Deck Me Up

by Ember Flint

In this Grumpy-Sunshine Curvy Girl & Alpha-hole Billionaire Boss Christmas Romance Alphalicious and demanding to no end, Xander Halls is Holly's bossy crush and it seems he won't be happy until he's pulled the last fa la la la la la la la la out of her. The question is, why? 24-year-old Holly Hart is a sweet and unassuming woman, lover of all things Christmas. She's always been sure of two facts since she got old enough to understand it was scientifically impossible she could meet someone who could make her sick of the Season to be Jolly and, most of all, she was never ever going to meet a man who would make her wish to change her permanent status from nice to naughty, but this Christmas is about to prove her wrong because she is going to meet both in the huge, hunky and sexy person of Xander Halls, the CEO of Halls Tech. Barely 30 years old and already a self-made billionaire, Xander is currently her major client and the absolute bane of her existence. Apparently, he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'no' even though he is so fond of barking it in her face. She's pretty sure he could make Santa's elves cry with a single well-placed glare, and yet she can't stop herself from melting for him. Throwing a Christmas party is Holly's ultimate vocation, but Xander is arrogant, brooding, unsociable, and bossy, and he is making things impossible for her. The stubborn bastard hasn't got a single ounce of Peace on Earth and Goodwill to Men to spare for her! It seems no matter what Holly does or says, Xander has to contradict her. Veto should be his freaking middle name or Grinch , maybe -- yes, that would work too. All he wants for Christmas seems to be driving Holly nuts. She should hate the sight of him, but boy, the man can kiss and looks like sex on a stick or, better yet, a candy cane she can't stop herself from drooling over! The more Xander bosses her around, pissing her off and looking at her with those killer baby blues that could incinerate mistletoe and liquefy snow --if Phoenix would be blessed with any, that is--, the more she wants him hanging his stocking all over her and trimming her Christmas tree with his own hot brand of decorations, way better than those bought at Tiffany's! Dear This is a standalone, no cheating and HEA-guaranteed holiday marshmallowy-sweet novella with a secret punch, where NAUGHTY might even be wrapped-up in NICE , but is still definitely there. Bad things are about to be flagged on Santa's list around here, 'cause it looks like this kindle-melting Alpha is one Halls this Holly will have some trouble decking! Get tangled in this intricate mess more than you do when attempting to unravel strings of twinkling lights. You won't regret it and your Christmas this year will not only be bright but tropical hot too!

Genres: Holiday

136 pages, Paperback

First published December 18, 2017

About the author

USA Today Bestselling Author Ember Flint is a hopeless romantic who loves tea, steamy unrealistic reads, and anything colored or scented lavender. She believes in love-at-first-sight and has been your HEA-Defender since 2017.
She writes sinfully-sweet feel-good stories with a happily-ever-after-guaranteed and NO-cheating-allowed where the romance is over-the-top, the sizzle-factor is always high and the men are rough, dirty-talking hunky Alphas who are possessively-in-love with the curvy and sassy AF all-around women that they cherish.


She loves hearing from readers—be sure to check out her website emberflint.com or the back matter of her books for ways to connect and find out more about her upcoming projects.

Get all my links in one place: linktr.ee/emberflintauthor

Reviews

[Fiction Junkie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read. Little choppy, and words were mixed around, but I'm not an editor, just a reader. Still good.

[Vinessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly loves Christmas. She doesn't care about that the Arizona heat in December, well except when she steps into it. But Christmas is her jam, so when she is all of a sudden the lead coordinator for the Halls double holiday party she is freaking out. The stories she is hearing about the billionaire are not helpful.
But meeting Xander only intensifies her anxiety for a whole other reason.
The majority of the book is told in Holly's POV, so it is not clear what is going on with Xander until the very end. Xander had already pre approved the plans, so why only ten days before Christmas is he suddenly against it? But Xander hot and cold attitude? First he kisses her and demands she redo the whole party. Then he shows up at her home and practically kills her bestfriend with his glare. Its the attraction that is confusing her most these days. The romance is intense and dirty. The thoughts running through her head are funny, aggravating and sensual. A trip to New York was a rouse, only a misunderstanding has her lashing out and fleeing back home, where she eats, cries and worries about her job and the love she left behind.
The book is sweet, sensual, mysterious and interesting

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the heat is HOT, and the physical chemistry is captivating so be careful you may just get burned all the heat coming off these pages. There were some "oh no" "oh wow" " what the what" moments and add in uncanny mishaps, and shenanigans the good kind that makes you keep turning the pages till last page has been turned. Holly has a responsibility of a double event party due to her boss’s car accident, but she isn’t used to dealing with demanding, entailment, and perfect billionaire and nothing she does is good enough for said billionaire. Keep in mind a person can only be pushed so much and so far, before they either break or push said billionaire back which is what she did she let him have it with his unreasonable demands and condescending attitude towards everything and everyone. Yet, she isn’t ready to give up on him there is something there she can see showing her he is a better person but she going to have to dig through it all to see is it a job she up to doing or will it just be a job or possibly the end of her career or is there happiness in the works for the two of them?

[Amyb1975 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story. The only reason I didn't give a 5⭐ is because it was all told from h POV until the epilogue. This is just a personal preference of mine. I usually only read dual POV because I want to know what the H feels and thinks. Now, having said that, it may not have been as good if you got his POV throughout. You just have to read it to know what I'm talking about. No others after meeting, virgin h, H has been celibate for a while, no abuse, epilogue 4 years later.
Story was very well told and the ending had me just swooning.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Viv “BookVixen” Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A maddening hero gets his girl

This was such a good read. A bit different from this authors other books I’ve read where it’s from both MCs POV.

I don’t want to give anything away. To keep it simple: holly, our heroine, has a huge responsibility placed on her shoulders when her boss gets into a car accident—she has to coordinate a double event party for an exacting, perfectionist, demanding billionaire and nothing she does is good enough for him. Except when he’s claiming her, then hes roaring his pleasure.

Until finally she can’t handle his dismissive attitude and unreasonable demands.

There’s a great HEA with two epilogues, no cheating, no ow/OM grossness, the heroine is a virgin and belongs only to the hero.

[Ember Flint]

Read Deck Me Up now! It's available on Kindle Unlimited :)
Check it out:
mybook.to/DeckMeUp


You're going to like this one if you love the following romance tropes/subgenres:

*love-to-hate-you
*billionaire boss romance
*alphahole possessive heroes
*sassy curvy heroines
*christmas romance
*happily-ever-afters
*steamy sexy scenes
*NO-CHEATING whatsoever

One of my favorite scenes from this book:

🎄 "He gives me a slow once-over, like he is scanning me or something and he is not really happy with the results of his analysis.
Perfect, just perfect. This is going to be hell, I know it already.
This guy is the epitome of attractive, but nice he is not. I really hoped the other planners were only exaggerating about him, but at present I’m more inclined to side with their definition of him than with Sylvie’s much more mild and even positive account of his personality, no matter how I wished the opposite were true.
Mr. Halls grips the sides of his shiny oak desk that is practically the size of Texas with both hands until his knuckles turn white and while he stares at me, I see his full lips disappearing into a thin, unyielding line.
Shit, even his damn desk is freaking scary, it looks like someone carved it from a single gigantic block of wood.
I feel myself flush under his examination.
Great, what better way to look like I'm a rookie who doesn't know what she is doing than blush like a twelve-year-old?
I swallow a couple of times trying to find my voice as I mentally scold myself: get it together, Holly.
" 🎄

[Charmaine Nouwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deck Me Up by Ember Flint is a great short read,sweet,entertaining,hot,steamy and a bit emotional holiday romance story of Xander and Holly..Xander is a billionaire,sexy and arrogant.Holly is a sweet,curvy party planner.When Xander hired Hollys company for his company party and his sister birthday.they know the man to be strick and what he wants he gets no matter what,when Hollys boss whos handling the party had an accident the owner of the company told her to do it because shes the only one knows it because shes the assistant to her boss and mentor and now is in the hospital.when she met Xander she became overwhelmed ecause hes not only rich,hot and gorgeous but also a jerk.still she is attracted to him like a moth to a flame and vice versa,but she cant understand him hes so,warm and kind and the next so cold and hurtful..its not only her heart is on the line but also his dreams and her job..

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lindarhc · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly and Sylvie were planning a Christmas party that was all so a fundraiser. On top of that they had to plan a surprise birthday party for his 15 yr old sister. Then Sylvie has a car crash and ends up in hospital. So Holly is told to do the presentation herself ad arrange it all. When Xander sees her he wants to spend time with her so says the presentation is no good and to come up with something better. He keeps rejecting everything she presents. He got her to leave the plan that she suggested and said he would get rid of them. Xander turns up at her apartment and they get close. Then he suggested that they go to New York to get more ideas. When they arrive back she refused to get in his car and tells him her job is on the line with these party’s. I’ll not spoil the rest.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[lf · Rating 4 out of 5]

She may end up decking him before decking the halls for Christmas

Deck me up is a very sweet and sexy Christmas themed romance between Holly and Xander. She loves everything to do with Christmas.....from the cookies and candycanes to the tinsel on a tree to all the wrapped gifts. Xander is not so much in the whole Christmas thing. They meet when Holly takes over planning a double event party when her boss has a car accident. Xander's company, Halls Tech, is the client and he is more than demanding, infuriating, and a perfectionist. Nope he can be a full on nightmare at times. He even has her questioning her love of Christmas.
This was a fun and flirty story with a lot of wonderfully witty banter.

I received a copy of this book and am leaving my honest review. My opinions are all my own.

[Raecharmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly works for an event planning company and when the woman she is shadowing gets hurts she ends up having to take over a major client. Xander is very particular about what he once from the two joint parties he wants planned. Xander is drawn to Holly the moment he sees her but isn't sure what to do about it. The more they are together the harder it is to fight the attraction. Holly is worried when he won't agree to any plans she makes that she'll lose her job. When he shows up at her place and things heat up she is even more confused by him. Will Xander finally agree to a plan for the parties? Can they be together?

This is a great story that will hook you in the first chapter. This is a well written and very entertaining story. I would recommend this book to any book lover.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Danee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is another beautiful book with a fantastic storyline and sometimes fickle. Xander hires Holly for a Christmas party as well as a party for his 15 year old sister's birthday. The frustration part is when he keeps rejecting everything Holly suggests, despite his sister's liking it.

Despite Holly not knowing why he is acting this way and that is that he wants her.
The characters are great and I really liked the chemistry and the attraction between them. It's a great story, if you want to know more,
I advise you to read this book, especially at this time.

I received a Advance Review Copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC from the author thru Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving my review. This is a short love story between Holly and Xander. Holly is left planning two events for her boss. They are both for Xander who is a rude but sexy and knows everything billionaire. He is the reason for every headache and sleepless night that Holly has. He thinks he knows just how to seduce and keep her. He finds out that he does not know everything about this woman who has captured his heart. The characters had lots of sparks between them.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amyb1975]

I really enjoyed this story. The only reason I didn't give a 5⭐ is because it was all told from h POV until the epilogue. This is just a personal preference of mine. I usually only read dual POV because I want to know what the H feels and thinks. Now, having said that, it may not have been as good if you got his POV throughout. You just have to read it to know what I'm talking about. No others after meeting, virgin h, H has been celibate for a while, no abuse, epilogue 4 years later.
Story was very well told and the ending had me just swooning.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Emily Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly has a big job handed to her when her boss needs her to handle a double event party. Xander Halls, the CEO of Halls Tech, is not an easy boss to please, being a perfectionist who claims that nothing she did was good enough for him. She had to do things over and over to where she was close to losing her love of Christmas, which she thought no one could ever make her do. She is totally frustrated . . . yet there is just something about that man! Will these two find love to share at Christmas?

[Michele · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastic storyline, and utterly frustrating at the same time. I absolutely loved Xander’s character as infuriating, arrogant and good looking as he was, he’s still just a man looking to love someone and be loved in return. Holly as sweet as she was, she definitely had her breaking point. Even though Xander’s intensions were well placed, he forgot a man never really knows what’s going on inside a woman’s mind. This was fun, with a dash of mystery that made this a very entertaining holiday read.

I am voluntarily leaving a review for this book that I received free.

[Kristianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really cute and sweet read! Holly has to fill in for her mentor at their event planning company and is told she will be planning Xander’s Christmas party and sisters birthday party alone. When she meets Xander sparks fly but Holly is fearing the party signals the end of their relationship. I really wish we could’ve had Xander’s POV as well but Ember explains at end why that was on purpose. I really liked that this book kept me on the edge of my seat yet was so sweet and romantic.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Rmqbookqueen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was a crazy roller coaster ride of emotions for me. I really enjoyed Holly and her drive to be a successful businesswoman/ party planner, but I wish she had put her foot down with Xander earlier on in the book. There were a lot of sexy time which I appreciated and it was very steamy. The only thing about Xander that I wasn’t in love with was how he ran extremely hot and cold during the story, and it all could have been avoided if he had communicated with Holly about his alpha-hole love for her. This was a safe read, insta/drama filled relationship, and an HEA guaranteed.

[Kelly Atkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deck Me Up by Ember Flint is a fun, quick read. Holly and Xander have sparks and heat in this holiday read. It is enjoyable to know there is a HEA, this kept the anxiety out of reading, and I could just get lost in the story. There were quite a few grammatical errors that made me have to reread a few sentences. I will be checking out more books by this author. Overall, I recommend this book!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Debra Soehner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Xander has hired Holly’s company to plan his Christmas party/sister’s 15th birthday party but is continually vetoing all her ideas. He falls in instant lust with her and they begin a whirlwind affair. How will she get him to accept a party plan and save her job and how does he really feel about her. Great story and epilogues.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Syd Springer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought that this was a really good book. I really liked the chemistry between Xander and Holly. Xander instantly taken with Holly and comes up with a plan to try and keep her close but in the end it back fired on him. But don't worry, these two get a really sweet HEA. I thought that this was a cute story and I would recommend it.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Sabrina Flachsmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, Xander was a jerk lol. Holly is responsible for making his work and personal Christmas party come together. He is rude at every turn, saying no to all her ideas while kissing her senseless. As the day draws closer, she is left with no ideas and worried about her job. The heat between the two is amazing but I was worried up until our HEA!!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Amanda Marlowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly is working as an assistant event planner, she meets Xander Halls as she ends up dealing with his Christmas party and his sister's fifteenth birthday party on her own, but Xander doesn't like anything she proposes, and she has to spend a lot of time with him, is this his plan?
A sweet, sexy Christmas read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I voluntarily reviewed an arc of this book.

I really enjoyed this entertaining holiday romance, Holly loves Christmas but when the host of the latest party she's planning, starts to ruin her holiday and job but win her heart, Holly is conflicted. Xander is shocked when a beauty walks into his office to plan his Christmas party and his sisters birthday. Can he win her heart or will his bad attitude ruin everything that both of them want?

[Kristine L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holly and Xander have sizzling heat in this holiday romance. Holly is the lead coordinator for the Halls holiday party. Holly is really into Zander and she thinks that he's into her but he blows hot and then cold. They have a very intense and dirty romance and she has thoughts that are funny, aggravating and sensual. Very sweet, mysterious and sexy read. I received an ARC copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

She loves Christmas
This book is about Holly and Xander. She’s been employed to organise his business’s Christmas party. She puts her whole heart into it because it’s her favourite time of year. But his changes of plans put a real spanner in the works. There are a lot of mixed feelings and uncertainty between them, but it’s an entertaining read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[casvec]

Deck Me Up is the perfect fast holiday story that will get you in the season. Xander is an intense billionaire, needing a two party in one throw. He hires an event planning company to get the job done, Holly finds herself stepping up in her mentor's place. Xander and Holly's connection would light up the town.

Perfect story to grab and get lost by the fire.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[CJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly is supposed to coordinate an elaborate party for a cranky billionaire. When she has her first meeting with Xander, he does nothing but disagree with everything she has planned. Little does she realize that she is what he wants in his life.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Jurae · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holly loves Christmas. She is an event planner on a big event but trying to work with Xander is making her dread the holiday. Xander wants to make the event special but their is a method to his madness. I thought the book was good. The characters were good. The story was well written.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A riveting, well written, well-developed, and exciting read! It is a drama-filled, witty, funny, and fast pace engaging page-turner with some LOL moments. The characters are amazing and likeable; the chemistry between them is instant and explosive. Definitely recommended!

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story with a Christmas theme which was fun to read. It stars two very intriguing characters who seemed to be on opposite spectrums of holiday enjoyment. I loved both characters and their interactions were very entertaining to read.

I requested a copy of this book so I could provide an honest review.