The Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland and Penelope WardThe Christmas Pact by Vi Keeland, Penelope Ward
Narrator: Andi Arndt, Sebastian York
Published by Audible Original on December 5, 2019
Source: Audible Freebie
Genres: Romance, Novella, Christmas
Length: 2 hrs 54 mins
Format: Audiobook
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two-half-stars

Riley Kennedy’s emails keep getting crossed with her 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 gorgeous…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. But little by little, 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.

The Christmas Pact was a short, sweet romance with a lot of Christmas decorations in the background. On the surface, it’s a fun story. The couple meet after occasionally, accidentally receiving each other’s work e-mails. Riley Kennedy and Kennedy Riley – you can see how that might get confusing. Riley is pretty sure Kennedy is a jerk, he insists on actually reading her e-mails and adding his two cents before forwarding them to her.

They agree to pose as a couple over the Christmas holiday. It will help them both with family issues. Surprise, surprise, they actually start to have feelings for each other. I sound sarcastic, but the story was full of tender, endearing moments when they connected well. And of course, we get a happy ending.

Riley was a good character, funny, insecure, cute. Kennedy, however, I wasn’t actually fond of. When he was on his good behavior, he was sweet, amusing, and of course sexy, but his thoughts tended to be demeaning and sexist. I know we were supposed to find it hot, but yeah, not so much. When he first meets Riley face to face, he’s belittling and full of sexual innuendoes. And he made some choices that would have made me question him if I were Riley, like getting a seat on the same flight as her even when she told him she didn’t want to go along with his plan or sitting at the coffee shop across the road from her apartment for hours to see who she leaves with.

That being said, the epilogue was kind of perfect and made me smile.

About Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor before switching to a more family-friendly career. Penelope lives for reading books in the new adult genre, coffee and hanging out with her friends and family on weekends. Penelope, her husband and kids reside in Rhode Island.

She is a twenty-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels.

About Vi Keeland

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times, #1 Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over one hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in twenty-six languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out her own happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

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