What Happens at Christmas

By: Jay Northcote

Narrated by: Mark Steadman

Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

When two friends pose as boyfriends, could what happens at Christmas turn into something more?

Justin is recently and unhappily single. Christmas is coming, and he doesn't want to face his ex alone at their office party. So Sean - Justin's best mate and long-time secret crush - volunteers to go with him and pretend to be his new flame.

Sean has always lusted after Justin from afar, but there's never been a good opportunity to ask him for more than friendship. Posing as Justin's boyfriend isn't a chore, and if Justin wants to rebound onto him, Sean's more than willing. At the party pretense and reality blur, and a kiss on the dance floor leads to a night of passion.

In the aftermath, they both assume it was a one-time thing until fate intervenes. Stuck together in London over the holidays, they give in to temptation again. But what happens at Christmas stays at Christmas...right?

©2015 Jay Northcote (P)2016 Jay Northcote

A delightful and very British story

A wonderful friends to lovers and fake boyfriends Christmas story with oodles of feel good moments. It’s sweet, fluffy, and mostly angst-free. Another cracking and very British tale from Jay, with lots of sexy times for Justin and Sean.

Mark’s narration suits the age of the main characters and their London setting, plus he gave them a different voice so it was easy to distinguish the two guys. His long pauses were noticeable but not enough to detract from the whole story.

Friends to lovers

Northcote writes this trope well. I enjoyed this story quite a bit. Superb narration.🥳😎😘😊🥰 Recommended

Merry Christmas!

Who doesn’t want to take their child hood crush to the Christmas office party as your pretend boyfriend?
Awesome feel good, let’s put a smile on your face listen. ❤️

The perfect Holiday Romance...movie

OK so I say “movie” because of the brevity of the story. But that’s not a bad thing, it did feel like a holiday movie. Just the right amount of time to actually fall in love with good characters and have a perfect ending.

...and even if it had been a normal M/M romance, it would have gone on too long and I don’t think I would’ve survived the painful angst of unrequited love (I’ve been there, it sucks).

This one fits the bill...if you’re bill is lookin for holiday romance to scratch you unrequited ass for the holiday season.

Cheers Mates!🎄

Sweet holiday HEA

This was a sweet and steamy holiday read. It was not the best book I read, but very satisfying in it's HEA and lightheartedness.
I really like Friends-To-Lovers, and the friendship between Justin and Sean was apparent in everything they said and did together.
I had the same issues with the narration as I had with this narrator before, he has strange pacing and pauses when narrating actions (non speaking lines). I have to speed up the narration quite a bit to get over it, and it doesn't always work. It's a shame as I think the narrator has a good voice, and a nice ability with putting emotions into words and accents.

Sweet friends to lovers holiday romance.

Low on angst, sexy and fun story. There’s a brief fake relationship moment, which helps Sean and Justin to realize they have the potential to be more than friends. I loved how sincere their interactions felt, their wonder and excitement as sparks started to fly between them. Things moved swiftly, especially when the weather messed up their plans for the holiday, and they found themselves celebrating Christmas (alone) together, but it never felt rushed. Justin and Sean’s friendship was very convincing, a great basis for the deeper feelings that follow. They are both very likable, well-rounded characters, even for such a short story, and I felt myself rooting for them from the very start.

Narration: Mark Steadman’s performance of What Happens at Christmas was perfect. I loved his interpretation of Justin’s and Sean’s voices. The narration had just the right amount of emotion and acting, and his voice has a lovely, pleasant timbre. A wonderful listen.

A Feel-good Friends-to-Lovers Christmas Romance

"What Happens at Christmas" is a charming friends-to-lovers romance, with childhood friends Justin and Sean taking their relationship to a new level while Sean is visiting over the holidays. What begins as Sean posing as Justin"s boyfriend for an office Christmas party attended by Justin's cheating ex soon extends beyond the party as their true feelings for each other come to light. It's a very sweet, low/no angst story with a lot of holiday spirit and plenty of steam and, at less than four hours, a relatively quick listen. Narrator Mark Steadman delivers an engaging performance, with varied British accents that makes for a very pleasant listen.

Sweet listen!

Sean qnd Justin's story is just such a sweet Christmas story. I just love seeing how these two go from best friends to fake boyfriends to more. Know that these two have loved each other forever just made them so perfect for each other. Mark Steadman does a great job with this narration. Such a great Christmas for the holiday.

Sweet holiday romance

Enjoyed this sweet mm romance by Jay Northcote! It was a super fun holiday listen with lovely main characters and an interesting plot. It was a quick listen and I really enjoyed the narrator.

perfect feel good christmas story!

This was fantastic!! It was the perfect feel good Christmas story that I didn't know I needed. Sean and Justin were in love with each other but afraid to tell each other rather than ruin their long time friendship. Sooo good!! This was the first time I'd ever heard anything by Mark Steadman. He really did a fantastic job!

Friends-to-lovers at Christmas rings all the bells

Justin and Sean have been best friends since they were children, and have had the hots for each other for almost as long. The only problem is they’ve never told each other, and now they’ve decided to pretend to be boyfriends at a work Christmas party, to make Justin’s cheating ex jealous. I really enjoyed this friends-to-lovers story… these guys are sweet, randy, and surprisingly mature for their age… it’s a really fun novella-length listen with plenty of heat and very low angst. Mark Steadman’s characterizations are pleasant and his overall performance is top notch, and I would happily listen to him again.

Finally Home

Sean and Justin have been friends since they were seven but Sean has been out of the country travelling for awhile, he's going to be staying with Justin till he gets a new job and it can't have come at a better time for Justin. He's newly dumped and its nearly Christmas.. A great friends to lovers...finally romance with some heat and fun. loved listening to their story and have previously read it also. Mark Steadman narrated wonderfully with every word Crystal clear.

I loved this!

This is the first audiobook I've listened to by Mark Steadman and I really enjoyed his performance. The different voices he used for the characters made it easy to distinguish who's talking. I also found his voice very easy to listen to and pleasing as well.

Friends-to-lovers is one of my favorite romance tropes and Jay Northcote has written a really good one. There's also a bit of fake boyfriends trope going on, too.

The time never seemed to be right for Justin and Sean to get together romantically but this year Christmas provides the perfect opportunity for them to change that.

A complimentary copy of this audiobook was provided to me but my review was voluntary and not influenced by the author and/or narrator.

Great festive book

A super cute friends to lovers Christmas story, lots of sweet moments and steamy fun in this novella.

A sweet friends-fake BF-lovers holiday story :)

I really like Jay Northcote's stories - they're like warm hugs with fun characters, sweet emotions, a dash of angst, (the one's I prefer anyway), and steam. This is no exception - Sean and Justin are old friends who have kept up with each other even though Sean has been out of the country a fair bit. Justin, recently separated from his cheating ex, asks Sean to be his plus one to the office holiday party. As they fake being BFs, they realise that maybe it isn't all pretend after all.

Mark Steadman provides a solid performance and definitely adds to the enjoyment of the story. A nice way to enjoy the story :)

Sweet Christmas story

I really enjoyed listening to this Christmas story about two childhood friends who have been secretly in love with each other for years. When they play fake boyfriends for a party they end in bed together which just highlights there feelings for each other. And when they end up spending Christmas together they can't hide their feelings anymore. I thought the narrator did a really good job as well.

The perfect Christmas

Perfect Christmas when everthing comes together a love and friendship that had smouldered over the years another gem from Jay Northcote. 😘

I loved it

I read the ebook when it first came out, so listening to the audiobook now is like listening to a new story. I loved it. The writing portrays normality and is unashamedly British. Justin and Sean are both so down to earth and it makes a pleasant change to find a book with no angst.

Mark Steadman is just right for this audiobook. He narrates in a matter of fact manner, yet manages to bring Sean and Justin perfectly to life. 5 stars all round.

Great Friends to Lovers

I loved this friends to lovers story set during Christmas. Justin and Sean have been best friends forever but they always remained tight lipped about how they really felt. I kept wanting to poke and prod them to get moving!

I thought the story was a great pace and enjoyed the narration. I wish it was a little longer! :)

Christmas Cheer

Low angst, friends to lovers story full of optimistic beginnings leading to a gentle HEA .