Season's Schemings

Cyclones Christmas #1

by Katie Bailey

‘Tis the season to get even…

When Maddie Grainger’s longtime boyfriend dumps her on TV for the entire world to see, she thinks she’s hit rock bottom.

Until her parents announce that they’re spending the holidays with her ex’s family… And he’ll be bringing the woman he left her for.

All Maddie wants for Christmas is to stick it to her cheating ex. But how?

Enter Sebastian Slater, the NHL’s most infamous player.

On a drunken night out in Vegas, Maddie asks the superstar athlete to pose as her new boyfriend. She’s kidding, mostly. But Seb shocks her by making a counter offer: he doesn’t want to date Maddie for the holidays… he wants to marry her.

Show up at her ex’s cabin alone, or with a surprise new hockey-playing husband? Maddie opts for the ultimate level up.

Because maybe, just maybe, revenge is a dish best served betrothed.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Sports Romance, Holiday, Sports, Hockey, Marriage Of Convenience

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2023

About the author

Katie Bailey is an Amazon top 25 bestselling author of rom coms with relatable characters and tons of chemistry. Her aim with every new love story she writes is to give readers a good laugh, maybe even a bit of a cry, but definitely leave them with a new book boyfriend.

When she’s not busy writing, Katie spends her time chasing twin tornado littles, cursing the cold Canadian winters she endures each year, chugging coffee by the bucketload, and crushing on her husband, who’s the real life inspiration behind all of the fictional men she’s written.

You can connect with Katie on Instagram @authorkatiebailey

Reviews

[Sarah | Kerosene.Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

SO GOOD. I don't know if it's just me, but this felt a bit different (in a good way) than what I've read from Katie Bailey in the past. This was more, I don't know, mature and sexy? The humour felt natural, and though it's a completely closed-door romance, the flirty banter and spicy kisses delivered an extra oomph in this one.

Maddie Grainger is in need of some innocent revenge after a humiliating on-air breakup. And thanks to a drunken night in Vegas, Sebastian Slater, the Atlanta Cyclones' new star center, swiftly comes to the rescue in a rash decision—yup, the two get married.

Maddie and Sebastian were so great together. There's a genuine buildup of feelings, great communication, and I loved seeing the protective Sebastian show Maddie everything she deserves in a relationship. And what is it about the word "wife"? It makes me swoon like no other.

This was a super lighthearted read with minimal to no conflict, which isn't always my preference, but I think this story stood well on its own without any added drama. It was a lot of fun!

(heat level: closed door)

[Heather Adores Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25⭐
Genre ~ contemporary romance
Series ~ Cyclones Christmas, #1
Setting ~ Georgia
Publication date ~ book ~ December 1, 2023, audio ~ February 27, 2024
Est Page Count ~ 262 (31 chapters +e)
Audio length ~ 7 hours 38 minutes
Narrators ~ Austin Rising, Melissa Moran
POV ~ dual 1st, present tense
Featuring ~ nutritionist, NHL player, fake relationship, forced proximity, no steamage

Maddie (25) & Seb (27) meet when she's crying in the men's bathroom. Flash forward a bit and he needs a wife in order to keep playing hockey and she wouldn't mind making her ex jealous by marrying his favorite hockey player of all time.

This was really adorable. I loved them together from the start. Even though they were married already, their growing feelings for each other seemed realistic. I’m so happy there wasn’t any 3rd act drama! Whoop whoop!! This is a series that I would continue for sure.

Narration notes:
They both did a fine job overall. Austin could work on his lady voice though.

Connect with me ➡ Blog ~ Facebook ~ X

[Grace Quan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know I said review to come but I truly forgot everything about this book in the ONE DAY that I finished it. Not saying it was necessarily bad, it was just veryyyyy forgettable.

OH WAIT, I do remember one thing, his nickname for her was "Lady Macbeth" Deadass 💀

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 5 out of 5]

First read rating: 4 Stars!
Second read rating: 4.5 Stars!

Re-reading a Christmas book in the middle of summer is becoming my new personality.

I'm truly shocked by the fact that I have given five stars to so many book this year, despite being constantly in a reading slump.

I’m going to ignore (as usual) all my current reads and dive into this one. Based on the tropes, the cover, and some of the quotes I’ve seen of Season’s Schemings, it sounds like I’m going to LOVE it!

[taylor ❤️‍🔥 · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was literally so cute from start to finish 😭

[Tetyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5
Мені дуже сподобалося. Весела, мила, легенька історія з класними героями, які вміють говорити і слухати один одного.

Себастьян - хокеїст, якому необхідна віза, щоб залишитися в країні і продовжити свій контракт з командою. Медді дієтолог команди, яку ганебно покинув хлопець. На п'яну голову, вони вирішують одружитися, адже це вирішить їхні проблеми: Себастьян отримає візу, а Медді втре носа колишньому і своїм неадекватним батькам. По суті, у нас тут фіктивний шлюб.

Хоч у героїв і почалося все до біса смішно, дивно і з корисливих цілей, далі все розвиватиметься дуже гарно.
Вони стануть опорою і підтримкою один для одного, друзями і командою, а згодом справжніми чоловіком і дружиною.

Себастьян - такий добрий, щирий і відданий хлопець, прям як ведмедик, якого хочеться обійняти, він завжди захищав Медді, ставив на перше місце і доводив її цінність.
Медді натомість показала хлопцю, що найважливішим у житті є не кар'єра, а відносини з близькими людьми.

Мені дуже сподобалося, що між героями не було ніяких непорозумінь і недомовленостей, вони ніколи не сумнівалися один в одному і в своїх почуттях і ніколи нічого не приховували. Прям максимально здорові і комфортні стосунки з повагою, довірою, врахуванням інтересів і думки партнера, абсолютною відданістю і підтримкою.

З мінусів, мені не вистачило інформації про сім'ю головного героя, хотілося більше дізнатися про них, та їхні відносини з Себастьяном. Але це такі дрібниці, що навіть не хочеться знімати бал.

Це така історія, яка змусить сміятися до сліз, подарує відчуття тепла і залишить після себе приємний післясмак. Окрема дяка, що обійшлося без драми, я була безмежно цьому рада.
І трішки цитат:

"— Тобі коли-небудь казали, що ти найтурботливіша людина на світі?
— Ти казала. Вчора"

"Вона заслуговує на краще. І якщо я можу допомогти їй отримати щось від цього шлюбу, то це усвідомлення того, що вона заслуговує на чоловіка, який ставитиметься до неї, як до королеви.
Після всього, що вона зробила для мене, найменше, що я можу зробити, - це бути для неї найкращим чоловіком у світі."

[Noi (in & out) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m sappy and I’m happy about it.
This was a marriage or convince. Closed door, no smut. About the holiday, family, hockey, and baking.

The mother was a mess.
The brother was the best.
The ending was a bit rushed.

“Voodoo cookies for anyone who upsets my wife.”
———————
I need some fluff, and this is short, a holiday story & the audio was available on Libby. I'm hopeful.

[Danielle Overly Bookishly Backlogged · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF at 50%. Another boring Christmas read. The FMC is supposed to be quirky and cute and funny but I just find her boring. I can’t even remember her name. The balance of the characters can’t make up for how boring this novel is.

The premise is cute, woman gets dumped on national TV by her long-time boyfriend whom she’s expecting to marry, only to find out he’s planning to marry someone else. She takes a job as a nutritionist at a major NHL team and meets the hotshot player Sebastian who just so happens to need a green card.

They get hitched in Vegas after spilling their woes to each other and over time their fake relationship turns into a real one. Except it doesn’t work. Sure, the premise is plausible enough but there’s too much telling and not enough showing in this novel. Sebastian is constantly telling us that he’s never considered a relationship before but loves seeing Maddie’s hair on his furniture and her sneakers piled by the door. Ugh. Stop it. Just, stop it.

And these female authors need to stop writing these books about women who have no backbone until they find the right man to support them. Maddie’s mom literally accuses her of being the reason she gets dumped on national TV, then has dinner with the assbag ex and his family and then insists Maddie join the assbag ex and his family for their annual Christmas getaway in Vail. What?? But don’t worry. As soon as she marries Sebastian she finds the strength and fortitude to put her foot down, because she simply couldn’t find her voice before. No. I can’t. STOP WRITING THESE TERRIBLE REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN! It’s insulting.

[͙͘͡★ Ancuta✨🌙 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨

[Tasha Metzler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Number 19 🏒

I LOVED THIS HAPPY HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP! Omg. Throw in a few tropes: starts out fake, one bed, etc etc. So cute & add in some Christmas cheer and I’m about it!

[Nata Oleksandrivna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Взагалі нічого не очікувала від книги, але отримала стільки милоти, щирості і турботи героїв один про одного, що це прям попало мені в моє черстве ❤️

Було мило, дуже смішно, все послідовно і так по-справжньому, що ти читаючи закохуєшся разом з героями 🥰🥰 : те як вони доповнювали один одного, захищали інтереси, втілювали мрії один одного, це настільки було щиро і миленько 🥰🥰

Мама героїні, звісно ще те стерво, мені було шкода Медді, але добре, що в неї був такий захисник Себ, який спустив їх всіх трошки на землю 💁

Отакий slow burn i closed dore, я б читала і читала ще
🥰🥰
Я б залюбки ще щось почитала в авторки ❤️

[Oceana Reads Co. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Really fun! The stand out was that despite the silly concept, the characters actually felt mature and their relationship grew to be secure despite external tensions.

Some mild language and references to innuendo and fade to black with few details. Would recommend!

[Carlynn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m supposed to believe a whole ass NHL player from Canada is saying “frick” and “shiz”?????? DNF at 10%

[Alysha (For The Love of Christian Fiction) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew! 🥵 That was *chefs kiss*
It was sweet and hot at the same time! Let me tell you, I’m ALL about the clean hockey romances taking over the scene. This one was a great one to add.

It was a great mix of Christmas, hockey, family, and romance!

Seb was literally perfect! How do I get one of him?? He was strong, sweet, thoughtful, protective, and sexy!

Maddie was just a peach! And there couldn’t have been a better match for Seb. She was levelheaded and loyal! Sweet and really just his perfect match.

I’m ALL about a good marriage of convenience story and this one definitely was YUMMY and zesty! (Closed door, but had innuendo)

I personally wish there wasn’t so much language, and that the only reason it’s not getting a 5 star from me. There were no “f bombs”, but there was a consistent bit of other language used throughout the story that I don’t particularly enjoy.

This was my first book by Katie Bailey, but I’ll definitely be reading more from her!

4.5/5 stars

[Rayne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This wholesome, rom-com was a hit or miss. Sometimes the humour worked, more times it was bad, sometimes the wholesomeness worked, other times it felt really childish and unrealistic. Every single character was not very likeable. One dimensional, often immature, and plainly did not inspire anything in me. While this was cute at times, I don’t think the pros outweighed the cons this time around.

[Jen ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maddie (25) was dumped by her cheating ex on television, and her mom agreed to spend Christmas with her ex's family. Seb (27) was informed by his agent that hockey may be put on hold for him because of his expired visa. The process to renew it would take some time, and his agent joked about that the easiest way to get a visa is if he gets married to an American citizen. Then Seb's team had a game in Vegas, and Maddie came with them as the team's nutritionist. Thanks to alcohol involvement, they agreed to get married temporarily so Maddie could take revenge on her ex and for Seb to be able to play.
 
I was intrigued by the plot, but it fell flat. I didn't feel the romance between the MCs because, for the first half, nothing really happens between them; they're more like friends than anything else.
 
Also, there's more telling than showing in this story. I would prefer to read and see the actual scenes than to read them or be mentioned in passing. I think more than half of this book was focused on telling, and I really am not a fan of that. 
 
The time jumps too were annoying; sometimes weeks and days will pass, and readers don't have any idea what happened to them. A glimpse of what they did would be described, and it was actually frustrating. If I don't see them interact, I find it hard to buy their romance.
 
I didn't like the fact that Seb never considered Maddie beautiful. Yet he has the nerve to compliment other women and call them pretty. He only acknowledged Maddie's beauty at around 64%, which is a bit late for me already. I want the MCs to be both attractive and not to have a handsome MMC but to have a plain-looking FMC. It wasn't directly said, but it's the idea I got from Seb's POV. Obviously, this is a me problem. 🤷‍♀️
 
The revenge didn't even make sense; Maddie and his ex barely interacted. But Seb was there, supporting her in whatever she did. She only spent two days at most in his ex's family cabin and most of the time Maddie and Seb were together.
 
Seb's not really a bad guy, but it took me a while to warm up to him. It's probably because of the subtle reminders of his bachelor lifestyle, but he said he doesn't have a roster of women. Yet the first time he met Maddie, he was not sure if she was one of the women he dated. I mean, how come he never remembers them if there weren't too many? The huge disparity between their dating lives was kind of annoying. He has been with women, while she has been with one man for a decade.

Anyway, I did love Maddie and all of her sunshine. And she's a good and supportive person overall. I liked her more than Seb.
 
Overall, this was okay, but I have a lot of unanswered questions in the plot. And since I won't be getting any answers, I'll just let my imagination run wild. 🤷‍♀️


Book info:
- Vegas wedding
- Holiday romance
- Sports romance (hockey)
- Closed door scenes
- No cheating, owd, 3rd act breakup
- HEA (they're married, so 🤷‍♀️)

[Анастасія ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Історія в принципі сподобалась, АЛЕ є тут 2 персонажі, яких я ненавиділа всю книжку, перший це ж звичайно її колишній, який вирішив на ефіри сказати, що вони розтаються та і взагалі він робить пропозицію іншій, бо жгг щось не дотягує; і друга, це мати, хоча я б так не назвала, але окей, почнімо з того, що вона сказала Медді, щоб та закрила очі на зраду та почекала би на того печива без ніг (я ім'я забула, але асоціація є), бо сама мати Медді ж терпить зради її батька, ну то і вона зобов'язана це робити, і начхати на її почуття. Впродовж усієї книжки мати Медді поводилась жахливо, відчуття що їй начхати на доньку, тільки б вона породичалась з тією родиною. Окремий плюсик за команду в якій грає Себастьян, вони прикольні, а як вони в кінці допомогали йому зробити сюрприз для Медді💔

[buket · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was unexpectedly fun and cute

[think for yourself · Rating 4 out of 5]

Це була найлайтовіша історія. Все шло як по маслу, без особливого смислового навантаження. Прямо ідеальна історія з ідеальними розвитком подій, який можна передбачити.

Є бісячі герої, і мені трохи було не достатньо того, як з ними все викрутили. Їх би краще взяти кудись до Саймона Беккета 😂 для профілактики.

Шкода, що нема книги про брата Медді 😣

UPD. Книга про брата буде, ура!

4/5

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of my *favorite* holiday movies are the ones where someone has to bring home a fake date for the holidays for whatever reason. So I was not surprised AT ALL that I enjoyed this story! The characters had great chemistry and I loved that it was dual POV so you knew just how smitten they both were. It had classic Katie Bailey humor all throughout with sweet tender moments, too. I also loved how the entire hockey team got involved. It reminded me of the similar camaraderie that's between the football team in The Cheat Sheet by Sarah Adams!

Thank you to the author for an advanced copy.

[May (previously Violet) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf 85% - I was so disappointed with this book. It said there was no spice and no smut scenes, but proceeded to have an intense ftb scene. I usually love this author but the romance in this book solely made me uncomfortable.

[Ceylin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ - I think I wouldve loved it more if I didn’t read tis the seasons for revenge before this one.

[Halya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Мила різдвяна історія, де все почалось з фіктивного шлюбу заради помсти колишньому Медді і робочої візи Себа.
Взаємоповага в стосунках, смішні моменти (бабуся Адама звісно з подарунком 🔥)
На вечір для розслаблення мозку і милоти саме то.

[Susan Z (webreakforbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Season's Schemings is THE must read Christmas rom-com of 2023. It is landing on my all time favorites list. These characters were the best. It was such a fun story, it's the type of book that reminds me why rom-coms are my absolute faves!

So many times a clean romance seems a bit too juvenile to me, the characters often seem and act like innocent teenagers. Season's Schemings is clean, but the characters act age appropriately. The kisses are sexy and smoldering, their attraction is electric

Season's Schemings is a sweet clean romance done right!

[Nádia (weebna) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very fast paced but very cute. It’s a nice book for this season.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was sweet, but nothing special. And, in my opinion, it’s very weird to agree to celebrate Christmas with an ex and his family.

[Anastasia Terendii (livie's version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

неймовірна історія, в яку я просто закохалась і хочу собі тепер придбати фізичну копію на поличку! тут є і смішні, і драматичні, і милі, і навіть хотні (хоча це close-door) моменти. герої такі чудові. ДЕ МІЙ СЕБАСТЬЯН, Я ПЕРЕПРОШУЮ???????? всім (і собі теж) бажаю такого ідеального партнера, ехххххх.

загалом, я дуже гарно провела дві години з цією книжкою під час вимкнень світла, тому обов'язково раджу вам теж прочитати, особливо ідеально вона підходить для зими, бо події тут відбуваються під час Різдва. точно продовжу своє знайомство з авторкою (йду починати історію про Джекса, брата Медді).

[Anastasiia · Rating 4 out of 5]

4/5 ⭐️

Дуже солодка та кумедна історія.
Історія розповідає нам про хокеїста, Себастьян, який повністю занурений в цей вид спорту, та Медді, яка виросла з токсичною мамою та була тривалий час у нездорових відносинах. головного герою потрібна віза, а Медді хоче помститися своєму колишньому.
Герої ведуть себе як дорослі, розмовляють між собою, нічого не приховують.
Рада, що не було розставання в третьому акті. І кому важливо, майте на увазі тут закриті двері :)

Історія така затишна і тепла, має різдвяний настрій (ну і що, що я прочитала її у квітні))
Підійде, щоб розслабитися.

[Booksblabbering || Cait❣️ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute, drunk marriage of convince with an insecure employee and a driven, golden hockey player.

Whilst this was insta lust and attraction, I appreciated how they both stood up for each other. Especially considering our heroine’s unsupportive, gross family.
….Except her step-brother which is another aspect I liked. Usually step-family are depicted as unfriendly.

Whilst there wasn’t really any believable stakes, conflict, or tension; it passed the time and I enjoyed how safe both characters felt with each other.

If you’re going into this for the sports, don’t get your hopes up. It’s more about complicated family dynamics.

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[kamryn ౨ৎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was okay