This was a really cute book for me to start of my holiday book reading season. I enjoyed the characters, but I really loved the friends of the main characters as well. The parents of the main characters were complicated, but I liked the way the characters were able to resolve (or not) the issues that they had.

SECRET SANTA provides a lot of grumpy/sunshine (for part of the book), along with a backdrop of Christmas.

The premise was interesting - a sports reporter has the hots for her boss and both hate Christmas.

Unfortunately, I felt the pizazz of the romance plot fell once they got together at the 60 percent mark.

Carolyn had a real hang-up because of her father's strict religious upbringing with regards to sex. This became too much of a distraction in the plot because it was mentioned quite a bit.

She had been accused of being a cold fish by another guy, but, with the right guy - what do you know, she's actually great at sex. It felt too unbelievable for me. She brought up the situation with her father many times and I thought it was too much.

I think a lot of readers will like all the spice and sizzle and it's a fun story for Christmas, even for the haters.

Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-Op for an e-copy of SECRET SANTA to review.

I rate SECRET SANTA three out of five stars.

I love a good open door Christmas spicy book!
I enjoyed the characters, and was eager to see what was next! I would recommend this to anyone who loves holiday romance with spice! I’ll read more from this author!

The ARC of this super cute book was provided by Victory Editing NetGalley.

Caz has got it bad for her boss Jamie. Little does she know Jamie also has it bad for Caz. This spicy little open-door romance has you rooting for Caz and Jamie while they both discover an appreciation for the holiday season while working through some family drama.

I found the characters likable and I definitely wanted to keep reading to find out what happened next. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a holiday romance with some spice mixed in.


The ARC of this super cute book was provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op.

Carolyn is interested in her boss, Jamie but does not believe he could be interested in her. Jamie is infatuated with Carolyn but afraid to let her know. Jamie is not thrilled about Christmas but his assistant is over the top with decorations and fun ideas. Carolyn is not into Christmas either. Both Jamie and Carolyn have dysfunctional families that influence their lives. I loved Anton's ability to get Jamie and Carolyn together and to carry the Christmas spirit to everyone at work. Jamie is divorced and separated from his children. Few know the real facts leading up to the divorce. Jamie's dad is an embarrassment to him and Jamie does his best to keep Carolyn away from him. Carolyn's dad raised her after her mother died putting the fear in her when it comes to sex. She has no self-confidence when it comes to a relationship. The is a fun book about Christmas and I loved the online newspaper started by Jamie. The few staff are very close and work hard to bring interesting articles to the public. Carolyn is a sports writer but her articles include a lot of human interest in them. Great book with wonderful characters.

2.75-3 ⭐️ A romantic and spicy Christmas story. I enjoyed that it was set in a healthy work environment and that the Christmas spirit was so palpable, even though the story takes place in Australia (I'm from Peru, so I totally relate to the idea of celebrating the holidays in summer!). 🤭

There were a few aspects I think could be improved. For example, the repetitive sexual expressions got a bit dull, and the FMC’s constant disbelief in her self-worth felt excessive. While I get her insecurities, when they’re repeated too much, it starts to have the opposite effect on me.

What to expect:
- Christmas spirit in summer 🎄
- Healthy work environment
- Boss-employee romance
- They both fell at the same time
- Serious topic: sexual harassment
- Spice 🌶️🌶️.5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I hate to say it, I love Christmas and Christmas themed books but this one didn't do it for me. It was boring, lifeless and didn't like the language or the way the book was written. The characters annoyed me and I just found it unbelievable and unrealistic.

Not a book for me and I can honestly say I could not even finish it.

Thank you NetGalley and ARC provided by Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

To be published on Goodreads on 11/03/2024

Secret Santa is a cute holiday spicy read. Carolyn, affectionately known as Caz, is a sports columnist at an online publication who got it bad for her boss, Jamie. Carolyn has some daddy issues and childhood trauma that has affected her from deeming herself worthy of affection and love. Jamie thought he was also slick about his own attraction (spoiler alert he wasn’t) to Carolyn, not just in her looks but her personality, mind and writing talents. He has his own (scumbag) daddy issues.

It’s a rather sloowwwww burn, and I would give it two jalapeño peppers for spice. It’s an open door romance, but I didn’t think it was overtly descriptive. There are so many enjoyable characters, main and supporting, in this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I've read numerous holiday books over the years and this cover was one of the prettiest I've come across. The story is also super enchanting. I enjoyed the book and Nightingale's writing style. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I really wanted to give this book a shot since I loved the cover and the synopsis. It seemed right up my alley…but alas this book fell flat.

Right off the bat, I thought it was a bit boring as we’re in the characters heads a lot, there are a ton of side characters to remember, and when there is dialogue it’s a bit inappropriate for a work setting. I often found myself scrunching up my nose at the way these coworkers talked, especially when everyone gave Carolyn one lewd suggestion for what to give her boss for Christmas. Yuck.

I also found there were a lot of sub-plots that grew to be overly complicated and weighed the story down.

It took until the 30% mark for Carolyn and Jamie to even interact. And their attraction was instantaneous but fell flat since it seemed they were more attracted to each other for the physical reasons.

I don’t know. I think if you are in your early 20s you may like this one. I just couldn’t get over how unrealistic it is and how it lacks much about Christmas.

*An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.