I have read most of Katie Bailey’s other books and absolutely loved them. That being said, this one was a miss for me. I had a hard time connecting with the characters and it seemed extra cheesy (which I just might’ve not been in the mood for) and extra tropey. I will still be reading her books in the future!
Thank you NetGalley for the arc.

4.5 stars

Katie Bailey does a great job at making closed door romances still very steamy and I can't get enough. This was a fun enemies-lovers, brothers best friend, hockey and holiday romance. I loved the chemistry and banter between the two MCs. They were enemies but never cruel to each other. Had a great time and I can't wait to see more from this author!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

Holidays and hockey: what more could you ask for? This is such a feel-good holiday enemies -to-lovers/brother’s best friend romance! Aaron and Olivia’s banter throughout is electric and hilarious. Having the dual POV really lends perspective into both characters and how their relationship grows from beginning to end. Olivia gives Grinch vibes, going from not liking Christmas to her heart growing three sizes and falling in love with the holiday (by way of Aaron)! From Aaron’s POV you know this is a “he fell first” kind of story and to see his efforts in getting Olivia to warm up to him and see a new side is a treat for the eyes!

Although the spice is low, Katie didn’t disappoint! There is also just the right amount of Christmas throughout the story to not be overwhelmed. Realistically I would think you could read this at any time of the year and enjoy it!

⭐️: 5/5
🌶️: 2/5

Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey

My first holiday book of the season and it was a good time.

Olivia moved to Atlanta to be near her brother but that means having to put up with his best friend and teammate, Aaron, as well. One thing leads to another and the next thing she knows, Olivia is agreeing his fake date for the team’s charity Christmas gala.

This story was cute and festive even if the cheese was laid on a little thick. There is a whole lot of chemistry, witty banter, and some changing hearts.

Content: innuendo, mild language, heavy make outs

Olivia despises her brother’s best friend, hockey playboy Aaron. But when he offers her his spare room to escape a bad living situation, she reluctantly accepts. Will proximity to her longtime nemesis prove dangerous to her heart?

This is cute and fun and a pleasure to read. Olivia and Aaron are likable characters with more chemistry between them than they’d like to admit. The book is a great choice to bring some laughter to your holiday.

Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC I received. This is my honest and voluntary review.

I was so excited when I found out that Katie Bailey wrote another Christmas book because I LOVED Season’s Schemings last year! I just had to get my hands on it and I’m so glad I did!

I LOVED every single minute I spent reading Holiday Hostilities! It had everything you want in an enemies to lovers book set in the holiday season! You could feel how much Olivia hated Aaron on the pages of this book and it was awesome! Their banter was top-tier and their chemistry sizzled! I will not be able to stop thinking about this book for a long time. I highly recommend!

A huge thank you to Eleventh Avenue and NetGalley for the advanced copy. All opinions expressed above are my own.

Thank you to Eleventh Ave publishing and NetGalley for the advanced E-ARC of this book.
I love Katie Bailey. She is my go- to author for a swoon worthy read. I highly recommend reading Season's Scheming's prior to reading this one. All of the characters are intertwined and the universe that Katie has created is so fun, you won't want to miss the connections.


Olivia and Aaron are the perfect catalysts to each other. They have undeniable chemistry and pent up tension that rivals that of a Pringles lid ready to pop. The titular moment where they give in to each other had me kicking my feet! No one does a "screw it" moment quite like Katie Bailey.

This book is so sweet and swoon worthy. It's closed door, but oozes sexual tension. This book has all the best tropes, along with holiday vibes, making it a cozy, festive romcom to fit all your needs.

Olivia doesn't like to celebrate Christmas as it holds too many bad memories. Instead, she escapes into her job as a flight attendant to jet off to exotic destinations. But when she's left off the schedule this year, she at a loss as to what to do. That's where Aaron comes in. He offers up his home as an escape. Sure, she loathes him, but she'll barely see him. That's a win-win, right?

Read if you like:
-Best Friend's Younger Sister
-Off Limits
-Childhood Rivals
-He Falls First and Hard and He Fell Forever Ago
-Roommates
-Fake Dating
-Slow Burn
-Hocky Hunk

I loved Season's Scheming so much that I knew I needed to read Holiday Hostilities. And Katie did not disappoint. She hit me with all my favorite tropes. Aaron has been carrying a torch all this time. And the way he looks out for Olivia was swoon worthy. This is a holiday hockey romance that is a good blend of all three; neither overwhelming the others. You can read it any time of the year. But why not read it now?

A romcom based on a love hate relationship between a girl and her brothers bestfriend. The banter between these two was quiet and laughable. I enjoyed the story and the flow.

Katie Bailey books are always a good time and this one was no different! Olivia and Aaron were so sweet and I really enjoyed their story. There were a few times where it felt a little over the top to me personally, but still a great time, and I reccomend if you’re looking for a fun, festive hockey romance!

Thank you NetGalley & Eleventh Avenue for letting me read Katie Bailey’s Holiday Hostilities! Fun cast of characters, plenty of opportunities for future stories, perfect for readers wanting romance without open door sex scenes.

Started this one for funsies, next thing I know, I'm already 44% in. Much much better than the first book.

This book had me giggling, kicking my feet, and asking the Lord when am I gonna have my own Aaron.

Olivia hates Aaron, her brother's best friend, due to an incident in the past. As Olivia's work is based in Atlanta, that made her in close proximity with Aaron. When he found out that she's living with a lot of unruly roomates, he offered her his guest bed room.

I love both characters. Their banter, their chemistry and the tension was off the charts! We saw Olivia and how she's putting up a front due to what happened between them and yet still found herself entralled with Aaron as she saw a whole different side to him.

Aaron's facing a lot of pressure as being the captain, not letting his team down and the added social media backlash from his stalker. But he's so down bad for Olivia, and I am here for it.

Their relationship was built on a great foundation where they known each other since high school, then just in each other's radar throughout their lives due to the connection with Jake (Olivia's brother and Aaron's best friend).

They constantly communicate with each other and the transition from dislikes-friends-lovers were pretty seamless. It's also not that lust-y which I really appreciate. I love seeing glimpses of characters from book 1 and the whole hockey team.

I will def be reading the next book!

I freaking love this book. I loved the firts one , but this one was even better, I don't know how Katie does this.

It is so sweet and cute, and I love that this is let say ajar door romance ( not fully cloosed door romance).

And I must say that I love this romance morethat full bloody open door romance.

I love how easy it is, when the wright person comes along, it is just easy to fall in love.

Thanks soooo much for this Arc.

Katie Bailey's books are an auto buy for me, so when I got an arc of Holiday Hostilities I was ecstatic. I loved this book just as much as all of her other ones I have read. However, this one is extra lovely with the Christmas theme and hallmark vibes. This book also encompasses some favorite tropes like brothers best friend, grumpy/sunshine and hockey romance. It was so great, I can't wait to read Katie's next book!

Thank you netgalley for an arc of Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey

Absolutely loved! I was very much looking forward to this book since I read Season's Scheming's last year.

This is an enemies to lovers & roommates story that I read in what seemed like a blink of an eye. I loved Aaron and Olivia. Olivia cannot stand Aaron, or can she? I enjoyed the dynamic between these two and thought they had great banter and chemistry. I thought it was a fun idea to make these two roommates. I thought it was a clever way to force them to spend time around each other. Plus it added so much yearning, angst and tension to the story! This was probably my favorite part because the anticipation is part of the fun, no?

This is a clean romance but we do get some steamy kisses and innuendos.

A very enjoyable holiday romcom! Would recommend!

After leaping into this book from Katie Baileys first instalment I was already feeling the Christmas vibes.

Although this book was an interesting change as it was deeper and more heartfelt than the Christmas joy book 1 brought.

Liv hates Christmas and as the book goes on we truly get to understand where she’s coming from. I loved the way we start with fun and banter but behind it all is a fear of loneliness and abandonment, it feels quite a contrast to the light and fluffy feels we had in book 1 but also, loved the character development. Because I felt as I reader, I was also on the outside until she let me in.

Aaron is just that family Christmas spirit embodied. I love the fact he wasn’t over kill on Christmas but enough that you really felt it meant something to him. And he wants to give Liv that experience which is, to put it mildly, freaking adorable.

They have a mutual hate for each other and plenty of banter to go with it. But is it really hate or hidden attraction??

After my buzz from book one I loved that this book was the same great writing but a different take. It’s wasn’t just a carbon copy, it had a totally deeper connection and storyline. Maybe in a way, more of the traditional hallmark feels, the heart strings were pulled with this one, and definitely “true meaning of Christmas” vibes.


The tea ☕️

💞 - enemies to lovers
🚫 - best friends little sister
🎄- Christmas setting
🚻 - roommates
🛏️ - one bed
🥸 - little bit of fake dating
🚪 - 0 spice but a nice burn

***warning - highlight quotes may give clues to spoilers***


—- Highlights ——


“As if that wasn’t enough, he’s also sporting some annoyingly sexy stubble, alongside an even more annoyingly sexy backwards hat. The devil has no business looking this good.”



“Objectively, Aaron is disgustingly good-looking and I hate that for him.”

“She looks back at me like she’d like to stab me with the sharpest skate she can find, and I chuckle to myself. Suddenly, all is right with the world.”

“He then turns to me, but doesn’t attempt to give me a hug as he did Sofia, thank goodness. Probably because I absolutely would have kneed him in the unmentionables if he had done so, and he knows it.”

“Fricking Jing and her fricking romance books making me almost forget that this stuff isn’t meant to be attractive.”

“I’ve been going half-crazy the entire drive home thinking about your lips, I wanted to show you that this is more than just physical. That I haven’t just been waiting to get you home, but that I’ve been craving your company as much as touching you. Your laugh as much as your gasps.”

“I shrug a shoulder. “Told you I was a bit obsessed with you.” Still am.”

“After living in that guest room for a couple weeks, I was a little sick of staring at my own face. Which I didn’t think could ever happen, but here we are.”

“I love Olivia. I don’t know if it’s chemistry or astrology or damn alchemy that dictates that, and frankly, I don’t care. I just know it’s right.”

“Never say never, bro. If it’s right, it’ll happen. Even against all odds. Love has a funny way of showing up when you least expect it—and where you never dare to imagine it.”

Enemies to lovers, brother's best friend, and fake dating, say less. This was such a good mix of some of my favorite tropes, and it was done in such a believable way.

When Olivia's brothers' best friend crawls into her window as a teenager and offers to be her first kiss but then backs out at the last minute and escapes, the only obvious solution is for him to be her enemy. Now he is a star NHL player, and she has moved back to the city to spend more time with her brother. She cannot forget how he made her feel, and he plays into the banter. However, she has known him most of her life and even though she acts like it she really does not hate him, so when he asks her for help, she agrees.

The banter between Olivia and Aaron was great. They were both really good characters. I could see this exact thing playing out in real life. You could tell by the banter that they both really did not hate each other so when they were forced together it was inevitable that they would end up together. I also like the ending; this book just felt a little less like make believe to me.

This is a closed-door hockey romance with actual hockey! Such a plus now days, there was some actual hockey playing in this book and not just something that was added to attract readers.

Thank you Eleventh Avenue and Netgally for this title. This is my honest review.

Genre: Holiday Romance
Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Spice: .5/5 🌶️

Summary: Olivia is a flight attendant getting tired of her international base so she decides it’s time to relocate closer to home and her brother in Atlanta. The only catch? Moving means being in closer proximity to Aaron Marino, her brother’s best friend and hockey teammate—the same guy she’s despised since high school.

Thoughts: This book was exactly what I needed! I absolutely adored the characters, and the enemies-to-lovers banter was so well done and I have high standards for that.

The hockey aspect added a fun layer to the story without ever feeling overwhelming. Everything about this book felt so natural—the timing and pacing had me enjoying every page.

Even though it’s a closed-door romance, the chemistry between the main couple was on fire, and their connection could be felt in every interaction.

There were a couple of slower moments that kept it from being a full five stars for me, but it’s still one of my favorite Christmas reads this year.

Huge thanks to the author and publisher for the gifted copy! All thoughts are my own, and I’m happy to share this honest review.

Holiday Hostilities by Katie Bailey follows Olivia Griswold and Aaron Marino. Olivia just transferred to Atlanta to be closer to her professional hockey player brother, but ends up in a crazy living situation with roommates that play bagpipes at all hours, steal her underwear, and beg for money to get their boyfriend out of jail. Besides the bad roommates, the other downside to living in Atlanta is running in the same circles as Aaron, her brother’s best friend and teammate who she hates and has skillfully avoided the past decade. With Christmas coming up, a holiday she has a bad history with, her only joy is knowing she should be far away from all of it with her job as a flight attendant.

Aaron is captain of the Cyclones, but has had a female fan stalking him recently which has caused problems with the media and Cyclones owner questioning if he is really the best choice as captain. At a Cyclones’ Thanksgiving get together held at Aaron’s, Olivia finds out that she won’t be working over Christmas and instead will be stuck with her weird roommates. Depressed by that news, she lets Aaron drive her home and after he sees her terrible living situation he offers her a deal, she can live at his place where they will be “two passing ships” anyway with their jobs taking them out of town often, as long as she bids and wins a date with him at the Cyclones’ Christmas Gala so his looney stalker doesn’t win the date. She agrees and moves in with “the enemy”.

I thought this story was both festive and adorable. If you like Hallmark romance movies you will love Olivia and Aaron’s story. It hit so many fun tropes; brother’s best friend, he falls first, forced proximity, and a Christmas themed date worthy of a cuteness award. Olivia’s past pulled on my heartstrings and Aaron is the greenest flag with his crocheting and how sweet he is with his mom and nonna. Overall, this was a 5 star holiday romance that I would recommend to anyone who’s looking for a Christmas themed hockey romance.

Such a cute festive hockey romance.

The perfect blend of all our favourite tropes, brothers best friend, enemies to lovers, housemates to lovers, he falls first, and a smidge of second chance, all wrapped neatly in a Sports Romance printed bow. Perfection!

From the beginning you’re straight into the reunion of Olivia (his livvy) and Aaron who’ve not seen each other for a few years while Olivia’s been living in London as an air hostess. She’s moved back to Atlanta to be closer to her brother Jake, but she’s moved into a hovel with a bunch of quirky (👀) housemates, when Aaron ends up giving Olivia a lift home, he sees the area she lives in and insists on walking her up, when he sees her living arrangements he knows he needs to step in, and as it so happens, he needs something from Olivia in return… Aaron is the target of an online-turned-in-person stalker, and he needs someone to bid for him in the upcoming Christmas charity event, enter Olivia with a paddle and his bank account - she saves the day and wins a date with Aaron too.

The chemistry is instant, you’re rooting for them from the start, and it certainly pays off.