Holiday Hostilities- Katie Bailey
I loved this book and I love this author. I haven't found a single book by her that I haven't absolutely devoured and this was no exception. I'm in my hockey romance era so this book was perfect timing!
Closed door/fade to black with lots of schmexy tension!
I had butterflies on butterflies! And it was really good to see previous characters show up from time to time!

I've been watching my friends read books by this author and seeing how much they loved them, I jumped at the chance to read this one. Before I started reading this one, I ended up listening to The Quit List through my library's digital services. Loved it! And it was super fun seeing Aaron, the main male character in this book as a secondary character in that book. It had me even more excited to read this one!

Olivia and Aaron's story is fantastic! I loved their banter and watching their walls slowly start to come down...or maybe I should say that their walls toppled down when it hit a certain point. Lol! I can't wait to read more books by this author, especially going back and reading the first book in this Christmas series!

Get ready to laugh, swoon and sigh with this one! And fall in love!

Content: Some kisses but nothing further or fade to black. There are mild swear words scattered throughout the book.

I received a copy from the publisher, Eleventh Avenue, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions in the review are my own.

Happy Reading!!!

“Santa got her for me for Christmas.” He drops his voice to a stage whisper. “Isn’t she pretty?”

* Just as the title indicates, there is plenty of hostility going around 😅
* I’m always here for a good wink 😉
* STOP. Crochet? I love
* She’s so fiesty and it’s hilarious
* Their team is too funny
* Jing is hilarious and I love her
* Ooh it’s all coming out now
* Not the family turning up 😂
* You go, Olivia!

Content: moderate swearing

This one was fun, but the humor was a little too.. crass for me.

Other than that though, I did enjoy it.

Olivia is fun and spunky and I loved that she had red hair and loves to travel. Because same! And I appreciated how quickly it felt like she came to realize who Aaron really is.

And Aaron was a big softie which I loved. I absolutely ADORED his mom and Nonna. They were HILARIOUS and the best part of the book hehe. And I loved how he was able to gain confidence in himself as captain.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early ebook. All opinions are my own.

What’s not to love about this holiday themed hockey romance. Olivia is cute and likable, Aaron is a former playboy softie. This closed door romance still has some steamy kisses, and fun banter while we follow along Olivia and Aaron’s story. They knew each other in highschool and reconnecting now as adults. Olivia has to let go of so preconceived notions of Aaron and he just tries to be there for her as holiday festivities are something she usually avoids. The team of characters are fun. I also liked Olivia’s personal journey of why she hates the holidays and how to overcome those feelings.

In this book:
Hockey romance
Closed Door romance
Brother’s best friend
Rivals to lovers
Forced proximity

Thank you to NetGalley, Eleventh Avenue, and Katie Bailey for a digital advanced copy of this book.

This book was amazing! I love sports romance books and I was so happy to find a fade to black one. I enjoy them so much more then the spice ones.

Cute, predictable hockey romance. Very fade to black content. It was a great palette cleanser for those who are reading too much explicit scenes

I absolutely loved this book! Out of the three that I have read thus far about these characters this one has probably been my favorite! It's been witty, not so true enemies to lovers but more or less about a childhood misunderstanding causing a lot of tension through the years and finally the truth comes to light.

Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey is a sports romance, featuring enemies to lovers and forced proximity tropes. This was a delightful read. I enjoyed the banters, sarcasm and humour. The characters were likeable and the Christmas spirit was felt throughout the book. An enjoyable read. Thank you, Netgalley and Eleventh Avenue, for giving me the ARC. All opinions expressed are mine.

Once I read this, I immediately went and read every single one of Katie's books! The banter, the sass, the emotion! Aaron and Liv have instantly become one of my favourite couples and the will they won't they was so beautifully written. Their characters really developed over the course of the book and I was left desperately wanting more of them. This is an incredibly realistic story of two intelligent, emotional characters, written with such joy and heart.

Aaron and Olivia were 🤌. Katie did another great job once again with these characters. There was so much between these two characters, lovers to enemies to lovers, brothers best friend, he fell first and stayed fallen. All the ways that Aaron tried to soften Olivia’s heart was great. Especially letting her come and live in his home. Granted she had to be his date but still. And don’t get me started on her room mates. They were hilarious. I can’t wait for more Cyclones Shenanigans. Thank you Katie and Netgalley for my advanced review copy. These words are my own.

I was hooked from the get go with this holiday romance. I loved the tension, banter, and dynamic between Olivia and Aaron. I’m a sucker for a “he falls first” trope and this one delivered in spades. I loved the artful unraveling of each layer of their developing friendship and how it became apparent Aaron has never hated her for a moment.

My only complaint is I felt like, after the first half, the remainder felt rushed. I wish there could have been more time spent developing and showing their relationship, the conflict with others, and how everything resolved. Otherwise, I loved it!

Holiday Hostilities is the second book in the Cyclones Christmas series, and it’s an utter joy! It is / has:
🏒 F/M hockey romance
🚨 New book boyfriend 🚨
🎄 Brothers best friend / Best friend (and team mates) sister
🏒Light ‘enemies’ to lovers element = brilliant banter
🎄 Tropes / micro-tropes: forced proximity, temporary roommates, one bed
🏒 Closed door
🎄 Second book in the Cyclones Christmas series

I liked Season’s Schemings but loved Holiday Hostilities! Below are my reasons why:
•Aaron is my new book boyfriend (welcome to the club) - he crochets (enough said), loves Christmas, is kind, funny and protective.
•The banter! Olivia and Aaron’s banter when they are ‘enemies’ was brilliant, funny but not mean. It created tension that added to the relationship.
•The Cyclones team brings me all the joy. They are great, the team dynamics and friendships shine. This as well as the romantic moments made me smile.
•A festive dose of Christmas, which was exactly what I was after.
This was a great festive romance that if you enjoy hockey romance I urge you to add to your TBR and read this festive season!

Quick Summary: A forbidden love, sports romance

My Review: Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey is book #2 in the Cyclones Christmas series.

About the Book: "There’s only one thing Olivia Griswold hates more than Christmas: her brother’s best friend, Aaron Marino."

Olivia G has had a love-hate-barely tolerate relationship with her brother's best friend for a very long time. Who would have ever thought that the two of them could get along enough to help each other out of the unfortunate circumstances they each find themselves in?

My Final Say: With that much angsty heat between the two of them, it's no wonder that Aaron and Olivia would break. I loved their love story. The tension, the conflict, the moment of realization - all of it worked. Aaron's Nonna and Mom stole the show. They get a shiny gold star just because! This was totally my kind of romance. Score!

Other: This would be superb as an audiobook. I definitely want to be first in line to listen.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: A
Re-read: Yes
Keeper: Yes
Favorites Shelf: Yes
Status/Level: ⭐💖⭐

Sincere appreciation is extended to the author, to the publisher (Eleventh Avenue), and to NetGalley. Thank you for granting access to a digital ARC of this title in exchange for an honest critique. It was an absolute pleasure to review this work.

Katie Bailey delivers an enemies-to-lovers, forced-proximity rom-com that’s as sweet as it is spirited. While reminiscent of Helena Hunting’s "Pucked" series—complete with a hockey team captain romantically entangled with a teammate’s sister and even having a surprising interest in crochet—Bailey takes a different approach by crafting a closed-door romance without all the salty language. The result is a holiday hockey romance you could lend to your auntie.

The story follows Olivia Griswold, a self-proclaimed Grinch with a longstanding grudge against her brother’s best friend, Aaron Marino. Aaron, an NHL captain with a playful side, a stereotypically wonderful Italian-American family (also a familiar trope in romance novels), and a knack for yarn crafts, offers Olivia a holiday escape at his house in exchange for helping him fend off a stalker at a Christmas gala. The NHL team and Olivia’s eccentric roommates add comedic depth and a "found family" vibe.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to review a temporary digital ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

Katie Bailey is such a good indie author and I’m so lucky to have gotten an advanced copy of this fun one.

I’m ready for all the holiday feels! I enjoyed Seasons Schemings last year. And then we got a small teaser of Aaron and Olivia in The Quit List so I wanted this in my veins!

If you’ve read Christmas Sweater Weather by Jacqueline Snowe—I think this one is very similar. We have brother’s best friend along with a miscommunication that causes them to become “enemies.”

This is also yet another black cat x golden retriever. Apparently that’s my new favorite trope lol. Livvy was such a grinch and Aaron adored xmas. We love a bit of opposites attract.

Sometimes when there is a big miscommunication from the past I think the transition from enemies to lovers can be hard. But this one was such a smooth one to me.

This gave me all the five star vibes!

4.5 stars. I loved Seasons Schemings last year (and reread it again this year before diving into the is one)… so I was very excited for more Cyclones holiday fun.

Holiday Hostilities was just so much fun!!

The banter between Olivia & Aaron was top notch. I love that these enemies to lovers kept up their verbal sparring the whole book, even after they are no longer enemies. Beyond banter, when they lower their defenses, their honesty and communication was very refreshing.

I love how much we see of the whole Cyclones team! It has me so excited for future books! The found family element is so strong, and I am here for it.

Once again, Katie Bailey has delivered on a deliciously steamy closed door. Complete with yet another hot, water related make out scene. I’d like to formally request this be included in all future books in the series 🤣🔥

Anyways, I don’t want to say more, just go read it and enjoy it in all its holiday glory.

This book had everything I’ve been looking for lately and I LOVED IT:. Brothers best friend, sports, low spice and Christmas!! So good. I will be for sure circling back to reading more from Katie Bailey. I highly recommend even if you’re not feeling the Christmas vibes. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an E- Arc in exchange for an honest review.

That's my second book by Katie Bailey and when I saw that it had many of my favorite tropes I couldn't pass it up even though it's book two in the series and I didn't read the first one.
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Olivia is a fly attendant, and usually spends a lot of time flying to different places around the world, but after several years she is ready to return home, close to her brother and try to put down roots, what she could not predict is that her brother would have a girlfriend and she would end up with a group of crazy people as roommates
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Aaron has been Olivia's enemy for years, years of fighting and calling ridiculous nicknames, but when he finds out that Olivia is going to spend the holidays in a situation that is not at all ideal, he decides to intervene and invite her to his house, in exchange for her helping him with a problem that he is having and it seems to follow him and stalk him everywhere ruining his reputation and putting his job as a leader at risk.
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This is a beautiful slow burn romance, between a grumpy little sister of his best friend and teammate, and a hockey player who is not only sunshine and has been in love with her for years. He is also willing to do anything so she can give him and Christmas a chance.
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Katie Bailey really gives a magnetism to her books that makes it impossible for me to put them down, I really enjoyed reading this hockey romance and I will be adding the entire series to my tbr.
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Thanks to Katie Bailey and Eleventh Avenue for give me a copy of this amazing book in exchange for my honest and voluntary opinion

Katie Bailey has done it again with a story that completely delivers! Packed with sharp, witty dialogue and electric chemistry, this book had me hooked from beginning to end. Aaron is an absolute gem—there's something so heart-melting about a guy who remembers all the little things about the woman he cares for.

It’s the ultimate blend of opposites-attract tension, forbidden brother's-best-friend drama, and hockey-filled fun. Olivia initially sees Aaron as the enemy, which makes their fiery back-and-forth all the more captivating. The sparks between them are undeniable, and their connection is downright addictive. You won’t want their story to end!

And the supporting cast? Pure gold. The Cyclones are a lively, chaotic bunch that feels like family, while Olivia’s roommates are comedic geniuses who kept me laughing nonstop.

If you're looking for a festive romance that’s as hilarious as it is heartwarming, this is the one for you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be eagerly awaiting Dallas’s turn in the spotlight!

This is Book 2 of the Cyclones Christmas Series!

Katie Bailey delivers a festive treat with Holiday Hostilities, a delightful enemies-to-lovers hockey romance filled with banter, tension, and holiday cheer. Perfect for fans of playful hate-to-love dynamics, this closed-door rom-com keeps the sparks flying while still embracing warmth and wit.

Olivia Griswold has spent years hating Aaron Marino, her brother’s best friend and the NHL’s golden boy. To her, he’s the epitome of arrogance—a playboy with a million fans but none of her admiration. However, when her less-than-ideal holiday plans come to light, Aaron offers her an unexpected solution: spend the holidays at his place in exchange for attending his hockey team’s Christmas gala as his date.

What starts as a begrudging truce quickly escalates into a clash of emotions as Olivia and Aaron find themselves stuck under one roof. Their chemistry crackles with tension, amplified by the forced proximity trope done to perfection. Olivia’s stubborn sass and Aaron’s charm lead to laugh-out-loud banter, and as the walls between them come down, readers are treated to moments of tenderness that will warm even the Grinchiest of hearts.

Bailey does a fantastic job creating a holiday atmosphere, from snowy settings to festive events, all while maintaining the sizzling connection between her protagonists. The closed-door romance leaves just enough to the imagination, focusing on emotional intimacy and magnetic tension.

Whether you’re here for the snarky one-liners, the sweet undercurrent of redemption, or the undeniable sparks flying between Olivia and Aaron, Holiday Hostilities is a holiday romance that will leave you smiling long after you’ve turned the last page.