Holiday Hostilities

Cyclones Christmas, Book 2

De: Katie Bailey

Narrado por: Abigail Reno, Lee Samuels

It’s the most hateful time of the year…

There’s only one thing Olivia Griswold hates more than Christmas: her brother’s best friend, Aaron Marino.

The NHL’s favorite playboy has hordes of adoring fans, but to her, he’s still the cocky jerk she’s loathed since high school.

But when Aaron hears Olivia’s spending the holidays with her roommates from hell, he offers her a place to escape to.

His place, to be exact.

In return, all she has to do is be his date to his hockey team’s Christmas gala. It seems simple enough, but Olivia soon discovers that sleeping behind enemy lines is a dangerous game—especially when the enemy looks like that.

Olivia knows she’s playing with fire, but she won’t let herself get burned again.

And they do say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer…

Get ready for delicious enemies-to-lovers banter and tension with tons of festive cheer in this charming hockey rom-com. Holiday Hostilities is a closed door/fade to black romance that includes mild language, innuendo, and suggestive humor.

©2024 Katie Bailey (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Closed-door romcom, great narration

Narration is excellent! I always enjoy Katie Bailey and this was no exception. She does a great job of having all the sizzle and none of the spice. Little bit of language but no f- or b-words which are the ones that really bother me. Enjoy!!

Eeeee Cute

Aw, loved this one! I love this book world the author has created and will be delving into her other books. Also looking forward to any more she’ll add to the Cyclones Christmas collection.

Not reeeeally a true enemies to lovers, but that’s okay since it has sibling’s BFF, forced proximity/roommates, and hockey.

Fun Holiday Read

Loved this enemies to lovers plot. I enjoyed the Fun, sarcastic banter. The narrators did a great job. This was an easy and enjoyable listen.

A new favorite!!

I didn’t think I could like a couple more than Seb + Maddie in Season’s Schemings by Katie Bailey, but then along came Aaron and Olivia, and that Enemies-to-lovers banter won out!

Olivia’s been a flight attendant stationed in London Heathrow for the past few years. She’s ready for more family time, so she takes the opportunity to move closer to her brother Jake by accepting a job out of Atlanta. Olivia's new life chapter in Atlanta comes with unexpected turbulence: a living arrangement nightmare and facing her infuriating nemesis, Aaron—the cocky hockey captain and Jake's best friend.

Aaron has worked hard to become Team Captain of the Cyclones. Even though he has a ladies-man reputation, Aaron swore off dating months ago to put all of his time and focus into the team’s success. Aaron is dealing with a relentless stalker threatening to tarnish his reputation, career, and Team Captain position. After taking Olivia home from a team party he sees the living situation she’s in and makes Olivia a proposal that will benefit her current living situation and hopefully take care of his stocker situation. Olivia reluctantly agrees and moves into his home temporarily during the Holidays.

Unfortunately, Olivia learned early in life to guard her heart so the people around her couldn’t let her down. This distrust began with a heartbreaking Christmas when she was young and she’s been avoiding anything that has to do with the holiday (or opening her heart) ever since.

“When I look at myself, I see that in contrast, I’ve been living in fear of investing in important relationships in case those people don’t invest in me, too, and caring about someone turns into something painful.”

Aaron grew up in a loving home with a strong family foundation. This man knows how to see and care for the people in his life! After Olivia opens up about her childhood, Aaron decides to try and replace her bad holiday memories with new “good” memories. These thoughtful “gestures” carefully pull down Olivia’s walls and allow her to see for the first time that she’s worth loving.

“For the first time in my adult life, I’m going to take a leaf out of Aaron’s book and fight or what - who - I love.”

One thing I love most about Katie Bailey’s writing is that she brings the heat into her relationships so well, while still keeping the story closed-door. It’s the perfect level of low spice to show relationships in a healthy intimate way without putting too many details on the page that you wouldn’t want your high school girls to be able to read!

Chapter 29 has one of the best kissing scenes EVER!!

From steamy arguments to quiet moments of unexpected connection, Katie Bailey once again proves that enemies can make the best lovers—especially when mutual walls come crashing down.

Publish Date: November 22, 2024

Romance content: Just [AMAZING] kissing!! Closed-door!

Aaron & Olivia

So good! I’m not usually one for enemies to lovers but this one really worked for me. Aaron is just so good and he really swooped in and changed things for Olivia. This whole team just makes me happy. I am totally hoping that there will be more in this series. 💜

And again, the narration really brought this story to life for me!