Published by Pink Bloom Press on October 25, 2018
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Romantic Comedy, Humor, Holidays
Pages: 240
Format: eBook
Source: ARC
Goodreads
No one wants to be single at the holidays.
Even Little Miss Grinch, Nikki, a successful and independent woman, must face her bachelorette status at the most horrible time of the year.
December is her personal version of holly-jolly hell: a merry torture made of couples kissing at every corner, forced vacation days, and an inescapable family reunion.
And when her baby sister announces she’s engaged—to Paul, the man Nikki is secretly in love with—and that he’s spending the holidays with them, Christmas starts looking bluer than ever.
Nikki can’t possibly survive an entire week trapped home as the family’s spinster. But she has no time to meet men or to try the newest dating app, she’s too busy working as a video producer for an advertising agency.
So what’s a girl to do?
Nikki has the perfect solution: to hire a fake boyfriend.
Luckily, her job gives her access to an endless catalog of gorgeous actors to choose from.
But Nikki will soon discover that keeping business and pleasure from mixing isn’t so easy, and that she might not be immune to a little mistletoe magic. Especially not when she picked out the perfect man as her Christmas date...
A fun, festive romantic comedy with lots of bad behavior and Christmas spirit. Like a creamy hot chocolate with marshmallows, you won’t want to put this deliciously hilarious novel down. Perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella, Sally Thorne, and Jo Watson.
First Comes Love is a series of interconnected romantic novels. However, each book in the series can be read as a standalone.
Hello Lovelies! I couldn’t start off my December without a book centering around the holiday season! A Christmas Date by Camilla Isley is a sweet little romantic comedy. Nikki has never been fond of the Christmas season but this year is a special level of torture. Her baby sister has just announced her engagement to her boyfriend, a man Nikki has longed after for years. Nikki panics during a conversation with her mom and announces that she is bringing her boyfriend with her to meet the family. Problem is, Nikki is single and in her rush to find someone the play her pretend boyfriend she finds Diego, an actor scraping by on commercials and part-time jobs as he pursues his dream of performing on stage.
Nikki’s tendency to revert to juvenile habits when around her sister and parents made me laugh and certainly made her relatable. I’m sure we all have fallen victim to that once or twice as adults. I loved how laid back Diego was and took everything in stride after accepting the job as a fake boyfriend. I can’t imagine how I would react if my new boss’s best friend went to the protective lengths that Blair did.
If I was asked to point out a scene that indicated to me that Diego and Nikki had fallen for each other I would have a tough time choosing any one moment that stood out. This story creeps dangerously close to insta-love and fails to highlight the character’s emotions and the relationship growth from contract to the real deal. I suspect this is due to the very quick pace of the book. I would have liked to see more detailed interactions with Nikki and Diego one on one before going out to meet the parents to allow more time for that relationship to truly blossom and for Diego to become a more three-dimensional character. Overall, the story was awfully cute, if a little predictable.
Even with the few issues I had, I found Ms. Isley’s book to be the perfect seasonal read to ease me into the holiday season.
*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
