An entertaining Christmas listen by Gerri Hill

This was an entertaining Christmas listen by Gerri Hill. Chasing a Brighter Blue is still my favourite holidays’ audiobook but this one was enjoyable too.

Abby Carpenter is dreading her family holiday gathering as she has to meet her ex-girlfriend who is now dating her brother. Same ex-girlfriend who lured her into bed last year. So she decides to ask a stranger to go with her as her fake girlfriend. What can go wrong?

This is another story with the very popular fake romance trope but in this case, the main characters are total strangers. I was surprised by the original offer (to ask a complete stranger to join a 10-day family gathering) and the counteroffer this stranger suggests. I admit that the first few chapters in which this counteroffer was discussed made me a bit uncomfortable but the story quickly turns to a more typical fake romance.

In Gerri Hill’s books, the outdoors is normally a character in its own right but this time it isn’t as much. The big theme is the holidays’ celebrations and Nic’s tragic family past which messed up her enjoyment of the festivities. Nic is a bit of a Christmas grinch forced by her past history and Abby and her family are her way to make peace with it. The best part of the book is how Nic sees Christmas with new eyes full of wonder and happiness, being welcomed to Abby’s family and falling in love in the process.

The audiobook was narrated by Abby Craden who, as usual, did a great job. Her performance of Abby’s annoying and snooty ex is priceless. Ms. Craden evokes the family warmth and Christmas spirit perfectly. Once again, her performance elevated an already good story. 4.5 stars.

Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins