“Fake dating my millionaire boss was not on my Christmas list, but I’m not complaining.
Stephanie :
I’ve kept my crush on Nash Prescott under wraps for two years. We might be friends, but I’m still his PA. Until that fatal office Christmas party when my frayed emotions had me opening my big mouth and asking Nash to spend the holidays with me at my dysfunctional family’s cabin… as my fake boyfriend. I’m not sure what’s more surprising—that I didn’t pass out when I asked or the fact he said yes.
But Nash offers up a twist of his dating for real. He’s all I ever wanted, but saying yes to more means opening myself up to even more heartbreak. And I’m terrified once the sugarplum haze of the holidays finally pops, we’ll find we’re really better off as friends.
Nash :
Hold all calls, Christmas came early. Having Stephanie propose fake dating while vacationing with her family for the holidays in snowy Jackson, Wyoming, means coming face to face with the man behind the biggest rival company for my marketing firm—Stephanie’s dad.
Won’t this Christmas be jolly. But Stephanie’s worth it despite all the initial rites of passage and barbs that fly our way. The only problem? Persuading Stephanie to take a chance on us for real. But if I play my cards right and prove to her I’m in for the long-haul, this might just be my favourite Christmas ever.”
Series: Book #1 in “The Reluctant Romantics” series.
Spiritual Content- Prayers; A Scripture is referenced; Talks about God; ’H’s are capital when referring to God; Set during Christmas & a hymn is sung; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, thanking God, & blessings over food; A couple mentions of Bibles; A couple mentions of churches & church going; A couple mentions of Heaven & being reunited one day with a loved one who has passed; A couple mentions of hymns; A couple mentions of nativities; A couple mentions of being blessed; A mention of a church nativity pageant; A mention of the mission field;
*Note: A few mentions of foods tasting or smelling heavenly; A mention of a “ungodly hour” in the early morning; A mention of Saint Nick; A mention of luck; A mention of Murphy’s Law.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘sucked’, a ‘drat’, a ‘dang’, a ‘dumb’, a form of ‘freaking’, a ‘heck’, a ‘stinkin’’, an unfinished ‘what the…’, two ‘darn’s, two ‘gosh’s, two ‘oh my gosh’s, two forms of ‘ticked’, three ‘shut up’s, six forms of ‘idiot’, and six forms of ‘stupid’; Phrases like “sugarplums”, “gingersnaps”, and “who in the Kris Kringle of Christmas” are said in place of other words/exclamations; Mentions of curses (said, not written or cut-off); Eye rolling & Sarcasm; Mentions of death & grief (including of grandparents); Mentions of wars; Mentions of a drug addiction, a parent who has one, & rehab; Mentions of an abusive spouse; Mentions of divorces, spouses leaving each other, & a man who had been married seven times; Mentions of lies, lying, & liars; Mentions of rumors & gossip; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of jealousy; Mentions of alcohol; Mentions of throwing up/vomit; A few mentions of injuries & stitches; A couple mentions of cannibals and murderers; A couple mentions of blackmail;
*Note: Stephanie has a panic attack on-page (up to semi-detailed with her being unable to breathe); Stephanie has POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and her experiences with that are on-page (nearly fainting, collapsing, & seeing spots, up to semi-detailed); Stephanie has a very strained relationship with her father due to his abandonment when she was a child and his current attitude towards her & she does not have a relationship with her mother who has no interest in knowing her (both of these are mentioned often and has affected Stephanie’s view of her worth because of being told as a child that “everyone leaves” and always expecting others to leave her behind); Stephanie’s father tries to manipulative her to do what he wants; Stephanie refers to her parents by their first names; Nash’s mother kicked him out when he turned eighteen; Mentions of car brands; Mentions of brand names (La Croix, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly, Nerf guns, Polly Pocket, Louis Vuitton, Kate Spade, Tiffany and Co, Armani, Elf on the Shelf, ChapStick); Mentions of fictional characters (Wednesday Addams, Morticia, Frosty the Snowman, John Keating, Tinkerbell, James Bond, & Oscar the Grouch); Mentions of movies, TV shows, & actors (Little Women, Up, The Man Who Invented Christmas, Father of the Bride, Hunger Games, White Christmas, Lord of the Rings, High School Musical, Lion King, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, Anne of Green Gables, Jeeves and Wooster, Little House on the Prairie, Dan Stevens, Steve Martin, & Grace Kelly); Mentions of Hallmark movies; Mentions of songs & singers (Frank Sinatra, the Jonas Brothers, Bing Crosby, Elvis Presley, Nat King Cole, Shania Twain, Mariah Carey, & Carrie Underwood); A few mentions of anxiety; A few mentions of therapists & therapy; A few mentions of authors (Shakespeare, Brandon Sanderson, & J.R.R. Tolkien); A mention of Disney; A mention of a vampire.
Sexual Content- A fingers-to-lips touch, five hand kisses, six cheek kisses, five head/forehead/hair kisses, two almost kisses, two not-detailed kisses, five barely-above-not-detailed kisses, three semi-detailed kisses, and two border-line semi-detailed // detailed kisses; Remembering kisses & Wanting to kiss (up to semi-detailed); Staring at lips (barely-above-not-detailed); Seeing a married couple kiss/make-out (barely-above-not-detailed with a comment about “[getting] a room”); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Cuddling/Snuggling, Sitting on his lap, Warmth, Tingles, Butterflies, Nearness, & Smelling (up to semi-detailed); Flirting, Blushes, & Winks; Noticing & Staring (up to semi-detailed); When planning the rules of their fake dating, Stephanie tells Nash that she’s not going to sleep with him and Nash says doesn’t intend to cross that line until he has married his wife; Stephanie’s father accuses her of sleeping with Nash & one of her brother’s calls him her “boy toy”; Stephanie comes into Nash’s room and when he realizes they are standing “a little too close” in his bedroom, he motions for them to leave; Stephanie and Nash go to a pantry to kiss/make-out; In a bonus epilogue, it’s from the POV of one of Stephanie’s married friends and she appreciates her husband wearing just a towel, they share a few kisses, & later cuddle in bed (barely-above-not-detailed except for one kiss being semi-detailed); In a bonus story in the author’s newsletter, there’s a mention of one of Nash’s prior assistants being found in his bedroom without any clothes on (her own doing and he quickly fired her); A ‘hot’ and three ‘babe’s; All about & many mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, break-ups, cheating, exes, & crushes; Many mentions of kisses, kissing, & making out (including others couples kissing); Mentions of a creepy guy who tried to force a kiss on Stephanie (sexual assault); Mentions of flirting; Mentions of jealousy; A few mentions of Stephanie and Nash not sharing a room at her family’s cabin (she notes that most of her family aren’t believers and don’t share those convictions); A couple mentions of sleazy movies; A couple mentions of seducing someone; A couple mentions of a nail polish named “Seductive Wine”; A mention of a rumor that Stephanie slept her way to her job position; A mention of an elderly aunt making passes at any handsome man (including ones with a ring on his finger); A mention of a possible affair; A mention of Stephanie’s father’s new wife being young enough to be his daughter; A mention of stripping; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
*Note: Nash doesn’t know who his biological father is; Nash doesn’t think he is enough for others (because of a past relationship and also because of his mother not caring for him more than her addiction); Stephanie’s father makes a comment to his new wife about limiting her carbs; Stephanie’s father gives her a dress that is “slinky, bordering on risqué” and missing the back (which she does not wear); Mentions of couples that went through or are going through infertility; A mention of a woman’s “lifts”.
- Stephanie Addams, age 28
P.O.V. switches between them
356 pages
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Pre Teens-
New Teens-
Early High School Teens-
Older High School Teens-
My personal Rating-
Welp, that was pretty cute 🥰
While I might not be a huge Christmas-themed book fan, I am, however, a big fan of the faking dating trope and a Male Main Character in glasses (👏), so I knew I had to try this one. The verdict? I read it in a handful of hours and greatly enjoyed my time with these two imperfect and very lovable characters. I wished I could give Stephanie a hug and encourage her, but I’m so glad she has such a great friend group to do just that.
On the topic of the friend group, at times it felt like I was jumping into the middle of a series because of all of them and being told about their relationships—which I would have love to read prior—but it was shockingly easy to keep track of everyone. There were some parts that were retold to the reader again and again that I think could have been cut, but perhaps that’s why I was able to keep track of everyone? I’m not sure, but the friend groups added humor and also really cared for our couple that have been through a lot prior to these pages. I’m glad to hear that we’ll be getting some of the friends’ stories and continuations in the future books in this series and will probably be making an exception for my “usually avoid married couples as main characters due to sexual content/suggestions” guideline/rule to read them when they release.
As far as the content goes, I was very pleasantly surprised! I wasn’t sure if this book would have too much romance for my tastes and while they do share a lot of sweet kisses, I never felt like I was a third-wheel or that there was too much emotions/details. There were a few comments here and there about not sleeping with someone before being married and I appreciated that both Stephanie and Nash were open about that and also respectful towards honoring the other. A couple kisses were a little longer than I would have preferred, so I would personally suggest this book for ages 17+, especially for those interested in a cute Christmas rom-com.
See y’all on Friday with a new review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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