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10 Things I Hate About Christmas

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Bestselling author A.J. Pine drives home the holiday spice in this hysterically funny new road trip rom com!

If there’s one person Gemma Marshall can’t stand, it’s her office nemesis Theo Campbell, who just so happens to be her boss’s nephew. Whether Theo’s pulling her off a major account or hogging the office microwave, he constantly rubs her the wrong way…plus he has no business looking that sexy.

But everything changes when Gemma accidentally sends her uptight boss Eleanor a highly NSFW holiday gag gift meant for her bestie. Theo catches Gemma freaking out and offers her a an invite to his aunt’s exclusive Christmas party in the festive holiday destination town of Tinsel, where she can intercept the inappropriate gift before it’s unwrapped.

For Theo, helping the woman upon whom he has an unrequited crush is a huge win. It’s a chance to spend time with her and finally get off her naughty list…and if they both lose their hearts along the way? Well, all’s fair in love and Christmas.

Audible Audio

Published November 13, 2025

202 people are currently reading
560 people want to read

About the author

A.J. Pine

29 books899 followers
A teen librarian by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s the author of the If Only series (Entangled Embrace), the Only You series (Berkley/Intermix), the Kingston Ale House series (Entangled Select), and the Crossroads Ranch series (Forever Romance). When she finds that 25th hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.

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5 stars
708 (8%)
4 stars
2,923 (34%)
3 stars
3,833 (45%)
2 stars
850 (10%)
1 star
101 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 723 reviews
Profile Image for Nina (ninjasbooks).
1,609 reviews1,716 followers
November 17, 2025
First I found the novel a bit juvenile when it started with Theo saying something was ‘cringe’ but it picked up after that and at the end I was a mushy mess. The characters were a bit too perfect, but I needed escaping into a Christmas fairytale and that was what I got.
Profile Image for aeryn rose.
361 reviews1,129 followers
December 6, 2025
2⭐️

Short and sweet, but not necessarily great. 😭
I don't know exactly what I was expecting. I wanted something festive and cute but this book just made me cringe sooo bad at points. It went so far as to mention an ACTUAL MEME at the very beginning, and then the main character saying "cringe" to describe his own behavior. Yikes...I agree.

Also, a grown woman, a mother, says that she can sense a "vibe" is off to describe something weird just rubs me the completely wrong way. AM I TOO WOKE FOR THIS BOOK? The language and the way the characters act is just so...new gen. Especially since these are all adults we're talking about. If I were to write a book, this is not the kind of descriptions and structure I'd use because it just comes off as trying way too hard to fit in with the newer generation.

Even though there are a lot of...questionable things to this book, I actually think it did some things really well. The setting and ambiance of Christmas was lovely and it really gives off warm and cozy feelings. I liked the descriptions and the setting of the town and how it was described. It really gave a cozy Hallmark Movie feeling and I enjoyed that. Just like one of those movies, they're cringey and corny but you stick around and watch because they feel safe and nostalgic.

I wish this book had a bit more yearning, too. It's no spoiler that Theo already had a crush on Gemma from the first chapter and the synopsis, but this book was so short that it wasn't paced very well. No yearning or angst I wish there would have been cause it would've made that so much better. I like the plot of the lost gag gift and how they came together. I just didn't sense a whole lot of chemistry. It wasn't long enough to really build that up, but it did have the potential.

This book was just a feel-good, corny Christmas romance, but I felt that it was lacking in a lot of departments. This isn't some masterpiece by any means, but it had funny and entertaining moments you can't help but at least finish this book. This was just an impulsive read that I found on Audible with my subscription and it definitely felt like that. As I read/listen to winter and holiday reads, I'll be reviewing them to (maybe) help you guys decide what might be worth the read! This one, unfortunately would be a miss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝓟𝓻𝓮-𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭: 🎄🩵

Let the Christmas reads commence!! 😈
Profile Image for Dani Trisha.
386 reviews2 followers
December 8, 2025
Feliz navidammit is my new favorite phrase and I’ll be using it all of December
Profile Image for Natalie  all_books_great_and_small .
3,151 reviews175 followers
December 28, 2025
10 Things I Hate About Christmas is a funny, cute, hallmark movie style of a book that is just perfect for the run up to Christmas.
We follow Gemma and Theo, who are office rivals. Theo is their bosses nephew and is always getting Gemmas back up at work.
When Gemma accidentally mixes up two Christmas gifts and sends a rather inappropriate gift to her uptight boss Eleanor (Theos aunt) instead of her best friend, she ends up with no choice but to take up Theos offer to attend a Christmas party at Eleanor's House in the town of Tinsel to try and intercept the present before Eleanor gets her hands on it and has the shock of her life.
This was such a fun, feel-good, sweet, and tender listen, and the narrators did an amazing job making it come to life. There are so many funny moments throughout the book, and although the ending was quite predictable (like a Hallmark movie), the book was well worth a listen.
Profile Image for ·♛ kaykay ⚔︎ ♡·.
110 reviews17 followers
December 26, 2025
A sweet, simple read with a likeable character dynamic at its core. The interactions between the main characters are warm and easy to enjoy, and the story moves very quickly, making it a fast, low-commitment book.

Also, there’s like no spice, and the romance stays light and pretty wholesome throughout.

That said, while it’s not a bad book by any means, it does feel like there isn’t much depth or substance beyond the basics.

With the plot being very straightforward and predictable, and nothing really stands out as memorable or extraordinary. Overall, it’s a cozy, harmless holiday read💋💋

P.s Merry Christmas
Profile Image for Ellie.
108 reviews6 followers
December 10, 2025
i mean that’s exactly what i expected it to be but i laughed out loud when the mmc started talking about the way his childhood was difficult because his mom only packed him ball shaped foods in his school lunch idk man
Profile Image for Skylar Hall.
132 reviews
December 4, 2025
Almost dnf’d 1000x only read bc it was free to listen on audible
Hallmark vibes and cheesy
Profile Image for Sydney ✽.
158 reviews29 followers
December 22, 2025
10 Things I Hate About Christmas is a festive romantic comedy centered on Gemma, who’s determined to impress her boss with the perfect Christmas gift, until a disastrous mix-up sends a wildly inappropriate gag present instead. Terrified of losing her job, Gemma turns to the last person she expects to help, her coworker Theo, who she’s convinced has it out for her but who also happens to be her boss’s nephew. What Gemma doesn’t know is that Theo has been quietly crushing on her from the start and helping her might be his chance to finally get closer.

❀゚.・。゚━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━゚。・.゚❀
✦・゚: * My Thoughts * :・゚✦

˗ˏˋ ★★★☆☆ ˎˊ˗

Cute, cheesy, fun! It was a pretty entertaining audiobook. Really the only downside was the insta love which isn’t my cup o’ tea.

❀゚.・。゚━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━゚。・.゚❀
✦・゚: * Vibes * :・゚✦

Genre: 𝑅𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
Tropes: 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠/𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑊𝑜𝑟𝑘 𝐶𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑔𝑢𝑒𝑠, 𝐼𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎 𝐿𝑜𝑣𝑒, 𝑆𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑇𝑜𝑤𝑛, 𝐻𝑒 𝐹𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑠 𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐻𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑟
Spice: ❧❧
Song: 𝄞 𝐼𝑡’𝑠 𝑁𝑜𝑡 𝐶ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑚𝑎𝑠 𝑊𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑌𝑜𝑢 - 𝑉𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠

❀゚.・。゚━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━゚。・.゚❀
✦・゚: * Favorite Quotes * :・゚✦

╰┈➤ “𝙸 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝙶𝚎𝚖𝚖𝚊”
Profile Image for Lauren Lara.
325 reviews51 followers
December 14, 2025
Holiday Romance! Workplace, he falls first, friends to lovers, fake dating, small town. Back in Tinsel Town! Super cute & funny. I loved this one too! Such lovable characters & adorable plot! A.J Pine does such perfect holidays romcons!
Profile Image for Rachel.
377 reviews189 followers
November 27, 2025
Tinsel is an over-the-top Christmas town dreamed up by A.J. Pine for her Tinsel Christmas series. My annual trip there never disappoints! This year's holiday rom-com made my heart so happy, and I savored every moment of the dual narration audiobook.

The holiday spice of my favorite tropes — enemies-to-lovers and forced proximity — works perfectly with the magic of Tinsel. The whole cast is so likable, and I laughed out loud multiple times at their shenanigans.

This story delivers a wonderful, heartwarming dose of holiday cheer. Grab your hot cocoa! 4-star rating, 5-star feels.
Profile Image for I’m reading.
313 reviews1 follower
December 2, 2025
Great narration, but the story was a bit blah.

There is nothing to do about 10 things anyone hates about Christmas

Likable characters but the “balls” are WAY over done.
Profile Image for Karla.
207 reviews16 followers
December 4, 2025
Gemma can’t stand her office nemesis Theo—her boss’s nephew who constantly gets in her way. But when she accidentally sends her strict boss a wildly inappropriate holiday gag gift, Theo swoops in with a solution: crash his aunt’s exclusive Christmas party in Tinsel so she can intercept it before disaster hits. What starts as a desperate mission turns into unexpected chemistry, cozy holiday moments, and a chance for Gemma to realize her “enemy” might actually be her Christmas miracle.

I ended up giving this book a 4 because, while it had a fun premise and a great holiday setting, so much of it felt repetitive that it kept pulling me out of the story. The dynamic between the main characters never fully hooked me, even though the setup had potential, and I often found myself more entertained by the side characters than the leads—they were genuinely vibrant, funny, and added the perfect spark the main storyline sometimes lacked. Still, the writing style is easy to follow, the pacing moves quickly, and the overall holiday vibe is enjoyable enough to make it a light seasonal read, especially if you love festive chaos and office-romance tension.
Profile Image for Andrea.
135 reviews1 follower
December 7, 2025
Cute quick read. Fun but not really life changing or one that I will remember details about for long.
Profile Image for Brittany Hall.
53 reviews
December 5, 2025
Contemporary romance isn’t my usual go-to, but a light and fun holiday themed read that gave me a chuckle.
Profile Image for Toni.
1,983 reviews25 followers
December 9, 2025
1. dumb
2. trite
3. cliche
4. ridiculous dialogue
5. unlikey scenarios
6. Not
7. Worth
8. Your
9. Time
10. Reading
Profile Image for Jessica LC Weller.
139 reviews8 followers
December 22, 2025
I really enjoyed this Audible Original! Cleverly written by A. J. Pine (and I love that his last name is Pine!) and narrated by Andi Arndt and Sean Masters, the story came to life!

I needed something in between two other Christmas books, and this tied me over quite well!

Gemma and her workplace nemesis, Theo, go on a work-related road trip and begin learning about each other.

On their way to his hometown, he is delivering a vehicle and she desperately needs to find and retrieve a very inappropriate Christmas gift sent to the wrong person - her boss!

Their boss is his aunt, who has an identical twin, his mom. Confused? Come on, keep up why don't you? Just kidding. I struggled myself a few times.

I loved these character layers, lots of banter, and some naughty and nice fun. Nothing spicy happened on page - just highly eluded.

Overall, for me, a fun and festive read.
Profile Image for Adrienne.
101 reviews6 followers
December 31, 2025
This was an impulse book that I picked up because it was included in my Audible subscription and wanted something to pass the time into the new year. Unfortunately that’s all it was. Nothing special about it. 2.5 stars for me.
Profile Image for Matthew Chase.
33 reviews
December 15, 2025
It's a fun little Christmas story that follows all the classic beats; didn't love it, didn't hate it.
Profile Image for Keira.
405 reviews
December 24, 2025
True rating 2.5

I didn’t enjoy this one as much as not another Christmas romcom, it didn’t have the same charm.

More Hallmark, less humor, no spice….. unless I zoned it out because it wasn’t anything worth remembering 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️
Profile Image for Queenie2023 aka Rita.
375 reviews9 followers
December 25, 2025
So super cute and a not super long story. Very enjoyable audiobook. Loved Gemma and Theo and the whole Christmas town called Tinsel.
Profile Image for Cheltsy.
406 reviews
December 26, 2025
This was a quick read with some of the quick humor and Christmas magic that comes along with the town of Tinsel. I felt like the relationship was a bit rushed though.
Profile Image for J V.
5 reviews
November 29, 2025
Super cheesy romcom. Funny lines at times. I did the audiobook for my 5 hour ride and it was free. If you are looking for something simple and kind find it free, go for it.
Profile Image for Grace Batterson.
92 reviews
December 11, 2025
This was cringy, and the reviews said no "spice", but they were wrong. There were two scenes that I had to skip and I almost DNF. I will admit the story itself was cute and made me laugh on a number of occasions, but I definitely could've done without the inappropriate humor and all the "ball" jokes. Not my cup of tea that's for sure, so I would not recommend.
229 reviews
December 5, 2025
least favorite of the series but still fun. I was disappointed that her "inappropriate" gift wasn't very imaginative
Profile Image for Edie Kennard.
196 reviews4 followers
December 8, 2025
A.J. Pine delivers a sleigh-load of holiday cheer, steamy tension, and genuinely hilarious moments in 10 Things I Hate About Christmas. This rivals-to-lovers office romance is the perfect festive escape, easily earning a 4/5 stars and a spot on your must-read holiday list.

💖 Cuteness Overload & Chemistry That Sizzles
From the very first chapter, the dynamic between Gemma Marshall and Theo Campbell is infectious. Gemma, the ambitious office star, and Theo, her annoyingly attractive and perpetually-in-her-way office nemesis (who just happens to be her boss's nephew), have chemistry that sparks like holiday lights.

The premise is pure romantic comedy gold: Gemma accidentally sends a wildly NSFW (and hilarious) gag gift, intended for her best friend, straight to her super-uptight boss, Eleanor. Enter Theo, who swoops in with the save, offering her a golden ticket to Eleanor's exclusive Christmas party in the wonderfully named, hyper-festive town of Tinsel. The catch? They have to road-trip together and pretend to be a couple to infiltrate the party and retrieve the disastrous present before it's unwrapped.

"Pine expertly uses the forced proximity trope, making every car ride, close call, and fake-flirty moment crackle with unacknowledged desire."

The switch from professional rivalry to reluctant allies, and then to a deeply felt romance, is handled beautifully. The "hate" in the title quickly melts into a whole lot of adorable affection, anchored by Theo’s long-held (and delightfully unrequited... until now) crush on Gemma. It’s impossible not to root for these two as they navigate their way through awkward moments, shared secrets, and the overwhelming festive atmosphere of Tinsel.

😂 A Fun and Funny Festive Treat
What truly elevates this book are the laugh-out-loud moments. The sheer panic over the inappropriate gift is a running gag that keeps the stakes high and the humor flowing. Gemma's internal monologue is snappy and relatable, while Theo's calm, often goofy, persistence is utterly charming.

The dialogue is witty, and the supporting cast, particularly the townspeople of Tinsel, add to the overall lighthearted and cozy feel. This is a story that knows exactly what it is—a warm, fun, and slightly naughty holiday romp—and leans into it perfectly.

✨ Great Characters You'll Want to Befriend
Pine shines in her character development:

Gemma is more than just a Type-A office drone; she’s funny, smart, and a little clumsy when it comes to her emotions, making her instantly lovable.

Theo is the ultimate book boyfriend. Beneath his infuriatingly handsome exterior is a man who is genuinely kind, respectful, and has been silently crushing on Gemma for ages. He's not a jerk with a hidden heart; he's just a great guy who's been waiting for his chance, which makes his eventual win so satisfying.

If you are looking for a Christmas romance that delivers on both the swoon and the snicker, 10 Things I Hate About Christmas is the perfect pick. It's a reminder that sometimes the person you think you despise is the one who holds your heart's greatest gift.
Profile Image for Jessica Bradford.
383 reviews18 followers
December 10, 2025
This book was super short and funny!! If you need a quick holiday read then you definitely need to check this one out.
Gemma and her arch nemesis Theo work for Theo’s aunt and they do not get along at all. When Gemma accidentally sends her boss. What was the gift you ask... a personal messager. Yup.. now she needs to try and intercept it before her boss opens it and she can never show her face in the office again. Theo comes to her rescue and takes her up on the offer to attend his aunt’s Christmas party and little does she know Theo has the ultimate crush on her. The banter between Gemma and Theo was sooo cute and funny. It made the story very easy to get lost in. I was actually sad when the story came to an end because I wanted more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 723 reviews

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