I really enjoyed this holiday novella! The smut and the list were EVERYTHING 😏🔥 but what really made me smile were all the Christmas activities they had planned out in NYC. Every single one had me grinning and honestly made me so excited for Christmas to come 🎄💫. I loved the history between the main characters and how their relationship grew into something beautiful. The perfect mix of spice, heart, and holiday charm! 💖

Oooo I am never disappointed in Alexis Daria books. So steamy yet the perfect mix of humor and holiday season. I love the christmas vibes and the 12 days inspired theme. I will be enjoying this again around the holidays wrapped in a cozy blanket sipping on hot chocolate while ignoring the worlds political problems.

Also Valencia and Gideon are amazing choices for character names and I am so in love!

The Holiday Hookup List by Alexis Daria is a sizzling, festive enemies-to-lovers romance that occurs over the twelve days of Christmas. After a rough breakup, Valencia isn't feeling the holiday cheer—until a chance encounter with her high school nemesis, the charming Gideon, leads to a spontaneous hookup and an even steamier arrangement. What begins as a playful "naughty and nice" list of holiday-themed fun quickly deepens into something more, as both discover that maybe this Christmas connection could last beyond the holiday. This is very much not a Hallmark style holiday romance!
This was a quick read with a strong emphasis on chemistry, leaning more into spicy moments than intricate plotting. That said, it does touch on the characters' shared history and personal growth since high school, adding emotional depth to their rekindled connection. Underlying themes of family tensions and emotional distance add a layer of depth, helping to support the story beyond its playful, passion-driven surface.

A short novella full of everything naughty and nice! This was a fun and spicy read with Latinx rep perfect for the holiday season 🎁

Highly recommend this for anyone looking to add a book to their holiday TBR that's a steamy fun time and full of Christmas in NYC vibes ❄️🏙️🩵

Pub Date: October 7, 2025

The Holiday Hook Up List by Alexis Daria is the perfect holiday novella to get you in the Christmas spirit — with just the right amount of steam that only Alexis can deliver. Let me tell you, I definitely enjoyed going through the hookup list with Valencia and Gideon.

The tagline says it all: The twelve days of Christmas have never been hotter! This sizzling enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy brings the perfect balance of holiday cheer and toe-curling spice. Valencia, still reeling from a cheating fiancé, finds herself at a holiday dance party… and face-to-face with her infuriatingly sexy high school nemesis, Gideon Noble. One reckless dance leads to a night together, and soon they’re making a “naughty and nice” list—twelve days of wholesome yuletide cheer paired with twelve nights of heat that would make Santa blush.

What I loved most is how Alexis wove together humor, heartfelt moments, and passionate chemistry. The banter sparkled, the holiday vibes were cozy yet electric, and the romance had me rooting for Valencia and Gideon every step of the way. By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, I wasn’t ready for their list — or this story — to end.

If you’re looking for a festive, flirty, and downright fun romance to curl up with this holiday season, this one deserves a spot at the very top of your TBR.

This was a great holiday novella. It was so good. I enjoyed Valencia and Gideon relationship so much and the queer representation. It had everything I would want in a holiday book. I love how both characters changed and grew and learned from mistakes made. This was also nice and spicy and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book!!

I loved The Holiday Hookup List. It was sweet and super duper spicy. I normally don’t love a second-chance romance but this one just felt different. I loved the chemistry between Valencia and Gideon. This was just perfect, I wish it was longer but I think a novella was the perfect length!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc ebook in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

I’m not as “woke” as some readers may be, so much of the material in this book was disturbing to me. I didn’t care for the bisexual references throughout the story despite Gideon and Valencia being in a heterosexual relationship. I almost quit reading the book, but I continued to the end since I had received an ARC. I will definitely read the descriptions better before requesting books by authors that I’ve read before and also met at our local bookstore. I almost ended after the 3rd chapter, but I didn’t want to feel like a quitter.

Deliciously smutty — somewhat insta love that manages to be emotionally intelligent — all while capturing the charm of the Christmas spirit. A good and quick read for the holiday season.

Thank you to Netgalley and Montlake for a complimentary EArc in exchange for an honest review.

The Holiday Hookup List is a fun and festive romance filled with charm, humor, and holiday spirit. Alexis Daria brings her characters to life with vibrant personalities and relatable emotions, making their journey toward love feel authentic and engaging. The witty dialogue and cozy holiday setting add extra warmth to the story, creating the perfect read for anyone who loves feel-good, seasonal romance. It’s a joyful and uplifting book that left me smiling.

The amount of spice and sexual tension packed into this short novella is top tier. Ho Ho Ho...All I want for Christmas is more spicy, fun holiday reads like this. The characters were great, I laughed and blushed throughout the story, the tropes were perfect. The ending made me so happy. The chemistry between Valencia and Gideon (sidetone:loved the characters names) was on a whole different level. I loved this one from start to finish. Searching for more written by this author because I enjoyed this one so much!

This was such a fun and festive little romance. The Holiday Hookup List gives us a classic high school rivals-to-lovers setup, but with a holiday twist and a whole lot of steam. Valencia is still recovering from a rough breakup and just trying to survive the season. Enter her former rival with a hookup pact and a whole lot of unresolved tension. Chaos (and chemistry) immediately follows.

I loved their banter and the way their dynamic shifted from playful jabs to something warmer and more vulnerable. There’s definitely some emotional growth here, even if it was a bit light. With a book this short, it’s hard to dive too deep, and I did find myself wanting a little more time to really feel their connection on a deeper level.

Still, it was such an enjoyable read. The pacing was great, the vibe was festive without being over the top, and the heat was definitely there. This felt like the kind of holiday romance you can devour in one sitting with a blanket, a hot drink, and a smile on your face.

If you’re in the mood for something quick, sexy, and Christmassy with a little bite and a lot of heart, this will hit the spot

Sweet and sexy holiday fun all in one book
Mini-Synopsis
When characters set out to complete a festive hookup challenge, attraction turns real—leading to playful conflict and emotional payoff in a holiday NYC setting.

These characters showed a lot of growth from the start to finish

It made me want to put my Christmas tree up in the middle of July

This was such a cute story! I was a little worried that the spicy scenes and different sexual challenges might come off as too much, but they were actually fun and tastefully done. I really liked how sweet Gideon was—his loyalty and the way he never gave up on his feelings for Valencia made him so endearing. He was always there for her, which made their connection feel genuine and heartfelt.

what a cute novella! super spicy work from Alexis Daria. i thoroughly enjoyed and cannot wait to read her next

I've never read this author before but this book was sooooo good! The pacing was on point, the flow flowed. Perfect! Thanks for the ARC, I appreciate it!

This was so not what I expected but I read it and laughed out loud at it too. what an interesting second chance/ naughty list book. What a twist on the proverbial Christmas list. What would Santa say?

In Alexis Daria we trust. The Holiday Hookup List is your spicy holiday romance novel that serves up all the goodness of the holiday season in a condensed format that just makes it a pleasurable read. Valencia and Gideon have chemistry for days and I still have yet to find an author that writes arguments scenes like Daria. The angst, the momentary rage, and the instant regret? Alexis always nails it.

This is quick read so that's why I'm pushing this to be on every romance reader's holiday reading list. Thank you so much Montlake for the digital arc!

Super disappointed with this book; I ended up not finishing it. I wanted to like it so bad, but I had to stop due to the main character. She was just so disappointing with her attitude, politics, core values, etc. It just wasn't for me.

My thanks to Netgalley, Montlake and Alexis Daria for the eARC in exchange for a review of this book.

I've been reading books by Alexis Daria since I tried You had me Hola five years ago. I also get Daria's newsletter, so I had this on my radar and when it was mentioned that it was up on Netgalley, I rushed to see if I'd get the chance to read it. I should also mention that I generally, mostly, hate Christmas, so my still wanting to read a novella that is based around the holiday should show that I'm reading this for the fact that it is written by Alexis Daria.

First of all, the dedication made me cackle. It helped set the mood for what I expected to find in this story. There was a sparkling charm to the introduction of our lead getting ready for a dance party (literally sparkling, as FMC, Valencia ends up wearing twinkling lights not long after we meet her) and I was immediately invested in the story of a workaholic lawyer trying her best to enjoy the holidays despite the year she's had. Add to that a run-in with a former classmate that Valencia used to butt heads with, lawyer Gideon Noble, and I was ready to settle in and watch the sparks between them fly.

The characters were sweet and well-developed, easy to cheer for as they navigated the tricky set-up of figuring out how to make their connection work while working through the issues they had with each other when they were in school. I was angry for Valencia when she mentioned her ex-fiancé and for Gideon when he talked about his father. I laughed at their antics and smiled as they made their list of things to do so they wouldn't spend the holdiays alone. It was all sweet and swoony and their romance was enough to keep me so invested in the story that I read this in one sitting. Daria has a way with these shorter works that is able to provide enough dimension to the leads that allows for readers to grow to enjoy the characters and never feel like something is lacking. Everything is revealed at the best time, developed in a way that flows with the story and keeps readers hooked. I wanted these two people to be happy together, I wanted their second chance to work out, and I loved their quiet moments together as much as their spicy scenes made me want to blush.

As much as enjoyed this though, it feels slightly unresolved with the scene involving Valencia's ex. With the way the scene unfolded and the implications it made, I wanted more comeuppance to hit that guy in the head with the force of a crowbar. But I can be a little vindictive, so most likely it's just a me thing and no one else would be very happy with a little bloodshed in their Christmas novella. Also, it just stops and while yes, it had an ending, I wanted more with the happily ever after in the future. Some kind of epilogue would have been the cherry on top, but again, that's just me.

Rating on my scale: 8.5 Stars. I wanted a little more overall but it in no way detracts from the overall impression of the book. This is a sweet and spicy story about two people realizing that the past does not define them and that sometimes they belong somewhere they least expect and that's okay too.