His Holiday Pact

Manhattan Holiday Loves, Book 1

By: Ayla Asher

Narrated by: Kai Kennicott, Wen Ross

Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

Who knew a fake holiday relationship could be so fun?

Kayla Summers has had enough of her mother’s insistence that she find a man and get married.

At 33, she’s a successful attorney and has a fantastic life. Knowing her mother will grill her constantly over the upcoming holidays about her single existence, she dreads the visits home.

Carter Manheim is a self-proclaimed bachelor, dead set on seducing every beautiful woman in Manhattan. And why not? His parents’ disastrous marriage and divorce proved that lifelong commitments just aren’t viable. As his mother’s health worsens, his only wish is to give her one last happy holiday, even if it entails bringing home a girlfriend.

When Kayla’s sexy neighbor proposes they take each other home for the holidays as fake partners, she’s floored. However, getting her mother off her back is her number one priority, and she agrees to the arrangement. Now, if she can only keep her heart from becoming emotionally entangled with the player of the century, she’ll be just fine....

This is a 40,000-word book filled with fast-paced fake-relationship shenanigans and steamy scenes designed to melt your listening device.

The main character’s mother has late-stage cancer, so please consider that before you listen.

Here’s hoping this funny, romantic story can give you a few hours of escape during the holidays!

Enjoy!

©2019 Ayla Asher (P)2020 Ayla Asher

Equal doses of steam and sweetness

This book was one of those happy surprises. It far surpassed my expectations. Kayla and Carter are neighbors. Each has situations with their families and would rather be accompanied to each others family holiday reunions. So they make a pact to be in a fake relationship. The fake relationship turns into a hot and passionate Love story that has equal parts steam and sweetness. It felt real and genuine the ending with just enough curiosity to see if there’s a second book. You will just want more.
Dual POV narration by Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross Only add to this wonderful story. Both narrators have great diction, add emotion to the story and draw you into what’s happening. Highly recommended!

A short story to take you away from real life for a few hours.

A sweat easy read. Carter, the male lead a typical man whore actor (who narrates audio books!) who lives next door to a normal woman, curves and all. Both have issues with their parents but for different reasons. Their pact to have a fake relationship to make their respective families happy over the holiday period.
Wouldn’t normally pick an audiobook this length in audio as it’s a short story and we all know how expensive they can be. I like to get more hours for my money However, the audio format is done in my fave format of a duet by the fantastic team of Wen Ross and Kai Kennicott. So far I have enjoyed all audio books by the pair and this is no different. So if you’re looking for an easy read to take you away from the normal drudgery of everyday life it’s worth a read or in my case listen.

Sweet sexy story

I enjoyed this sexy story by Ayla Asher. The narrators were fantastic! I loved the dual POV of the story and the narrators did such a fabulous job with it.

The story focused on Kayla, a smart, sexy attorney who unfortunately didn’t have the best view of herself because of her mother’s negative comments throughout her life, and Carter, the sexy playboy actor who lives right next door to her. Kayla and Carter team up to have a fake relationship for the sake of their families through the holidays.

The relationship between them progresses to a physical one and Kayla fears that she will lose her heart to her fake boyfriend.

I loved that the story was real and emotional sexy and really heartfelt. It was definitely worth taking a chance on.

Great story!

Oh.My.Goodness!! What a great story! I'm a huge fan of stories about fake relationships in general, but I really LOVED this one so much!
It’s about Carter and Kayla, they have been neighbours for three years.
Carter doesn’t do relationships, but since this will be her very last Christmas he wants to make his dying mom happy and bring a girlfriend home for the holidays.
Kayla’s mom is nagging her for ages about not having a boyfriend. They decide to be fake boyfriend/girlfriend. How convenient! I absolutely loved this storyline!

The narrators, Kai Kennicot and Wen Ross, did an amazing job. This duet narration is so good!!

Fake Date

A sweet book with plenty of yummy heat, heartbreak, and seriously tender moments. Tears might not happen often but they will happen. Kayla and Carter are neighbors who decide to use each other to male their families happy. Each comes with baggage that a parental unit instigated - Kayla has self-image issues: Carter has problems with commitment.

As for the narrators, they were fantastic! I could just eat Wen Ross up! That voice is great! Kai was also terrific. The editing with the chuckles, laughs, and other noises overlayed with the narration were well done!

book 1 - holiday themed, heartwarming romance

This is book 1 in Asher's Manhattan Holiday Loves series and I love it! The narration was outstanding - loved the dual narrators! The storyline was sweet, sexy, sad and satisfying. I loved Kayla's character. Her humor was great and I loved the strength that her character developed thru this read. I hate that she was so critical of herself but I get that was part of the character growth. A heartwarming holiday themed romance that ignites some sexy scenes and satisfy your romance reading heart!

This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.

duel narration

the story is fun and the characters are interesting and genuine but in my opinion, the duet narration was confusing and made it less enjoyable for me.
I received a free review copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

Love a fake romance!

I simply LOVE a fake romance...to have one set during the holidays is my catnip! Carter and Kayla are neighbors in Manhattan...she’s a workaholic attorney, he’s a playboy actor/narrator. Her mother is constantly on her case about getting married. His mother is dying and her wish is to see him married. Carter proposes a fake relationship and Kayla agrees...what happens when the fake relationship becomes more? Can they return to being JUST friends? Cute story, engaging narration with a great HEA.

Fun fake romance!

I love the fake romance trope! This story was fun and heart warming. Carter and Kayla have been neighbors for three years. Carter has never been a relationship guy. However worrying that he may have only one more holiday to spend with his mom, he convinces Kayla to be his fake girlfriend. Well you know how things go from there. Both narrators were fantastic, and found myself consumed in the story. I loved the duet narration! Overall this was a great holiday story.

Taking a Chance on Love

Carter Manheim is a stage and commercial actor and considers himself a confirmed bachelor. His appetite is healthy and he brings home a beautiful, model-thin woman almost every night. Kayla Summers is a successful lawyer and she's hoping for a promotion at work. She's self-conscious about her voluptuous body that her mother criticizes for keeping men away. All her mother wants is for her to get married and give her grandbabies. She and Carter are next door neighbors and have a "passing in the hallway greeting" type of relationship. Kayla thinks he's gorgeous, but she doesn't like his type. She's sure that he's never going to think of her as anything but a neighbor. Carter's mother has stage 4 cancer and her time is running short. She wants to see her two sons and their women happily married or dating before she dies. Carter has a great idea and thinks that Kayla would be the perfect woman to have a fake relationship with him. It's the holiday season and Kayla's family expects her to visit, but it's the last thing she wants. She has to face her mother's criticism and doesn't want to do it alone. When Carter asks her to pose as his fake girlfriend and visit his mother for Thanksgiving, she lets him know that she needs him, in return, to spend Christmas with her family. He doesn't know what her mother is capable of. As they grow closer, Carter starts to have cold feet because he doesn't do relationships and Kayla becomes invested in their relationship, so she decides to break it off before it gets any more painful. Carter's inner turmoil is almost too much and I was happy that Kayla cut her losses. After a talk with his brother, he decides she's worth giving it a try. I would have loved the ending if he weren't so wishy washy and still unsure of their future up to the end. The narration is so good that it kept me in the story and made me feel what the characters were experiencing. Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross are two of my favorite narrators and this story is spot on!