Title The Christmas Pact
Author Vi Keeland and Penelope Ward
Description
Eggnog. Check. Roaring fire. Check. Hot romance book. Check!
Riley Kennedy’s emails keep getting crossed with her male colleague, Kennedy Riley. The infuriating man forwards them along with his annoying commentary and unsolicited advice. At least she never has to see him in person, since they work in different locations…until they come face to face at the office holiday party.
As luck would have it, Kennedy turns out to be outrageously handsome…though still a jerk. Yet somehow he’s able to charm her out on the dance floor—and convince her to participate in his crazy scheme: he’ll go home with Riley for a Christmas party and pretend to be her boyfriend, if Riley agrees to be his date to a wedding. It sounds easy enough. Little by little, however, the act they’re putting on starts to feel like so much more than a Christmas pact—and Riley’s about to learn there’s more to Kennedy than she ever imagined.
Release Date December 5, 2019
Initial Thoughts
So I actually listened to this book last December, but I never reviewed it. I still remember how much I loved it and am definitely going to give it another listen this holiday season.
Some Things I Liked
- Enemies to lovers. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it’s the best trope. And, it’s really well done here. The snarky banter is fantastic. Riley and Kennedy are a perfect match.
- Fake dating. Another treasure of a trope, and again, really well done here. This is a short audiobook and it can be difficult to set up believable arrangements on a fast paced timeline. I think it was really well done here and I didn’t find myself thinking “eew, why would she agree to this?” at any point in the story.
- Dual narrators. Again, I always love this. I love to be inside the minds of multiple characters and hearing different voices for it always makes it easier to distinguish their thoughts.
Series Value
Obviously this is a HEA rom-com. So, there’s not much more we need to know about Riley and Kennedy, but I like their families. I’d read more about this world and if they wanted to make cameos in some future sequels, I wouldn’t mind that!
Final Thoughts
I really enjoyed this Holiday themed audiobook. It was a fast listen (I think I finished it on my commute to work, like the whole thing just on the way TO the office). It had all the tropes, banter, and romance I wanted and I can easily see myself re-listening to it this year.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendations for Further Reading
- Eight Winter Nights by Liz Maverick – if you’re looking for another quick holiday themed rom-com audiobook, look no further than this November 2020 release.
- Jingle Wars by R. Holmes and Veronica Eden – if you enjoyed the enemies to lovers themes here and are looking for another Christmas setting – try this new release.
- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – if you liked the enemies to lovers / work colleagues vibe, try this full length novel, it was great on audio.
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