Narrated by John Solo
I read Keira Andrews’ The Christmas Deal when it came out at the end of 2019 and really enjoyed it. I’d hoped maybe it would come to audio in time for the festive season this year and hey – look! Santa came early ;) It’s a sweet and sexy fake-relationship romance with no overblown angst or drama (well, maybe a teeny bit of drama); a feel-good story featuring engaging characters, a well-deserved HEA and plenty of warm fuzzies.
Former Marine Logan Derwood is really struggling. Finding it hard to get work after a serious accident at work for which he was blamed and hung out to try, he’s facing eviction from his crappy bungalow and can see no option but to move in with his sister Jenna and her family, which he really doesn’t want to do. On top of this, the sudden death of his wife from an aneurysm some months earlier has left him sole guardian to her teenaged son, Connor, who is surly and confrontational, and for whom Logan can seem to do nothing right.
When Logan goes to visit Jenna at her workplace to drop off her car keys one afternoon, he finds himself in the middle of something very weird when a woman he’s never seen before refers to him as someone’s fiancé and then invites herself to “their” place for dinner. Surprised, but too preoccupied with his own problems to really worry about it, Logan plays along until the woman leaves and Jenna can explain.
Jenna’s colleague Seth is in line for a promotion, and their boss Angela is widely known to favour candidates with families. With Angela making the rounds of the office, Jenna decides to do Seth a favour; she grabs a photo of Logan and Connor off her desk, puts it on Seth’s and, when Angela notices it, tell her it’s a photo of Seth’s fiancé and his stepson. Seth is too stunned to protest and goes along with it… and promptly wishes he hadn’t when his “fiancé” suddenly steps into the office. Thankfully, Logan doesn’t call it all a pack of lies – but then Seth realises what his real problem is. Since his long-term boyfriend left him over a year ago, he hasn’t had the time or the inclination to finish the work on his messy, partially remodelled house… but his boss has just invited herself over for dinner – and his kitchen is still in pieces. Fortunately for Seth, Jenna has another lightbulb moment. Logan needs a place to stay – temporarily – and Seth needs his remodelling finished. Why can’t they help each other out for a few weeks?
Yeah, so it’s a bit cheesy, but the author makes it work and goes on to craft a charming, emotionally satisfying romance between two very different men, each of whom has baggage to deal with, and who find, in each other, something they never thought they’d want or be able to have.
Seth Marston’s ultra conservative, highly-religious family threw him out twelve years earlier, immediately after he came out to them. They’ve cut him out of their life completely – his backstory is heartbreaking – but even though he knows they’ll never change (and they’re a bunch of arseholes who don’t deserve him!) Seth still grieves their loss. But the shadow of his upbringing continues to loom large; his ex was his first and only sexual partner, and although he knows he’s perfectly entitled to get out there and date – that he should get out there and date – he’s not sure how or where to start, and he’s not at all comfortable with the idea of casual sex.
Logan is at an all-time low, facing bankruptcy, eviction and feeling as though he’s completely failing at life when he agrees to temporarily move in with Seth. At least here is something he can do, someone he can actually help – in more ways than one, as it turns out. Logan has always identified as straight, thinking of his hook-ups with guys as simply about getting off; relationships and physical closeness are things that happen with women. Sure, Seth is cute and Logan can’t help wondering what he’d be like in bed, but that doesn’t mean anything. Then one night after a couple of drinks, Seth confesses that he’s only ever had sex with one person and talks about his issues with the idea of hook-ups – and Logan realises that while he might not be good for much, he can offer Seth the chance to experience no-strings sex in a safe way, and maybe help him get over his hang-ups. Seth is surprised, but he can’t deny he’s been attracted to Logan for a while, and decides he should stop overthinking everything and just go for it.
The attraction that has been sparking between Logan and Seth – and which they’ve tried to ignore – roars to life, and it isn’t long before they both realise that whatever is going on between them is far from casual. But it’s confusing for both of them; Logan is experiencing romantic feelings for a man for the first time and it confuses the hell out of him, while Seth… well, he’s falling hard but doesn’t want to push for more than Logan is comfortable with.
The two leads are likeable and strongly characterised, and there’s a well-drawn secondary cast, including Jenna and Logan’s dad, and even Angela, who could have come across as overly pushy, is written in a way that makes her hard to dislike. Connor is really well written, too; he’s hurting and angry and confused, and feels like a real teenager.
John Solo is a reliably good and popular narrator of m/m romances, and his performance is well-characterised, well-paced and expressive. His characterisations of Logan and Seth fit them really well; the deep, gruff tone he gives to Logan depicts his physicality and contrasts nicely with Seth’s higher-pitched, softly-spoken delivery. He’s also very good when it comes to bringing out the humour and the emotional nuances in the story; Logan’s frustration, Seth’s insecurity and Connor’s surliness are all well-realised, and the connection between Logan and Seth comes across strongly. The secondary cast isn’t large but is easily identifiable and well differentiated, and the female characters are voiced appropriately. Mr. Solo’s tendency to over-emphasise certain words and phrases is still apparent on occasion – it seems to happen most often in sex scenes or moments of intimacy – although it didn’t seem to be so frequent or be quite so exaggerated here. It’s really the only thing I’ve disliked about the performances of his I’ve listened to; his characterisations and vocal acting are good and his voice is easy on the ear, it’s just that one thing that can grate a bit.
I was really pleased to revisit The Christmas Deal in audio and would definitely recommend it. If you’re looking for a low-angst, heart-warming (but not overly sweet) romance laden with Christmassy goodness and enough heat to keep you warm in the depths of winter, it might be right up your alley!
Caz
Buy The Christmas Deal by Keira Andrews on Amazon
I enjoyed this in print, although I gave it a B- instead of an A-. Part of it was personal preference. Some of the sex descriptions weren’t sexy to me, and took me out of the story. Even so, It’s one I’ll reread, partly because I liked how all the characters were treated with respect by the author, including Angela and Logan’s dad. Maybe I’ll give it a try on audio next time.
One of my main criteria for an A grade is that the answer to “will I read this again” is “yes” :) This is Christmas fluff done really well.