Olivia Langley is the human embodiment of Christmas cheer, and she has absolutely no problem spreading it around for all to hear.Christmas sweaters? She has twenty. Christmas cookies? She’ll take three dozen. Christmas movies? Yeah, she’s seen them all. So it’s no surprise when she’s put in charge of Loveridge & McGowan’s holiday festivities. Secret Santas? Yep. Ice skating? Of course. … skating? Of course. Holiday trivia? Duh. Christmas-themed bar crawl? That’s one big jingle bell hell yes.
Kissing her boss at a Christmas tree lighting in front of his ex-girlfriend? Well… it is the season of giving.
And Olivia does not come with a gift receipt. No exchanges. No returns. No refunds. All sales are final.
In an effort to ungrinch the grinchiest man she’s ever met, Olivia enlists herself, Santa’s Executive Helper, to scheme up a plan that includes sleigh rides, snow days, and one too many mistletoe kisses, which certainly gets Asher’s tinsel in a tangle.
She’s pretty sure that she sleighed this whole fake relationship thing.
Well… until she realizes there’s nothing fake about her feelings for Asher, and suddenly tangled tinsel, unsolicited Christmas trees, and celebrity heartthrobs are the least of her worries.
A fake relationship to lovers holiday romance!
more
Ratings
25%= 4.75
50%= 4.75
75%= 3
100%= 1.5
Average= 3.5
FINAL= 3.5 stars
I vaguely recall seeing reviews last year but heading into this holiday season, this was a top recommended read. And guess what? It delivers!
I recommend if you enjoy a:
Fake relationship
Workplace romance
Christmasy cheer, whether you like it or not
Dry humor
Quick one-liners
A good character and relationship arc
Olivia is interning at a PR firm for Asher and his grumpy self needs some holiday cheer. She may not get his coffee order right, but she knows his credit card number and address to send him some visual reminders that are merry and bright.
Asher is a gem of a hero. He has this untouchable demeanor and I loved how Olivia wears him down. Peeling his layers throughout this book reminded me of Darcy.
If you haven’t read this book by Ashley Shepherd, do it. I have a feeling it’s one that I will remember with fondness and want to revisit year after year.
Faking Under the Mistletoe was a cute holiday read that gets four stars because I found the transition from grumpy boss/sunshine intern fake dating to maybe really dating, a bit vague and a bit frustrating at times.
However, I loved Olivia and I’m happy she got her happy ending with Asher.
And, although I found Bree to be seriously unlikeable, I am still interested in reading her story because I love a good redemption arc.
That good feels, humorous, can’t put down type of book! It is that typical love story that begins as a fake relationship but UGH I loved it so much. Absolutely loved it.
Does include sexual harassment situation(s).
This book is a combination of tropes that are basically my kryptonite: fake dating and “the grumpy one is soft for the sunshine one”. Having both in one book is a recipe for Caryn heart eyes.
This was so well written. I laughed, I cried (and ugly cried), my heart broke. So many emotions. If you’re like me and love a good romance with a lot of heart and a truly great back story, you’ll be glad you read this.
Plus, there are numerous mentions of the most delicious sounding food you’ll ever read. Make sure you have snacks on hand! My stomach was constantly rumbling.
On a completely unrelated note: yeah, I’m a grown woman and I watch (and love) My Little Pony. If you’re familiar with the show, it’s worth knowing that Olivia is the human equivalent of Pinkie Pie. You know darn well Olivia would happily own a party canon.
Upon finishing, I found out that a side character, Willa, has her own book that takes place prior to this story. So beware of spoilers if you’re wanting to read that one as well. I know for sure I’ll be picking it up because Shepherd is a fantastic author.
Is there anything better than hitting a good reading groove?! I’ve been lucky enough to read multiple fantastic books in a row now and it just makes me want to read more. Is there a name for the opposite of a reading slump, because I’m in it!
.
I’ve been seeing this book all over Booksta and I immediately put it on my TBR list but figured I’d get to it after the holiday when my library didn’t have a hold list of 20+. Apparently Kindle Unlimited books are available to me on loan through my Amazon Prime and while I was going through the listings I saw this and a few others I’ve been wanting to read! Amazon Prime for the win!
.
If you loved The Hating Game (which let’s be honest, we all did!), then you have to read this one!! The witty, dry sense if humor, the easy and playful banter back and forth, the steamy chemistry… Ugh. My little romantic heart was overwhelmed last night. If you think you’ve read all the office romances out there and this can’t possibly be unique, think again!! The emotional rollercoaster this took me on. I literally almost teared up during THAT moment with drunk Ash. I just loved these two and I so badly wanted things to work. Seriously. Go read this book!
Okay I’m going to start with the fact that obviously the whole boss-intern relationship and 80% of Olivia’s workplace actions are highly inappropriate.
Setting that aside, I loved this book. Olivia was quirky but somehow in a way less annoying that Hazel (from Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Daring), because it was mostly surrounding her love for Christmas and who doesn’t love Christmas? Olivia was basically a walking Christmas-gram, with holiday cheer impossible to turn off. I love the way this book opened with the schedule of office holiday events coming up and then we got emails from Olivia reminding people of each event throughout the book. It was a great way to see the passage of time, super fun, and was a great glimpse into her personality! Though what office can spend THAT much on holiday events???
I loved Olivia and Asher—they had great chemistry and such fun banter. The whole lovable grump thing really worked on him. The fake dating was a little forced, and it’s strange that Olivia just kissed him without asking when a lot of the book focused on how Olivia is constantly subject to unwanted touching. Trigger warning: sexual assault. I’m also shocked that the author somehow managed to do both enemies to lovers and fake dating in one book successfully. This book is super light and fun but appropriately counterbalanced with more serious topics to give it some depth. It’s a great holiday romance read.
/ 5
Faking Under the Mistletoe by Ashley Shepherd is just the book I needed right now, both because I read it after a book I didn’t love, and also because it is the perfect romcom worthy Christmas book!
Olivia is such a great character and I seriously loved her. This book is just begging to be on the Hallmark Channel and I really want it to get made into a movie! Faking Under the Mistletoe made me laugh so much, but it wasn’t a shallow book and had a lot of depth plus a handful of moments that brought tears to my eyes. I haven’t read a whole lot of romance, but I love when they read like a Hallmark movie like this one did.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Better Together by Jack Johnson
Final Thought: I surprisingly don’t have a whole lot to say about Faking Under the Mistletoe, but I think it is best read for yourself. If you love witty, Christmassy novels that have just the tinniest bit of steam then I highly recommend checking this one out. It is the perfect book to get you into the holiday mood and it will make you laugh so hard you might embarrass yourself if you are in public. Shepherd also has a book coming out the beginning of 2020 that I am definitely going to be reading. I read this on Kindle Unlimited and it had an excerpt for the upcoming book which was really good. Bottom line though, read Faking Under the Mistletoe!
4.5 stars
Faking Under the Mistletoe was an absolute delight. This story was hilarious, but also packed a surprisingly emotional punch I didn’t expect.
Olivia is Christmas cheer personified, while Asher is a grinchy grump who basically wants nothing to do with Christmas…or with Olivia. She doesn’t let either of those things deter her, though, and she manages to get under his skin every chance she gets. I loved these two; Olivia was absolutely hilarious, and both she and Asher had so many layers. They seemed so incompatible, and yet they worked together and made each other better. Their interactions ranged from laugh out loud funny to frustrating to touching to steamy, and everything in between. Their chemistry was SO hot, and I loved watching them go from barely tolerating each other to caring for each other to something more.
I expected this book to be light and funny and fluffy because that’s how it started out, but it also dealt with some really serious – and timely – issues. There were times when my heart hurt so much for Olivia and I just wanted to scoop her up and protect her. She was so strong, and I admired how she dealt with things and how much she grew.
Faking Under the Mistletoe had just about everything I love in contemporary romance – it was funny, emotional, steamy, well written, and had great characters (main characters and side characters – Asher’s niece Chloe is the same age as my niece, and her hilarious comments, observations, and questions reminded me so much of my niece). I know I’ll be recommending this book a lot this holiday season and for many more to come!