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The Holidays #1
The Stocking Was Hung
What happens when your life goes to crap the week of Christmas? You invite a hot Marine you met in an airport bar to come home with you for the holidays, to distract your crazy family from the truth.
With a handsy aunt, a meddling mother and a father concerned for the wellbeing of his daughter's eggnog, there's no chance Sam and Noel will have time to fall in love...or will they?
**The Stocking Was Hung is a full-length, standalone Christmas novel that will make you laugh, make you HOT and maybe even make you say, "Awwwww" a few times.
With a handsy aunt, a meddling mother and a father concerned for the wellbeing of his daughter's eggnog, there's no chance Sam and Noel will have time to fall in love...or will they?
**The Stocking Was Hung is a full-length, standalone Christmas novel that will make you laugh, make you HOT and maybe even make you say, "Awwwww" a few times.
132 pages, ebook
First published November 29, 2015
190 people are currently reading
2718 people want to read
About the author
Tara Sivec
71 books10.3k followersTara Sivec is a USA Today best-selling author, wife, mother, chauffeur, maid, short-order cook, baby-sitter, and sarcasm expert. She lives in Ohio with her husband and two children and looks forward to the day when all three of them become adults and move out.
After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She writes in a wide range of genres including Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy/Mystery, Romantic Suspense, New Adult Drama, Contemporary Romance and Psychological Thriller. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted Best Indie Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2014.
In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.
After working in the brokerage business for fourteen years, Tara decided to pick up a pen and write instead of shoving it in her eye out of boredom. She writes in a wide range of genres including Romantic Comedy, Romantic Comedy/Mystery, Romantic Suspense, New Adult Drama, Contemporary Romance and Psychological Thriller. Her novel Seduction and Snacks won first place in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2013 for Best Indie First Book and she was voted Best Indie Author in the Indie Romance Convention Reader's Choice Awards 2014.
In her spare time, Tara loves to dream about all of the baking she'll do and naps she'll take when she ever gets spare time.
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June 15, 2016
The Stocking Was Hung is my very first book by Tara Sivec. If you read just one Christmas book this season, it should be this one. The official synopsis is pretty perfect so I will add a few details that will hopefully convince you to give this one a try. And, if you are reading the Goodreads version of this review with the pictures, just know that every single picture has significance that you won’t really get unless you read it. So, now you will have to read it!
Noel has had a pretty crappy couple of days. She now finds herself sitting at O’Hare Airport waiting for a delayed flight home to Ohio. She lost her job, ran out on her boyfriend of a year, and is now homeless. Her family is going to have a conniption fit when they find out. When she accidentally flings her beer into the lap of a stranger, she just adds it to the list of crappy things to happen to her today.
Sam is a marine and has been deployed for the last eighteen months. He is on his way home to Ohio and is also stuck at the airport. Sam hasn’t had anyone but his fellow marine family for company for the last eighteen months. That means he hasn’t had a woman in that amount of time. Sam grew up in the system so he has never known a family and Christmas is not his favorite time of year. Things went from bad to worse when a woman dumps beer all over his crotch. But when he does a double take and sees what the woman looks like that threw the beer, he decides to go back and sit with her.
Noel can’t believe she threw beer on the most good looking man she has ever seen. When they start talking, there is a connection and she tells him her story. Before she knows it, she is inviting him to her family’s house for Christmas and asking him to pose as her boyfriend to put off having to tell them about what a failure she is. Besides, it isn’t right that Sam doesn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with.
Welcome to Noel’s crazy family. She has a crazy drunk Aunt that used to be her Uncle. Her father is obsessed with protecting his daughter’s “eggnog.” Her mother is just plain hilarious with her offers of Victoria Secret lingerie to help Noel spice up her sex life. There is mistletoe that isn’t really mistletoe. Her seemingly perfect brother’s name is Nicholas (get it, Noel and Nicholas?) And, her father is obsessed with decorating their house and property with enough Christmas lights to be seen from the international space station.
Through all the craziness, Noel and Sam are falling for each other. And Sam gets a taste of what it is like to have a real family and a real Christmas. At the end of this, Sam is supposed to walk away. But every minute he spends with Noel, that possibility is getting harder and harder to accept.
This is a laugh out loud, crazy ride from the start to the finish. But that isn’t all you will find in this book. There is love, family bonds, some very sexy times, and some sigh worthy, swoon worthy times. I can’t believe I have never read one of Tara’s books before. I definitely want to read more since I am in love with this one! So if you want to be thoroughly entertained, this is the book for you. I loved every minute of it. Merry Christmas!
Noel has had a pretty crappy couple of days. She now finds herself sitting at O’Hare Airport waiting for a delayed flight home to Ohio. She lost her job, ran out on her boyfriend of a year, and is now homeless. Her family is going to have a conniption fit when they find out. When she accidentally flings her beer into the lap of a stranger, she just adds it to the list of crappy things to happen to her today.
Sam is a marine and has been deployed for the last eighteen months. He is on his way home to Ohio and is also stuck at the airport. Sam hasn’t had anyone but his fellow marine family for company for the last eighteen months. That means he hasn’t had a woman in that amount of time. Sam grew up in the system so he has never known a family and Christmas is not his favorite time of year. Things went from bad to worse when a woman dumps beer all over his crotch. But when he does a double take and sees what the woman looks like that threw the beer, he decides to go back and sit with her.
Noel can’t believe she threw beer on the most good looking man she has ever seen. When they start talking, there is a connection and she tells him her story. Before she knows it, she is inviting him to her family’s house for Christmas and asking him to pose as her boyfriend to put off having to tell them about what a failure she is. Besides, it isn’t right that Sam doesn’t have anyone to spend Christmas with.
Welcome to Noel’s crazy family. She has a crazy drunk Aunt that used to be her Uncle. Her father is obsessed with protecting his daughter’s “eggnog.” Her mother is just plain hilarious with her offers of Victoria Secret lingerie to help Noel spice up her sex life. There is mistletoe that isn’t really mistletoe. Her seemingly perfect brother’s name is Nicholas (get it, Noel and Nicholas?) And, her father is obsessed with decorating their house and property with enough Christmas lights to be seen from the international space station.
Through all the craziness, Noel and Sam are falling for each other. And Sam gets a taste of what it is like to have a real family and a real Christmas. At the end of this, Sam is supposed to walk away. But every minute he spends with Noel, that possibility is getting harder and harder to accept.
This is a laugh out loud, crazy ride from the start to the finish. But that isn’t all you will find in this book. There is love, family bonds, some very sexy times, and some sigh worthy, swoon worthy times. I can’t believe I have never read one of Tara’s books before. I definitely want to read more since I am in love with this one! So if you want to be thoroughly entertained, this is the book for you. I loved every minute of it. Merry Christmas!
February 10, 2019
3 Stars
I really liked it! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes short, light, sexy and hilarious holiday romance novels.
I really liked it! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes short, light, sexy and hilarious holiday romance novels.
March 11, 2016
4 just because stars
Noel Holiday would rather be on her way to FuckMeAgainstTheWallville, instead of being stuck in Guilt Town, population: my mother. It's every daughter's dream to be coming home unemployed, homeless and man-less. Her Christmas miracle comes in the form of Sam Stocking, a man who was enchanted enough to consider spending the holidays with the Holiday's rather than his empty home. It's a perfect plan until the line gets blurred between acting and reality... How her family managed to not scare Sam away is a blessing in it of itself and one that makes her fall even harder for the man who saved her ass.
When I saw this holiday read by Tara Sivec, I knew I had to have it, I mean everyone needs a good laugh especially during the holiday hustle and bustle. This is a totally fun steamy read, full of crazy antics and inappropriate behavior, what more could you ask for!?!
Noel Holiday would rather be on her way to FuckMeAgainstTheWallville, instead of being stuck in Guilt Town, population: my mother. It's every daughter's dream to be coming home unemployed, homeless and man-less. Her Christmas miracle comes in the form of Sam Stocking, a man who was enchanted enough to consider spending the holidays with the Holiday's rather than his empty home. It's a perfect plan until the line gets blurred between acting and reality... How her family managed to not scare Sam away is a blessing in it of itself and one that makes her fall even harder for the man who saved her ass.
“Don’t apologize,” he cuts me off as soon as I open my mouth. “Just remember you owe me later, and I will take my payment in the form of you, naked, moaning my name again just like this morning.”
When I saw this holiday read by Tara Sivec, I knew I had to have it, I mean everyone needs a good laugh especially during the holiday hustle and bustle. This is a totally fun steamy read, full of crazy antics and inappropriate behavior, what more could you ask for!?!
did-not-finish
November 28, 2023DNF 30%
This hasn’t aged well and the humour was too cringe for me. When her ‘transvestite’ Aunt grabbed the MMC’s crotch as he first enters the house, I was put off, when the story continued to make transphobic jokes, I had to bail.
There was no reason to make this character trans, she could have just been a zany aunt with no boundaries, I would have even accepted a drag queen, but adding the jokes about her gender transformation was extremely gross. Trans people deserve all of our love and sensitivity and none of our mockery. I will die on this hill.
This hasn’t aged well and the humour was too cringe for me. When her ‘transvestite’ Aunt grabbed the MMC’s crotch as he first enters the house, I was put off, when the story continued to make transphobic jokes, I had to bail.
There was no reason to make this character trans, she could have just been a zany aunt with no boundaries, I would have even accepted a drag queen, but adding the jokes about her gender transformation was extremely gross. Trans people deserve all of our love and sensitivity and none of our mockery. I will die on this hill.
August 21, 2016
Holy mother of God this book was a R-I-O-T!! I came very close to having to set my iPad down so I could roll around the floor in laughter, this is seriously some funny shit!!
“Bobbie, for the love of Gouda, let go of the poor man’s penis. How many times do I have to tell you that’s not the way we greet our guests?”
It was also cute, and sweet, and hot, and festive! I loved it..
December 23, 2015
4 “Holiday-Stocking Christmas” Stars.
Sam Stocking and Noel Holiday (yes, those are their real names) meet each other at an airport before Christmas. Noel just lost her job, ended her relationship and now she’s fearing facing her parents that think she will never be happy until settle down and she doesn’t want to face them. Sam is a marine and just returned from a 18 months deployment in Afghanistan. For some reason he ends up agreeing being her pretend boyfriend and go with her spend Christmas with her crazy… completely nuts family. But call it Christmas magic, but soon what started as a fake, soon becomes to feel very, very real.
I love these Christmas novellas, and I’ve got to say this is one of the best I’ve read so far.
In her traditional way, Tara Sivec not only was able to create a sweet and emotional romance, (and steamy, oh so steamy!), but once again she created a hilarious family, as sweet as they are nut. And they are indeed completely nuts.
I dare you to read this and not to laugh out loud. I’ve tried and failed. (And considering I was reading this in the subway in my way to work, it wasn’t my best moment.)
Anyway, if you want a sweet and funny Christmas story, this novella is a good choice.
Rating: 4 Stars.
Steam: Hot.
Sensible Subjects:
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
HEA:
Sam Stocking and Noel Holiday (yes, those are their real names) meet each other at an airport before Christmas. Noel just lost her job, ended her relationship and now she’s fearing facing her parents that think she will never be happy until settle down and she doesn’t want to face them. Sam is a marine and just returned from a 18 months deployment in Afghanistan. For some reason he ends up agreeing being her pretend boyfriend and go with her spend Christmas with her crazy… completely nuts family. But call it Christmas magic, but soon what started as a fake, soon becomes to feel very, very real.
I love these Christmas novellas, and I’ve got to say this is one of the best I’ve read so far.
In her traditional way, Tara Sivec not only was able to create a sweet and emotional romance, (and steamy, oh so steamy!), but once again she created a hilarious family, as sweet as they are nut. And they are indeed completely nuts.
I dare you to read this and not to laugh out loud. I’ve tried and failed. (And considering I was reading this in the subway in my way to work, it wasn’t my best moment.)
Anyway, if you want a sweet and funny Christmas story, this novella is a good choice.
Rating: 4 Stars.
Steam: Hot.
Sensible Subjects:
Love Triangle:
Cheating:
HEA:
December 11, 2015
It was short, crazy, sweet, sexy and with christmas-y feeling reading. With some steamy moments as a bonus and over the top hilarious family. Fast and easy, pretty good for holiday romance.
December 22, 2015
4.5 Red Ryder Stars
“Bobbie, for the love of Gouda, let go of the poor man’s penis. How many times do I have to tell you that’s not the way we greet our guests?”
And you thought meeting your pretend significant other's family was a little awkward? Tara Sivec brought her trademarked funny to this, as well as a scosh of the sweet. I'll never watch A Christmas Story the same way again. What did I love?
Handsy aunts that are also uncle's.
Potential candy cane sexy times.
Pot Mistletoe. Trust me, it's going to be all the rage next Christmas.
Ecstasy induced, sweater wearing squirrels.
Dairy products and sex woven together in a litany of awkward analogies.
Damn near everything.
The Stocking was Hung is sexy, funny, sweet and just what I needed right about now. If you need a little levity this holiday season, I highly recommend this.
“Bobbie, for the love of Gouda, let go of the poor man’s penis. How many times do I have to tell you that’s not the way we greet our guests?”
And you thought meeting your pretend significant other's family was a little awkward? Tara Sivec brought her trademarked funny to this, as well as a scosh of the sweet. I'll never watch A Christmas Story the same way again. What did I love?
Handsy aunts that are also uncle's.
Potential candy cane sexy times.
Pot Mistletoe. Trust me, it's going to be all the rage next Christmas.
Ecstasy induced, sweater wearing squirrels.
Dairy products and sex woven together in a litany of awkward analogies.
Damn near everything.
The Stocking was Hung is sexy, funny, sweet and just what I needed right about now. If you need a little levity this holiday season, I highly recommend this.
December 14, 2015
OMG OMG
This book was AMAZING!!
The characters are a hoot ----- Holy Shit...I laughed my freaking ass off throughout the whole story!!
Tara Sivec does it again with her humor and I will NEVER be able to listen to Dominic The Donkey again without chuckling.
If there is a Holiday book you want to read...this is DEFINITELY the book to read. It has everything - from a cross dresser ancle, urinary problems, dairy hangups to a Red Ryder BB Gun!!
Definitely the BEST Xmas story I have EVER read!
This book was AMAZING!!
The characters are a hoot ----- Holy Shit...I laughed my freaking ass off throughout the whole story!!
Tara Sivec does it again with her humor and I will NEVER be able to listen to Dominic The Donkey again without chuckling.
If there is a Holiday book you want to read...this is DEFINITELY the book to read. It has everything - from a cross dresser ancle, urinary problems, dairy hangups to a Red Ryder BB Gun!!
Definitely the BEST Xmas story I have EVER read!
December 13, 2015
Nope..........Not. For. Me.
January 27, 2016
4.25 Stars
Basic Info
Standalone or Part of a Series:
MF, Ménage, etc.:
POV:
Triggers:
Cheating:
Descriptive Sex with OW/OM:
HEA:
Safety Gang Notes:
Personal Overview
Noel Holidays is at the end of a shitty week. She is jobless, homeless and just broke up with her boyfriend of one year when he proposed.
It’s Christmas and I’m unemployed, homeless, and too much of a chicken-shit to tell my mother that my boyfriend of twelve months got down on one knee to propose and I freaked the fuck out, running away screaming because...commitment. How much worse could things possibly get?
She is stuck waiting for her connecting flight home to visit her family for Christmas, drowning her sorrows, when she spills her beer all over Sam. At first he was not a happy, but when he took a look at his assailant, he was captivated.
“Fine, I’ll tell you my name, but if you laugh, I’m tossing my beer at you this time,” he warns.
I make an X across my heart, and then hold my hand up, palm out in a silent promise.
“Stocking...Sam Stocking,” he mumbles, letting out another annoyed sigh.
Slowly dropping my arm to my side, my jaw falls right along with it.
“Stocking. As in...”
Sam purses his lips and glares at me. “As in ‘hung by the chimney with care,’ yes. This is an especially fun time of year for me.”
After she tells him her misfortune, and they see they're sharing the same flight, they keep talking and they attraction grows. So much so that Noel has the crazy idea to invite Sam to pretend he's Logan, her ex, so that she doesn't disappoint her parents, yet again. She Offers the food and company as arguments, since Sam never had a family, so he has nothing waiting for him at home.
After such tempting proposal, and adding the insane pull he has towards her, so he can't resist, therefore accepting the idea.
Fucking hell. I’m a Marine, dammit. We don’t use the word adorable and yet, I keep doing it with Noel. I need an intervention.
I haven’t been laid in eighteen months, which is like ten years in horny-man time, and it’s the only reason I’m even contemplating this right now. Right? I mean, there’s no way I’m seriously considering her offer because I just want to spend more time with her whether we’re naked or not.
Shit. The Marines will definitely be revoking my man card now.
She just forget to mention the tiny detail that her family is completely crazy... LOL! Maybe because when she was with him, her family was the last thing on her mind. You all know what I mean... ;)
And I’m heartbroken, jobless, and homeless. What is it about this guy that makes me forget all my problems and replace them with sexual thoughts? I have sex brain and I might need an intervention.
Sweet Baby Barracuda, he’s hung like a Christmas donkey. Like Dominic the Donkey, but much less annoying and unpleasing to the ears. Very pleasing to the vagina.
His package, or better his size, was quite a topic throughout the story, with a lot of highlights, especially by her Aunt Bobbie (previous Uncle Bob), who felt him up even before she did.
I’ve been rendered dumb by waist indents and a tiny hint of dark, happy trail hair under his belly button that could double as an arrow pointing down to his crotch like one of those giant, blinking signs on the highway announcing road construction.
Warning! Slow Down! Large Package in Pants Ahead! $200 Fine and Possible Loss of All Brain Function if Barrier is Crossed!
And so it starts their adventure in Christmas Crazyland... And it's one crazy ride...
“Your parents installed The Clapper in your room?” Sam asks from the floor with a laugh.
“My parents hung a bundle of pot leaves from the archway in lieu of mistletoe. You really shouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point,” I remind him.
There are also so many sweet moments, where we see Sam's opening himself up to this feelings, to this family (a concept on itself unknown to him), but especially to Noel. From the very beginning he realizes that this feelings aren't just sexual, but that his heart is also engaged.
I want to say I’d feel like this with any woman after going without sex for a year and a half, but it would be a lie. It’s Noel. It’s all Noel. Her smile, her laugh, her smell, her skin...I need her. Just her. I realize how crazy that sounds when we haven’t even known each other for twenty-four hours, but I don’t give a fuck. This woman has turned me inside out in less than a day and I just. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.
Noel realized that her problem was not the marriage or proposal, but the question being made by the wrong person. She finds out that when its as Sam asking, she was all in.
I wanted him. In my life, in my bed and inside of me, forever. Prolonging this pleasure for both of us wasn’t going to stop my heart from bursting every time he looked at me or touched me.
This was a very sweet and funny story. Very low on angst and completely safe. I loved to see their love grow in this hilarious background, and I look forward to read their story that is coming out on Valentine's Day. I hope it's as great as this one.
Basic Info
Standalone or Part of a Series:
MF, Ménage, etc.:
POV:
Triggers:
Cheating:
Descriptive Sex with OW/OM:
HEA:
Safety Gang Notes:
Personal Overview
Noel Holidays is at the end of a shitty week. She is jobless, homeless and just broke up with her boyfriend of one year when he proposed.
It’s Christmas and I’m unemployed, homeless, and too much of a chicken-shit to tell my mother that my boyfriend of twelve months got down on one knee to propose and I freaked the fuck out, running away screaming because...commitment. How much worse could things possibly get?
She is stuck waiting for her connecting flight home to visit her family for Christmas, drowning her sorrows, when she spills her beer all over Sam. At first he was not a happy, but when he took a look at his assailant, he was captivated.
“Fine, I’ll tell you my name, but if you laugh, I’m tossing my beer at you this time,” he warns.
I make an X across my heart, and then hold my hand up, palm out in a silent promise.
“Stocking...Sam Stocking,” he mumbles, letting out another annoyed sigh.
Slowly dropping my arm to my side, my jaw falls right along with it.
“Stocking. As in...”
Sam purses his lips and glares at me. “As in ‘hung by the chimney with care,’ yes. This is an especially fun time of year for me.”
After she tells him her misfortune, and they see they're sharing the same flight, they keep talking and they attraction grows. So much so that Noel has the crazy idea to invite Sam to pretend he's Logan, her ex, so that she doesn't disappoint her parents, yet again. She Offers the food and company as arguments, since Sam never had a family, so he has nothing waiting for him at home.
After such tempting proposal, and adding the insane pull he has towards her, so he can't resist, therefore accepting the idea.
Fucking hell. I’m a Marine, dammit. We don’t use the word adorable and yet, I keep doing it with Noel. I need an intervention.
I haven’t been laid in eighteen months, which is like ten years in horny-man time, and it’s the only reason I’m even contemplating this right now. Right? I mean, there’s no way I’m seriously considering her offer because I just want to spend more time with her whether we’re naked or not.
Shit. The Marines will definitely be revoking my man card now.
She just forget to mention the tiny detail that her family is completely crazy... LOL! Maybe because when she was with him, her family was the last thing on her mind. You all know what I mean... ;)
And I’m heartbroken, jobless, and homeless. What is it about this guy that makes me forget all my problems and replace them with sexual thoughts? I have sex brain and I might need an intervention.
Sweet Baby Barracuda, he’s hung like a Christmas donkey. Like Dominic the Donkey, but much less annoying and unpleasing to the ears. Very pleasing to the vagina.
His package, or better his size, was quite a topic throughout the story, with a lot of highlights, especially by her Aunt Bobbie (previous Uncle Bob), who felt him up even before she did.
I’ve been rendered dumb by waist indents and a tiny hint of dark, happy trail hair under his belly button that could double as an arrow pointing down to his crotch like one of those giant, blinking signs on the highway announcing road construction.
Warning! Slow Down! Large Package in Pants Ahead! $200 Fine and Possible Loss of All Brain Function if Barrier is Crossed!
And so it starts their adventure in Christmas Crazyland... And it's one crazy ride...
“Your parents installed The Clapper in your room?” Sam asks from the floor with a laugh.
“My parents hung a bundle of pot leaves from the archway in lieu of mistletoe. You really shouldn’t be surprised by anything at this point,” I remind him.
There are also so many sweet moments, where we see Sam's opening himself up to this feelings, to this family (a concept on itself unknown to him), but especially to Noel. From the very beginning he realizes that this feelings aren't just sexual, but that his heart is also engaged.
I want to say I’d feel like this with any woman after going without sex for a year and a half, but it would be a lie. It’s Noel. It’s all Noel. Her smile, her laugh, her smell, her skin...I need her. Just her. I realize how crazy that sounds when we haven’t even known each other for twenty-four hours, but I don’t give a fuck. This woman has turned me inside out in less than a day and I just. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.
Noel realized that her problem was not the marriage or proposal, but the question being made by the wrong person. She finds out that when its as Sam asking, she was all in.
I wanted him. In my life, in my bed and inside of me, forever. Prolonging this pleasure for both of us wasn’t going to stop my heart from bursting every time he looked at me or touched me.
This was a very sweet and funny story. Very low on angst and completely safe. I loved to see their love grow in this hilarious background, and I look forward to read their story that is coming out on Valentine's Day. I hope it's as great as this one.
December 25, 2015
4 A Stocking Hung With All the Goods Stars
* * * *
This Novella has been making the rounds so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what was what. I am here to report back my experience.
I had a blast tucking into a Christmas tale of a pretend boyfriend to spare our gal the stress of parents and sibling bagging on her during her visit. Our gal is 34, just broke up with a man who never listened to her when she said she never wanted to marry. She had made the mistake of moving in with him after one month and everything when down hill from there. Now she has lost her job due to no fault of her own and is waiting in the airport bar before her plane tales off.
A mishap with a glass of beer causes the meet up of these two characters. He is a Marine back from 18 months of service in Afghanistan. Her glass beer splashes on his crotch;he mouths off and both of them exchange insults. He returns back to the bar after changing out of uniform and buys a drink to say he was sorry for his outburst. These two begin a revealing conversation and it comes out that his name is Sam Stocking and hers is Noel Holiday. Yup Christmas 24/7.
That is the tip of the iceberg in hints of how this story will have all the touchstones of the Holiday but on crack...as the gal's family celebrate Christmas like those families you see on the front page of Yahoo.com during the holidays. The ones that light up their homes with so many lights, they are part of a contest every year. She also has an Ankle... that's an Uncle who it seems was transgender and now is out and about. Her mother plays the guilt card about marriage, grand kids and how her younger brother has already beat her in those categories. So with the desire to not disappoint them and also spare herself the stress, Noel asks Sam to play pretend boyfriend once she learns they live not too far away.
This had outrageous fun moments and with them a layer of truth for each of the characters. We experience the falling for each other due to sincere reasons... like the way he sees her with her family... or how she is touched by him sticking up for her when the teasing at the table becomes too much.
Oh, and Sam Stocking is hung...no doubt... and we have a Marine who can talk dirty and also sweet at the same time.
There are all the fun references to iconic Christmas experiences... thing we all can remember and share. This was a very fun, quick read and if you are looking for a little Christmas cheer with your romance, this will do the trick.
For more Reviews, Free E-books and Giveaways
* * * *
This Novella has been making the rounds so I decided to jump on the bandwagon and see what was what. I am here to report back my experience.
I had a blast tucking into a Christmas tale of a pretend boyfriend to spare our gal the stress of parents and sibling bagging on her during her visit. Our gal is 34, just broke up with a man who never listened to her when she said she never wanted to marry. She had made the mistake of moving in with him after one month and everything when down hill from there. Now she has lost her job due to no fault of her own and is waiting in the airport bar before her plane tales off.
A mishap with a glass of beer causes the meet up of these two characters. He is a Marine back from 18 months of service in Afghanistan. Her glass beer splashes on his crotch;he mouths off and both of them exchange insults. He returns back to the bar after changing out of uniform and buys a drink to say he was sorry for his outburst. These two begin a revealing conversation and it comes out that his name is Sam Stocking and hers is Noel Holiday. Yup Christmas 24/7.
That is the tip of the iceberg in hints of how this story will have all the touchstones of the Holiday but on crack...as the gal's family celebrate Christmas like those families you see on the front page of Yahoo.com during the holidays. The ones that light up their homes with so many lights, they are part of a contest every year. She also has an Ankle... that's an Uncle who it seems was transgender and now is out and about. Her mother plays the guilt card about marriage, grand kids and how her younger brother has already beat her in those categories. So with the desire to not disappoint them and also spare herself the stress, Noel asks Sam to play pretend boyfriend once she learns they live not too far away.
This had outrageous fun moments and with them a layer of truth for each of the characters. We experience the falling for each other due to sincere reasons... like the way he sees her with her family... or how she is touched by him sticking up for her when the teasing at the table becomes too much.
Oh, and Sam Stocking is hung...no doubt... and we have a Marine who can talk dirty and also sweet at the same time.
There are all the fun references to iconic Christmas experiences... thing we all can remember and share. This was a very fun, quick read and if you are looking for a little Christmas cheer with your romance, this will do the trick.
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December 14, 2015
If you’ve read my reviews, you know I’m a little stingy with my 5 stars. I don’t hand out 5 star reviews like Tic Tacs, so I’m still trying to justify giving 5 stars to this fluffy 131-page Rom Com. All I know is that in the midst of hectic Christmas preparations, I thoroughly enjoyed Tara Sivec’s well written, whimsical holiday love story from beginning to end.
I loved Sam and Noel’s whirlwind romance cloaked in their boyfriend-girlfriend façade. You know that InstaLove that we readers find so implausible? Sam and Noel are skeptics too, and are the first to voice the absurdity of their emotions. You can’t deny they’re perfectly suited for each other though. They both need a little nurturing, some laughter, and a lot of good lovin’ in their lives. Tara Sivec delivers playfulness one minute followed by heavy steam the next.
Noel’s hilarious family has a one-way first class ticket to Crazy Town. Her handsy Aunt Bobbie, cock-blocking dad, wedding hungry mom, and bullying brother help elevate what could be an average formulaic plot into a special treat.
The Stocking Was Hung has the perfect balance of nostalgia, laugh out loud humor, and sexiness. Yes, at times it’s over the top which would normally make me take off a half star, but it’s a Christmas fairytale of sorts. I was willing to buy into the fantasy and overlook the absurdity, but it might not be your thing. As for me, reading this book will be a new holiday tradition.
Recommended for fans of:
A Christmas Story
Romantic Comedy
Holiday traditions
Creative wrapping
I loved Sam and Noel’s whirlwind romance cloaked in their boyfriend-girlfriend façade. You know that InstaLove that we readers find so implausible? Sam and Noel are skeptics too, and are the first to voice the absurdity of their emotions. You can’t deny they’re perfectly suited for each other though. They both need a little nurturing, some laughter, and a lot of good lovin’ in their lives. Tara Sivec delivers playfulness one minute followed by heavy steam the next.
Noel’s hilarious family has a one-way first class ticket to Crazy Town. Her handsy Aunt Bobbie, cock-blocking dad, wedding hungry mom, and bullying brother help elevate what could be an average formulaic plot into a special treat.
The Stocking Was Hung has the perfect balance of nostalgia, laugh out loud humor, and sexiness. Yes, at times it’s over the top which would normally make me take off a half star, but it’s a Christmas fairytale of sorts. I was willing to buy into the fantasy and overlook the absurdity, but it might not be your thing. As for me, reading this book will be a new holiday tradition.
Recommended for fans of:
A Christmas Story
Romantic Comedy
Holiday traditions
Creative wrapping
February 5, 2016
This was short and hilarious! I loved Noel and Sam together- it was sweet how they fell for each other. Noel's family was crazy and funny! Sam was such a hottie and I loved that he didn't fight his feelings for Noel. There was drama at the end with Noel's ex fiancé and I thought she was a little over the top with how she handled him. The story wrapped up nicely!
December 21, 2015
Sex meet the Griswolds.
This is a hilarious tale of a girl who brings home a man she just met who pretends to be her boyfriend to appease her family --- the book version of the Griswolds. The entire time I was reading I kept envisioning 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' Same cheesy, slap-stick humor. I could see this going to the big screen where I bet it would be a hit.
3.5 Stars
This is a hilarious tale of a girl who brings home a man she just met who pretends to be her boyfriend to appease her family --- the book version of the Griswolds. The entire time I was reading I kept envisioning 'National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation' Same cheesy, slap-stick humor. I could see this going to the big screen where I bet it would be a hit.
3.5 Stars
December 23, 2015
I think I spit sprayed my coffee, snorted, and laughed myself to tears more that I ever have in a Christmas themed read before. This little gem just snuck up on me. I wasn't expecting what was between the covers, and I loved it. Wacky crazy family drama to the extreme, wild family members, Christmas on steroids and the dairy product ban and more. It was insane but believable.
I'm not going to bother recapping the story, it's a sweet fun romance.
This was my first read from this author but not my last I already ordered another one from her.
I'm not going to bother recapping the story, it's a sweet fun romance.
This was my first read from this author but not my last I already ordered another one from her.
December 22, 2015
A hero named Sam Stocking. A heroine named Noel Holiday. Marijuana mistletoes. Penis stockings. A nutty family that would make the Griffins from Family Guy look tame. And these:
Look, how can you resist an H who's described as follows?
The answer is you don't. Resistance is futile.
(Noel's POV) “Can you please tell your mother to let go of my dick?” Sam begs in a high-pitched voice.
***
(Sam's POV) My mouth is still attached to Noel’s nipple and my hand is still down her pants and I have no fucking idea what just happened, but my dick is about ready to stab someone.
***
(Noel's POV) Sweet Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the Wise Men, that’s it, I’m done... Holy longest orgasm in the world, Batman!
Look, how can you resist an H who's described as follows?
Sweet Baby Barracuda, he’s hung like a Christmas donkey. Like Dominic the Donkey, but much less annoying and unpleasing to the ears. Very pleasing to the vagina.
The answer is you don't. Resistance is futile.
August 13, 2016
3.5 Crazy Christmas Stars
True to form, Tara Sivec delivers an action packed, over-the-top, laugh-out-loud, completely crazy Christmas tale. This book is a fun and easy read. The fake boyfriend trope isn't normally one that I enjoy ... but this one was so ridiculous in its antics ... I walked away with a huge smile on my face.
If you've seen & enjoyed the movie A Christmas Story, you'll definitely like this book. Perfect to get you in the holiday spirit.
True to form, Tara Sivec delivers an action packed, over-the-top, laugh-out-loud, completely crazy Christmas tale. This book is a fun and easy read. The fake boyfriend trope isn't normally one that I enjoy ... but this one was so ridiculous in its antics ... I walked away with a huge smile on my face.
If you've seen & enjoyed the movie A Christmas Story, you'll definitely like this book. Perfect to get you in the holiday spirit.
December 6, 2015
This was the best holiday story! I absolutely love this! Sweet, sexy and completely hilarious – this was perfect! I love this one so much I'm adding it to my best of 2015 list!
February 17, 2016
***3.5 Stars
This book was hilarious! I read it while at work...yeah probably shouldn't have. I laughed hard several times. It was very low angst and sweet. I probably would have given it 5 stars but there was one thing that bugged me and did bring down my enjoyment just a bit. Other than that, it was a fun read and I loved Aunt Bobbie!
This book was hilarious! I read it while at work...yeah probably shouldn't have. I laughed hard several times. It was very low angst and sweet. I probably would have given it 5 stars but there was one thing that bugged me and did bring down my enjoyment just a bit. Other than that, it was a fun read and I loved Aunt Bobbie!
December 29, 2019
Metti il bar di un aeroporto, un volo in estremo ritardo, il Natale che si avvicina e porta con se una miriade di addobbi, canzoncine e spirito luccicante...metti un marine finalmente in licenza dopo diciotto mesi in Afganistan che odia tutta quella polvere fatata, metti una ragazza disperata che si è auto sabotata la vita e non sa come salvarsi dalla sua famiglia perfetta e adesso mettici un patto, un accordo che salverà lei dalle critiche e lui dal passare le festività da solo in compagnia di un pesce rosso quasi sicuramente ormai passato a miglior vita....il risultato è la miglior commedia di Natale che io abbia letto negli ultimi anni! Sexy, estremamente divertente e perché no, anche romantica. Perché quando una storia è scritta bene, non c’è bisogno di una trama reale, può essere anche tutto stranamente campato per aria, ma ti cattura e ti travolge.
February 6, 2016
I LOVED IT!!!!
Such an adorable and #LOL FUNNY Holiday Romance!!
Couldn't put it down!
December 14, 2015
5 Holiday-Stocking Stars
I haven't read a single book by Tara Sivec that I haven't liked yet. This was an awesome Christmas tale that I would highly recommend for everyone to read. It's funny, sweet and romantic with a bit of crazy family antics added in that anyone can enjoy.
Noel Holiday is in a bit of a pickle. She's just lost her job and ran out on her boyfriend who just proposed to her, also losing a place to live. Now she's jobless, homeless and on her way home for Christmas where her parents are anxiously waiting to meet the guy she's been dating for a year.
Exasperated talking to her mother on the phone, Noel accidentally sloshes her drink on the crotch of the guy next to her in the airport bar. After he changes clothes, Sam Stocking comes back and they begin comparing stories to see who is having the worst holiday. Before he knows it, Noel has talked him into pretending to be her ex-boyfriend Logan and sharing Christmas with her family.
Sam is a Marine who just came back from an eighteen month deployment to Afghanistan. He grew up in foster care, so he doesn't have a family of his own to spend the holidays with. This is where the fun starts. Between pot mistletoe, sweater wearing squirrels, Noel's Ancle Bobbie, her anti-dairy code talking father, a mother that wants to share her lingerie and her brother that shoots Sam in the crotch with a BB gun, you can't help but to laugh and enjoy this Christmas story. It's one of the best I've read this season.
I haven't read a single book by Tara Sivec that I haven't liked yet. This was an awesome Christmas tale that I would highly recommend for everyone to read. It's funny, sweet and romantic with a bit of crazy family antics added in that anyone can enjoy.
Noel Holiday is in a bit of a pickle. She's just lost her job and ran out on her boyfriend who just proposed to her, also losing a place to live. Now she's jobless, homeless and on her way home for Christmas where her parents are anxiously waiting to meet the guy she's been dating for a year.
Exasperated talking to her mother on the phone, Noel accidentally sloshes her drink on the crotch of the guy next to her in the airport bar. After he changes clothes, Sam Stocking comes back and they begin comparing stories to see who is having the worst holiday. Before he knows it, Noel has talked him into pretending to be her ex-boyfriend Logan and sharing Christmas with her family.
Sam is a Marine who just came back from an eighteen month deployment to Afghanistan. He grew up in foster care, so he doesn't have a family of his own to spend the holidays with. This is where the fun starts. Between pot mistletoe, sweater wearing squirrels, Noel's Ancle Bobbie, her anti-dairy code talking father, a mother that wants to share her lingerie and her brother that shoots Sam in the crotch with a BB gun, you can't help but to laugh and enjoy this Christmas story. It's one of the best I've read this season.
December 2, 2015
5 STARS
Genre: Funny/Sexy Holiday Romance
Cover: 6/10
Writing: 8/10
Heroine: 9/10
Hero: 9/10
Humour: 8/10
Hotness: 7/10
Romance: 8/10
Extra book Details: Heroine & Hero POV; 1st person. Stand alone. Novella approx 140 kindle pages.
The Stocking was Hung is a funny, sexy & festive little read. Recommend for everyone.
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Sivec's humour was at it's best here, a lot less OTT than the Chocolate Lovers series, and a lot more sexy than it too. I loved the crazy family, the sexual tension, the silliness. It's an all round good read.
May 12, 2016
4 "Just because." Stars
Tara Sivec never disappoints. The Stocking was Hung is a contemporary Christmas romance told from both the points of view of the hero and heroine. It's fast-paced, very sweet, and of course Sivec's signature brand of crazy-family hilarity. I sat down with this book early in the afternoon and finished just couple hours later as I was completely wrapped up in the story. If you like Sivec's stories and her writing, which is as always exquisitely done, you'll enjoy this funny, cheerful, holiday romance!
July 4, 2016
Cute little quick read. I wanted some laugh out loud funny but for the most part got genuine smiles and quiet chuckles. At times it felt like the author was trying a little too hard with the funny, but overall it wasn't so bad.
I found myself getting annoyed sometimes with Noel's family. Yeah, at one point Sam kind of shut them up by letting them know what a wonderful person she thought he was but I still felt annoyance about things like her room.
Her childhood bedroom's decor was meant to further push the point that her family saw her as a screw up (which to me never really made sense) but I'm sorry; they decorate her room when the mom is pregnant with her in boy decor and when she comes out a girl they seriously never change it? Then they take it a step further by filling it with all of her older brother's trophies and pictures since there's so many and they won't all fit in his room? Excuse me?
That's not funny or quirky. That's downright shitty and I truly felt sorry for her and it made it extremely hard for me to chuckle at the "wacky, zany shenanigans" of people who would treat their daughter that way. I mean Jesus, no wonder she moved away from them. I wanted Sam or even Noel to tell them how much of a jerk thing that was but it never happened.
But I loved Sam and it was cute to see him get to experience his first real Christmas. The pajama scene at 78% gave me my first true laugh out loud moment and I loved the interactions between the two MCs. Would I buy the next book? Ehhhh, maybe. We shall see. ;)
I found myself getting annoyed sometimes with Noel's family. Yeah, at one point Sam kind of shut them up by letting them know what a wonderful person she thought he was but I still felt annoyance about things like her room.
Her childhood bedroom's decor was meant to further push the point that her family saw her as a screw up (which to me never really made sense) but I'm sorry; they decorate her room when the mom is pregnant with her in boy decor and when she comes out a girl they seriously never change it? Then they take it a step further by filling it with all of her older brother's trophies and pictures since there's so many and they won't all fit in his room? Excuse me?
That's not funny or quirky. That's downright shitty and I truly felt sorry for her and it made it extremely hard for me to chuckle at the "wacky, zany shenanigans" of people who would treat their daughter that way. I mean Jesus, no wonder she moved away from them. I wanted Sam or even Noel to tell them how much of a jerk thing that was but it never happened.
But I loved Sam and it was cute to see him get to experience his first real Christmas. The pajama scene at 78% gave me my first true laugh out loud moment and I loved the interactions between the two MCs. Would I buy the next book? Ehhhh, maybe. We shall see. ;)
November 27, 2017
This could have been some mindless fun in the form of a Christmas romantic comedy romp, but the author ruined it with her shallow attempts at humor using dated and offensive transphobic and homophobic stereotypes (just make the aunt/uncle a drag queen, for goodness sake, instead of showing your utter ignorance about trans people and gay people and sexual fetish and everything in between). Also, having your brother call you a slut is not funny.
December 29, 2015
Hella Funny!!!!
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