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Tis the Season Holiday Collection #9
A Little Christmas Magic
Lowen Hayes is overworked, overtired, and over it. After her boss gives her yet another task she can’t refuse, Lowen finally decides to do something for herself—forgoing the family Christmas time in favour of a solo trip to London.
Amidst Christmas markets, hot drinks, and catching up with friends, she meets Ellis—the intriguing nonbinary toyshop employee Lowen was not expecting. And xe just happens to be everywhere Lowen is.
A series of mixups tosses the two into a fake relationship that might just be the Christmas magic Lowen needs to get through the holidays.
A Little Christmas Magic is a 40k fake-dating holiday romance featuring only one bed, found family, and Christmas in London.
Amidst Christmas markets, hot drinks, and catching up with friends, she meets Ellis—the intriguing nonbinary toyshop employee Lowen was not expecting. And xe just happens to be everywhere Lowen is.
A series of mixups tosses the two into a fake relationship that might just be the Christmas magic Lowen needs to get through the holidays.
A Little Christmas Magic is a 40k fake-dating holiday romance featuring only one bed, found family, and Christmas in London.
201 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2022
58 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 9, 2022
Kindle Unlimited
One of the better stories in this Holiday Collection. This features a non-binary asexual love interest, and our MC also discovers her own asexuality.
It's full of Christmas magic, and lovely positivity and understanding.
One of the better stories in this Holiday Collection. This features a non-binary asexual love interest, and our MC also discovers her own asexuality.
It's full of Christmas magic, and lovely positivity and understanding.
Read
December 23, 2022DNF 35%
The writing wasn’t for me, couldn’t get into it
The writing wasn’t for me, couldn’t get into it
December 17, 2022
This was SO lovely. This was the second book I've read from Jacqueline Ramsden and definitely my favourite so far.
I loved the main character so, SO much. She was so lovely, and it was amazing seeing her learn to center herself in her own life.
I also loved the love interest, who is non-binary and asexual! I'm non-binary and aroace myself, so it was really nice to see this representation, and the way it was written felt really comforting. Also, the love interest uses neopronouns (xe/xyr)! That's always really nice to see.
While I thought the romance was absolutely lovely, and so comforting to read, I did feel like it really centered the MC, and I would have loved to see the love interest fleshed out a little more, to learn who xe is as a person outside of being a Christmas elf or outside of the romance.
I loved the main character so, SO much. She was so lovely, and it was amazing seeing her learn to center herself in her own life.
I also loved the love interest, who is non-binary and asexual! I'm non-binary and aroace myself, so it was really nice to see this representation, and the way it was written felt really comforting. Also, the love interest uses neopronouns (xe/xyr)! That's always really nice to see.
While I thought the romance was absolutely lovely, and so comforting to read, I did feel like it really centered the MC, and I would have loved to see the love interest fleshed out a little more, to learn who xe is as a person outside of being a Christmas elf or outside of the romance.
December 12, 2022
Lowen is an efficient and overworked personal assistant. While on assignment for her boss in London she meets Ellis working in a toy store. When she returns to London to spend the holiday with friends she keeps running into Ellis again and again. There is great messaging of self care and life work balances. One of the more unique aspects of the story is Ellis being non-bianary asexual and Lowen recognizing her own asexuality. I did have questions of how Lowen’s family took her changing to put herself before them. But overall this is very sweet and distinctive romance with Christmas spirit. It also makes me want to return to London and visit the Christmas markets.
December 20, 2024
Cute and adorable Christmas story that's a joy to read. It's a tale of self-discovery, and finding someone that just fits and understands you. Plenty of sweet moments, a dash of angst at most, and great asexual rep (and exploring what it's like for ace people). Like all of Ramsden's stories it's an easy recommendation.
February 14, 2024
Lowen is personal assistant to Amanda, a microcontrolling boss. Her mother is also controlling, using Lowen and her time and income for herself and the rest of their family. The problem is that she doesn’t know how to say ‘no’.
Amanda instructs Lowen to pick her nephews up from school and take them to a Christmas lights switch-on in London, which she really enjoys. While in London Lowen meets Ellis dressed as an elf, who she finds attractive.
Ellis is a beautiful person, understanding and intelligent, at one point rescuing Lowen from a difficult situation. Xe seems to always be where Lowen is, impromptu meetings, seemingly unplanned, just labelled as ‘Christmas magic’. At one point one of Ellis’ friends goes to say something about this to Lowen, but is stopped midstream by Ellis.
I really like the use of the pronouns xe/xem for Ellis. I find using they/them sometimes difficult. The problem is that in modern English ‘they’ has become plural as well as singular, even though that has not always been the case. This leaves the possibility for misunderstanding, especially in writing. I like the fact that using the newer pronouns xe/xem doesn’t bring any baggage from the past - a clean slate, and the meaning isn’t ambiguous. I am not saying this to denigrate anybody that prefers they/them - this is just my opinion solely from a linguistic point of view.
This is a well written, warm, inclusive story, with lovely descriptions of Christmas time in London, shown through Lowen’s eyes. This story also explores asexuality, something that I knew very little about before reading this. Like Lowen, I did some research 😊
Amanda instructs Lowen to pick her nephews up from school and take them to a Christmas lights switch-on in London, which she really enjoys. While in London Lowen meets Ellis dressed as an elf, who she finds attractive.
Ellis is a beautiful person, understanding and intelligent, at one point rescuing Lowen from a difficult situation. Xe seems to always be where Lowen is, impromptu meetings, seemingly unplanned, just labelled as ‘Christmas magic’. At one point one of Ellis’ friends goes to say something about this to Lowen, but is stopped midstream by Ellis.
I really like the use of the pronouns xe/xem for Ellis. I find using they/them sometimes difficult. The problem is that in modern English ‘they’ has become plural as well as singular, even though that has not always been the case. This leaves the possibility for misunderstanding, especially in writing. I like the fact that using the newer pronouns xe/xem doesn’t bring any baggage from the past - a clean slate, and the meaning isn’t ambiguous. I am not saying this to denigrate anybody that prefers they/them - this is just my opinion solely from a linguistic point of view.
This is a well written, warm, inclusive story, with lovely descriptions of Christmas time in London, shown through Lowen’s eyes. This story also explores asexuality, something that I knew very little about before reading this. Like Lowen, I did some research 😊
Read
December 26, 2025Rambling and in serious need of an editor
January 8, 2023
The magic of self-discovery!
The personal journey of Lowen was like nothing I had read before and I did struggle a little with the gender pronouns. Ellis was so loving and patient in how she helped her with her self-discovery. They were fabulous partners for one another without scenes full of descriptive sex. Actually there was none and yet the story was a cute, wholesome and romantic love story full of a variety of diverse friends. I learned a lot from this book. Brava to this author!
The personal journey of Lowen was like nothing I had read before and I did struggle a little with the gender pronouns. Ellis was so loving and patient in how she helped her with her self-discovery. They were fabulous partners for one another without scenes full of descriptive sex. Actually there was none and yet the story was a cute, wholesome and romantic love story full of a variety of diverse friends. I learned a lot from this book. Brava to this author!
December 31, 2023
A Little Christmas Magic is a holiday tale with a non-binary, asexual couple. The story is low angst beyond Lowen’s internal efforts to understand her own nature. There is a decent supporting cast within the limitations of a novella format. Overall, a nice read with an inordinate amount of hot chocolate.
December 27, 2024
I loved this book. It was short and sweet, which meant that some aspects were under-developed but also that it was a very quick read. I loved every minute of it! The characters were all delightful and the story had a lot of sweet moments. There was zero angst or conflict (or like, the tiniest bit?) and this was simply a nice feel-good holiday read. Exactly what I was looking for!
"A-" for me. Low 5-stars.
Highlights:
-It was, simply, lots of fun.
-This book was a love-letter to embracing your inner childlike enjoyment of life. I think this is something that we could all use a little bit more of in our lives.
-This was a very sweet (and respectful!) romance. Love it.
-Representation: we got non-binary with non-standard pronouns as well as double asexual representation. Love to see it!
-The less-common pronouns (xe/xem) threw me off for a bit at the start……for like three minutes. I liked how this clearly showed me that it is incredibly easy to get used to very quickly. Nobody has any excuse for not getting the memo.
Nitpicks:
-We didn’t really get to know the love interest much outside of the fact they sit on things and work at a toy store. We saw that they were delightful and wonderful and caring and observant, but I couldn’t tell you anything about their life of interests. It was a short book!
-The book was short and went quick. There wasn’t a lot of detail I the middle section. I was able to read this in a single sitting and it was great for what it was, but it could have been even better if it fleshed out the details a bit.
"A-" for me. Low 5-stars.
Highlights:
-It was, simply, lots of fun.
-This book was a love-letter to embracing your inner childlike enjoyment of life. I think this is something that we could all use a little bit more of in our lives.
-This was a very sweet (and respectful!) romance. Love it.
-Representation: we got non-binary with non-standard pronouns as well as double asexual representation. Love to see it!
-The less-common pronouns (xe/xem) threw me off for a bit at the start……for like three minutes. I liked how this clearly showed me that it is incredibly easy to get used to very quickly. Nobody has any excuse for not getting the memo.
Nitpicks:
-We didn’t really get to know the love interest much outside of the fact they sit on things and work at a toy store. We saw that they were delightful and wonderful and caring and observant, but I couldn’t tell you anything about their life of interests. It was a short book!
-The book was short and went quick. There wasn’t a lot of detail I the middle section. I was able to read this in a single sitting and it was great for what it was, but it could have been even better if it fleshed out the details a bit.
December 4, 2022
A slow burn romance with many awkward moments. Lowen learns the importance of taking care of herself. Ellis is a wonderful character with the patience of a Saint. I definitely felt the Christmas spirit.
February 12, 2023
What a Delight
This story was delightful and very educational as well. I feel like I was a part of their story. Great characters and a wonderful time in London during the Christmas season.
This story was delightful and very educational as well. I feel like I was a part of their story. Great characters and a wonderful time in London during the Christmas season.
December 7, 2025
3 stars. Cute but I wasn't all that invested unfortunately. Ellis was adorable and I liked xem a lot but other than that this felt like nothing happened and I was a bit bored. The writing was good though.
December 26, 2022
Different and great
This is a different story full of self discovery that gives us peaceful and wonderful moments in the life of the characters.
This is a different story full of self discovery that gives us peaceful and wonderful moments in the life of the characters.
January 6, 2023
Love the non-binary and asexual representation here!! So refreshing to feel seen in a story ♥️
November 10, 2023
Ellis is so perfect. I want more of xem!
December 5, 2023
Absolutely delightful!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews