The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward

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.

Narrators: Andi Arndt, Sebastian York | Length:2 hrs and 54 mins | Genre: Contemporary Romance | Publisher: Audible | Source: Audible’s December  Member Freebie | Rating: 4 Cups

Challenges Read For:  -   2019 Try Something New

 

I was looking for something light and Christmassy to listen to when I was wrapping presents and remembered I selected this as one of my Audible freebies this month. Both were new-to-me authors and I’m glad I took chance and actually ended up grabbing another book (Hate Notes) by the same writing duo.

 

Here’s what’s going on. Due to their names being reversed, Riley Kennedy’s emails often gets sent to her colleague Kennedy Riley, who never fails to reply with his own advice. After his last bit of advice irks and intrigues her, she finds herself wondering about Kennedy. When the two finally meet at a combined office party, she’s surprised when he makes her an offer: he’ll pretend to be her boyfriend when she goes home for her family’s Christmas party if she’ll be his date to his brother’s wedding. As the two spend time together, they find themselves falling for each other although a hurt of Kennedy’s past could prevent them from being together.

 

This is one of my favorites that I’ve read so far this year. It was cute and funny but there was a bit of weight to it and I liked that.

 

Kennedy and Riley were such a fun pair to watch. They both have some hurts to work through and they both need to figure out how to open themselves up to new relationships. The romance had a nice feel to it and it was such a treat to find that this one had a nice adult feel. The characters were mature, relatable, and dealing with adult problems.

 

I was really surprised at how well-rounded this one was. Given it was a little under three hours, I was expecting it to be lacking in something but I was so pleased that it was fully developed and the pacing was perfect.

 

Andi Arndt and Sebastian York worked brilliantly for this one. Occasionally, I struggle with both narrators but they were perfect for this one and truly brought the characters to life.

 

Overall, this was a nice little fake mates Christmas romance that should be on everyone’s to read list.