever - definitely add to your TBR for next Christmas!
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
This was my first Chloe Liese book and it was so good.
Gabby and Jonathan both work at a mom and pop bookstore, but with a new wave of shopping for books/bookstore, their jobs are potentially at stake. However, Gabby and Jonathan have a rough spot because Gabby has been with the company longer and doesn't want to let him "win." Insert rivals to lovers here.
In the meantime, Gaby has a hard time being herself with others, so she takes to an online presence where she connects with this guy and the friendship pops off and feelings kind of start to happen.
In real life presence, her and Jonathan end up working closer together in order to help the bookstore flourish when feelings start to happen.
^^This is crazy!! How can she have feelings for two people?? Or is she. *wink wink*
Gabby and Jonathan both work at a mom and pop bookstore, but with a new wave of shopping for books/bookstore, their jobs are potentially at stake. However, Gabby and Jonathan have a rough spot because Gabby has been with the company longer and doesn't want to let him "win." Insert rivals to lovers here.
In the meantime, Gaby has a hard time being herself with others, so she takes to an online presence where she connects with this guy and the friendship pops off and feelings kind of start to happen.
In real life presence, her and Jonathan end up working closer together in order to help the bookstore flourish when feelings start to happen.
^^This is crazy!! How can she have feelings for two people?? Or is she. *wink wink*
If The Hating Game and Dash and Lily had a baby, it would be The Mistletoe Motive. For most of the book, I liked the story, but I didn't love it. The last chapter and the epilogue changed EVERYTHING for me. Full disclosure, Chloe Liese and the Bergman Brothers are some of my favorite books of all time. Definitely one of my top favorite series. I had high expectations for this book, which I guess is more of a novella. Having just finished my reread of The Hating Game and watching the movie, the beginning of this book just seemed like a holiday version of all of that. Not in a bad way, it just all seemed very familiar. I liked Gabby and Jonathan well enough, but their sunshine and grump and enemies to lovers seemed to happen very quickly for me. I feel like their hatred part didn't last nearly long enough for me to believe it, but I guess that's partly due to being a novella. As for the big twist, . Up until the last chapter, I liked the book well enough but it didn't have the razzle dazzle I expect from Chloe. The final chapter is when this book was taken to the next level for me. When their slow burn finally explodes, it's not the Overall, this holiday novella was a cute first for Chloe Liese. I think I prefer her full length novels, or at least the Bergman brothers lol because there's more time to get everything out. This book was cute and fun, but I feel like there were a lot of big topics and areas to dive into that couldn't be dived into because this is a novella and it's holiday themed so slightly fluffier than her other stuff. So all in all, this book didn't really meet my expectations for it but I did like it a lot. The book is definitely for fans of The Hating Game so if you hated that then definitely skip this (I loved it). It can seem a little rushed at times, but overall it's well written and definitely a slow burn. I will say that the slow burn is so slow that it almost seems like the explosion happens too late, but I digress. One last thing is that Gabby mentions being demisexual at the beginning and either I don't understand the full meaning of that or it wasn't fully explained here. I feel like that part of her was so small in this book that it could've been left out. But I do love that Chloe always represents marginalized groups so I can't fault her for that. Last overall lol this book wasn't my absolute favorite, but it was still pretty dang good and definitely worth the read.
Spoiler
I wish there was one or two more guys in the picture for us to kind of believe it was someone else. As soon as she had her first convo with Mr. Reddit, I knew it was Jonathan. I watch Hallmark movies like it's my job, so it's not like I can't handle predictability but it wasn't even hard to figure out at all. I had no doubt it was him. Not a big deal thoughSpoiler
When Gabby overhears Jonathan and Mrs. Bailey, I'm like okay here's the conflict we've been waiting on. And then halfway into running away she decides to be an adult and knows there's a perfectly good explanation! HOW BORING! But really, it's a holiday novella so I can't complain too much there.Spoiler
sex that does it for me. It's the thoughtfulness and the intimacy. That he smells like his body wash because he realized strong scents gave her a headache. And her asking him to show her what to do about his pump and checking on his needs. Him saying I love you and quoting her favorite book. I mean SWOON. And then in the epilogue when they have hot sex in the store, I mean, cute that he bought her the store. Almost out of place that they had sex right there and then. I guess the epilogue is in the future so it's not too weird.
1.5/5 You can probably tell from me finishing a Christmas book in May that I’m making my way through the TBR. The internal monologue in this nearly killed me. We didn’t get real conversation until the last 10% of the book at best. Insufferable.
How dare this book? I barely ever read romance but I decided to give this a shot. It was short and seemed like my thing why with the grumpy x sunshine trope that I‘m generally a sucker for but also adding bookstore co-workers in at that?
And how dare this book unreasonably raise my standards in men, because now I want my own Jonathan Frost too who‘ll pick up on my needs and be considerate and accommodating, who‘ll protect me and love me so fiercely, who‘ll be vulnerable with me, share my love for books and just sweep me off my feet in every way imaginable. Because damn. He might just be one of my favorite book boyfriends now. Bonus points for wearing green because it’s my favorite color.
I loved this book so so much. It is exactly what I wanted and I‘m so happy I found it and gave it a shot.
And how dare this book unreasonably raise my standards in men, because now I want my own Jonathan Frost too who‘ll pick up on my needs and be considerate and accommodating, who‘ll protect me and love me so fiercely, who‘ll be vulnerable with me, share my love for books and just sweep me off my feet in every way imaginable. Because damn. He might just be one of my favorite book boyfriends now. Bonus points for wearing green because it’s my favorite color.
I loved this book so so much. It is exactly what I wanted and I‘m so happy I found it and gave it a shot.
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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
Very cute and cosy holiday romance with a lot of tropes (grumpyXsunshine, rivals to lovers, internet friends). Loved the representation for people with autism and diabetes and people who are demisexual.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking
Minor: Medical content, Grief, Alcohol
THIS WAS SO CUTE OMG
“SLOW BURN” BUT FAST PACED COWORKER ONE-SIDED ENEMIES TO LOVERS IN A BOOKSTORE DURING CHRISTMAS TIME WITH ANONYMOUS CORRESPONDENCE. AND HE PLAYS HOCKEY
LOVE LOVE LOVED IT
so cute and so short and fun
“SLOW BURN” BUT FAST PACED COWORKER ONE-SIDED ENEMIES TO LOVERS IN A BOOKSTORE DURING CHRISTMAS TIME WITH ANONYMOUS CORRESPONDENCE. AND HE PLAYS HOCKEY
LOVE LOVE LOVED IT
so cute and so short and fun
Was it predictable? Yes? Did I eat it up? Absolutely. Grumpy X sunshine, ice hockey boy, forced proximity, workplace enemies to lovers? Checked so many boxes. Extremely easy to read and gave cosy wintery Christmas vibes which is what I wanted.
^HOWEVER - chapter 14 and the epilogue were WAY too intense for my eyes - definitely skimmed over that part - but other than that it was fun and festive and cute.
^HOWEVER - chapter 14 and the epilogue were WAY too intense for my eyes - definitely skimmed over that part - but other than that it was fun and festive and cute.
4.5 stars!!
my only issue was how some of the dialogue felt too fake?? i think because of the shorter length of the book, it had to condense some conversations which made them feel kind of info-dumpy, specifically when jonathan mentions being diabetic
my only issue was how some of the dialogue felt too fake?? i think because of the shorter length of the book, it had to condense some conversations which made them feel kind of info-dumpy, specifically when jonathan mentions being diabetic