An Unconventional Christmas Love Story

Falling into Happily Ever After

by Ellie Hall

Dear Santa, Does flirting with my best friend put me on your naughty list? Asking for a friend. Love, Minnie

I used to think Christmas was the most wonderful time of the year, filled with magic, mistletoe, and family except I don’t have one...or that special person to spend cozy nights with in front of the twinkling tree while sipping hot cocoa. But I know exactly who’s on my wish list.

The problem is Tyler and I are besties and a relationship would ruin the dynamic in our friend group. Not to mention he flirts with half the women in the city, including the department store elves.

When a blizzard-sized misunderstanding with my boss leaves me looking greener than the Grinch, I’m desperate for damage control. Tyler swoops in to save the holiday using little more than a mitten, tinsel, and a candy cane. Don’t ask. He also offers to escort me to the company Christmas party.

In order to make our ruse believable, we go on a practice date then another... The whole thing is unconventional, especially when a guy named Kris Kringle accidentally marries us.

I’m not complaining because my secret crush is also my secret Santa, but do I have the guts to give him the biggest gift of all, the truth about how I feel?

This funny, flirty, and festive romantic comedy is clean and a companion story to the Falling into Happily Ever After Sweet Rom Com series.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Clean Romance, Holiday Romance, Fiction, Book Club

174 pages, ebook

Published November 1, 2021

About the author

Ellie Hall is a USA Today bestselling author. If only that meant she could wear a tiara and get away with it. ;) She loves puppies, books, and the ocean. Writing sweet romance with lots of firsts and fizzy feels gives her joy. Oh, and chocolate chip cookies are her fave. Ellie believes in dreaming big, working hard, and lazy Sunday afternoons spent with her family and dog in gratitude for God’s grace.

♥

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/EllieHallNL
Website: http://www.elliehallauthor.com
Facebook: http://www/facebook.com/elliehallauthor
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/elliehallauthor

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Series and suggested reading order:

The Only Us Sweet Billionaire Series
•these billionaires have everything, but will they find love...?•

1. Only a Date with a Billionaire
2. Only a Kiss with a Billionaire
3. Only a Night with a Billionaire
4. Only Forever with a Billionaire
5. Only Love with a Billionaire
6. Only Christmas with the Billionaire
7. Only New Year with the Billionaire

♥

The Hawkins Family Clean Romance Series

•five brothers, torn apart and the women who help put them back together...•

1. Second Chance in Hawk Ridge Hollow

2. Finding Forever in Hawk Ridge Hollow

3. Resort Getaway with a Bodyguard

4. Going Home to Hawk Ridge Hollow

5. Christmas in Hawk Ridge Hollow

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The Blue Bay Beach Reads Romance Series

•a small-town restaurant, a dating dare, and happily ever afters...•

1. Summer with the Marine

2. Summer with the Rock Star

3. Summer with the Billionaire

4. Summer with the Cowboy

5. Summer with the Carpenter

6. Summer with the Doctor

♥

Ritchie Ranch Clean Cowboy Romance Series

•Cowboy hats & kisses with small-town charm•

1. Rustling the Cowboy’s Heart

2. Lassoing the Cowboy’s Heart

3. Trusting the Cowboy’s Heart

4. Kissing the Christmas Cowboy

5. Loving the Cowboy’s Heart

6. Charming the Cowboy’s Heart

7. Saving the Cowboy’s Heart

8. Wrangling the Cowboy’s Heart

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Falling into Happily Ever After Rom Com

• Sweet, heartwarming & uplifting romantic comedy

1. An Unwanted Love Story

2. An Unexpected Love Story

3. An Unlikely Love Story

4. An Accidental Love Story

5. An Impossible Love Story

6. An Unconventional Christmas Love Story

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Forever Marriage Match

• Five friends have to find true love or else...romcom

1. Dare to Love My Grumpy Boss

2. Dare to Love the Guy Next Door

3. Dare to Love My Fake Husband

4. Dare to Love the Guy I Hate

5. Dare to Love My Best Friend

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Home Sweet Home Small Town Romantic Comedy Series

Mr. & Mrs. Fix-It Find Love

Designing Happily Ever After

The DIY Kissing Project

The True Romance Renovation

Extreme Heart Makeover

Building What's Meant to Be

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The Costa Brothers Cozy Christmas Comfort Romance Series

Tommy & Merry and the 12 Days of Christmas

Bruno & Gloria and the 5 Golden Rings

Luca & Ivy and the 4 Calling Birds

Gio & Joy and the 3 French Hens

Paulo & Noella and the 2 Turtle Doves

Nico & Hope and the Partridge in the Pear Tree

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The Love List Series

The Swoon List

The Not Love List

The Crush List

The Kiss List

The Naughty or Nice List

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Love, Laughs, and Mystery in Coco Key

The Romance Situation

The Romance Fiasco

The Romance Game

The Romance Gambit

The Christmas Romance Wish

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On the Hunt for Love

The Grump and the Girl Next Door

The Bitter Heir and the Beauty

The Secret Son and the Sweetheart

The Ex Best Friend and the Fake Fiancé

The Best Friend’s Brother and the Brain

Select titles are available in audiobook, paperback, hardcover, and large print formats. Happy reading!♥

Reviews

[Natalie - FerryGoodBooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This started off really promising with all of the makings of the perfect friends-to-more Christmas story, but about ⅓ in everything kind of fell apart. It lost its spark and the characters went berserk with an over the top plot that made no sense because it felt rushed and unauthentic. It felt so unrealistic and I had a hard time understanding where this story was going.

[Jovana (NovelOnMyMind) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ (But we'll see how I feel about it tomorrow.)

[Julia Crandall · Rating 1 out of 5]

This woman writes like a 14 year old and her grown ass characters are written as such.
30 year olds written like they haven’t aged in 15 years.
Literally “squealing with glee”.
Absolutely not.
Extremely annoying.
And WHERE IN THE WORLD did that “twist”??? Come from?? I hated this.
I wish I could say different.
This was just not… it. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Nicole (the library of n) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, enjoyable, light-hearted Christmas read!

Best friends to lovers, fake engagement, dual POVs, holiday romance with all of the Christmas references.

Really easy to read which made for a fast read. Tyler was really enjoyable in particular, it felt like he had a lot of personality. On the other hand, Minnie felt a little flat.

[EVANGELIA MARAGKOPOULOU · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a very sweet and lovely story about two best friends who are in love with each other but they are worried they will lose their friendship if they broke up . She is very sad after her propasal gets denied about the Christmas theme of the McKinneys Department . He is doing everything in his power to cheer her up . After he witness the way her coworkers treats her he announce they are engaged and they will attend the Christmas party . While out in a date they accidentally they get married .

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

[Sharae · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was so poorly written that I enjoyed reading it. The characters are supposed to be in their 30s, but act like they’re 13 years old in their first middle school relationship. Every stereotypical trope possible was included in this book and things progressed so quickly in such a weird, unironically comical way that I couldn’t help but laugh the entire time.

[Tori · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I said they’re like Jess and Nick from that show New Girl,”

Minnie and Tyler. This was a super quick read about two friends who have loved each other for a long time but were scared to ruin their friendship!

I would enjoy reading more about their friend group!! I got a quick glimpse in this novella but they seem sweet and very tight knit!

[Cindy Davis- Cindy's Book Corner · Rating 4 out of 5]

While An Unconventional Christmas Love Story is part of a series, it easily reads as a standalone novel (I have not read any of the others in the series).

This book was a lot of fun and very unique.

Read for:

🎄best friends to more

🎄Halloween meets Christmas

🎄fake dating

🎄crazy neighbor

🎄witty banter

And a few things I want to say, but don't want to spoil.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to love it because the story seemed so promising, but there were so many things that I just didn’t end up liking about it

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

The marriage seemed very rushed and fake, very PG. I really enjoyed the writing style and the characters as well as the cover!

[Christoph J Sikora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet with a Shocking Revelation!

Ellie Hall delivers a winner with An Unintentionally Christmas Love Story, the final book in her Falling into Happily Ever After series. This is the long-awaited, "about time!" story of Minnie and Tyler, the couple everyone knows is together despite their mutual ignorance and dedication to the rule of "no dating within the friend group".

Minnie used to love Christmas. She'd decorate and sing carols and disturb her cranky neighbor, who complains about her to the super for the smallest infraction, from hanging an Easter wreath on her door to inviting "hoodlums" to her apartment for Thanksgiving. But this year, she's not feeling the holiday spirit. On her weekly run, she plays "We Need a Little Christmas" rather than her beloved Disney songs, and her aunt's decorations remain in the basement. Her friends want to help cheer her up, but bringing their husbands and boyfriends backfires because it reminds her that her parents have died,so has the aunt in whose apartment she lives, and she's never going to have a family of her own--another cherished dream lost. She also struggles with her crush on Tyler, the only man in their friend group, who seems unattainable.

Tyler also struggles with Christmas due to his lonely nights waiting for his mother to come back from the bar on Christmas Eve. He watched movies to cope, and his resulting tradition was watching Star Wars every December 24. He has had feelings for Minnie, too, but doesn't want to break the "no dating" rule.

Minnie suffers professionally in her job at a famous downtown department store. Her boss and the other assistant, Briony, treat her terribly and conspire to eliminate her proposal from consideration while implementing Briony's Nightmare Before Christmas themed seasonal display. Despite bad publicity and complaints from parents whose children had nightmares about the disp!ay, her boss insists that the public wants edgy, modern interpretations of classic themes, and spiky collars on reindeer and a red beard for Santa (who refuses, point blank, to wear something that makes him look like an axe murder victim) are their ticket to greatness...vacant floor notwithstanding.

Tyler stops in, sees the travesty and Minnie nearly suffocating in in her too-tight, synthetic elf costume, and rescues her by claiming that he and his "fiancee" have plans and she can't work through closing time. He explains to Minnie that he'll be her plus-one at the company party, so they should go on lots of dates (the Twelve Dates of Christmas) to practice acting like an engaged couple. Convinced that he'll just leave, like everyone she cares about, she reluctantly agrees.

A few restaurant meals and one Star Wars viewing later, after they've revealed their fears of loss and their true feelings (the reader says, "Finally!"), they go to Rockefeller Center and run into a man calling himself Kris Kringle--who marries them before they can think about it. Now, instead of being fake fiances, they're legally husband and wife. How will they break the news to their friends?

When they arrive at Catherine's place for the Secret Santa gift exchange and get stuck under the mistletoe, their kiss gives the entire group a clue that they've realized what everyone else knew all along. Instead of grief, they get congratulations and variations on " What took you so long?"

The evening isn't over yet. Maxwell announces that he's found his father--and he and Tyler are half-brothers! Tyler panics, thinks he's not good enough for Minnie, and bolts from the room with Maxwell in pursuit. Just as Minnie suspected, she's been left and will spend another Christmas alone.

On Christmas Eve-Eve (December 23rd), Minnie throws a party for the residents of the local retirement home. She decorates the meeting room the way she wanted to decorate the holiday season floor at work, and the residents are charmed. One man tells Minnie that her husband plays a mean game of poker. When he and Maxwell left the party, they ended up at Minnie's favorite volunteer spot and played cards with the residents. At that moment, as if summoned, Tyler arrives--and so does their HEA!

I highly recommend this book to everyone! As long as you can read the words, you'll enjoy this tale of two friends learning to love Christmas and each other!

[Shauna Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Christmas horror. A Santa performing weddings. A friendship that’s more.
Minnie works as an assistant to a seasonal designer for a large department store that wants their guests to always have a memorable experience. She has designed plans for Christmas that have consumed all her time and energy but when she arrives on the day set to present design ideas, she is shocked to see the venue already decorated. Decorated in such a way as to guarantee nightmares for young children. From there it only gets worse with a horrible costume to wear, a drink poured on her head, and unreasonable demands from her boss. Just as things seem to be spinning out of control Tyler, her friend that she has loved secretly for years, appears and rescues her by announcing they are engaged. Unbeknownst to Minnie, Tyler has secretly loved her for quite a while but doesn’t know how to move forward. Both fear that they will fail, both fear they will mess things up, and both fear they will upset their group of longtime friends. Take all their pressures, mix in some fake dates to go along with the fake engagement, and last of all a special Santa and you have a fun light book you are sure to enjoy. This is part of a series but can very easily be read out of order. I received an early copy and this is my honest review.

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be adorable, but it was just all over the place. Best friends become more.... great! Squeaky clean, but I didn't find it very charming.

Weird work situation, and far too many wacky twists. I can accept the "I'll pretend to be your fiancé" bit, but the author took it too far. A few of my annoyances (yes really, there are more)
* Minnie doesn't know her coworker is the boss's daughter? Nope, not buying it.
* The bizarre Santa display? No way that's happening in a mainstream, major store.
* The marriage? We all know that it's not legal without a marriage license, RIGHT?!?
* The pact between the friends was made out to be such a big deal, but they're adults. Sheesh.
* Maxwell blurts out that Tyler is his brother. Tyler leaves abruptly, but then everything is shiny & happy a day later.
* Minnie spills her childhood guilt over her parents' deaths, and apparently she doesn't need therapy, but simply a chat with a nursing home resident.
* The main characters are now married, but the author doesn't even dare to add a detail like "they kept kissing and walked into the bedroom and closed the door."

[Emily Pennington · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Very Best Christmas Gift . . .

Minnie assists with the holiday designs and decorations for a huge department store. After working on the best-ever Christmas design, she finds everything already decorated in a very odd-looking manner that will definitely not put the Christmas spirit in anyone’s heart and will probably scare off children! Her boss makes unreasonable demands when she is already upset, but Tyler steps in and claims to be her fiancé and they have plans, so she can’t work the unreasonable hours her boss demands at the last minute. Both Tyler and Minnie have cared for each other for some time now, but they have that warped notion that love will damage friendship. So neither has told the other how they feel. Will they discover that they really do love each other and that’s all that matters?

There will be some surprises for the reader, so grab your copy and enjoy their story. There are laughs along the way and wonderful revelations. You won’t want to miss this one!

[Katja · Rating 4 out of 5]

I rated this three and a half, rounding up. Just before Christmas, Minnie is sad for a number of reasons, including work, family history and Tyler. Tyler is her friend and her crush but their group of friends has a made a pact of never dating among the group, to avoid spoiling relationships. But when things at work aren't going great, Tyler accidentally pretends to be her fiancé in front of her co-workers. The motivation for this didn't make much sense to me but whatever works, it gets them out of the friend zone. They engage in Christmassy dating activities and soon enough they get accidentally married. They've been as good as dating without calling it dating for a long time so their friends are not surprised and the pact is not an issue but they both have other misgivings.
This was ok, I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. It's dual point of view and steam level is kissing.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Judy Gittleson Hendrickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tyler and Minnie have been best friends forever, but both have much deeper feelings for each other. Not wanting the lose what they have, they have kept quiet, but all that is about to change with some drastic situations and banter. Minnie has a job working on the holiday windows for a big store but this year it is awful and she can not give any input. When asking more overtime of her, Tyler steps in to disrupt the conversation and announces that they are a couple and already have plans.
The characters and storyline were well written, with plenty of backstories, drama, surprises, deep feelings and emotions, and so much more. The book is a delight to read and had me laughing at some of the antics. The chemistry was strong and safe after being so close for so long. Natural next step? Great ending.

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

[Sierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

* this story is part of a series, but you don’t need to read the others to understand this one*

This was such a sweet and funny Christmas romcom! I loved all the Disney references and Christmas things thrown in there. Then there’s also that cranky neighbor who showed up every couple of chapters. 😂 And I’m a sucker for best friends to more stories, so I of course loved that aspect.

Minnie is normally the life of Christmas time, but this year she is down in the dumps. Between missing people who are no longer around, getting passed for someone else without getting a chance to prove herself, and pining on the one person she can’t live without she has every reason to be down. But her best friend Tyler (also the person she can’t live without) is determined to bring Minnie out of her funk.

Though his plans change when he witnesses how horribly Minnie’s boss puts her down. He’s still going to bring her out of her funk, but in a different way than originally planned.

Tyler makes it so that Minnie’s boss thinks they are engaged. Maybe this will help him to finally tell Minnie how he feels about her.

Loved it!!! 😍

[Imfullybooked2 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this read

This read is not only a sweet romantic love story but it also provides have a very helpful lesson or a reminder of what's important in life.  Do not let the past define nor influence the present nor the future. We have to learn to let go in order to find happiness and love. This is something Minnie and Tyler needed to accomplish in order to achieve what they want in life. 


There are many flirtatious and playful moments and banters between Minnie and Tyler that will keep you hooked on this book. Tyler is such a romantic. He setup many swoony fun and playful daily dates with Minnie in order to spend time with her.  Although their sad past definitely slowed down their path to happiness it also made their story so sweet and heartwarming.  

The ending melted my heart and made me feel all gooey inside. This is a definite must read.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was ok. It was very similar to my last book, so maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I'd read it later, but it was not quite as good. It started out ok, but the relationship seemed to go from 0-60 way too fast. Even though they'd been friends for years, it seemed like they just jumped into getting married. And both of them seemed to have really big problems, they both needed therapy, and they definitely should have talked about their issues. I really was expecting that in the end, you know: "this is why I was scared" -from both of them. Didn't happen. Not healthy to skip those conversations, and it would have helped their character development. Apart from that, there were some funny parts, and some cute parts, and I did like the Christmasy story, perfect for December.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes I feel like I just love all books too much and I rate everything too highly but then I have a book that just sits oddly with me and I feel like the world is a little more balanced again. 😂 Unconventional Christmas Love Story is a best friends to lovers story. They’ve been best friends for a decade. The heroine loses out on an opportunity at work and she’s upset and not really in the Christmas mood. The hero is determined to help her with things at work and to bring her some Christmas cheer. The book is dual POV so you quickly know that they’re both secretly in love with one another, but then you also quickly know that their main reason for not making any moves is because of a pact they agreed to - no dating within the friend group. But … like … they’re all grown adults? It wasn’t even the fear of losing their friendship to one another so much as this pact among their friends. 🤔 It just bugged me the entire book. Then he pretended to be her fiancé to help her save face at work and then they went on practice dates and accidentally got married (HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN!?). We’re there cute scenes, yes. Do I acknowledge that you have to suspend disbelief to enjoy stories like this? Yes. But certain parts just struck me oddly and then it kept taking me out of the story. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Jenifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a sugary sweet holiday story about a couple who have been best friends for over ten years and both harbor feelings for each other. It's cute to watch them admit those feelings to each other and take their love further all while trying to get into the holiday spirit for the year. This is a very PG book with only kissing and hand-holding. I'm assuming any further activity took place off page and wasn't ever discussed between the two main characters although I think that would have been entertaining to see how they handled that part of going from friends to lovers.

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

[KL Cassanello · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minnie's best friend, Tyler, bails her out of a sticky situation at work, and now they're (fake) engaged, breaking the rules of their circle of friends. I love Tyler's idea of the 12 Dates of Christmas - funny that they only made it through a few of them before they inadvertently got married. A mean boss, an idiot coworker, a quirky neighbor, wonderful friends, and a little Christmas spirit come together to help this amazing couple find their forever. This is just the sweetest book, and it fits so well with the other in the series. I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Tess · Rating 3 out of 5]

“people always think of falling in love, but I like the idea of rising to it. Meeting it even if you find it in the most unexpected place, in the most unconventional way, and with the most exceptional person.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5
❤️/5

I really enjoyed this sweet story. It was such a cute Christmas love story about two friends who although have been best friends for 10 years, never admitted their feelings for eachother.
Not only is it friends to lovers but it is also fake engagement (but we can all guess how it ends 😉🤭)
All in all a sweet, loving story, perfect for snuggling down with a hot chocolate during this Christmas season.
Enjoy!

[Wren Woodland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is Amazing! Fun! Romantic!

What a mixed up unconventional series of events that morph into a wonderful love story. They both have insecurities from deep hurts in their pasts, and there’s the darn friendship pact among their group. But their deep feelings can overcome all. They’ve been best friends for years past, can they step the relationship up without ruining everything?
Clean and fun. Yes it’s a romcom, but there’s also some deep, hard things they are dealing with.

[Cathy P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet, cute, quick Christmas story

This was a super sweet romance from start to finish. I love both the H. and the h. Both come from a sad background. And have different coping mechanisms. This both helps and hurts them along the way. Not a lot of angst, which I liked. There are some good messages along the way. I loved the H creating so!getting special with the dates, to bring out the h lost Christmas spirit. Loads of chemistry.

The story is told from dual POV. No cliffhanger no cheating , clean romance.

[Wysteria · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a sweet holiday romance!

It was about letting go of the past so we can enjoy the present and look forward to the future.

I was so excited for this book since it was Minnie and Tyler's story! Well, that, and because who doesn't love a good Christmas romance because "it's the most wonderful time of the year". Come one belt it out! LOL

Ellie Hall's books are always clean and always so much fun to read! I highly recommend!

I received an ARC and am leaving an honest review.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet Christmas story. I liked this series and the characters in it, so I was glad it continued with a Christmas plotline. I do love Christmas stories set in New York! This certainly had some surprising and unexpected elements to it. One of the curve balls seemed to come out of nowhere. I had to reread it a couple of times to make sure I read it right. It was definitely sweet and certainly unconventional!

[Brittney Weber · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decided to extend Christmas a bit with this holiday romcom! Pros - it was cute and squeaky clean.

Sadly, it was a little too cheesy and unrealistic for me. I can handle one or two moments of "mm, really?" but this books had just a few too many "that just wouldn't happen" moments for my tastes.

---//---

Content rating - PG

Language ~ none
Violence ~ none
Sex ~ none-mild; thoughts of kissing, characters kiss/make out

[Heather K · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to assume someone bet Ellie Hall that they couldn't fit EVERY holiday and romance movie trope into one story and their response was "Hold my cocoa". I love all these tropes but they need room to breathe! This story literally jumps from trope to trope with barely any setup or pause. The only reason this is a 2 star for me is because of how hard I laughed trying to explain what is happening in the book. Go into it for the shock experience, not expecting good writing or actual story.

[Gwen|| Bookish Blondie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Unconventional Christmas Love Story is plain and simply an adorable novel about two best friends desperately in love with each other and who are both too stubborn and dumb to realize it. They literally are dating and have been for years, they’re just missing the sex. Then complications arise at her job and he steps in to pretend to be her fiancee and then they go from friends to insta love, pretty quickly, even though they were already there without knowing it. I loved it, though. No matter how predictable it was, it satisfied my desire for a HEA for these two idiots.