REVIEW: Pregnant Enemy, Christmas Bride by Maisey Yates

In Pregnant Enemy, Christmas Bride by Maisey Yates, Florence and Hades have been sneaking around together for ten years. Their relationship is purely physical, but they cannot seem to quit each other. This is a massive problem as their late fathers were infamously enemies as their billion dollar businesses were in direct competition. Florence and Hades now act as CEO’s for these businesses and a public scandal would arise if their relationship was found out.

So it’s a problem when Florence realizes she’s pregnant. A problem made even worse by the fact that Hades is about to marry someone else in the wedding of the century…

This book was a hard sell for me. Readers are advised that this is a single, first person point of view which is not something I expect from a Harlequin Presents. There is a moment of Hades’ point of view in the epilogue, but it wasn’t enough. I can take or leave first person point of view but I really need equal time between the two main characters.

There was also too much navel gazing for me. Florence had a lot of inner monologues and while I understand that this was to help the reader understand her emotional struggle better, I felt like it made it harder to follow conversations between Hades and her to the point that I was taken out of the story. She also made some leaps based on things Hades said that I could not follow along with.

That being said, there were a number of good things about this book. This was a super spicy read and that spice was well written. The first half of the book does this especially well since there’s a sense of it being forbidden and desperate that adds to the heat. The physical chemistry between the two of them lends itself to an interesting exploration of what moving an established physical relationship to an emotional, lifelong one would look like. A lot of times romance books start with a bit of both so it was refreshing to see this done in a new way.

I also appreciated how this book tried to buck some trends you see a lot in Harlequin Presents. The heroine was already wealthy in her own right, rather than a Cinderella. She also wasn’t a virgin at the start of the book and she was never shy about initiating sex. She does not shy away from conflict and always speaks up for her needs. I also really liked that she ate actual food like hamburgers. This is a small thing, but it gets old when heroines pick at their salads and this made her feel all the more relatable.

The book also does escapism locations perfectly. Lake Como and Switzerland are exactly the kinds of places I’m looking to imagine when I’m reading these books. I would have liked more description of the settings, however.

If you’re looking for a book with a quick hook, incinerating spice, and have a few hours to go on an absolute ride then look no further. Just make sure you plan accordingly because you’ll have trouble setting it down!

Book Info:

Publication: November 26, 2024 | Harlequin Presents |

An enemies-to-lovers, surprise pregnancy, Greek billionaire Christmas romance by NYT bestselling author Maisey Yates.

It’s cold outside…
but they’re playing with fire!

CEO Florence Clare’s relationship with Hades Achelleos is…complicated. By day, her corporate enemy is the devil himself, their rivalry a thing of headline-grabbing legend. By night, they indulge in a clandestine affair. Equally brilliant, equally headstrong, they are one another’s forbidden rebellion…

Hades is fire personified, and Florence has always known their entanglement becoming public would be disastrous. But this Christmas, two little lines threaten to reveal her darkest secret—she’s pregnant. And the paparazzi sense scandal when the Greek tycoon announces his shocking new bride-to-be…