The Holiday Post

De: L.B. Dunbar

Narrado por: Erin Mallon, Oliver Highpoint

A Spicy, Small-Town, Christmas RomCom

Doc Hollywood meets It’s a Wonderful Life with a hint of The Santa Clause when a globetrotting toy industry mogul is stranded in this small harbor town days before Christmas.

Despite dreams to explore the world, I’ve never been anywhere other than this small harbor town. Single mom, local postmistress, and one-fourth owner of a failing auto repair shop are all the reasons I’ve remained planted where my roots began.

Hideaway Harbor is layered in love for the holidays, enticing visitors to the coastal area for a seasonal respite, so thanks to an unpredicted blizzard, it’s no surprise when a stranger plows into the town’s welcome sign.

What is a surprise is when he’s suddenly—and rather reluctantly by me—an extended-stay guest in my home thanks to no vacancies in town, some pesky matchmaking, and candy cane martinis on a Monday.

There’s something vaguely familiar about this new visitor. The combination of snow and tinsel colored hair. The well-trimmed matching beard. The laugh lines near his coal-colored eyes. How good he looks in the color red. He’s thoughtful and kind, and has a flair for the holiday season, which makes him most likely to make the top of Santa’s good guy (with a hint of bad boy) list.

After some disappointing news concerning the holidays, the hap, hap, happiest time of the year isn’t feeling so spectacular. But my houseguest’s presence builds a snowstorm of emotions in my chest, making my Christmas wish a transfer to the naughty list . . . with him.

Unfortunately, there’s a mystery behind his origins, and he has “not-staying” written all over him. With places to be before the calendar flips to December twenty-fourth, he’ll soon be gone, and I’ve encountered this heartbreaking, lump-of-coal sensation once before.

No matter how short or sweet his visit, there’s no doubt about the magic we make together, leaving me to wonder if love is the greatest adventure we take.

©2025 L.B. Dunbar (P)2025 L.B. Dunbar

Saint and Lumi

4 ⭐ 2 🌶️ 5 🎧

This was so much more magical than I was expecting!! To be fair, I went in blind.... But I was expecting a regular contemporary romance and what I got was that touch of magic that makes me absolutely giddy. And LB did it perfectly too, subtle hints at first and then sheer holiday joy.

Saint and Lumi were so sweet together and I loved that they were later in life MCs. I really enjoyed watching them fall in love.

The audio was fantastic too. Erin Mallon is always a favorite and Oliver Highpoint was perfect as Saint. Thank you so much to Hambright PR for the advanced copies!

Target Santa made very spicy!

Lumi has lived in the same small town in Maine her entire life and after raising her son and hitting 40 she is dreaming of traveling the world. As the holiday season is getting underway, being the postwoman for the town making her a very busy woman. When she finds a sports car on the side of the road, and the handsome Santa looking stud inside the car, she helps him off the road and takes him into town to get him help.
Saint was on his way back to North and in the busiest season as a toy maker, he can't afford to waste time in Hideaway Harbor. Lumi ends up being the guardian angel her never saw coming. The beautiful woman saved him from the side of the road and took him in.
When it takes weeks to get his car repaired, Lumi and Saint are stuck together and their attraction overtakes all logic. Embracing the magic of Christmas and the magic of love, they fall hard and fast. But as Christmas gets nearer, Saint has to get home for the big day and his head and heart are at war.
Erin Mallon and Oliver Highpoint were phenomenal in this story and delivered fantastic merriment for the holidays!

Absolutely Loving This Series!

I am loving my time in Hideaway Harbor! 🏡✨ This is book four in the six-book series (each written by a different author!), and it’s easily one of my favorites so far. The holiday vibes are perfection — all the town festivities, cozy moments, and small-town magic make Hideaway Harbor feel so warm and alive.

One of the things I adored most? The older main characters. It was such a refreshing change and added so much depth and realism to the story. And Lumi and Saint’s chemistry? Off. The. Charts. 🔥 This is definitely one of the spiciest installments, packed with steamy moments and even spicier inner thoughts 👀

The audiobook performance was fantastic. Erin Mallon’s range made every character feel distinct, and Oliver Highpoint captured Saint’s intensity so well. Their voices added an extra layer of emotion that made the story even more immersive.

Delightful holiday story

Author L. B. Dunbar never fails to delight – and to amaze. Each story is unique and different but each one is so joyful, so full of huge smiles and hugs. And her holiday stories are extra, extra special. The Holiday Post is Dunbar’s contribution to the Hideaway Harbor Christmas series, six stories by six authors. Delightful holiday reading and listening.

We already know Saint a little bit. He’s Nick’s brother from Naughty-ish, part of Dunbar’s Holiday Hotties series (more for your TBR!). Nick opted out of the family business; no such luck for Saint. When we meet Saint again at the beginning of The Holiday Post we’re not that impressed. He’s gotten himself lost in a snowstorm in his fancy car and fancy clothes. Suddenly a giant dog is in the middle of the road, and as he swerves to avoid the dog he spins into a pole. So much for keeping his schedule. His inner thoughts and out-loud mumblings show us an annoyed, arrogant guy, off on a road trip before he has to head home and get back to work. Stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of the night does not make him happy.

Except he’s not exactly in the middle of nowhere, as he finds out the next morning when a bundled up woman wakes him by rapping on his window. Tow truck driver. Bright blue eyes. Warm, toasty, beautiful. And a bit snarky when she teases him about being stuck. He gives as good as he gets in the snark department, and we already know just how much fun these two are going to be together.

Lumi’s not really the tow truck driver; she’s just filling in for her sister Neve for the day. Just her luck that she’d have to go out and pull Mister Tall, Silver, and Handsome out of the snow. Nope, she didn’t miss that face. Who could? But for some reason all her comments are awkward. Is it that face? Maybe, but this guy seems pompous and rich, not exactly in her league.

Things happen quickly: his car has serious damage, parts will take time, hotels are full for holiday activities, Lumi’s got a spare room her sister pushes her to offer Saint, and here we go. Not sure how this will work. Lumi has already come to a lot of rather unfavorable conclusions about him besides Mister Tall, Silver, and Handsome, like Mr. Fancy Car, Viking imitator, Santa wannabe. Saint’s impatient and grouchy, already late and he has to get home as soon as possible. Surely they can survive a couple weeks in the same house, though. She’s the postmistress and it’s the busy season so she’ll be working, he’s helping to fix his car. They’ll hardly see each other. But this is the Christmas season, the season of miracles.

We don’t know who this guy is (although Lumi has some weird suspicions at times), except he’s sexy, with a killer smile and twinkling eyes when he lets them show through, and a confusing “Santa” vibe. That irritation we felt for him at the beginning is short-lived, very short-lived. In fact, it’s gone by chapter two and we’re already falling in love with him. He’s funny and considerate and helpful – and sexy. Yes, he’s still cocky and firm in his opinions, but Lumi just feels good and safe around him; there’s an air of sadness surrounding him, too. He’s happy, he enjoys doing the job he’s supposed to do in the family business, the job he wants to do – mostly – but there’s a lot of life he feels he’s missed and will never have. Just not to be.

Lumi isn’t really snarky, either. She’s just wary. She made a bad decision years ago and she’s built her walls high to protect herself from being hurt again. She’s happy. She likes her job in the post office, she’s a single mom with a wonderful adult son, she’s close with her sisters, comfortable in her town. But there’s a part of life she once wanted that she’s never lived and now doesn’t expect to. Just not to be.

The Holiday Post is so touching; your heart will be in jeopardy the entire book. It’s poignant, sad, bittersweet, with so much longing and yearning and desire but with acceptance of what is unattainable. You want to believe there is an HEA coming but it seems impossible. Saint and Lumi fit – but he can’t stay in Hideaway Harbor and she’s never been anywhere else. Dunbar does her always excellent job of portraying so much depth, so much emotion and making you hope for the magical ending. And a little pitter-patter in your heart at some pretty steamy, swoony, sexy scenes.

Random question for you: can you ever get enough of Erin Mallon narrating? Answer: No, you cannot. And The Holiday Post is further proof of just how she brings each and every character to life. She can be so funny, but also so distressed, so listless, so beaten down – and then so hopeful and tender and in love. Oliver Highpoint is the perfect counterpoint to Mallon’s Lumi. There is a lot going on beneath Saint’s sexy, silver fox surface, and over the course of this audiobook Highpoint exposes it all – he’s confident, certain, then not so certain, stumbles a little, and oh my gosh is he sweet. Mallon’s and Highpoint’s performances make this already spectacular story even better.

I received both advance reading and advance listening copies of The Holiday Post. Hot chocolate in your hands, tissues by your sides, earbuds in while you read and listen – ahhhh. I loved it, recommend it without hesitation and encourage you to read everything this fantastic author writes. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Lumi & Saint

Good narration.

Lumi & Saint - aka Astan Saint Santos - meet in Hideaway Harbor after Saint runs his Aston Martin into a pole while trying to avoid hitting a dog (Skippy). It's just a few weeks before Christmas, and Saint has to be home before Christmas Eve. But he can't escape the growing feelings for this kind and beautiful single mom.

Lumi has always fantasized about travelling the world, but she feels like she's been stuck in HH for her entire life - first to help her sisters, second to raise her now-adult son. doesn't know much about Saint, but she knows she's starting to find him irresistible. And she wonders, is there more to this mysterious man than meets the eye?

This one is on the edge of unique and original, with an excellent supporting cast of townies and siblings and friends - and of course, Skippy.

Sweet Scale: 6/5
Spicy Scale: 3/5