Merry Little Kissmas is technically a standalone holiday romance. But, you could pair it up with My Favorite Holidate from last year. But I digress. Anyways, in this story we follow master grinch, Rowan as he falls for merry and bright Isla, his agent and best friend’s little sister.
About Merry Little Kissmas
Rowan is a hockey player for the Sea Dogs. He hates Christmas. He has his reasons, but he is the grinch at Christmastime. He does not go out on dates. He is a single father to the cutest daughter, Mia, and dog, Wanda. The two keep him on his toes everyday.
Isla has started a business as a matchmaker. She is good at what she does and reading people to know who will mesh and who will not. She has been in the hockey world for years since her brother is the agent for several of the players on the Sea Dogs. It is second nature to see her at the games or with her brother at events.
While attending a charity auction, his teammates bid on, and win, services from a matchmaker for Rowan. They have all decided it is time for him to start dating. One guess who the matchmaker is. Yep, you guessed it.
Isla has her work cut out for her with Rowan as a client. It starts with little get togethers to learn more about him. Little things like running in to him at the bookstore where he has taken his daughter. Helping her pick out a Christmas tree for her home. Sadly, all of her little outings to get to know him better include Christmas related activities.
Rowan thinks he has the perfect out for needing the matchmaker to set him up with a date to the Holiday party. They will be in Evergreen Falls playing games at the minor league stadium. But no, Isla thwarts him stating that she is from there and is planning to go home for the holiday games and celebration.
Once everyone has made it to Evergreen Falls, everything changes. Rowan makes an effort to participate in the Christmas games. He was not given a choice. But he also starts opening up. His Bah Humbug approach is softening. He is finding himself talking about his past with Isla and why he hates Christmas so much.
Isla actually listens to him. She does not offer any platitudes, but instead makes suggestions for ways to change the holidays into something memorable. He needs to remember he has a daughter who wants to celebrate the holidays and does not understand why he feels the way he does.
While they are growing closer, they are falling for each other. But this cannot happen. He is a client. She cannot get involved with a client. Plus he is her brother’s client and best friend.
But Rowan is done with the matchmaking. His methodology for solving this problem is definitely unique. But will her brother and his teammates understand? How will he explain to Jason he has feelings for his sister? Will this cost him his agent? Will it cost him his best friend?
Let the games begin. And let us see who the winner(s) are.
Impressions
This is a classic holiday romance set in a fairytale land. The holiday games are entertaining to watch. But the side bets are even better.
Watching Rowan open up and start letting in some Christmas spirit makes me want to hug him to pieces. I can only imagine how hard this is for him, given his history. But falling in love with a mini elf has to take the cake. She is all Christmas, all the time. I imagine he wants to hit the off switch at some point. But instead it seems like he tries. He sees that Mia wants to celebrate the holiday and in his heart he knows he has prevented that from happening in the past.
This is definitely a new take on “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”. You will laugh at some of the things these people get down to. The competitiveness. The adventure. The fun. What Christmas should be.
Narration
This is a full cast narration. Always a fun adventure to listen to so many narrators. It was good to see returning narrators from My Favorite Holidate playing the characters they made in that book. Vanessa Edwin and Connor Crais are the primary narrators, playing Isla and Rowan. These two work so well together. You will enjoy this audiobook for the narration and the story.
Availability
Merry Little Kissmas is currently available to read for FREE in Kindle Unlimited and for purchase in all formats on Amazon.
Series Listing
- My Favorite Holidate (Holiday Romance Book 1)
- Merry Little Kissmas (Holiday Romance Book 2)
About Lauren Blakely
A #1 New York Times Bestselling, #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling, and #1 Audible Bestselling author, Lauren Blakely is known for her contemporary romance style that’s cute but spicy. Lauren likes dogs, cake, and show tunes and is the vegetarian at your dinner party.
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