Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz (Men at Work #2)
Released: November 1, 2016
Contemporary Romance
Harlequin

Reviewed by Mandi

I really enjoyed Her Halloween Treat last month, so was eager to head into a Thanksgiving holiday romance with, Her Naughty Holiday. This book presents a fake boyfriend trope, which usually annoys me but it ended up working very well for me. Clover asks Erik to be her fake boyfriend to get her family off her back, but they pretty much fall in love before the fake-scene has to happen, so they are truly in love and don’t really have to pretend.

Clover started her own plant nursery business from scratch, and now has two locations and a five million dollar sale offer she is contemplating. She  loves her work so much, and isn’t sure if she is ready to sell her baby, but all of that money would be really nice too. Her assistant is a seventeen year old girl named Ruthie. Ruthie is very outspoken, one with nature, and has a hot dad.

“I have lived all my life under the cuse of the Sexy Single Dad. My own friends check him out. It’s so gross.”

Clover has spent the past year checking out Erik, but since she is so close with Ruthie, she would never jeopardize that friendship. But when Ruthie leaves to visit her mom for Thanksgiving, it leaves one-on-one time with Erik. Clover’s family is disappointed that at the age of thirty, she is still single and childless. Instead of being proud of her business accomplishments, they nag her constantly on her personal life. When she learns Erik will be alone for Thanksgiving, she asks him if he would be her fake boyfriend, just to survive dinner with her parents and siblings.

Erik is thirty-eight and owns his own cedar decking company. He finds Clover hot, even if she wears turtlenecks and long pants, all year round.

“You’re a little reserved.”

“Reserved? Me?” She sat up straighter, prim as a schoolmarm.

“Your lowest cut shirt is a turtleneck.”

“Is there something wrong with having a warm neck?”

“Not a damn thing.”

He definitely wants to be her fake boyfriend – but he also suggests the week leading up to Thanksgiving they should spend time together to get to know one another better – preferable naked. Now that Erik knows Clover is attracted to him, he has no qualms about coming out and saying he really wants to get to know her. They end up sleeping together on night one, and fall in love by night four. Their whirlwind romance worked for me. Also, he looks like Indiana Jones.

“Harrison Ford.”

“What? Where?” Erik glanced around the room.

“No, you. I was trying to figure out earlier who you reminded me of. You look like a young Harrison Ford. But with a beard.”

He lowered his head so that their lips were barely an inch apart and whispered two words to her.

“I know.”

Erik and Clover are very talkative. That might sound weird to say, but that was the first thing that came to my mind as I was reading. They talk a lot to each other. They don’t keep anything in – which is refreshing. Clover is somewhat shy, especially when it comes to sex. But they talk about it. Erik allows her to go at her own pace, but politely challenges her too, to try things that might take her out of her comfort zone. Erik is a very dirty talker in bed and Clover starts to look at him as a sexy beast, rather than just Ruthie’s dad. A lot of time is spent with them getting to know one another physically, and I liked that.

Erik is also there to support her when her ridiculously horrible family comes over.

I felt Clover and Erick’s relationship to be quite genuine, given the short time-frame.

Grade: B

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