Holly and Nick Hate Christmas by Betsy St. Amant Review

 Happy Tuesday Sweet Friends :)

I pray today finds you all doing well, and I'm so thankful you've taken the time to drop on by The Preppy Book Princess today for another book review.

I'm Kirby, and I'm so grateful you're here!

Today I'm excited to be sharing with you all another book review for a 2025 Christmas season release!

This story ended up being so much more than I was expecting, and I can't wait to tell you guys all about it.

I hope you'll all keep reading down below, and join me for today's full review.

Holly and Nick Hate Christmas by Betsy St. Amant:

Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Publisher: Waterbrook

Publication Date: September 16th, 2025

Genre: Christian Fiction/Contemporary/Christmas Read

Synopsis:

When a Christmas-hating woman’s brother sets her up with a fellow Grinch and it backfires, she decides to out-Christmas her date by setting up a festive battle wills in this enemies-to-lovers holiday romcom.

Holly Sinclair has hated Christmas for as long as she can remember. Who names their Christmas baby Holly in the first place? She was teased mercilessly growing up. Holly Berry, Holli-days, Holly Jolly…not to mention the fact that her birthday is often totally overlooked amidst the season.

To make matters worse, instead of getting the promotion she was expecting, Holly’s been downsized—which is just fancy holiday talk for fired. Now Holly has to go home single, unemployed, and turning thirty. Bah, humbug.

Holly’s big brother, Ryan, has dragged his best friend, known holiday-hater Nick Kinsley, home with him. But when Holly discovers that Nick’s here to be her pity date, she decides the best revenge is to play along…and Christmas like she’s never Christmas’d before. Commence Naughty List. The fact that she’s attracted to Nick is totally not the point. She’ll teach him a lesson, one ho ho ho at a time.

The holiday grows more complicated when Holly and Ryan find out their parents asked all the siblings to come home for Christmas this year, but refuse to say why. The rest of the Sinclair siblings descend, each with their own sleigh full of secrets. Rumors spread as everyone tries to guess the reason for their parents’  demand—and Nick turns out to have a secret of his own. Will this be a Christmas to forget? Or will Holly and Nick discover there is so much more?

(synopsis from goodreads)

My Review:

I was intrigued by the synopsis of Holly and Nick Hate Christmas, but I wasn't prepared for it to end up being one of my favorite reads of the year so far. This lovely contemporary is full of holiday cheer, hijinks, and heartwarming moments, and I was completely wrapped up in the story from start to finish. 

Holly Sinclair has hated Christmas for as long as she can remember, largely thanks to the fact that her birthday was always overshadowed by the festive celebrations. When she loses her job right before the holidays, she ends up taking her big brother up on his offer to accompany him, his wife, and his best friend back to her parent's family farm for Christmas. Only problem? Holly is under the impression that her best friend's brother Nick is interested in getting to know her better, and to be her date to the family's holiday party. When she accidentally overhears a conversation between the two of them that lets her know this is far from the truth, she decides to take manners into her own hands, and get revenge. How? By shoving Christmas down her fellow Christmas hater's (Nick) throat. Of course these things never tend to go exactly the way we planned, and soon more than just revenge is simmering between Holly and Nick. However Nick has a secret of his own that might make their path to happily ever after an even bigger challenge.

I've enjoyed several of the books I've picked up by this author in the past, but this one ended up being by far my favorite. Holly and Nick were both such likeable and relatable characters, and I especially enjoyed how much growth is shown in both of their character arcs by the end of the story. While Holly has always had her issues with her family, I loved how close they are overall, and how they will truly go to bat for one another whenever the situation arises. The romance was sweet, hilarious and swoon worthy, and while it was perhaps a little rushed, it never felt insta lovey, and I appreciated that fact more than I can say.

I can't conclude today's review without mentioning how much I loved how authentically the faith message was incorporated throughout the story in small bits and pieces. It never felt out of place or pushy, but rather was a beautiful reminder of the true reason for the reason, and how He can do amazing things with broken pieces.

All in all, I completely loved this Christian rom com story, and I can't possibly recommend it enough. If you're looking for a cleaner, more faith based version of some of the popular romance novels floating around nowadays, then this is definitely the book for you.

Final Rating: 5/5.

Thanks so much to Waterbrook for allowing me to advance read and review this one!

I voluntarily read and reviewed a complimentary advance reader copy of this novel from the publisher (Waterbrook) via Netgalley. I was not required to give a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my own, and this is my honest review.

Thanks so much for reading guys! Have a great rest of your day :)