Scrooge-ish

A Second Chance Holiday Romance

By: L.B. Dunbar

Narrated by: Stella Hunter, Teddy Hamilton

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

I hate Christmas.

I don’t know who thought every female must love shopping, wrapping, baking, and hosting, but I’m missing the memo. On top of that, I manage a top-end department store. Sprinkle in the fact I’ll be turning 40 during this holiday season, and my life is a Christmas cookie recipe gone wrong.

And every year I become a little more Scrooge-ish.

But the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year (insert sarcasm) seems to have a plan for me and my midlife-crisis attitude.

First, my past returns when I attend a high school reunion happy hour and run into that boy—the one I had a summer fling with after graduation and before college—then promptly ghosted me.

The torture continues because that boy is now a man, worldly and wise and sexier than I remember. And he invites me to attend a holiday work party with him.

Which leads to my discovery that there is a lot more to this 40, fine former NFL quarterback who's now a fireman, like being a single father to the sweetest little girl, putting me at risk of falling for both of them.

However, I have my reasons not to believe in love and the happiest time of the year. And the first 25 days of December test all my strength.

Just what the Dicken is happening? Charles himself might approve of this plot.
Even I’m a little curious to see how it all plays out.

With the past behind her and the future uncertain, can Eva Nazar accept that the present is a gift and love is the greatest treasure we receive even if it isn’t always wrapped in pretty paper with a perfect bow on top?

Find out in L.B. Dunbar’s first over-40, flirty sexy-silver-fox second-chance holiday romance.

©2022 L.B. Dunbar (P)2022 L.B. Dunbar

Scrooge-ish

This was a cute second chance romance plus all the heat. The two main characters had a hot summer fling before college. They never truly said goodbye. They also never really forgot about the other. They reconnected on their 22nd high school reunion. This is a sexy over fourties’ romance great to get you in the holiday spirit 😉. Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton did a fabulous job narrating this in duet style narration.

Wonderful Holiday Listen

This sweet, angsty, steamy Hallmarky holiday story was the perfect weekend listen. I quite enjoyed this short novella that had A Christmas Carol twist. Eva and Zebb are given a second chance at love. Eva hates Christmas because of her hurtful memories from her childhood. She believes she doesn’t deserve love because she has been abandoned by the people who are supposed to love her. Zebb is the opposite. He comes from a big loving family and all he wants to do is show Eva how much she deserves to be loved by him. Their chemistry was instant and hot. It was as if they had never been apart. I loved Zebb and how determined he was to win Eva back.
Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton bring this second chance, emotional romance to life with their stellar narration. Stella and Teddy are wonderful as Eva and Zebb. They truly capture each character’s personalities and insecurities flawlessly. I love listening to these two narrators. I hope to listen to more from this author.

Sweet second chance story

Even though this was a short story, it was jam packed. It was a great holiday story but did delve into some emotional stuff. Dealt with family tragedy at the holidays. But there was a HEA. Duet narration was great. My only wish is that it was a little longer with more build up. Things progress VERY fast because it was so short.

Wonderful Story & Listen🎧 A Charming Gift of Love❣

I loved everything about this fabulous second chance romance, from L.B. Dunbar’s wonderful writing style to the amazing characters and storylines she created to the perfectly cast narrators who bring it all to life from the pages to your ears. Also love the originality of this story and the author’s spin on Scrooge’s tale. The characters are realistic, easy to connect with and relate to, they are easy to care about too. Eva Nazar works in a department store and is not a fan of the Christmas holidays, the busiest time of the year for the store, but that is not the only reason she hates Christmas, her past Christmases have not been good ones. And then a H.S. reunion brings in her past and the boy she had a summer fling with before he headed off into the sunset to become a quarterback in the NFL. Zebb Scroggs is a firefighter, and the attraction he had for Eva in H.S. is still there and he still wants her, though his life is not as simple as it was when they were in high school, but neither is hers. I loved these two together and for each other, he loves Christmas, she doesn’t, but he will do his best to get her to enjoy it. This is a charming and heart-warming holiday romance that you can enjoy anytime of the year, it has a perfect balance of drama, heartfelt emotions, some humor to lighten things up and a fantastic second chance romance. L.B. Dunbar, thank you for another wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧And for the fabulous narration, Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton are the perfect cast to bring these characters and story to life. Their voices complement each other’s and they work well together grasping the essence of the story and who these characters are. I love how they take each role, run with it and make it their own, sounding natural and believable in every role they played. You could hear how much heart they put into the work as they capture the characters emotions and project them into their performance. These mega talented narrators are versatile voice artists and entertaining storytellers. Their performance enhances this already fabulous story to another level. Thank you for another amazing listen, it is alway a pleasure to listen to your work.

Super cute holiday story!

I really enjoyed listening to this story – Eva is a workaholic that isn’t a fan of the holidays ever since her mom left on Christmas Eve. Every holiday after that, her dad just took her to a beach for the holiday instead of celebrating, so she has just gotten out of the habit. She takes her work at a retail location to the extreme. She ends up going to her high school reunion and runs into a guy she had a summer fling with after high school. They fizzled out because he left for the NFL and her to college.

Now they are able to take things further… except things start popping up that are unexpected and Eve and Zebb may not be able to make it work. But he does his best to try to get her into the holiday spirit.

I really enjoyed this story and the narrators did a great job keeping the story alive and captivating!

I received an ALC for my honest review!

She was Scrooge-ish

I loved this story because it full of hope, second chances, and love.
it was a different take on Scrooge, but due to her past and with no close friends to not celebrate with. Until she runs into her first, Jeb. He is my hero
and a wonderful father. This story is worth a credit.
The dual narration brought the story to life.

Great holiday tale

Very cute story, and this time the woman doesn't care for Christmas. I loved this kind of second-chance story.

Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton do a wonderful job narrating this tale.

Scrooge-ish

I just love this book, it was so cute and very enjoyable you guys are going to love it. the narrators did an amazing job too

A must-read holiday romance!

Sweet Christmas romances and I go together like peanut butter and jelly, but L.B. Dunbar came through with a powerful story of a woman finding her true holiday spirit after giving up hope. With mature characters approaching their forties and a second chance romance with all the feels Scrooge-ish gave me a reason to be thankful for this holiday season when I wasn't really feeling it due to life constantly tearing me apart.

Eva Nazar has every reason to hate the holidays from her job to her mother abandoning her, but this Christmas might prove to be different. Zebb, an old flame who is back home still sees the woman he fell for all those years ago even if Eva can't see it in herself in anymore. From a cold football game to homemade from a jar spaghetti Zebb starts to give Eva hope for a future of good Christmas's.

Teddy Hamilton reignited my love for him with this book. I never forgot about him but sometimes after not hearing a narrator for a while you realize again that they are phenomenal and that was how I felt about his performance as Zebb. Then Stella Hunter as Eva was everything, I love in a good female narrator from funny, to sweet and downright sexy in that dressing room scene. She about burned a hold straight through my headphones!!

With so many emotions from not only Eva but Zebb this is not your traditional Christmas story with only good tidings. They had to work for their happily ever after and with a couple of little surprises tossed in this has been my favorite Christmas book of the season. L.B. is a new to me author but now I know why I see her name everywhere because she not only gives you heart and heat, but she gives you hope and that is something I think we can all use this time of year.

A Retelling I Enjoyed

**Audiobook Review**
If I had read this book, it would have been 3 stars, but because I listened to the audiobook, and Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton were their usually amazing selves, it clearly had to be an overall 4 star review. Honestly, in Chapter 10 when Eva and Zeb are singing, is worth the price. I couldn't help but smile during the scene.

With a title like Scrooge-ish, you know the story is going to be inspired by A Christmas Carol without even reading the blurb. When the same holiday story is retold over and over again, sometimes I can be wary, but the author did a nice job. Ms. Dunbar is known for writing characters that are in their late 30's and up, which as a woman in her early 40's I love the representation. What starts as sweet second chance romance, you get these little spicy scenes that are HOT! The two problems I had with the story were Eva's insecurity and how the characters didn't "listen" to each other. I get why Eva is angry and scrooge-ish, but I'm so tired of the non-new adult female heroines who are so whiny about being alone and they'll never have anyone, especially when it gets thrown in towards the end of the story, when the hero has already proven and said how much he cares. It also felt like Zeb and Eva had the same conversation over and over as if the previous conversation never happened.