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A review by bookwormsandbiblios
The Naughty or Nice Clause by Kate Callaghan
4.0
*3.5 Stars*
The Naughty or Nice Clause is a lighthearted read, perfect for those who want to get into the romantic Christmas spirit and view details as background noise.
Mason is the son of Santa Clause. Lyla is the daughter and recent inheritor of a toy-making business. They are thrown together when Lyla's father sells his portion of the company to Mason, giving him a controlling share. Unfortunately, Mason seems to be a Scrooge for all intents and purposes, and he and Lyla's personalities clash immediately.
This book features the tropes: enemies to loves, sharing a bed, and fake dating, with a dash of damsel in distress. I'm a big fan of enemies to lovers and fake dating, so I loved the banter between Lyla and Mason. However, there's not a lot of tension between the characters because the pacing is somewhat off, especially toward the end of the book. The author could have spent a bit more time fleshing out the story's villain and supporting characters so that the ending didn't feel rushed.
This definitely reads like fluffy fanfiction or a Hallmark movie on the printed page, by which I mean the reader knows that this is a low-stakes read. There's not much for plot drama, and when it does happen, it resolves itself fairly quickly. I happen to enjoy this sort of book. If that's not your thing, you should probably skip this one. As an avid high fantasy reader, the world-building leaves much to be desired, but I'm also not going into a book like this to read about the magical world of Yule. I'm in it to scream at these two idiots to 'kiss already!' And you get plenty of that in this novel.
The Naughty or Nice Clause is a lighthearted read, perfect for those who want to get into the romantic Christmas spirit and view details as background noise.
Mason is the son of Santa Clause. Lyla is the daughter and recent inheritor of a toy-making business. They are thrown together when Lyla's father sells his portion of the company to Mason, giving him a controlling share. Unfortunately, Mason seems to be a Scrooge for all intents and purposes, and he and Lyla's personalities clash immediately.
This book features the tropes: enemies to loves, sharing a bed, and fake dating, with a dash of damsel in distress. I'm a big fan of enemies to lovers and fake dating, so I loved the banter between Lyla and Mason. However, there's not a lot of tension between the characters because the pacing is somewhat off, especially toward the end of the book. The author could have spent a bit more time fleshing out the story's villain and supporting characters so that the ending didn't feel rushed.
This definitely reads like fluffy fanfiction or a Hallmark movie on the printed page, by which I mean the reader knows that this is a low-stakes read. There's not much for plot drama, and when it does happen, it resolves itself fairly quickly. I happen to enjoy this sort of book. If that's not your thing, you should probably skip this one. As an avid high fantasy reader, the world-building leaves much to be desired, but I'm also not going into a book like this to read about the magical world of Yule. I'm in it to scream at these two idiots to 'kiss already!' And you get plenty of that in this novel.