A Family for Christmas

De: Jay Northcote

Narrado por: Mark Steadman

Zac never had a family of his own, but Rudy has enough to share.

Shy, inexperienced Rudy has a crush on Zac from the moment his new colleague walks through the door. On an office night out before Christmas, Rudy finds the courage to make a move, and they form a tentative bond. When he discovers Zac will be alone at Christmas, he invites Zac to come home with him.

Zac prefers to keep people at arm's length. Yet when Rudy offers him a family Christmas it's impossible to resist. With no parents of his own, Zac is pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by Rudy's. The only drawback is that everyone assumes they're a couple. Unwilling to disappoint Rudy's mum and make Christmas awkward, they decide not to deny it.

It's not a chore for Zac to pose as Rudy's boyfriend, but the pretense makes him want things that scare him-things like a real relationship with Rudy. Zac's suffered enough rejection in his life already and is afraid to risk his heart. If he can get over his past rejection and let Rudy inside his armor, he might get more for Christmas than he ever imagined.

©2016 Jay Northcote (P)2017 Jay Northcote

Perfect Christmas Audiobook to Enjoy!

A Family for Christmas was one of my earliest Jay Northcote books and I loved it! His books are wonderful especially his Christmas stories :) This was the first time listening to an audiobook narrated by Mark Steadman and I enjoyed his pleasant British voice. Very well-paced and lovely. Rudy is a shy guy who has a crush on his anti-social coworker, Zac, who shuns hanging out with the others at work. After too many drinks at their office Christmas party, Rudy invites Zach back to his flat and they spend the night together sleeping off their hangovers.

The next day Rudy finds out that Zac will be alone for Christmas so he invites him back to home to spend the holiday with his family. Zac has always been an outsider so he accepts the invitation with some awkwardness and uncomfortableness. He quickly discovers that Rudy's family is large, welcoming, loving, and very warm. After a misunderstanding, Rudy's mother believes they are dating and Zac agrees to go along with the pretense. Along the way, both guys find that they have crushes on the other and keep the farce going. Zac discovers that he does in fact deserve love and Rudy is more than ready to give him all the love he needs. Lovely, endearing, warm, and wonderful audiobook! I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to listen over and over again :)

Simply Adorable

This book is just so so adorable. I was having some tough days and turned to fluffy audiobooks to try to improve my mood. This one is just so sweet, very sliiiightly angsty, and just so adorable. It is heart-warming and wonderful, and Mark Steadman does an amazing work (although he does go a bit heavily on pauses sometimes).

I am happy to say that the book definitely improved my day <3

sweet holiday romance

Jay does it again. I love all his stories.
Rudy and Jay work together but don't interact. The night out with the office changes all that.
Holidays at family home changes everything.

Warm Christmas Feels

This story had an interesting premise where Zac enjoys a Christmas Holiday with Rudy, his co-worker. I am from the states and I love all things British. I enjoyed hearing about the meals and holiday games and even the drafty old farm house--but that was just wonderful window dressing to the overall story of 2 guys who saw themselves as misfits finding they truly enjoy one another and are not just attracted to the outside. Both characters explained a wonderful vulnerability for where they were coming from into this new potential relationship. This book definitely had hot moments as well--IMO made hotter because they were falling for each other. I noticed other reviewers mentioned an issue with the narrator and I just wanted to say that I had no notable issues with the narration of this book. I was very pleased--but then again, I could have just been seduced by the accident, Reading this at Christmas and with one of the main characters as Rudy who was a bit shy did remind me of Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer--but that is clearly just me because I have been listening to way too much Christmas music : )

Sweet Christmas story

I don’t usually read Christmas stories, but I received this audiobook with a promise of an honest review. I loved Rudy and Zach, and I thought their shy, awkward relationship was honest.and they were very likable. The descriptions of Rudy’s family and the Christmas celebration was easy to imagine. And I really enjoyed the narration. It all came together as a sweet, delightful way to spend a few hours.

heartwarming...

I really enjoyed this quality quick listen. Rudy and Zach make you root for them from the beginning.

Sweet Holiday Story, Nice Job by M. Steadman

Very sweet! It's been way too long since I've read a Jay Northcote book. Or in my case, listend to... and the bonus, A Family for Christmas is performed by Mark Steadman (whom I really enjoy).

A holiday, friends to lovers, fake relationship trope - lovely!

A Touching Christmas Story

Having overindulged at the office Christmas party, Rudy winds up leaning on his standoffish officemate Zac and instead of leaving well-enough alone, Rudy – realizing Zac will be alone for Christmas, invites the young man home with him. And, to the shock of both men, the anti-social Social Media Manager accepts. They work together at an LGBTQ support program called Rainbow Futures. Their co-workers are people from across the spectrum and that is awesome without being contrived.

This is a wonderful Christmas story, a perfect, happy tale coming at a time when things aren’t always nice in the real world. Authors can give us a few hours when we can check out and step into…say, a small village in rural England – an idyllic setting for a Christmas story – hearth and all.

Zac is fighting the feeling of being an outsider and interloper in this small village. Then, a little critter comes into his life to remind him what is really important.

Rudy and Zac are great characters as they are both coming at the relationship from different places. Rudy is inexperienced while Zac is jaded. But some honesty moves the relationship to a deeper level than either had envisioned.

Mark Steadman is a great narrator and I love the British accent, easy to understand, reminiscent of the great British actors.

Oh, and I love how Die Hard is now considered a Christmas classic movie…

Another great Northcote story!

I love Jay’s Christmas stories! (Well I love all his stories but there’s something extra special about the Christmas ones!) I’m not sure if I’ve ever listened to a Mark Steadman narration but I adored it! His voice is lovely and he made the story even better with his narration!

Rudy and Zac were adorable together. Zac has never had a real family and Rudy has a great family. When a drunken night out with the work crew finds Rudy extending the invitation to Zac to join him for Christmas, they are both surprised when Zac accepts. What ensues over the next couple days is family hilarity and a whole lot of chemistry and connection. Zac lowers his walls and Rudy is able to get in and they find that they really want to carry on with a real relationship when they get back home. Zac learns what a real family is like and gets accepted almost immediately. It’s heart warming and just a wonderful cozy seriously good Christmas story. ❤️

Love love love

This was such a cute and delightful Christmas story. It really brought a smile to my face. The narration is AMAZING and along with the wonderful story, this is definitely a must read/listen.