Blodeuedd's Monday: Her Pretend Christmas Date by Jackie Lau

Cider Bar Sisters Series, Book 2.5

By: Jackie Lau

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Series: Cider Bar Sisters Series, Book 2.5

Length: 3 hrs and 13 mins

Release date: 12-07-21

Contemporary romance/from storytel.fi

I wanted something short and came across this one. Perfect, and I have tried this author before.

Julie and Tom goes on a bad date, but she keeps telling her parents she is dating him. Yikes. Not good, so when xmas rolls around she gets back in contact and asks him to be her fake BF.

Her parents is always criticizing her career choice and everything else. And Julie just wants a nice xmas for once.

But Tom and she was such a BAD fit. He is so proper and perfect and she is his opposite. But something is there and it grows when they spend xmas together.

Opposites do attract and sparks fly in this novella.

A good short listen. Perfect for the season.

Good narration. it fitted very well. I have listened to this narrator before and she is good

She's home for the holidays with her starchy fake boyfriend...

Although she's the fun and outgoing one, Julie Tam has always lived in the shadow of her older sister, Charlotte. Now Charlotte has a good career and a great boyfriend whom their parents love, and Julie has neither of those things.

Her blind date with Tom Yeung is disastrous; however, he's exactly the sort of guy her parents would like--a methodical, strait-laced pharmacist who even folds his underwear and wears paisley ties. So, she pretends they're a couple to impress Mom and Dad in their phone conversations. When her mother insists that Julie bring Tom to her hometown for Christmas, Tom, who has no plans for the holidays, agrees.

But Julie doesn't know how she'll tolerate a whole weekend in his company, especially when they have to share a bed and participate in a gingerbread house competition together. The man is irritatingly proper and set in his ways.

Except after hours of baking and skating and opening presents, she's starting to find Tom annoyingly attractive and even endearing. And now, she doesn't want this holiday weekend to end...

B's Monday Review: Mr. Hotshot CEO by Jackie Lau

 

Narrated by: David Lee Huynh, Vivienne Moon Kells

Series: Kwan Sisters Series, Book 2

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Release date: 10-18-22

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Contemporary romance / to review

This one was different. A romance, but with a big personal hurdle to get through. And one that was not magically solved by a p**n.

Courtney gets seriously depressed every 5th year, and in between that she is not free either. It is always there in some form, but she has learned to embrace everything good in life. Nothing better than really loving that latte you get every day.

Julien is a workaholic that will surely get a heart attack too soon if he keeps it up.

His family orders him to take a vacation and this is how he meets Courtney. He pays her to learn him to have fun. And of course they will fall in love. But he does not know about her depression, and she is not looking for something. Something that might fall apart and make her even more depressed. So depressed that it will push her over the edge.

Yes it dealt with some serious things and I liked that. Life and love is not always easy, but it is a romance, so they will make it work. But no one is magically cured. It does not work like that.

Two narrators that did a good job working together. I like it when they do it like that, you really get into their heads

As CEO of Fong Investments, I’m a busy man. In fact, my family claims I’m an obsessive workaholic, and when they force me to take two weeks off, I have no idea what to do with myself.

While brooding over an espresso, I meet Courtney Kwan, a biomedical researcher who savors the little things in life. And, suddenly, an idea strikes me—I will pay this woman to teach me how to enjoy my vacation from work.

Soon, I find myself doing crazy things like baking cookies, reading for pleasure, buying a phallic cactus, and falling in love. But Courtney is dealing with some serious issues of her own, and I fear that when I return to work, I won’t be able to give her what she needs, and I’ll lose her forever…