Merry Cherry Christmas

By: Keira Andrews

Narrated by: Kirt Graves

Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A nice boy gets naughty...

Redheaded freshman Jeremy "Cherry" Rourke is certainly living up to his childhood nickname, although still being inexperienced is the least of his concerns. After coming out, his parents barely talk to him. He hasn't made any friends at university. Worst of all, he's about to spend Christmas completely alone in an empty dorm.

Jeremy clearly needs a fairy godfather, so football captain Max Pimenta takes him under his wing to help him find his dating groove. But Jeremy's wound way too tight. He's too vulnerable. Max can't trust some random guy with him. He needs to take care of Jeremy himself and introduce him to no-pressure exploration. It's not about romance or feelings - he's just doing the kid a favor.

Max is definitely not falling for this lonely, beautiful boy. No way.

And it's not like he can leave Jeremy all alone for the holidays. He'll bring him home to his family's maple syrup farm - strictly as friends since his parents have rules. No more fooling around. No more eager, breathless fun. No more making Jeremy shiver and blush with suggestive whispers in his ear. No more sweeter-than-sugar kisses. All nice. No more naughty.

But Jeremy's sleeping right across the hall, and Max wants him for himself. The 12 days of Christmas will last an eternity if they don't break the rules.

Shhh. No one has to know...

Merry Cherry Christmas is a feel-good holiday MM romance from Keira Andrews featuring a nervous nerd and protective jock, forced proximity, first times, and of course a happy ending.

©2020 Keira Andrews (P)2021 Keira Andrews

Love the story, is fresh, joyful and very hot but.

Jeremy performance was actually good, full of insecurities and scary to be proudly gay, innocent and naive, his character get to you slowly and easy, not the same with Max, who was emotionless, maybe is because I read the book in advanced and I imagined his character more strong and hot, even the hot scenes were off.

Life is just a bowl of cherrys!

A very sweet straightforward story, with appealing young characters who find self assurance and love all during the Christmas season.
An easy, fun read for the holidays.

I loved this

This story is like sitting next to a fire, sipping on something warm, and relaxing.

Having read this in ebook form, I was not surprised by anything but dang, did Kurt Graves do a fantastic job.

So here we have Cherry, a freshman in college that one day runs into Max, a senior football star who steps on his glasses, making this a meet-cute trope that I love

So Max decides that he will help Cherry make friends and not die a virgin.

Y'all know what happens, these two numbskulls fall in love (yes it's instalove) and everything works out.

When I first read this, I was not sure why going out with someone was featured so prominently but the second time was the charm. I get it now.

Great MM Holiday romance

I loved this last year when I read it and was excited to see it on audio this year.

This is the perfect holiday read/listen, adorkably sweet and sexy fun! Fairly low angst and absolutely hilarious. Keira Andrews is good at weaving a bit of humor through many of her stories – but I was seriously laughing out loud through much of this book. This was many of my favorite tropes – yet unique in a lot of ways. While Max is comfortably out & definitely sexually experienced, he’s also sensitive to Jeremy’s concerns and perspective.

I loved Max’s family, especially his relationship with his sister Meg. Fans of Andrew’s Santa Daddy will be treated to a cameo by Nick & Hunter who live in the neighboring farm. It’s not necessary to have read it to enjoy this, but if you like to read chronologically, you’ll want to start there.

This really is low angst with most of the drama coming from Max grappling with his after-graduation plans and Jeremy navigating a less than supportive family. While set in a very short amount of time (less than 3 weeks, I think) – Max & Jeremy do spend a lot of time getting to know each other outside the bedroom, which really solidifies their HEA. Andrews also gives us a lovely epilogue.

Kirt Graves was wonderful. He does a great job with the shy & bumbling Jeremy as well as the confident Max. It was just as fun and sexy as last year. This will definitely be an annual listen.

What a great story

I adore Keira Andrews. I adore Kirt Graves. I especially adore Kirt narrating Keira’s Christmas stories.

This one was extra fun for me. I did my graduate degree at the University of Toronto, so this story felt like home. I’ve also lived in rural Ontario and we used to go to the maple sugar farm each spring to see the sap running. The entire story made me nostalgic – in a good way.

And the plot was great as well. I’ve landed on my ass after slipping on ice. Most Canadians have. Now, I didn’t have a Max to help me up, like Jeremy did. Or a Max to walk me home to take care of me. Or a Max to decide to show me how much fun sex stuff can be.

But I need to step back. Jeremy’s just come out to his family – who are back in Victoria, on the other side of the country. It didn’t go well, and he’s feeling particularly lonely as Christmas approaches. He’s not going home, and is facing the season alone in his dorm.

Max sees naïve Jeremy and feels the need to be the younger man’s wingman. Soon, though, Max realizes he doesn’t want to release Jeremy into the wilds of dating (aka the gay men of Church Street and dating apps). Sure, Jeremy might meet a great guy who sees how wonderful he is. Or he might meet a man who’ll take advantage of his inexperience. So Max decides to, uh, give Jeremy a hand.

Then, in the middle of their friends-with-benefits growing relationship, Max decides to bring Jeremy home with him. But no hanky panky. His parents have strict rules about that. So everyone has to stay in their own bedrooms at night. No touching. Well, okay maybe a stolen moment. No getting naked. Well, okay… Yeah, you can fill in the blank. Suddenly, keeping their hands off each other is nearly impossible.
I loved this story because I got my happy ending and I got to see the kinky Santa and his elf from a previous book. Looking good there, guys. I’m hopeful Jeremy and Max might have cameos in a future book because I really loved them and was so happy for them.

Finally, I have to mention Kirt Graves. He’s just a fantastic narrator and always does such a great job with Keira’s books. This is a treat I hope is repeated every Christmas.

Great story

I’m a sucker for the nerd/jock trope and this story definitely delivers. It’s in turn sweet and spicy. Jeremy is socially awkward and that’s so relatable to me. Max was a sweet, kind guy and not at all the stereotypical jock. His friends kind of were, at least at first. They laugh at Jeremy and make fun of him when Jeremy falls on an icy sidewalk, which is how Max and Jeremy meet. They never apologize for having done so either. Ultimately, the friends seem okay though. The story is good enough for re-reads and the audio is performed well enough for repeated listening.

enjoyed it

Would I listen to it again: yes
Did the story keep me engaged: yes
Was I invested in the characters: yes

📖 Story comment: Good pace, likeable characters, nice flow.
A cute college age feel-good story. A little predictable, but that's what I look for in a holiday romance, made all the better with an awkward nerd and an overprotective jock with a loving family.

🎧 Narrator comment: Kirt Graves has done a good job bringing Merry Cherry Christmas to life. He suited the characters, each character has his own voice, the rhythm, changes in pitch and intonation and the cadence of voice all work to bring the story to life. Overall an enjoyable performance.

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📌 Where does it fall on my personal scale? 7
• 1 not my thing • 2 didn't like the narration • 3 didn't keep my attention • 4 was good, but once was enough • 5 enjoyed it • 6 will listen again if i'm in the mood for the narrator [4⭐] • 7 goes on the "re-listen" list [4⭐] • 8 kept me up past bed-time [4.5⭐] • 9 recommended to family/friends [4.75⭐] • 10 own it in multiple formats [5⭐] • 11 keep a copy with me at all times [5⭐]

Great!

I really enjoyed this story, and definitely left me wanting more. Highly recommended for good holiday cheer.

Fun Read

There s is a sweet, easy, feel good read great for de-stressing during the hectic news of the holiday.
Highly recommended if well written, and easy read is what you are wanting

Cute story, great audio

I got this story in Kindle a while ago, it seemed like a cute, fun, low angst Christmas story and I actually liked it enough to read a couple of times. The audio just enhanced the simple love story. Kirt Graves gives it such life and I found myself tearing up while listening. It was surprising how much more emotional the story was when listening to it.