Blog Tour Review: This is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley

I received this book for free from Rachel's Random Resources, the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This Is Not a Holiday Romance by Camilla Isley
Published by Boldwood Books on September 4, 2024
Genres: Adult Holiday Romance, Adult Romantic Comedy
Pages: 241
Source: Rachel's Random Resources, the publisher
Format: E-galley
My Rating:
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Blurb:

Two sworn enemies, snowed in over Christmas with chemistry that will melt the ice!

Nina Thompson has one Christmas wish: to avoid her brother’s obnoxiously handsome best friend, Tristan, like the plague. From the moment he humiliated her as a teenager to their escalating revenge schemes, Nina and Tristan’s relationship can only be defined as an all-out prank war! And there is yet to be a winner.

But it just so happens the ghost of Christmas present has other ideas. When Tristan unexpectedly crashes her family’s Christmas, Nina’s dreams of a peaceful holiday vanish faster than Santa up a chimney. Determined to end their rivalry for good, she braces herself for one last prank-filled showdown.

But when they find themselves snowed in, with no way of avoiding each other amongst the holiday festivities, they discover their heated exchanges have been masking a different kind of sizzle. Caught in a snow globe of holiday romance, they decide to let their fiery chemistry burn bright—but this is absolutely and unequivocally nothing more than a secret fling destined to melt with the snow, this is not a forever romance…

This Is Not a Holiday Romance is an enemies to lovers, brother’s best friend, forced proximity rom-com perfect for fans of Sarah Adams, Abby Jimenez, and Lynn Painter.

Purchase Link – https://mybook.to/holidayromancesocial

My Review

Camilla Isley has become one of my favorite authors, and so I always sign up for the review tours when they pop up. Of course there are several books from before I discovered her that I still need to read as well! This book was so much fun, and such a quick read too, because I couldn’t put it down!

While it is promoted as a snowed-in romance, to me it isn’t quite that, because it takes place over a whole Christmas break, and their other family come and go a few times. However, that is a bit of the supposed reason why Tristan comes to stay and can’t leave. Even if there are other things that actually are why he is there. Tristan’s back story is one that it sucks that Nina doesn’t know. And once she does learn that, it helps with their enemies to lovers/friends relationship. But oh, until they finally find a way to bridge that gap, the sparks that fly, and the pranks that are played are hilarious!

The chemistry between the two though is off the charts, even with the “hatred” between them. We have all the other family members as buffers or extra parts to move the plot along as needed, and to help make what Nina is doing seem like maybe she’s going a bit overboard. Even Tristan realizes what has always set Nina off, and tries at one point to call a truce. But eventually they figure things out enough to try to give into their attraction. However there is of course the fact that Tristan is worried about his best friend, Nina’s brother, being mad at them.

The last act break up actually was okay for me because even though I was mad about how it happened and how Tristan let it happen, the way he made it up in the end was a great grand gesture in my opinion.

Another winner from Camilla Isley, even if it is a little early for me to be reading Christmas stories! I seem to read them earlier and earlier every year.

About the Author

Camilla Isley is an engineer who left science behind to write bestselling contemporary rom-coms set all around the world. She lives in Italy.

Social Media Links –  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/camillaisley

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Bookbub profile: Camilla Isley Books – BookBub