My Ex-Mas Emergency

By: Jennifer Peel

Narrated by: Wayne Mitchell, Kim Churchill

Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Very few in Aspen Lake expected that I, Calista Monroe, their most notorious wild child, would ever amount to anything besides being a model prisoner. So, imagine their surprise when I returned as the hospital’s newest ER doctor. Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am. I had vowed to never return, even if it was the last safe haven during the zombie apocalypse. But when my niece Quinn begged me to come home, I couldn’t say no. My plan is to stay out of trouble this time, and, above all, avoid Quinn’s uncle Tristan—the man I love to hate and the reason I left Aspen Lake.

But trouble starts to brew when my niece gets it into her pretty head that her uncle and I need to reconcile. The devious little thing insists we deck the halls together all season long. And since I’ll do anything to make Quinn happy, I agree, believing I’m completely immune to Tristan’s charm. Except the joke’s on me. Who knew that Tristan’s biggest regret was letting me go? And the infuriating man seems willing to do everything possible to win me back. Well, it’s going to take a Christmas miracle before I ever give him a second chance. Unfortunately for my plan, our chemistry could set a blizzard on fire. Now I have a major ex emergency on my hands.

Do I give my niece her Christmas wish, or do I let the love between Tristan and me flatline for once and for all?

©2023 Jennifer Peel (P)2023 Dreamscape Media

Great second chance romance

"Christmas is just another word for love.”

Oh my goodness! I love second chance romances and this is a great one plus it's a Christmas romance. I don't think I've ever read a romance that starts off at a funeral, and to have the heroine in a pink elf costume . . . well, I had to find out what that was all about.

Tristan broke Calista's heart 13 years ago and now that she's back in Aspen Lake working as an ER doctor it's going to be hard to keep her promise to never look at him again. Especially when their teenage niece asks for a traditional Christmas and keeps coming up with reasons they need to spend time together.

Tristan had his work cut out for him, as Calista had built up quite the wall surrounding her heart and she wasn't giving him the chance to hurt her again. I loved how Tristan was patient with Calista--he remembered what he'd said to her--and knew it was going to take some time to get her to simply not hate him anymore. I like how he was with his niece Quinn and loved when he followed through on the threat he made to his parents if they tampered with Calista's job at the hospital.

Calista is the best!! I'd love to have her as my doctor. She was so caring and listened when people talked to her. She'd worked hard to become a doctor and you could tell she loved her job. I loved her friendship with Jules and hope Jules gets her own story (hint, hint). I liked how much she cared about her sister (who needed to get her act together) and Quinn. I really liked that Calista didn't get back together with Tristan within the first half of the book--he needed to work for forgiveness.

Things I loved:
🩺 Super swoony
🩺 Forced Proximity
🩺 Second-chance romance
🩺 ER visits
🩺 Dual POV
🩺 Calista & Tristan's reconnaissance mission
🩺 Cameos of Reese and Josie
🩺 No 3rd act breakup!

I listened to the audiobook and loved the narrator for Calista. I found I liked the narrator for Tristan better if I sped it up a little, especially when he did the female characters.

Super cute

I really enjoyed this cute Christmas story. Go doesn’t love a good rebel, mean in laws and a forever love story!

Bad!!!

Heck no to this book. Want someone back after you pick money of love. He had his chance. And him reading as a third party and her is the single. Weird

BRB, Getting myself an elf costume.

Calista the Crusader is a legend in her hometown, unfortunately not everyone appreciates her particular brand of justice. Tristan's family never approved of her, and the weight of their expectations added with her constant crusading and daring him to live outside the box eventually became too much for him, so thirteen years ago, he hurt her enough to force her away. Apparently, revenge is best served by moving away and becoming a doctor to prove to herself and everyone else just how strong she is, but when she returns to town to help care for the niece that she and Tristan share, she is forced to do the thing she vowed never to do... look at him. Of course, they have to get along for Quinn's sake, but the little extortionist has bigger plans and she has no idea what forces are at work against them.

❤️What I love most❤️

❄️Calista wearing an elf costume to a funeral- I want to BE HER.
❄️Tristan's tattoo👀
❄️Quinn's scheming
❄️ER visits
❄️Kitten on chest pics (Seriously, guys, this is how it's done)
❄️Cameos from past favorites

💗and of course💗
Jules! I am SO ready for her story, Forgettable in Every Way, coming soon!🎉

As far as the narration... holy hot gravelly voice, but we will have to forgive the grown man for not being great at sounding like a little girl. The female narrator is perfect, and I think the sweet spot for both is to set the speed around 1.2 or 1.3.

Jennifer Peel is always a favorite and listening to her books makes every workday so much better.

Perfect Swoonworthy Start for the Holidays!!

I absolutely love this book! The narrators brought this story to life! The narrator for Tristan has a sexy gravely voice that you simply cannot miss. It's swoon worthy for sure! Tristan and Calista are such fun characters, this might be one of my favorite Christmas books! Calista is full of life, stubborn, and has quite a bit of spunk! She has to be one of my favorite characters for sure! Tristan is just down right swoonworthy and together these two ignite fireworks!! This story will make you laugh, cry, swoon, smile, and even want to scream at times! It takes you on a ride full of ups and downs and as I mentioned above plenty of fireworks! It's the perfect story to listen to when you just want to escape into the world of fiction! It will leave you smiling and ready for the next Jennifer Peel book!

Good Story, Terrible Male Reader

Kim Churchill did an amazing job narrating, Wayne Mitchell on the other hand… where do I even start. His speech was slurred, made the 15 year old sound like a 5 year old and our heroine…every time he attempted a voice for her it immediately conjured up images of a drag queen. I have nothing against drag queens. It just did not fit this particular story. His attempts at female voices were truly horrendous. And when he talked about her sexiness, he just sounded like a leering perv. I could not get past his terrible narrating skills. I wish they just stuck with Kim for the whole book.

Overall, it’s a great story about forgiveness, the realities of dealing with grief, setting boundaries, and people’s abilities to change for the better. Lots of strong female characters. And it was a clean, closed door romance.

Perfection!!

The story? Amazing!! The voices? SWOON!! They did such a good job! I am a sucker for dual narrators. And these two! Tristan is gravelly and EXACTLY what I imagined. I had read the paperback of this book as it came out, but listening to it is a whole new experience. It was lovely to dive back into this second chance love story and the path to love!

Can there be better voices to fit a character?

I LOVE this book. The audio book was very entertaining and hooks you right away. The voices to these characters bring the book to life and give you all the feels.

This book is one of my very favorites. I love the story of Calista and Tristen. The holiday season is the perfect time to read this swoony romance. But it is also a great everyday book too. :) I love the banter and romance that Jennifer Peel gives her readers. Easy 5 star book.

Great story of the ability to change but 3 things

I think some people would say the man in the story ruined his chances the first time around. I think one of the best parts of life is the ability to change and grow. When Tristan was young, he made choices based on how he was raised. once he knew better, he made better choices. It was very relatable. The male narrator's voice almost had me quitting the story, but I'm glad I pished through. The only other thing is, and I'm speaking as a former member of Ski Patrol, that the skis are too old for new boots. Bindings expire and tech changes. I have some skis that are not as old, and I can't get them tuned up because those people would be liable for any issues. Besides, the new tech provides a much more enjoyable skiing experience. If you want to keep skis that are sentimental to you, hang them on the wall. The last thing is the Good Samaritan Law and emergency care. She was off hospital property and off duty. So that part of the story didn't feel right to me. Glad everything worked out and the right people changed and reading about how everyone got to that place. Would just love a few changes so that it felt a little realistic and correct.

Merry Christmas To Jennifer Peel Fans!!! Love It!!

I can't tell you how much I absolutely adored listening to this one! Oh my HEART!!! I have read it a couple of times now but it was delightful to experience listening to the audiobook. I loved it so much and will definitely be reading and listening to it again and again and again...you get the idea!!!

The narrators are wonderful! This book is absolutely magical and I loved hearing the narrators add their own magic to it all! Seriously grab your mugs of hot cocoa and your cozy blanket, snuggle up and don't plan on emerging from your cocoon of happiness until you've experienced Calista and Tristan's story. Holy Swooniness!!! You'll probably be like me and have a permagrin when you finish.

Here are a few of my favorite things from this Delightful Book:

The Magic
Emergency Room Visits
An Old-Fashioned Christmas
The Flirting
Witty Banter
The Hope
The way Tristan looks at Calista
Calista's sense of humor (she's pretty funny)
The Magic (yeah, I know I put this twice, it's just true, it's magical)
The Haunting (ok, not like a ghost haunting)
The Healing
The Wuthering Heights references (swoon)
The kitty pictures *smirks*
Quinn, The Matchmaking Niece Extraordinaire
A Little Recon Mission
The Hugs
The Crusader (mulitple connotations for this one)
The Second Chance
ALLLLL of The Swoony Moments *Happy Sigh*

And a couple of my favorite quotes to whet your whistle:

~"Don't fall for her again," she warned. He'd never gotten up from the first time he fell for her.

~More and more, he was kicking himself for ever forgetting that all he ever wanted to do with his life was make Calista Monroe happy.

Yeah, you're going to love Tristan and possibly be unhappy with him for a little bit too. But don't worry, the love will overpower the unhappiness! And Calista, she's just the best! Oh my heavens, you might even shed a few tears as you learn more about her and her backstory and her just zest for life and her ability to persevere. Her humor seriously had me laughing. But there were definitely tears. Jennifer Peel sure knows how to write characters who will tug at your heartstrings! Get ready to have those heartstrings tugged at majorly by Quinn (their niece), Calista and Tristan.

I'm super excited for Jules story. She's a secondary character in this book and her story will be amazing! I was having fun trying to figure out her backstory a little more with this being my third time enjoying this book. I have lots of guesses but it's going to be amazing reading it and discovering it all!

And you'll love the cameos from previous books by this author (if you've read them, if not you'll be wanting to go back and read them)! The secondary characters will have you wishing for their books as well! Now excuse me as I go dream of a snowy white Christmas! ;-)

Content: PG-13. There are a handful of different mild swear words used throughout the book. There's some back story about Tristan's brother and him having an affair but it isn't graphic, just the knowledge that he was unfaithful. Lots of kisses, some mild and some more intense (the characters make out), some mild innuendos. No closed door/fade to black scenes, just kisses. Topic of the loss of a parent. Her sister Stella is having a fling with a guy so there is some talk about that but nothing graphic.

Happy Listening!!!