The Office Christmas Party by Aimee Duffy

The Office Christmas Party Reviews

• 
  Jessi ❤️ H. Vojsk [if villain, why hot?]

  Story ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  The story is kind of predictable. I could tell you the whole plot after a few pages, but it was still a little entertaining.
  But the story kind of reminded me of Shades of grey? So much sex and sexual tension and all that.
  
  Characters ⭐️⭐️⭐️
  So, what should you know about the characters?
  First they’re all beautiful and sexy, because, duh, that’s super realistic.
  Then second he’s super smart, a nerd and rich. Of course?
  Last but not least his parents are the worst. And hers are dead. That sounds cold from my side, but then it’s kind of a cliche. I saw this kind of constellation a lot of times.
  
  Relationships ⭐️⭐️
  The relationship between Natalie and Dean changed from hate and lust to, yeah you can already guess it, love.
  
  Writing style ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  The writing style was nice and fluent and sometimes funny.
• 
  Malina Skrobosinski

  I can't believe I'm admitting it, but I actually liked a Christmas romance novel.
  
  I've always had a love/hate relationship with Christmas. No particular reason other than years of working in customer service for online retailers, it just somehow sucked the love of Christmas right out of me. I never got to enjoy the holidays in the way that other people have. So, this year, with no longer working in retail customer service I decided to put my Scrooge feelings aside and jump on the Christmas bandwagon and with that I decided to pick up a Christmas themed novel. After reading a review from my friend Ashley, this novel piqued my interest. I'm very glad that I gave in and picked up this novel from NetGalley. It was so much fun. This novel in many ways reminded me of Wedding Crashers, but with the opposite sex. While I was reminded of Wedding Crashers, it has it's own originality to it.
  
  Natalie Taylor is an Event Coordinator/Party Planner, and this gives her access to all the best holiday parties of the season. There's just one problem, if her boss, Mick the Dick, ever found out she would never work in the party planning business again. So, she has to be vigilant and follow very careful rules to avoid being detected, the first and most important is to always stick to her alias, Nicole Porter; never share personal details. Her best friend and flatmate, Rose, sadly did not follow this rule, that's how she met her fiance, Tom. This year, things are different, with Tom in the picture Nicole no longer has her crasher in crime. This year, she's flying solo. It won't be easy for Natalie, this time of year never is. After losing her Mum just minutes before Christmas morning, her and her mother's favorite holiday, she has guilt of enjoying anything Christmassy. Party crashing is her only way to enjoy the holidays guilt free... as Nicole Porter, not Natalie Taylor.
  
  Dean Fletcher, a wealthy and successful IT software developer, is also hip to the party crashing scene. He's the developer of the software used to create the guest lists. This makes it easy for him to add himself to the guest list. This year, Dean is also flying solo, his brother is also recently engaged. This is not a problem for Dean, he's a ladies man, and flying solo is definitely his thing. After being left at the altar 10 years ago as a young man, Dean has sworn off being attached and ever getting that close to a woman again.
  
  It's the first party of the season and Nicole is stuffing her handbag with free food ever so discretely, or so she thought, as she's looking around she catches the gaze of a guy across the room. "Busted" but the guy just smiles and shakes his head in amusement. "She waited for him to wave over security, or maybe even a waiter, but all he did was eye her from her silver pumps, all the way to the sequinned neckline of her royal blue dress. He lingered on her chest and she told herself that the increase in her heartrate was down to the stress of almost getting caught plundering, or maybe even indignation caused by the way he was ogling her." As if being caught stuffing food in her handbag wasn't embarrassing enough, on her way out, she runs into Mr. Perfect and a pretty, petite redhead coming out of the men's room. In order to catch herself from falling, she drops her handbag full of canapes. The redhead leans down and picks up her bag and hands it over. 'Sorry, I don't mean to be rude', the redhead said wrinkling her nose, 'but did you know you smell a bit beefy?' Dean can't help himself, and he bursts out with laughter.
  
  What a nightmare, the first party of the season couldn't have been worse, determined to put it and her flatmates new engagement out of her mind, Natalie is going to make the best of the next party. That is, until she sees Mr. Perfect (Dean) there. It's at this point that Natalie and Dean both realize that something is up, what are the chances that they would both be attending the same party again? They are both crashing, and someone is bound to take notice. Dean is claiming his turf, but Natalie is not giving in. "I didn't see you pee on the walls so what makes you think this bar belongs to you?" And so the war begins. Dean and Natalie set out to stake their claim at party crashing, neither determined to lose. Only, neither realize they're in over their head.
  
  This novel starts out with a lot of fun while the war is on, but even has things take a turn and become more serious, there is still some lighthearted humor in there that continues to make the novel flow. It's very much a romantic comedy. I found the characters to be very endearing and the dialogue genuine. There was only one thing about the novel that irked me if you will, and that's the unspoken connection between two of the main characters that is later revealed in the storyline. It's obvious early on in the story, but it's not revealed until later. I'm not sure that this worked to add much to the storyline, other than some unwanted eyerolling. Personally, I would have rather there been a couple more chapters of pranks between Dean and Natalie. All that aside however, I did really enjoy this novel. I even shed a tear for Natalie during her struggle to get over her Mums loss. It's a very touching story of love and loss. I'm definitely interested in checking out some more of Aimee Duffy's work.
  
  I want to thank NetGalley, Harpercollins UK, and Aimee Duffy for the chance to read this novel in exchange for my review.
• 
  Sarah

  What an absolutely fabulous book this is!
  
  I loved the storyline of people gate crashing parties. I mean how cool would that be to get in somewhere that nobody knows you and have fun? You would have thought as an events organiser it would be the last place that Natalie would want to find herself but as she only organises them but never gets to see the end product, thanks to her horrible boss, I could totally get why she would want to crash them. Dean however, I was very intrigued to know what his story was.
  
  Dead, Dean, Dean. I don’t know who fell harder for him, Natalie or me. I could feel my legs going weak quite often through out the story and was willing for him to leap from the pages. Sorry Natalie!
  
  Even though essentially the story is based around the festive period, Christmas is very much in the background so can easily be read and enjoyed at any time of the year. This is very much a romance story with two people coming to terms with their past and moving on.
  
  The Office Christmas Party is a mesmerising and wonderful read that melted my heart. The perfect book to get lost into for an entertaining and highly enjoyable read.
  
  My thanks to Harper Impulse for a copy of this book which I won in a giveaway. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
• 
  Elizabeth

  I've been to a number of office Christmas parties, most of which I thought were boring and pointless, so I approached this book with trepidation. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the characters and the plot! I found the characters to be believable and fun to get to know and the plot amazingly interesting for this type of holiday book. I enjoyed reading it and getting the Christmas vibe through it! I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher, Harper Impulse, in exchange for an honest review.
• 
  Ashley Foley

  This is currently a "Read Now" on NetGalley.
  
  Natalie and Dean, who are done with serious relationships forever (each for different reasons), spend the end of every year Christmas party crashing to get them through the holiday season. Free food, free booze, lots of single lonely people. Dean's usual wing man is his brother, Jeffrey. Natalie had her BFF and roommate Rose. This year however, both sidekicks are recently engaged (not to each other) so Dean and Natalie both decide to crash solo this year. Once they meet and decide it's too risky to have two separate crashers at each party, the prank war begins.
  
  I really enjoyed this one. I even laughed out loud a few times. "Dean stood over the brass torture device, his jaw clenched with determination. There was no way this thing was going to get a chance at it again. He was an adult. Thirty years old. This was not going to beat him. The hot water tap groaned a protest when he turned it on and the cold one did the same. He dropped in a cupcake thing that one of the maids had assured him was better than a bubble bath and cursed to himself when he saw it dissolve, turning the water pale pink and glitter. He had to do something manly after this...like go out hunting or wrestle a bear. He couldn't think of anything more emasculating than a glittery bubble bath..." I was laughing this entire scene because the way he was thinking is probably completely accurate of a male mind as far as bubble baths go.
  
  There was a plot revealed toward the end of the book that I figured out pretty early on. I was hoping I'd be wrong, but I wasn't. So it wasn't very original I suppose. But other than that the story flowed well. The romance seemed pretty realistic and it didn't feel rushed like Christmas romance books sometimes tend to be. I think I will check out more stuff by Aimee Duffy.
• 
  Liina

  Natalie is party planner and due to her work she has the access to holiday parties. Dean is an IT software developer and he as Natalie has the access to the parties due to his work. This season Natalie and Dean are both alone, when they crash the parties, usually both of them had their bestie with them. When Natalie and Dean meet at the same parties they crush, they know that it’s one more party-crasher than expected and start pranking each other.
  
  I really liked the party-crashing concept, it’s something I haven’t read about before. I also liked how the main characters met and how playful and creative they were. It’s a great book to get cozy with during the wintry and/or festive season.
• 
  Bookread2day

  December was, without a doubt, Natalie Taylor's favourite month. Since her best friend Rose had been with her boyfriend Tom for almost a year. Now Rose spent most of her time with Tom there were no more Saturday nights for Natalie with Rose. Christmas party crashing was Natalie's & Rose tradition but Tom put a stop to that. It seems that Natalie will have to get used to losing Rose eventually. This book is just a chill out satisfying read. For me it was an escape from the crime novels that I normally read.
• 
  MasterSal

  This was a cute read for the travel back home. Pretty predictable and the party crasher premise was quite well done. It didn’t drag for too long and become tedious which was appreciated. First half was stronger in terms of the banter as the second half became a little saccharine. But then it’s a Christmas romance so what the heck?! I enjoyed it
  
  Perhaps I should have read a Halloween one instead given the season 😅
• 
  Simona

  *Book provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
  
  I don’t actually know how to start this review, because on one hand I like the book and on the other hand I didn’t.
  
  The story follows Natalie Taylor and Dean Fletcher. Natalie is done with relationships and she doesn’t like the time around Christmas, so she starts crashing Christmas parties. Dean is not a man for a serious relationship, due to things that happened in his past, but then he meets Natalie. The funny thing: he is a party crasher too.
  
  Unfortunately, the story is very predictable and there were many parts I didn’t like in the plot. It didn’t have a smooth flow for me and I didn’t like how the story developed. I usually don’t mind predictable, but here something was off for me.
  
  The steamy and hot scenes were a bit too much for me, because it was way more than I expected and it kind of overtook the whole atmosphere. Aimee Duffy’s writing style is entertaining and fresh.
• 
  Karen Miles

  Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and Aimee Duffy for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
  
  My rule is to give an ARC till 10% before I call it quits. This was definitely one where I wanted to quit reading well before 10%. Natalie and Dean meet each other when they are both crashing Christmas parties to find random people to "hook up" in order to avoid true emotion. I did not feel this book had any attraction for me to continue reading. The characters appear to be selfish and shallow. My prediction is that these two will "hook up", fall in love, and find the true meaning of Christmas. However, this one is a no-go for me.
• 
  Mark

  ‘The Office Christmas Party’ by Aimee Duffy published by HarperCollins UK says publication date 21/10 but when I look on Amazon it says 17/12 and cant see a Kindle edition so ???
  
  This book has a good storyline, its about two people who for various reasons use December to gatecrash high end Christmas parties.....they meet at one of these events and become arch rivals.....but, of course, that changes and the book then takes a predictable turn of events, along he way there are some LOL moments and much drama and various disasters and one major ‘twist’ that you will guess immediately.....but it kinda doesn’t matter that you do, and it all ends with a huge Christmas fuzzzy nice feeling.......
  The use of the word ‘frick’ throughout the book is VERY annoying and the foray into ‘50 shades’ scenes imo dont add anything to the story nor does the main character and his brother’s ‘banter’ which feels and reads totally out of their characters when happens ( both A1 Alpha males suddenly telling each other to ‘keep their lacy knickers on’ when arguing just read weird)
  I kept thinking this book would make a really excellent ‘feel good’ film
  On the whole an enjoyable read for Crimbo
• 
  Jane Hunt

  
  
  
  If you like your Christmas romance to be sensual and spicy then you will definitely enjoy this festive offering. The office Christmas party gets a 21st-century makeover. Both Natalie and Dean crash other people's office parties as someone else. It's a way of escaping the problems in their past that seem so much worse at Christmas.
  
  The storyline is simple and the characters are glamorous but there are poignant sentiments under all the glitz and beautifully written cameo characters, the horrible Mick a is a particularly nasty boss and Dean's mum is certainly lacking in maternal instinct.
  
  The festive season polarises happiness and sadness more so than any other time of the year and this story explores why this is for Natalie. The dialogue is natural and contemporary and the romance sizzlingly. Definitely, something for the Christmas stocking to warm you up.
  
  I received a copy of this book from Harper Impulse via Netgalley in return for an honest review.
  
  It's unclear when this book is due for release especially in digital format but hopefully, it will be soon.
• 
  kellie

  LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK. 5*+
  
  
  Its cold outside and I wanted nothing more than to snuggle up with a warming Christmasy book and this book was just perfect. I read it in two sitting because it was that good.
  Natalie and Dean have had their fair share of heartache over the years, so when it comes to christmas they find the best way they can to get through it, they gatecrash Christmas parties. They have this amazing fun chemistry together that makes the read enjoy watching their relationship develop. They also work very well alone and both are very likeable characters.
  This kind of book is perfect for a cosy run fill romance with a saucy twist, that separates it from run of the mill christmas stories.
  Lighthearted and fun, its ticked all the boxes. The cover is great but could also be read as a saucy romance at anytime of the year, the chrisms feel just gives it that extra bit of sparkle.
• 
  Mandy

  Although I’ve seen the author’s name before, this is the first book by Aimee Duffy that I’ve read. I will definitely look out for more books by her.
  
  The plot – and how Nat and Dean meet – is a novel idea, and one which really worked. I suppose we guess quite early on that Nat and Dean will probably end up together, but that happens a lot with this genre and isn’t unusual!
  
  Personally, some parts of this book were difficult for me because I have a terminally-ill parent, so part of me wishes that I hadn’t tried to read it, but the book had gripped me early on so I wanted to finish it. I’m glad that I did, because it was a great story, but if you have lost someone close around Christmas, then you might be better reading it at a different time of year (you don’t have to read Christmas books at Christmas!).
  
  Thank you to NetGalley and HarperImpulse for an ARC in return for a fair and honest review.
  
• 
  Kim

  Natalie works for a company that organises events and parties and is very undervalued and underpaid. She loves to gatecrash the parties that she organises and enjoy all the special details. She gets to meet another person who seems to be gatecrashing the same parties. Although she isn't instantly drawn to him- the spark soon hits them and it's great to read about the parties they go to and as they get to know each other better they are really drawn to each other.
  Dean was left by his fiancee on their wedding day and it has made him wary of commitment and as they get to know each other better will it be the stumbling block. As you read you have the feeling you know where a certain storyline is going to develop but it is still great to immerse yourself in the story and enjoy the read.
• 
  Samantha

  3.5/5 Stars
  
  The Office Christmas Party was a fun read filled with wit, romance, and friendship. The plot was good but felt a little too predictable and at times seemed to drag for me. I did love the banter between Dean and Natalie, it made the story more entertaining to see what would come next between the two of them. Rose and Natalie's friendship was another fun part of the story because the story does focus a good amount on their friendship.
  
  Though there were a few trivial things that brought my rating of the book down, I'd still recommend this as a book to read around Christmas time.
• 
  Andrea (mrsaubergine)

  Of course I could see what was going to happen a mile off, but I still enjoyed this light, funny romance about a pair of Christmas party crashers who go from enemies to lovers. I really liked Dean’s POV, especially his relationship with his brother, and his mother was absolutely vile. Natalie was harder to like because I didn’t get the whole aversion to Christmas thing, but her banter was witty and I could easily see this as a Bridget Jones type festive film.
  
  ***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***
• 
  Amy

  I chose this book because I wanted an easy read with a Christmas feel to get me in a festive mood. This book did exactly that. Although some parts of the story were a little predictable, I didn't mind as the characters were mostly well drawn. There were a few shades of grey which took me a little by surprise but in all, I enjoyed this book. I would look for more books by this author if I was in the mood for some frothy escapism. Thanks NetGalley!
• 
  Paula

  This was an OK Christmas read. Not quite what I was expecting - but maybe I am just getting old when I say that I found the amount of 50 shades content and one night stands to be unnecessary.
  
  I normally enjoy a few Christmas reads but this one was a disappointment to be honest.
  
  Thank you to Netgalley for an early read in return for an honest review.
• 
  Jay Hill

  Thank you to Netgalley & the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.
  
  An enjoyable festive read with likeable characters -I even found myself rooting for the overly dramatic Natalie. I liked the chemistry and the witty exchanges between Natalie and Dean. Predictable in places but well written.
  
  4 stars.
• 
  Melody Koh

  It was overall what christmas do best LOVE.It's about two party crashers that their past made them scared into committing a relationship. When they found each other, they then began to open up and start believing love really do exist. It's not bad of a book to read rather much enjoy it but not the best.
• 
  Michelle

  Natalie and Dean both love crashing Christmas parties, but when they start to crash the same parties, the competition gets heated! Natalie started crashing Christmas parties after her mom died to keep herself in that holiday spirit. When she meets her rival, Dean, at one of the parties, she realizes the fun may be over…or is it?
  
  Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.
• 
  Elizabeth Edwards

  out on November 24, 2017. British & Irish Humor & Satire. Women's Humorous Fiction. Women's Literary Fiction. i did get this through my local library leaning program. what fun. cute book cover. always fun ... great read. guess it depends on what you are looking for, right?? take me away ...give me some humor. sold! fun times.
• 
  Louise

  2.5 stars
  
  Not my usual sort of read,and that's partly why the ow rating.
  It was predictable and full of cliches and way more sex than I expected..... but maybe that's how all this genre of book is written?
  I can't say it was bad,just not what I was hoping.
• 
  Linda

  Fun romantic Christmas read. A quick read that will put a smile on your face. I loved reading this and got me in the holiday mood. It has touching moments. Definitely add this to your Christmas reading book list.