When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday

By: Jennifer Peel

Narrated by: Stephanie Rose, Neill Thorne

Friends don’t let friends fake date alone.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.” Ha! Wrong. Dead wrong. And I can totally prove it.

For the last seven years, I’ve been just friends with Jack Holiday—yes, that Jack Holiday. The swoon-worthy, ridiculously famous, self-proclaimed king of the silver screen. Passion? Love? Worship? Please. Unless you count how much Jack worships himself. Take that, Oscar!

Okay, have I thought about being more than friends with Jack? Sure. I mean, the man waters my plants, never forgets my birthday, and knows exactly which ice cream to bring me—whether for PMS or heartbreak. But when our unlikely friendship began, I swore we’d never cross that line—even if Jack, like Oscar, doesn’t believe men and women can really be just friends.

Then Jack drops a bombshell: he wants to come home with me for the holidays. The guy who’s never cared about Christmas suddenly wants to play Mr. Holly Jolly. Worse, he needs me to pretend to be his fake girlfriend to save him from his ex. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s laughing with my nieces and nephews, charming my family, and being . . . utterly, infuriatingly adorable.

And maybe—just maybe—we had to kiss.

Oh. Wow. So. So. So. Good.

So amazing, it’s making me want to swallow my pride and beg Oscar for forgiveness. But once you leave the friend zone, there’s no going back. There’s no safety net. Now, I have to ask myself, is risking our friendship worth the fall? And will Jack still be there to catch me?

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Peel presents the merriest friends-to-lovers story bursting with holiday magic and charm.

©2025 Jennifer Peel (P)2025 Jennifer Peel

Everything! I Loved Everything!

Everything. I loved everything about this book. First, the dual narration was top notch. The story really came alive through these narrators and the felling and expression they gave the characters. So, so good.
And the story? One of my favorite Christmas stories, ever. Each scene played out just like a movie in my head. (Can someone make this a movie, PLEASE?!?!) Christmas traditions, crazy family fun, one squeaky bunk bed and lots of sparking romance. Jack just has to be one of my favorites. I love a guy who is in hot pursuit, all in, and taking his shot. He was so sweet, so determined. So charming and so intentional.
This whole book made me so happy. I tucked right in and fell in love.

Oh so Merry!

Love this story! Love the narrators. It’s a 5 star all around for me! It will be re read every holiday! 🎄🎅

A new favorite Christmas romance

I love Jennifer Peel's books, but I'm not a big fan of friends-to-lovers romances. Sometimes they're done well, but often it's too much of the old "I don't want to ruin our friendship". Thankfully, that's not the case with Ivy and Jack.

Here's their situation in a nutshell: Jack is a Hollywood hearttrob who believes men and women can't be just friends. Ivy's a down-to-earth hairdresser who believes the opposite and is determined to prove Jack wrong. They've have been best friends for 7 years, and out of the blue Jack wants to spend the holidays with Ivy and her family. Then after a run-in with an actress Jack's had an on-again, off-again relationship with, Ivy ends up being Jacks pretend girlfriend. These things have Ivy a little unsettled, wondering what's going on with him, and this is where the fun begins!

There's so much to love in this book:
🌲 Dual POV
🌲 He falls first & hard
🌲 All the Christmas activities
🌲 Ivy's family
🌲 Forced proximity
🌲 Squeaky bed
🌲 Grinch hat of shame
🌲 Swoony kisses

Ivy and Jack's love story is the kind that sneaks up on you. It's formed through laughter, inside jokes, and knowing each other so well. I loved every minute of their journey to love—Jack becoming vulnerable enough to let Ivy know about his childhood to Ivy finally admitting her feelings for Jack.

If you love fake dating, slow-burn chemistry, and banter that crackles off the page, this book will steal your heart faster than you can say “friends to lovers.” Stephanie Rose is one of my favorite narrators and Neill Thorne is fantastic! They made the story even better. If I could, I'd give way more than 5 stars!

All opinions in this review are my own.

Fist book from this author

What a great find. Love this author writing and the narration was excellent. Will be looking for more books. Sad they are not label a a series.

Great story!!

Loved the story! Great chemistry between the actors!
Great audio book! Should be a movie.

Good story line

Love Jennifer Peels books, and this one was great. Narration was to me- painful. Especially the male voice.
Luckily I could switch to kindle and read that part.
Overall good story

Recommend with Reservations

3.5 stars.
I enjoyed this book. It was fun and Christmassy. The dialogue was well written and engaging. I loved Ivy’s family and their Christmas activities. However, the inconsistency between Jack loving Ivy for 7 years and having dated Sienna for years caused a disconnect from the story for me. It made no sense why he didn’t say anything to her about loving her for 7 years. Unfortunately the story just didn’t hold together.

So cute

Truly enjoyed the story. It had enough comedy and drama to make it a great romcom for the holiday season

Fantastic!

Such a fun, enjoyable listen. I couldn’t stop listening. Super cute story. Take a listen Take a listen

So so so good!

I loved this book! The writing was great, tension and romance perfect, and the narration was spot on! Will definitely be listening again!