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Not Another Christmas Rom Com

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A meet-not-so-cute leads to spicy romance in this brilliantly hilarious new rom-com from best-selling author A. J. Pine!

It’s the flight before Christmas and Molly just got an unexpected gift: a free first-class upgrade on her plane trip home for the holidays. Bring on the complimentary cocktails! But after one too many, she spills all her secrets to the hot guy seated next to her—only to wake up mortified when her buzz has worn off. At least she never has to see Liam again ... or so she thinks.

When Molly arrives at Christmas House, the festive rental home that she and her family are sharing with her sister’s fiancé and his wealthy family, she discovers that Liam is one of the new in-laws. Oops. Now thanks to her boozy oversharing, he knows all her secrets—and they’ll be stuck in the same house all Christmas long. Double oops.

As their chemistry turns red-hot, will they be able keep their hands off each other long enough to navigate growing family drama? And what will Molly do when she discovers that Liam is hiding a scandalous secret of his own? Whatever happens, one thing is clear: These two are in for an unforgettable holiday ride.

Audible Audio

First published November 14, 2024

662 people are currently reading
1149 people want to read

About the author

A.J. Pine

29 books873 followers
A teen librarian by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s the author of the If Only series (Entangled Embrace), the Only You series (Berkley/Intermix), the Kingston Ale House series (Entangled Select), and the Crossroads Ranch series (Forever Romance). When she finds that 25th hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV where she nourishes her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.

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5 stars
1,382 (11%)
4 stars
4,223 (34%)
3 stars
4,973 (40%)
2 stars
1,339 (10%)
1 star
259 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,282 reviews
Profile Image for Kristina .
1,051 reviews925 followers
December 14, 2024
If we are to believe Christmas romcoms, there are thousands and thousands of Christmas themed small towns all over the USA.


This wasn’t the worst, it was pretty cute and low stakes but bland and predictable. All the secrets were pretty obvious and not worth all the deception.

Also I found it hard to believe that she made a million dollars posting videos of herself doing pedicures for a foot fetish site. Yes, sex work can pay, but most of it doesn’t and foot videos alone wouldn’t make you a millionaire. Weird. It would have been better if they just said she could make a living at it.

Also also, the listing on goodreads says the male narrator is Alexander Cendese and it’s not, it’s Teddy Hamilton (thankfully). He did a good job and is way better than Candese who’s nasally and annoying. And why was the epilogue duet narration when the rest of it was dual? Why not do duet for the entire thing?

And breaking the fourth wall was annoying and distracting in this. I think it was done to have a Dickenesque A Christmas Carol feel but I hated it. It was not necessary.

Maybe I’ve read too many Christmas books, they are all the freaking same.
Profile Image for Danielle Overly Backlogged.
503 reviews104 followers
December 20, 2024
2 Stars.

First half was decent. Second half nosedived.

I loved How to Lose a Guy Before Christmas by the same author. It was cute and quirky, with a host of funny side characters and two main characters I really enjoyed. I expected the same with this novel. However, while I loved the premise - two strangers, have immediate chemistry only to learn they're about to be stuck in a house together after spilling some pretty potent secrets - it failed to capitalize on the awkward tension this setup would allow. Instead, we are assaulted by gaslighting and poorly disguised secrets.

Molly and Liam meet on a flight from LA to Michigan to attend a Christmas gathering in Tinsel, to blend their families prior to the upcoming nuptials of Molly's sister, April, to Liam's brother, Collin. Except, neither Liam or Molly are aware they’re destined for the same place. During this flight, Molly and Liam hit it off and share some "scandalous" secrets. Fine. That's actually not where the problems stem from. No, it's actually all the other characters I found intolerable. The problem is the way Molly, and even Liam, are treated.

Once they arrive at the rental house, it's clear everyone is hiding something. Collin is bossing April around under the auspices of "caring" for her. Molly's parents are spending money they "don't have" and Liam's parents are talking about their "chateau" which can't be used to host the wedding for some mysterious reason. Even though I immediately guessed the reason for Collin's treatment of April, which was hugely obvious, he was an absolute @sshole about it. His attitude toward both Molly and April was condescending and misogynistic. At one point, April even jumped in to side with her soon to be husband by scolding Molly for being concerned. This went on for the entire novel. By the time I was done, I no longer cared about their big secret. I was done with all the gaslighting of Molly, who was constantly shot down and belittled for being worried. Like she was somehow uptight and overbearing for recognizing some pretty serious red flags in Collin. No. That is not an okay characterization of a woman and sister.

The romance itself was okay, nothing special, and when I finished the novel I found myself thinking more about the side characters and their idiocy than the two main characters, so that should tell you something right there.

I'm so sad since I loved the previous novel.
Profile Image for aeryn rose.
348 reviews1,088 followers
December 23, 2025
4⭐️

This audiobook ended up being so much better than I thought it'd be! This was such a swoon-worthy, cozy feeling Christmas book. The characters, the ambiance, everything. Although, I will say, it was very cheesy and a bit cringey at times. It just made it that much more entertaining.

The characters had so much personality and so many unique quirks. I really enjoyed the main characters, Molly and Liam! Their chemistry was really good and their witty banter and conversation was so funny; I couldn't help but cackle at so many points. You could cut the angst and tension with a knife and I loved it! The side characters, Molly and Liam's family, were so enjoyable too. This book really makes a point of family love and all around acceptance. I thought it was really beautiful. The people of the town were so funny too, ugh I loved everyone in this book.

The plot of this book was kinda wild I'm not gonna lie. It goes over (non-spoiler) Molly's secret of filming herself doing pedicures and making a crap-load of money from it on a...spicy-ish kind of site and that was like her big secret. I thought this storyline was actually hilarious, mainly because of Liam's reactions to her feet IT WAS JUST SO HARD NOT TO LAUGH IM SORRY 😭 I'm not kink-shaming but hearing it out loud, I just couldn't not let it out. Parts of this book felt like I was walking in on something I wasn't supposed to would be the best way to put it.

I really enjoyed the ending of this too with a bunch of secrets spilling out; it made a point that familial love is so precious and to never judge someone on the outside, you never know what someone is doing or going through just by looking at the surface. The biggest problem I had with this book was probably the spicy scenes. They were extremely cringey and it was another part that I couldn't help laughing at. Snowman condoms, pineapple and suggestive Christmas jokes, I mean come on, is there genuinely any other way to react to that? 😭

Overall, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It was funny, it was feel-good, it was sweet and wholesome (with a dash of cringey spice), what more could you want? The ambiance was absolutely PERFECT for Christmas. I truly felt like I could be right there in the scenes with them. It was perfect to cozy up by the fireplace with a cup of hot chocolate and get lost. ❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝓟𝓻𝓮-𝓡𝓮𝓪𝓭: 🎄❤️

Riding the Christmas audiobook train until I can't anymore 🤭
Even though so many of these audiobooks don't have the best ratings, I find that they're still so enjoyable for what they are! I hope this isn't any different ❤️
Profile Image for Christy.
4,540 reviews35.9k followers
November 13, 2025
3.25 stars

I really enjoyed the start of this book and how the couple met. The family dynamics weren’t my favorite, and it ended up just being okay for me, but the narration was truly top-notch! Teddy Hamilton and Andi Arndt did an amazing job! First Christmas read of the season, and here’s to many more!
Audio book source: Audible Plus
Story Rating: 3.25 stars
Narrators: Teddy Hamilton & Andi Arndt
Narration Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Romance
Length: 6h 7m


Profile Image for Romane | Bookylicious.
812 reviews30 followers
December 7, 2024
2.5

Started good, loooved the narrators ( teddy,marry me ) but I didn't like the fmc, the " secrets" that you see coming miles away, the interruptions in the narration ( Even if it kinda makes sense but it was damn frustrating)and the " this audiobook was 5 spices" when all the sex scenes had fade to black.

I was expecting more
Profile Image for Rachel.
254 reviews7 followers
December 6, 2024
This started off promising and then pissed me off
Profile Image for Robin.
1,977 reviews98 followers
December 23, 2024
When Molly Snow received a free upgrade to First Class on her flight to Milwaukee, she was excited, especially when she saw the handsome guy in the seat beside her. As she indulges in free champagne, Molly strikes up a conversation with the hunk and ends up telling him about her deepest secrets before falling asleep. When she wakes up upon landing, Molly is embarrassed by what she told him and quickly leaves the plane, figuring she'll never see him again anyway.

As Molly arrives at Christmas House, the rental home her family is sharing with her sister's fiancé and his family, she spies the guy from the plane. His name is Liam Manchester and he is the groom's brother. He also knows her deepest secrets. Molly must keep Liam from telling her family everything he knows.

This was a cute romantic comedy. All of the characters have secrets that they don't want to come to light for various reasons. Most of them were very easy to figure out, but I still enjoyed the story. The narration by Andi Ardnt and Teddy Hamilton was excellent. My rating: 4 Stars.

Profile Image for April M McCalister.
26 reviews
December 17, 2024
It started ok, but the sister was such a hag. The future brother-in-law was a jerk. Molly was a whiny child. Everybody in the book is saying "dont stand up for your sister who you think is being controlled!" Clearly none of the characters has ever been a sister. I would have been way more aggressive with Colls if it were my sister. Liam even sucks. I can't like any of these people. I have only a small piece left and am thinking about DNFing the whole thing.
Profile Image for Lindsay Evans.
Author 5 books7 followers
December 13, 2024
NOTE: Review contains spoilers...

I really liked this book. Sweet, slightly spicy Christmas romance that was a quick read. Loved the characters, but could not STAND the sister's fiance. I'm sorry, but women who are pregnant are NOT invalids who cannot do anything. He was controlling and misogynistic. Full stop. Could not stand him and how he treated his fiance. And then the gaslighting of the main character? I kept thinking...was this book written by a man? It rubbed me the wrong way the whole time reading. Great narration from Andi & Teddy as always.
Profile Image for Kate McMurry.
Author 1 book124 followers
June 21, 2025
Too much slapstick for my preference

I got free access to the audiobook version of this novel through my Audible membership. I got really tired, really fast, of the main source of so-called humor in this story. Among other things, the FMC trips, drops things, spills coffee on herself and others, drinks too much and is a sloppy drunk. Ugh.
Profile Image for Shannon.
8,295 reviews426 followers
December 11, 2024
Funny, spicy, forced proximity holiday fun in this follow up to last year's How to lose a guy before Christmas. An audible exclusive, this was excellently narrated by Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton and perfect for fans of books like Holly June Smith's Can I tell you something? or authors like Cara Bastone and Meghan Quinn! I especially enjoyed that the MMC is a romance audiobook narrator and that the story has some breaking the fourth wall moments very similar in style to Quinn's How my neighbor stole Christmas. Overall a highly entertaining Hallmark After dark Christmas romance. Definitely worth reading this season!
Profile Image for Lauren Lara.
300 reviews50 followers
December 12, 2025
Holiday love story! I absolutely love Teddy Hamilton! The MMC is a romance book narrator! I love going in blind! I thought this read was so cute. It had witty banter, funny characters, hysterical puns. Totally recommend!
Profile Image for Carli.
44 reviews1 follower
December 10, 2024
So they narrated in duet for the epilogue but they couldn't do it for the the rest? This is absolutely just another christmas romcom with nothing unique or special about it other than having two fantastic narrators. If it wasn't for them i wouldn't have even bothered. Started out cute but just became cringey and predictable. They mention the fmc is this tornado of chaos but she's about as average as one gets, and it's mentioned over and over how wild she is but she isn't?
Also, ew feet....really...feet?? Hard pass.
Profile Image for Sherri Bryant.
1,363 reviews68 followers
December 29, 2024
This was a lot of fun to listen to mainly because Andi Arndt and Teddy Hamilton are so massively talented that they make just about every book they narrate a pleasure to listen to. This book was my first experience with this author and I look forward to more of her Christmas rom com’s.

I really loved the way Molly and Liam meet for the first time on a plane to celebrate the holiday with family. Their chemistry is apparent but instead of exchanging numbers or email addresses, Molly consumes too much bubbly and reveals too much about her family and her new side hustle, which has netted her a million unexpected dollars in her bank account.

When Molly arrives at the lavish home she is staying with her parents, sister, future brother in law and his family, she is shocked to discover that her seatmate on the plane is none other than her future brother in law’s brother. How many ways can we say awkward? Liam and Molly manage to keep their meeting a secret and it turns out that he and everybody else in the house are harboring secrets of their own.

I adored Molly and Liam. I know this is not the first instance of the daughters in one family ending up with the sons in another family, but I loved how they clicked as friends and then as lovers and not wanting to steal the attention away from their siblings and the upcoming nuptials. It took me a bit longer to warm up to Liam’s parents and his brother as they come across as very pretentious in the beginning and I liked how protective of her family Molly is.

My Final Verdict: Overall, this book was a lot of fun and spending a week in a luxurious home with all the Christmas cheer and festivities sounds like a lot of fun. I highly recommend this story to fans of Christmas themes, contemporary romance and readers who enjoy stories where all of the characters are keeping secrets.
Profile Image for Michelle.
452 reviews5 followers
January 7, 2025
This was cute, and as always Andie Arndt narrated amazingly.

This made me smile, a lot. It's full of holiday cheer (and in sweet ways where it made fun of the holiday cheer as well--in a kind self aware way). The chemistry between the leads is amazing. The h at times made me literally (for real, literally) shout in my car that she was so stupid. Let's just say I knew her sisters 'secret' the moment she's introduced. And chances are, you will be too... and somehow no one in the book guessed? Come on!!
The Hs mom was a bit too obviously based on Moira Rose from Schitts Creek. But other than that, I totally recommend listening to this. The narrator randomly breaking the 4th wall is annoying and very not necessary, which took a star off.

2025 Bingo Reading Challenge--Books rep. the 4 seasons: Winter Square
Profile Image for Gnomereader.
217 reviews20 followers
December 13, 2024
This was cute! It was a unique take on an audiobook with some fourth wall breaking that really worked for me! Miscommunication is not my favorite trope and there is some of that going on here but it was still a fun read overall.
Profile Image for Melinda.
55 reviews
December 7, 2025
I swear, these Goodreads reviews make me feel like my opinion is wrong. I need to stop letting them get to me.

I liked this! It was cute. It was exactly what I wanted from a Christmas rom com. I laughed out loud quite a few times. It was a good short story while I tried to motivate myself to clean today.

And I adore Teddy Hamilton. Sooo - that always helps.

I liked the vibes. I’m rounding up to a 5. I didn’t love everything. But I had a good time.
Profile Image for Alekzandra Borsa.
242 reviews
December 5, 2024
Teddy Hamilton’s voice is sexy af. Aside from that though, this was cute! I definitely didn’t want to stop listening!
Profile Image for Amy.
2,642 reviews2,023 followers
November 19, 2025
This audio original is pure holiday fun! It’s funny and silly in the best way, self aware, and full of charm. The production quality is chef’s kiss, and Teddy Hamilton + Andi Arndt is a narrator pairing made in heaven for my ears. The banter, the energy, the rom com chaos, the cute and spicy moments — all of it comes together in a festive, joyful listen that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Perfect for when you want holiday vibes with personality.
Profile Image for Paige Helman.
125 reviews2 followers
December 27, 2024
started out cute and just got more predictable and cringy as it went.
Profile Image for Shawna Smith.
297 reviews1 follower
December 5, 2024
3.5 rounded down.

This was an audio book, and I loved the MMCs voice, there was good banter and the romance between the leads was good.

But it is just another Christmas rom com, and although funny and enjoyable, there were many cringy moments and what I would say was the main twist was extremely obvious. Normally I love side characters but in this book, I felt they were too much and distracted from a cute romance..
Profile Image for Wee Lassie.
421 reviews98 followers
November 11, 2025
The perfect book for when you’re feeling a bit runout from Halloween and are just trying to get into the Christmasy feeling again. Man, was this a nice surprise.
Profile Image for Carolyn Goodwin.
11 reviews2 followers
December 5, 2025
this book was so so bad. i literally rolled my eyes so many times and outwardly cringed at others. i might never read a christmas themed book ever again.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,282 reviews

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