Who knew a fake holiday relationship could be so fun?Kayla Summers has had enough of her mother’s insistence that she find a man and get married. At thirty-three, she’s a successful attorney and has a fantastic life. Knowing her mother will grill her constantly over the upcoming holidays about her single existence, she dreads the visits home.Carter Manheim is a self-proclaimed bachelor, dead set … existence, she dreads the visits home.
Carter Manheim is a self-proclaimed bachelor, dead set on seducing every beautiful woman in Manhattan. And why not? His parents’ disastrous marriage and divorce proved that lifelong commitments just aren’t viable. As his mother’s health worsens, his only wish is to give her one last happy holiday, even if it entails bringing home a girlfriend.
When Kayla’s sexy neighbor proposes they take each other home for the holidays as fake partners, she’s floored. However, getting her mother off her back is her number one priority and she agrees to the arrangement. Now, if she can only keep her heart from becoming emotionally entangled with the player of the century, she’ll be just fine…
This is a 40,000 word book filled with fast-paced, fake relationship shenanigans, and steamy scenes designed to melt your Kindle. The main character’s mother has late-stage cancer and there are adult situations and language, so please consider that before you read. Here’s hoping this funny, romantic story can give you a few hours of escape during the holidays! Enjoy!
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Omg first time listen Ayla Asher audiobook. I love it so much even the steaming romance as well .
Kayla Summer is a lawyer how lives in New York. And love to see her sexy neighbor Carter. Every night she will see different women leaving out of his apartment.
Carter Mannheim was a very hot model and live in New York. Next door to his sexy neighbor Kayla. He love to see her and those hot sexy boots she always wear.
Carter got a phone call of his brother telling him his mother got cancer again. Carter had to figure out who to take with him for the holiday.
Kayla was at the pub having a drink and not looking forward for the holiday alway hearing her mother voice. Carter walk on to the pub and saw his neighbor Kayla and saw they both were down. They spoke about their problems. Carter had a plan and explain bit to Kayla . Carter and Kayla decided to make a holiday pact to be fake Relationship. So both of their family would be happy. You must read this book . But I really recommend it listen it to audiobook. It was fantastic. Thank you once again Ayla Asher for a wonderful adventure
loved it
Kayla and her hot neighbor Carter need a fake relantionship for the haliday. Can they work it out without breaking their hearts in the process? Carter has commintment’s issues and Kayla’s selfconfidence is weak due to her mother criticism. But can they make fake their feelings or will they realise they are mean to be together? Steamy audiobook with two good narrators
I listened to this book in audio. It is a great, steamy, story that can be read in a short time. I think the book was about 6 hours total. The main character was entirely relatable to most people and it was great to read about her personal growth. The character development for other character storylines particularly between the main characters and their relationships with their parents could use more background knowledge. *warning this has much sexual language so do becareful if you have audio playing*
This book is awesome.
Kayla is a plus sized girl who has body issues because of her “dear” mother.
Carter is a Greek god like actor/audiobook voice that has commitment issues because of his “loving” father.
What started as a fake relationship as a way to appease their mothers, turned into something that takes us on a journey that is as emotional as it is funny, having us rooting for this unconventional and unexpected couple, while they go through so many ups and downs…
With these two we laugh, we cry, we hurt, we sigh… we feel so much.
Being witness to their growth is magical, and watching each of them credit the other for their growth, and their honesty with each other is so fresh and so good and so heartwarming, that cannot be put to words.
Once I picked it up, I couldn’t put it down.
I can’t recommend this book enough.
I received a free ARC copy of this book and this is my honest opinion.
His Holiday Pact (ManhattanHoliday Loves #1) was a great read by Ayla Asher. Kayla’s mother has always insisted that she find a man. She’s a successful attorney and has a great life. Carter is a bachelor who doesn’t want any commitments. He finds out this will be his mother’s last holiday season and he wants to make it the best for her. He proposes to Kayla that they enter a fake relationship for the holidays. They never thought they would have a hard time fighting their attraction. I enjoyed this book and cant wait to read more by the author.
Kayla and Carter are so much fun, I love this couple. They are neighbors (friends) to lovers and looking to make their own families happy through the holidays so they start a fake relationship. Kayla is an accomplished lawyer whose mother beats her down which makes Kayla insecure. Being a curvy woman myself I understand her insecurities and admire her all the more. Their story is flawless and I look forward to the next in the series.
I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
This is the first book in the Manhattan Holiday Loves Series, a Holiday Romance. I have read books 2 and 3 in the series, and I loved them. Kayla and Carter’s story is sweet, fun, sexy, and heartwarming. Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross did an amazing job with the narration. I love their voices together, and they are perfect as Kayla and Carter. This is a great team author/narrators.
His Holiday Pact was a heartwarming read that is perfect for any season.
I love how Asher writes her characters, giving them flaws and struggles so many of us deal with, making them relatable and easy to root for. Filled with feel good moments and a HEA that we all hope for, this was an incredible story.
I also loved how the Audible version of this book had both a male and a female narrator for the two main characters. It was really unique and brought the story to life even more. I highly recommend this to any fans of romance!
Carter Manheim is a stage and commercial actor and considers himself a confirmed bachelor. His appetite is healthy and he brings home a beautiful, model-thin woman almost every night. Kayla Summers is a successful lawyer and she’s hoping for a promotion at work. She’s self-conscious about her voluptuous body that her mother criticizes for keeping men away. All her mother wants is for her to get married and give her grandbabies. She and Carter are next door neighbors and have a “passing in the hallway greeting” type of relationship. Kayla thinks he’s gorgeous, but she doesn’t like his type. She’s sure that he’s never going to think of her as anything but a neighbor. Carter’s mother has stage 4 cancer and her time is running short. She wants to see her two sons and their women happily married or dating before she dies. Carter has a great idea and thinks that Kayla would be the perfect woman to have a fake relationship with him. It’s the holiday season and Kayla’s family expects her to visit, but it’s the last thing she wants. She has to face her mother’s criticism and doesn’t want to do it alone. When Carter asks her to pose as his fake girlfriend and visit his mother for Thanksgiving, she lets him know that she needs him, in return, to spend Christmas with her family. He doesn’t know what her mother is capable of. As they grow closer, Carter starts to have cold feet because he doesn’t do relationships and Kayla becomes invested in their relationship, so she decides to break it off before it gets any more painful. Carter’s inner turmoil is almost too much and I was happy that Kayla cut her losses. After a talk with his brother, he decides she’s worth giving it a try. I would have loved the ending if he weren’t so wishy washy and still unsure of their future up to the end. The narration is so good that it kept me in the story and made me feel what the characters were experiencing. Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross are two of my favorite narrators and this story is spot on!
I was pulled in from the start. Kayla has a poor self-image due to years of belittling by her mother. Carter is afraid of relationships/love due to his father walking out on the family. They’ve lived in the same building for the last 3 years. Kayla’s always found Carter extremely attractive yet she stays away because of his manwhore ways. When both need dates to keep their mother’s of their back during the holiday season Carter suggests they fake date. Well, what starts out as a fake relationship quickly turns into so much more. (The side story brought tears to my eyes as I could feel Carter’s pain. His mother is in the end stages of cancer.) Both narrators do a great job with this story, I had to listen in one sitting. Highly recommend!!
I love how charming Carter is. I also loved how he built up Kaylas self esteem. This relationship was one that had been forming well before meeting these characters. The two complemented each other well. I love how they each brought something to the other for amazing character growth. There were highs and lows that both characters had to face.This story was very well written, had great world building and character relationship growth. I love how easily it was to read and enjoy. I’ll be reading the rest of the series as well as others from this author.
If you are looking for a holiday romance this book is for you! I started it and finished it today, which is my favorite kind of Christmas Novella’s. The two MC’s make a wonderful story that makes you wishing there was more.
Oh.My.Goodness!! What a great story! I’m a huge fan of stories about fake relationships in general, but I really LOVED this one so much!
It’s about Carter and Kayla, they have been neighbours for three years.
Carter doesn’t do relationships, but since this will be her very last Christmas he wants to make his dying mom happy and bring a girlfriend home for the holidays.
Kayla’s mom is nagging her for ages about not having a boyfriend. They decide to be fake boyfriend/girlfriend. How convenient! I absolutely loved this storyline!
This review is based on the audiobook. The narrators, Kai Kennicot and Wen Ross, did an amazing job. This duet narration is so good!!
Kayla Summers, a lawyer, is a strong willed woman. But underneath her persona, she has self esteem issues due to her mother always commenting on her weight, appearance and still not married.
Carter Manheim is an actor, narrator and a confirmed bachelor. He wanted to make his mother happy before her death. She always wanted him to have that special someone in his life.
So? Fake boyfriend, fake girlfriend, fake relationship. what could go wrong?
Kayla and Carter is fun, excited and steamy. They really connected and had fun together. But this is only supposed to be fake.
Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross are very entertaining narrators. They really brought this story to life! They capture every emotion, every voice. Each character’s personality was perfection! Thank you for the great listen! I wish i could give 10 stars. I was gifted this through Story Origin and offered my honest review.
The Perfect Holiday Romance! As an ex-Manhattanite, this book brought back many city romance memories. Sadly, none of my neighbors were ever as hot as Carter lol. Kayla is a strong, funny and inspiring attorney. Carter is her hot fxxxboy neighbor. Family obligations and holiday spirit cause them to strike a deal …… pretend to be in fake relationships and visit each other‘s families over the holidays. Wow… That could only end well, right? Lol
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. There were definite moments of laughter and sometimes a few teary ones. There were a lot of very steamy and relatable scenes. Caution … your glasses might fog up! Very well written and identifiable heroine. I can’t wait to start Book 2!
AUDIO REVIEW…..
Main characters in this book are Kayla and Carter, read beautifully by Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross. Can I just say, Wen can read me to sleep anytime, that voice ……
The story although only 4 &1/2 hours on audio is short compared to most audios i listen to, but I didn’t feel cheated. It flowed really well, and I lost track of the time as I listened to the story unfold.
Carter has commitment issues, and I couldn’t really blame him. Watching his parents marriage fall apart, and then the divorce, it’s enough to put a man off for life. And Carter’s got enough lust to go around, why have one when you can have many?
Kayla has a great job and a pretty good life, but if she’s not married then her mother thinks she hasn’t really achieved anything!
Being neighbours and friends, they band together and pretend to be a couple for the Christmas season. But Kayla knows it’s not real, Carter never dates the same girl twice, and she doubts he’d date her anyway! And she’s only helping him out, it’s sad about his mother, so anything Kayla can do to help Carter make his mother’s life happy is ok with her. And anyway he’s keeping her mother off of her back.
It’s fun, it’s saucy, it’s sad in places, it’s saucy, and it’s a holiday romance (and did I mention it’s steamy?!)
I listened to most of the audio whilst walking to work (and I did stumble a few times at where the story went) but there were also a few moments I had to laugh…..
It’s a predictable Christmas story. But it’s well worth a listen too.
Have a feeling it’s going to a favourite on my Christmas list (yes I have a reading/listening list for most occasions)
And I think I’m going to have to get the book too.
A sweet book with plenty of yummy heat, heartbreak, and seriously tender moments. Tears might not happen often but they will happen. Kayla and Carter are neighbors who decide to use each other to male their families happy. Each comes with baggage that a parental unit instigated – Kayla has self-image issues: Carter has problems with commitment.
As for the narrators, they were fantastic! I could just eat Wen Ross up! That voice is great! Kai was also terrific. The editing with the chuckles, laughs, and other noises overlayed with the narration were well done!
Story: 4 stars
Narration: 5 stars
Fake relationship. I love this trope. Yes, it’s totally predictable, but it’s such a fun journey. I love watching the confirmed bachelor fall from grace. Brought to his knees by an unsuspecting siren. That’s exactly what happened to neighbours Kayla and Carter when they make a pact to fake date for the benefit of their interfering parents, who want them to be happy and settled in love. My first read by Ayala Asher, and it was sweet, sexy and entertaining, I loved how Kayla never denied the possibility of falling in love, not so naive that she would think it an impossibility. Carter on the other hand was probably going to deny love and marriage to his dying day. I listened to the audio version which was narrated by that fabulous duet, Kai Kennicott and Wen Ross, both such relatable narrators.
*review for audible version*
My first read/listen by this author and it did not disappoint. Its funny, extremely sexy, emotional, and fast paced. A fake relationship to appease their families for the holidays turns into so much more. It doesn’t take long before things turn hot and heavy and then feelings start to come involved. A short listen that I did not want to end! I love Carter and Kayla! All the freaking feels! And the narrators did a phenomenal job!