The Christmas Pawdcast

By: Emily March

Narrated by: Andi Arndt, Jason Clarke

Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

Celebrate the season with this paws-itively heartwarming novella by New York Times best-selling author Emily March - available in audio first! 

Mary Landry and her pregnant rescue dog are on their way home for Christmas when the unthinkable happens: Her car breaks down along a deserted stretch of mountain highway in the middle of a blizzard. Facing dire conditions, Mary seeks shelter from a lone cabin in the distance whose warm light beckons her like a Christmas star.  

Nick Carstairs has one wish this season - to ride out his least favorite time of the year in peace while working on the latest episode of his hit True Crime podcast. The sexy-voiced podcaster didn’t plan to host a stranger and her pregnant dog, but he’s happy to help a traveler in need…it’s an extra perk that she’s gorgeous. Now if she would just stop trying to change his mind about Christmas. 

As they spend time warming up by the fire - and an unexpected attraction roars to life - will Mary help Nick discover the wonder of the season after all?

©2021 Emily March (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

Adorable!!

Absolutely one of my favorite stories! Definitely shows how Christmas miracles can happen. Listened to this in one setting.

Love 💘 , this book

Narrator s excellent.. Story holds your interest and no F word.. Amazingly well written

Wonderful!

Such a wonderful, short story of Christmas and hope and love! A must read for the season.

A sweet Christmas story!

This was Christmas novella perfection! Everything came together so well, from the characters to the story to the narration.

Mary is on her way home for Christmas with a pregnant rescue dog she's fostering when a car accident and snow storm leave her stranded. Luckily she's near Nick's house and he takes her in. He is the grump to her sunshine and they were so sweet together.

Though this is a novella it is a complete story with an HEA. I believe it is tied in to one of the author's series, but it is a complete standalone story and I didn't feel lost at all. I enjoyed it so much I want to check out the rest of the books! I could totally see this as a Christmas movie and I am so glad I picked it up for a listen!

A Tonal Mis-Match, But Still Somehow Magical?

Okay, I need to preface this review with how much I laughed while cooking and listening to this audiobook, but to point out that I'm almost certain it wasn't by design—it was the narrator.

So, at the start, we meet Mary. Her narrator is a lady with a perfectly chipper, upbeat, and sweet tone that matches the "Bless Your Heart" notes of Mary's situation: she's a brilliant chef who runs a catering business, just pulled off an amazing holiday party—and had to suffer through her ex and his new piece being there—but she kept her head high (and her curves on full display in an amazing dress) and got through it. She's about to head off to her family holiday, and the only wrinkle in the plan is her very pregnant (and very ugly) foster dog, who she couldn't not find room for at any doggy inn.

Cue unexpected blizzard and ending up on the doorstep of a man who runs a true-crime podcast, bears an uncanny resemblance to Santa (were Santa to get uber-fit while keeping the beard and twinkling eyes, that is) and then we switch to the male narrator and...

Y'all. I guffawed. I snorted. I laughed so much. Because the voice of his man would be so well-suited to "She walked into my office like five-foot-nothing's worth of trouble" noir mystery, or gritty thriller "I was two weeks away from retirement, and I knew this case was trouble" style narrative and instead, this man's voice is all "she was getting her perky elf dust all over my Grinch" and... it was too much. Like, I kept laughing out loud every time he called her 'sugar cookie' or referenced the 'elf dust.' So many elf dust references. So many!

The thing is? Despite the tonal mismatch—or, maybe because of it?—I had so very much fun listening to this audiobook. It was like some sort of mash-up was happening (heck, even the man's backstory included a drug-addicted ex who tricked him into having a kid while they were still married) and every time it went from 'I'm going to give this man some Christmas cheer!' Mary to 'Grr. Growl. I'm rough and tough, but her elf-dust is jingling my bells!' Nick, I would chuckle, choke, or laugh-out-loud again.

Whatever. I'm calling it holiday magic. Unintentional or not, it made me laugh, and the story itself was super-cute, the dog got a happy ending, too, and everything worked out beyond perfectly (seriously, they gilded the lily on this one with Nick's kid, the dogs, and pretty much everything working out in a Christmas Magic TM way) I just didn't care to be cynical about because...

I mean...

Elf dust.

Cute story, good narrators

Love Christmas and dogs so this was a win. Cute short story - not a ton of time for character development but it worked. Would love a sequel!

Quaint and entertaining!

In the tradition of Emily March’s Eternity Springs series this holiday version is quaint, entertaining and filled with holiday spirit that is engaging and heartwarming. Mary and her pregnant foster dog are stranded by a winter storm and find shelter with a reclusive Grinch in the shadows of Eternity Springs. If you’re a fan of the series this is a wonderful return visit or a peek into a world I think you’ll grow to love as much as I do. I listened to the Audible Original audiobook version and I adored the narration performances of Andi Arndt and Jason Clarke.

Awesome but a few triggers

Truly this was a great story. I enjoyed its lightness very much. Super cute and sweet. I hope the audible people know they can make this kind of story a lot longer.
I didn’t enjoy the descriptions of a pregnancy almost gone wrong. That’s just me though, reminded me too much of mine that didn’t make it.

Fun festive listen

Fun quick story to listen to. The only reason I gave 4 stars was because of the 2 separate narrators. They read chapters individually, instead of reading the book together more like a script. Still a very good Christmas book I would recommend

MAGIC AND MISTLETOE

I just loved this little story to pieces and it's not even the Christmas season. It's just heartwarming and wonderfully narrated by Andi Arndt and Jason Clarke.

This is a Christmas version of a grumpy/sunshine trope. Mary Landry is a cheerful little 'elfen' woman with a homespun enthusiasm for the season. Her family traditions are mostly hands-on—handmade gifts for all, and giving to strangers who need a lift. Except Mary hasn't quite completed her 'giving to a stranger' task yet before she needs to start making her way back home for the holidays with a lovable rescue mutt as her travel companion.

Nick is a thirty-something who went gray in his twenties. He's retired from the police force and now hosts a true crime podcast from his home in a secluded section of Colorado. He's grinchy this particular Christmas season because his son can't be with him, but when Mary and her dog need lodging for the night things start looking brighter. Mary makes it her mission to restore Nick's holiday cheer and bring back the Christmas 'magic' that, in his heart of hearts, Nick really does believe in. Nick's loneliness was keeping him from feeling hope and joy, but Mary brings it back to him, and when in the end he uses his podcast to pay it forward it feels like the circle is complete and their meeting was meant to happen.

This story is so nicely written and filled with a lot of obvious and not-so-obvious Christmas references that are fun to listen for—from Nick's gray hair and big beard, to Christmas songs and quotes from classic holiday stories, to symbolic reindeer, and clever metaphors. It's a sweet holiday romance with a tiny bit of suggestion and innuendo to spice up your eggnog. It'll probably be one of your holiday must reads for years to come.