My Favorite Holidate by Lauren Blakely - THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!

 

Heads up - this review will contain spoilers.  

I don't think I'm giving much away by saying My Favorite Holidate has a happy ending.  I think that's a given.  I never write reviews with spoilers but this one I think I need to in order to give a proper review.

My Favorite Holidate  is my final read for 2025 and I did really enjoy the story.  Fable has just broken up with her boyfriend in the worst way - at Thanksgiving dinner she walks in on him getting it on with the caterer.  She's pretending it didn't hurt but it did.  To make matters worse her sister is marrying his cousin at Christmas time and they are both in the wedding party.

Wilder is Fable's billionaire boss.  He owns the football team she works for and much much more.  When Fable happens to be in the office when Wilder's aunt is trying to set him up she throws herself out there and says she's his date for the wedding.  Luckily Wilder is not upset and game to play pretend dating until the new year.

Even though I did enjoy this story here's where I feel I have to spoil things.  Things get hot and heavy between Fable and Wilder quickly.  But they both have such doubt that the other one likes them back.  Like so so much doubt.  It's in nearly every other sentence.  Here they are having very spicy sex together and still doubting how the other feels.  It was a little over the top - the doubt and the sex. 

Don't let that stop you from reading My Favorite Holidate.  I really did enjoy the story but I admit to doing a little skimming over some spicy scenes.  I was also happy with the ending.

The Holiday Mix Tape by Liberty Stowe

Erika with a K has just bombed a work presentation that she's not sure she can come back from.  When opportunity presents itself in the form of a mysterious invitation from her Aunt Josie to visit Kentucky.  Getting out of Chicago seems like a great idea right now.  It's Christmas and Erika needs a change of scenery.

What she finds in Blitzen, Kentucky is a town in desperate need of a new fire truck and some Christmas spirit.  With a town named Blitzen Erika quickly comes up with ideas for an old fashioned Christmas that might just save this town but first she has to get everyone on board with these ideas from an outsider.  

Erika also finds Kourt with a K in Blitzen.  Well she doesn't really find him as much as she hits him with her car but it's faith.  All the signs are pointing to the fact that they should be together but are they actually a match?  He doesn't seem interested.

At the beginning of this book was a warning that this book is spicy.  It almost scared me off as I don't love over the top spice.  Then I got hooked into the story and the characters.  No spice.  Then BAM - zero to 100 level of spice around 75% through.  It's spicy as in not suitable for young readers but not too bad and not too much.  Appropriate story amount of spice.  The one thing I did find different that I don't remember reading in other books is reading spicy scenes from a male perspective.  That was definitely different.

The Holiday Mix Tape is a great holiday read with just the appropriate amount of spice.  I definitely recommend it if you enjoy holiday stories.  Also, I will add that I really enjoyed the ending and it tied up very nicely.