#TBRChallenge 2026: Her Naughty Holiday

The Book: Her Naughty Holiday by Tiffany Reisz

The Particulars: Contemporary romance, Harlequin Blaze #916, Book 2 in Men at Work trilogy, out of print, available digitally, repackaged and reprinted as Harlequin Special Release 2024

Why Was It In Wendy's TBR?: I actually downloaded this as an ARC from Netgalley back in 2016 mainly thanks to the fake dating trope. Then, it happened. Romancelandia went wild for this entire trilogy to the point where some reviewers (you know who you are) were practically crowning Reisz as the savior of category romance and that was enough to raise my hackles and here we are. I have an unreasonable amount of baggage when it comes to certain corners of Romancelandia side-eyeing category romance, then suddenly discovering one they like and giving us all "not like other girls" reviews for category romance. Look, I've never claimed to be reasonable - I'm a reader, therefore I am a nutjob. 

The Review: When this review posts I will be going into day six of being very sick. Like the sickest I've been in a long time. So bad that after my long weekend off work (thank you Dr. King), I called out the rest of the week. I popped very negative for Covid on Day 2 of this hellscape, but I had a fever, still a terrible cough, and a headache that was so bad I wanted to cry. RSV? The flu? Punishment from the gods? All of it's possible. Which is to say I'm miserable and cranky but I still think I would have disliked this book anyway. Y'all it's got all the heft of wet tissue paper.

Clover Greene has just received two very divergent and distressing emails. A corporate buyer has just offered her $5 million for her nursery (greenhouse - like plants and stuff) business in Mount Hood, Oregon and her family has dropped the bomb that she's hosting Thanksgiving. She's still wrestling with whether or not to accept the offer on her business - no, it's the family news that's got her all spun up.  To be blunt, her family is a bunch of assholes. Her academic parents constantly reminding her she's their "little drop-out" and when is she going to get married and squirt out more grandbabies for them? SHE'S 30 FOR GOD'S SAKE! And her brother and sister are no help at all. Snide, backhanded "compliments" from them as well - just different ones. It's all bad. She just can't face another holiday dealing with them and that's when her teenage employee gives her the brilliant idea of a fake boyfriend - and oh, her Dad would be perfect for the job.

Original Blaze Cover

Erick Field has his own contracting business (cedar siding, decks, that kind of thing) and is raising his teenage daughter, a would-be eco-warrior named Ruthie, nearly full-time, since his ex lives in Los Angeles. He's been attracted to Clover from the jump, when he practically begged her to give his daughter a job so she could pay back court-ordered damages because eco-warrior. Anyway, he's been strictly hands off with her because Clover has been a positive female influence, Ruthie needs that, and Erick loves his daughter. Then, Ruthie, that sly minx, pushes them together just as she's walking out the door to visit her Mom. 

They have roughly a week before the Greene family descends on Mount Hood, so what do they do for the first 80% of this book? Talk endlessly and have sex. Seriously, these two never shut-up. Not even when they're having sex. Yes, ladies and gents, we're regaled with dirty talk (which I tend to hate with a burning passion in romance novels because it's nigh to impossible IMHO to write it well - go ahead and fight me). I can't even begin to tell you how much of this book I skimmed. Like giant, cavernous chunks of it. In fact the only reason I didn't DNF this is because I was waiting for it - the big confrontation scene with Clover's family that I knew was coming. A big confrontation scene over Thanksgiving dinner.  And y'all - it was GLORIOUS!

Which I guess means I cared a modicum about Clover? Although I think I cared more about those assholes getting the dressing down of a lifetime. Seriously, for my money just skip the first 80% of this book, get to the point where the Greene family shows up and start reading. You're getting the best part. 

Am I not being fair to this book? Maybe. I'm sick, I had a bad attitude going into it because as a general rule I have a bad attitude about most books people seem to gush over (look, I'm contrary OK - but it's my blog I'm allowed). But that Thanksgiving dinner scene? Worth the price of admission. Finally, after years of reading about romance heroines who let their families walk all over them, we get one that erupts like Mount Vesuvius. But of course her Mom calls after and they agree to work on their relationship and of course Clover is a virgin when she starts climbing Erick like a jungle gym in the first 20% of the story. I mean, it doesn't tread that much new ground.

Final Grade = C-