“Losing the people she loved was her biggest fear. Yet, she knew at times, she pushed them away. She should have been better to Gabby. But she was too caught up in her own grief at the time.”

➽ Oh dear, this book was such a mess 🙈 I had some hopes for this series, especially as I had an Arc for the second book, but Nick & Noel's Christmas Playlist was a chore to get through. The story is about Nick who is coming back from military service and his best friend Noel, who is basically part of his family as they are so close. I was expecting a cute, festive friends-to-lovers romance, but I didn't like any of the characters or dynamics in this book!

➽ Noel gives off huge 'Not Like Other Girls' vibes and spends the entire book fighting Nick's ex. Please let us leave these tropes behind, they are SO tiring! Noel makes a point of setting herself apart from other women and how she's 'one of the guys', especially as she only has one female friend (Gabby). It was clear that she saw herself as better than Nick's ex and their immature fighting was so embarrassing for two grown women. Noel couldn't control herself (even resorting to physically attacking Nick's ex at one point) and the entire girl-on-girl (or rather woman-on-woman) hate was just because of their relationship with Nick 🙃

➽ The romance wasn't my cup of tea at all. I like friends-to-lovers romances when they are done well and this wasn't the case here! Nick and Noel didn't have any chemistry and their getting together felt so forced and sudden that I didn't get to root for them at all. Add to that the drama of Nick's ex and Noel's own dalliances and they got on my nerves.

Alright, this is not (by far) my kind of book! With that being said: this book is really cute.

The story is well thought and the characters have really great background stories, all of them (even Amber). Noel's past really touch my heart. I understood her emotions and actions. Nick's character is super kind and lovable and his family is adorable and caring. Such a warm and cute book. Just perfect for Christmas.

The reason why I don't read this genre is well portrait in this book: girls fighting each other for a guy, characters who just don't make up their minds, and every single sex scene is described with very excruciating details (we get it - he is hot, she is hot, they have lots of sex).

Anyway, if this is your type of book, go ahead, you will enjoy it! 

This book surprised me - in both good ways and... not-so-good ways.

It has my favorite trope in the world: best friends-to-lovers! And the chemistry between Nick and Noel is adorable, spicy, and terribly frustrating... because Noel has reservations at every turn.

Okay, so she's dealt with a lot of heartbreak in her life. Her parents passed away so she thinks everyone is going to leave her. Completely understandable. What wasn't understandable was the fact that Nick had been her best friend for ages, she was basically "adopted" into his family when her own parents passed and they've never given up on her, and basically every other person in her life has proven that they're not going anywhere. So the fact that she's hung up from the get-go on the fact that if she and Nick enter a romantic relationship, he's going to bail at some point really bugged me. Especially because it's obvious that Nick is crazy about her.

Then there's Amber. An absolute bitch. And I don't usually use language like that in my reviews. But, I think she's the most horrible character I've ever read. Some of this story was realistic, but the way Amber acted throughout: riling up Noel, trying to get Nick back at every opportunity, even causing issues for Gabi (Gabby? I don't know - I listened to the audiobook so my spelling could be off)... it all seemed SO unrealistic. And like halfway through the story we're supposed to kind of feel bad for her because she's had a tough go of things too? Nope. I don't feel a shred of sympathy for her. But Noel's actions towards her were both justified and also totally ridiculous.

Anyways, basically, I hated Amber and tolerated Noel. Nick and his friends and family were the saving grace of this book for me. They were funny, loving, and put up with so much of the drama! 

While I mostly enjoyed the story, I found myself wishing it would've ended about halfway through. It drew things out for a long time and that kinda irked me. But when I initially put it down, I didn't think, "Oh, I hated that," but more, "Eh, that was cute but I wouldn't read it again." So I guess that sums it all up.