Book Review | This is Not a Holiday Romance

I know its a little early in the year but it’s also a Camilla Isley so I’ll make an exception.

This is Not a Holiday Romance
Camilla Isley

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…

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Camilla Isley is an author that I know I can pick up one of her books and really enjoy it, I have read a fair few of her books and I am always eager for more. That being said I knew there would maybe come a time when there might be one that didn’t quite do it for me and This is Not a Holiday Romance has fallen into that category.

Don’t get me wrong I still found it an enjoyable read but there was something in the dynamics of this book that just didn’t speak to me the way they usually do. I didn’t gel with the main characters all that well, and I found Nina to be a tad too childish.

Pranks I can live with, there was a very clever one with some watches that did give me a chuckle, but sometimes her responses read like a pre-teen, taking no responsibility, shouting at her family, and then storming off to her room. It made it difficult for me to be as invested in her as I wanted to be.

I also felt there wasn’t the same level of build-up between Nina and Tristan as I was expecting, it felt a little forced at times. They went from zero to full-on very quickly and I didn’t get that sweet spot of will they\won’t they that I know this author can pull off. As I said though I think that just stems down to me not engaging with the characters the way I usually would in this author’s books.

I did love the setting, even during summer, if I read a book with a wonderful wintery setting I do start to look forward to that time of year. The Thompson Christmas traditions were lovely to read about, although it did leave me with a craving for hot chocolate and marshmallows, and I think this will be a perfect read to get people into the holiday spirit.

Even though this book wasn’t my favourite from this author, it was still a fun read and I’m greatly intrigued by the situations that are being set up in the epilogue. I am very much looking forward to getting my hands on those books and any others that Camilla Isley writes.