This IS a holiday romance with enemies-to-lovers + brother's best friend tropes. Nina and Tristan engage in "revenge" antics/prank wars to get back at each other. However, I thought that Nina's tantrums and pranks were immature and I had trouble relating to and liking her character. With Tristan, I know we're supposed to feel bad for him because of his family history, but I was largely unimpressed with how oblivious he was to his treatment to Nina in the beginning. Is nicknaming someone "Gremlin," which stemmed from the time you made fun of her looks, FOR YEARS meant to be taken as adorable? I don't think so. I felt like he also displayed an enormous lack of maturity during the third-act breakup that left me with a huge ick and emotional whiplash. Their personalities got better as it went on, but in the beginning, I was definitely cringing.

Pros: it was short and sweet, fast-paced. Tristan and Nina had good chemistry and I liked the evolution of their dynamic as the book progressed. They had good banter. Great side characters (I would really like to see Rowena and Hunter's stories!).

This book wasn't my favorite, but overall, a cute read with Christmas/holiday vibes.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a cute festive read. It was easy to follow and had a great cast of characters. I love the author's writing and will definitely be reading more by them.
❤️ Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and author for my arc ebook copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for gifting me a copy of this book.

This is Not a Holiday Romance is a romcom that will make you laugh, smile, and get attached to the characters. It is the story of Nina who hates Tristan (her brother's best friend), and they have to live together during the Christmas holidays at Nina's family's house.

It was such a fun read. Their banter was everything, and their sensitivity as well. I absolutely loved her mom, especially towards the end. Her speech almost made me cry...

As you can expect in romance novels, there were some miscommunication: at the beginning, but it was rather quickly resolved, and then towards the end. I find it off-putting sometimes, but in this book, it was fine for me.

As for the structure of the book, there were short chapters (always a plus), mixed media with some text messages, and the book has the point of view of the two main characters and their pov are both in a first-person narrative, which was really nice as you get to know what they are truly thinking.

I would 100% recommend this book if you are looking for an easy, light, and fun read.

I think Camilla Isley's my go-to author whenever I want a quick and fast-paced books. I read her previous works and it's a hit-or-miss for me, but it's easy to follow along.

Nina and Tristan's been 'enemies' since day one. Pranks and banters are their language. However, one dare changed it all and when Tristan joined Nina's family during the holidays, things changed.

This is your typical brother's best friend romance but add in the holiday season, and it's magical. We saw the characters' dynamic right off the bat, and how it slowly changed during the holidays. The yearning, the overthinking, the long glances and stolen touches were so good. The tension was great too! I love them together and it's so good.

Overall, a quick read, great book and it's perfect for the holiday season.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! (l

All of Camilla Isley's books are must-reads for me and I have read and loved most of them. This book is no exception: I devoured the book in one day and I loved it so much. It really has it all: great characters, funny pranks and so much chemistry. I laughed out loud reading how Nina and Tristan pranked each other. I enjoyed how they started dating in secret and I really felt for both when they broke up, eben thoigh I knew the HEA was just around the corner.
Another great book by Camilla Isley that I will be sure to reread in December - a perfect christmas romance!

This Is Not a Holiday Romance is the Christmas rom-com you've been waiting for this year. There is tension, pranks, love to hate (but really love) and Christmas! Camilla Isley is a great author and definitely hit it out of the park with this book.


Thank you netgalley for an arc of This Is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this book!

What a great romcom!! I enjoyed this book so much. A first for me by this author but will not be my last! Wow!! So good!! I loved the characters and they worked so well together.

Fun and sexy.

This is the kind of Christmas novel I like to read in July!

With a great mix of love and humour, I found myself thoroughly entertained from start to finish.

Don’t save this one until Christmas to read, it’s a belter! I loved the banter and teasing between Tristan and Nina, watching the realisation of what is right there under their noses all the time.
Made me laugh out loud and almost made me cry. I loved it

It was a cute fast paced Christmas romance. I like a good enemies to lovers story. I enjoyed the pranks. One thing that was off for me was their insta-love. It didn’t make sense on his side. Otherwise it was a cute story. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my ARC in exchange for my review!

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the ARC of This Is Not A Holiday Romance in exchange for an honest and independent review.

Nina Thompson’s idea of a relaxing Christmas at home with her family has just been blown to smithereens when her brother, Dylan, walks through the door with none other than Satan incarnate, Tristan. Tristan has been her brother’s best friend for years and her arch nemesis and childhood crush for just as long. Tristan has always treated her like the obnoxious little sister who never deserved his time or attention. He made fun of her looks and personality to no end, which lasted long into their adulthood and drove a firm wedge between them. They now only coexist for Dylan’s sake when absolutely required.

Nina cannot believe Dylan would have invited Tristan home without telling her. If this is how he wants to play it, Nina thinks two can play that game. In the coming days, Nina and Tristan engage in an all out prank war in hopes of throwing the other off their game. What they didn’t expect was the gasoline fueled fire that sets ablaze anytime one is near the other. Nina obviously doubts Tristan’s intentions but she cannot help but slowly bring down her walls for Satan’s spawn himself. Maybe he isn’t so bad after all? Maybe there’s a chance they could make this work, if they could just figure out how to tell Dylan…

Tristan and Nina spend the holidays sneaking around counting down the seconds until they are alone once again in the depths of night and in their own little bubble where they can just be themselves. Everything comes crashing down when Dylan discovers their relationship before they are able to tell him. Who will Tristan pick? Dylan or Nina? Is there room for romance in each other’s messy lives and will Nina believe he honestly cares about her after years of teasing and pranks?

Although many romance novels claim the title of “rom-com” I never actually find myself laughing out loud at the dialogue. This one however, has banter that had me dying of laughter more than just a few times. The conversation is so effortless that you feel like it’s all playing out on a screen before you. The one liners are great and the chemistry between Nina and Tristan is off the charts. You can feel it in every sense of their dialogue. I read this one in one night because it just read so easily and I could not put it down. If you’re looking for a fun read and enjoy close proximity romances mixed with the enemies to lovers trope that ACTUALLY falls in the rom-com category, pick this one up September 4th and thank me later!

A wonderful story wrapped in a pretty red bow. The banter was amazing, the enemies to lovers tension irresistible. I loved every second of this story and couldn't put it down.

I identified with Nina being a little bratty as she got home, I feel like whenever I go back to living under the same roof with my parents I'm back to being a sulky teenager. But I also loved how she evolved out of her everything-is-unjust feelings and matured.

Tristan--awww. I'm still swooning. I swear. The Prince of Darkness is rated into my top book boyfriends now. His angst, The shadows in his past. I loved him even for his mistakes.

His friendship with Dylan was another great aspect of the story. As was the found family which I always love.

When the magic of a Hallmark movie blends with the perfect amount of sugar and SPICE and everything nice. This was such a fun book to read. I started reading it and couldn't put it down. The enemies portion of this book had me giggling and the lovers portion had me swooning. The found family had me wanting to visit for Christmas. I read this in July and was able to completely immerse myself in the story, so I can only imagine how delightful this story would be if read during the Christmas season. If you are looking for a feel good book that makes you feel as if you have fallen into a Hallmark movie while giving you a glimpse behind some of those close door scenes...this is the book for you. I highly recommend this book and am already eager to dive into the future romances that we see blooming in the epilogue. 1.5 spice level

Review copy provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Es un libro ligero, con comedia, con los tropos: mejor amigo del hermano, rivales a amantes y romance navideño.


Nina y Tristán siempre se han llevado mal, tienen una clase de rivalidad que nació de la inmadurez y malentendidos que fue haciéndose más grande con los años.

Este año tendrán que pasar juntos la navidad con la familia de ella. En ese tiempo se descubrirán secretos, malentendidos y empezará la llama del amor, pero ¿su amor podrá superar que Tristán pierda a su mejor amigo o eligiera a Nina?



Gracias NetGalley, al publicista y a la autora por el Arc.

I love pretty much everything Camilla Isley writes, so I had high expectations when I started This is Not a Holiday Romance and I was not disappointed.

Tristan is Nina's brother's long time best friend and the bane of her existence. He made fun of her ears when they were teens and she's never forgiven or forgotten this.

Now in her late twenties, she still doesn't like Tristan and is forced to spend the holidays with him when her brother brings him to their parents house due to snowstorm that has grounded all of the flights. Forced to be together she tells him how much she dislikes him and then continues to hold that grudge - until she doesn't.

They have a really fast I hate you/I can't get enough of you segue and while I get that can happen, Nina did act like a bratty child for a bit during the book. She held onto that big ear grudge for a LONG time.

As with all of Ms. Isley's books the banter between the characters was terrific, she writes a great love story, and even better secondary characters. (Will they get stories? Sure do hope so!)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in consideration of an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Thoroughly enjoyed and adored this one! It's a fun light hearted romcom that you won't be able to stop reading and the best part it's a Christmas romance.
Who doesn't love a good enemies to lovers romance with brother's best friend trope.
Tristan and Nina have a feud going on since years and it's getting more intense and worse but everything changes when they are stranded for a week with Nina's family for Christmas.
Tristan sees Nina in new light and can't stop thinking about her. I gobbled up all that closed proximity and heated chemistry and loved every second of it.
A must read !!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc! It was NOT a holiday romance lol just kidding. Anything by Camilla Isley is always a banger so I definitely enjoyed this and it had me already in a Christmas mood. I refuse to be held back by a calendar so merry christmas 🎄 It was a quick and cute read, ready for the next book from this author!!

Nina is Dylan's brother. Tristan is his best friend. The two of them have been circling each other, tormenting each other, for years. There is a lot of banter, well-developed from their history together. The most unbelieveable part of this book is the speed from which they go from enemies to lovers...as though someone switched a light on. Granted, it's probably done for the sake of speeding the book along, so if you can suspend reality for that little bit, it's easy to flow and keep relating to the characters. Overall, this book is a great, quick, and light read, perfect for fans of enemies to lovers or even slow burn (it took years!).

This book was a fun and quick read, I really enjoyed the banter between Nina and Tristan! I love the enemies-to-lovers theme, so I was really looking forward to reading this book. The banter and mutual annoyance of the main characters for the enemies-part was well done, but the change into being lovers was too quick for me. What they thought of each other or felt for each other changed so quickly that I could’nt really find their thoughts and feelings believable. Nonetheless, I would recommend "This Is Not a Holiday Romance" to anyone looking for an entertaining enemies-to-lovers story.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bollywood Books for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Cute but a little boring at times. I wish it was more Christmasy or had a little more substance. This was the first thing I’ve read from this author and I was underwhelmed.