The Humbug Holiday

By: Lane Hayes

Narrated by: Michael Dean

Two grumpy bears and a holiday season neither will forget…

Joe

So this sexy silver fox rolls into my small New England town and buys a run-down old house in need of renovation. That’s where I come in. My job is to do some basic repairs, so he can write in peace. Yep, the hotshot is a best-selling author, but that’s not why I recognize Cameron Warren.

No worries, I won’t let a one-night stand make things awkward. I could use the work, but is he seriously asking me to help him buy a Christmas tree too?

No way.

Cameron

I’m a good-natured guy all year long, but I have to admit…. I hate the holidays.

There. I said it.

This season, I’m hiding away on the opposite side of the country in a picturesque village. My family isn’t excited about my decision, and the only way to assure them I’m fine is to deck the darn halls. Or hire someone else to do it.

The handyman might not be the logical choice for an elf, but his grumpy act makes me smile. Which makes me think the holidays might not be so “bah-humbug” this year after all.

The Humbug Holiday is a bisexual, age-gap romance featuring two grumpy bears who find unexpected magic and learn to embrace everyone’s favorite time of year!

©2022 Lane Hayes (P)2022 Lane Hayes

Sweet, short and fun

Loved this holiday story! Even being short it is worth a credit. No annoying tropes. Just two grumps who learn to love the holidays with each other.

Super Cute Holiday Short Story

Super cute holiday story story with likable characters and a well deserved HEA. Excellent narration 💕.

Great Christmas Snack

This was the perfect for Christmas Nick to listen to while curled up in front of a cozy fire, sipping hot chocolate laced with a little peppermint schnapps, and eating a Santa shaped sugar cookie. It just gives you all the wonderful warm, fuzzy feels. Of course, Michael things narration puts it off the top. It has passion really shines. I love how the author, Lane Hayes, is able to show both heat and tenderness in her characters. This is a great Christmas story and I look forward to listening to again.

Sweet short

This was a sweet short holiday story. Lane Hayes writes a very entertaining story. Michael Dean did a wonderful job bringing this story and all of the characters to life.

good story for the holidays

I’m always up for a Lane Hayes story, and I was excited to listen to this Christmas themed book with the holidays here. It’s not often when two bears are paired together and though there is an age gap in this book, there didn’t seem to be a pronounced difference in the characters maturity level or what they wanted from life at all. What this book mostly was, was a sweet and short holiday story with two characters learning to unbend a little.

Cameron is new to Joe’s Vermont town and he’s there to have some down-time and write his next book. While Joe works on house repairs for Cameron and helps him pull off the appearance of being festive, Cameron picks Joe’s brain for information about his hometown and local legends for his book. At first, it seems to be a matter of scratching each other’s backs, but with a past hookup between them, and a still present attraction, they end up doing more than scratching.

Each of them have past stories that made them dislike the holidays, but honestly they don’t seem to be so affected that they can’t move on and learn to appreciate the circumstances they find themselves in. I didn’t feel a real emotional tug about what happened and maybe it’s because they have mostly moved past the actual trauma and their hard feelings are lingering bitterness only, or because the book isn’t particularly long so it wasn’t dwelt on. Things are pretty smooth, until Cameron’s agent comes with a proposition for more fame and money if Cameron leaves the cozy life he started making for himself and Joe, for an indefinite period of time

Of course it is a holiday romance, so even though things seem bleak for a few moments, there is a happy ending to be had. It was an enjoyable listen that had me smiling at the end of the book. The narration by Michael Dean was really good, and I would definitely recommend this audiobook.