The voice actors were good. I enjoyed listening to them. The story itself was a good end of the year, fast paced romance, great for helping me reach my reading goal. It wasn't bad, but it felt too rushed. All problems were created and fixed in what felt like one chapter. What felt like it should have been the middle of the story, where things started getting good, was actually the end. I was surprised that I'd hit the end of the book and a little disappointed at how fast everything ended. Why does the cover art look like it was created on someone's desktop using paint?

3.25 stars

If you like secret baby and a very quick read, this might be for you. But while this book wasn't terrible, there was quite a bit I didn't love and I think secret baby might just not be for me. At times the timeline made no sense and the child at times acting much younger than 10 and other times much older than 10. The forgiveness of such a massive lie happened way too quickly with everyone except the best friend (which also, she knew it was his child for a while but as soon as it was confirmed she gets incredibly angry about it?) The ex-fiance coming to town was random, weird, and resolved incredibly quickly. Felt completely unnecessary. Same with the FMCs job, felt very random just to add conflict but it didn't make much sense to the character or story. Plus, they got it on in the parking lot of her job when she left saying her child was sick? You're just asking to get caught and fired. And speaking of, the lack of discussion about contraception/health until it was too late made me a little uncomfortable.

However, the saving grace was the audiobook narrators, especially the female narrator Maxine. She was absolutely fantastic and was the main reason I continued reading the book. Great acting and her male voice was one of the best I've heard from a female narrator.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ALC.

What a joyfull story.

The romance, the care with the kid and the resolution of things makes everything so adorable!! I loved it.

Everyone has Christmas themed names and no one is upset that you hid a love child for ten years. The perfect hallmark Christmas gift and I couldnt help but love the cheesiness.

Great holiday read! I was looking for an easy fun read and this was it! There was no dragging or unnecessary dialogue which I appreciated it! Very cute story with a happy ending!

Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Select & Linzvonc for the chance to listen to this book in exchange for my honest review.

This novella definitely requires you to suspend your disbelief for duration of the story. Everything happens SO fast... after a ten year separation- the pedal hits the metal. If you can remove realistic timing and expectations- (and understand that it's a novella, things WILL be shorter/condensed) -this story is a fun ride.

Narration was done really well, nothing was distracting and I would definitely listen to these narrators again!

4/5⭐️ 3/5🌶️🎧

If you read/listen to this, suspend yourself in a general sense of belief, because some of this is so outlandish but the outlandish is so much fun. The cover art featured on NetGalley is this beautiful oil-esque scene with two lovers gently embracing with a pastoral, snowy winter backdrop. Stunning. I needed a quick holiday audio-novella to listen to while wrapping gifts. Based on the “listen now” and the cover, I was thinking this would be the equivalent of a cutie Hallmark Christmas movie.

It was but make it Hallmark movie meets a touch of Maury Povich meets a romcom? This had it all and I loved it. I was shook. An estranged, hot ex. Second chance romance. The one that got away. A secret TEN YEAR OLD love child. Returning to the hometown for the holidays. A strip club?! Angst, yearning, car sex, and matching Christmas family pjs? This had me shrieking. Shocked. Giggling. Invested. There were definitely moments of, “Wait, wut.” but again, just suspend in belief and don’t dissect. This isn’t a literary deep dive. This was soapy, and little campy, and horny. Enjoy the ride.

Is it perfect? No.
Is it fun as hell? Absolutely.

Also, the audiobook cover is 193744792 times better than the GoodReads featured cover (maybe that’s the trad book cover? Idk.) Although, I would have been more prepared for the book contents if I saw horny Santa first 🤷🏻‍♀️. I think the element of surprise was better.

Also, the audio production and the dual narration was really well done.

Anticipated Publication Date: January 10, 2025

Thank you to Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for providing this audio eARC in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.

Thank you Dreamscape Select and NetGalley for the ALC. I really wanted to love this book and the premise of this book was interesting even though I have read many book similar to this. The Hallmark vibes in this book were great and it felt like a great holiday read. That being said there were so many issues and I just couldn’t get past them. First of all the way the book started it just randomly picked up that I felt like I started listening to the book from the middle. So Noelle not telling Nick about being pregnant made sense to me since she didn’t want to keep him from his dream. The thing that I couldn’t understand was why she originally broke up with him as there is a such thing as a long distance relationship. Also not telling him originally I could live with but 10 years and especially after she move back to town made no sense to me. In addition to this the way Nick acted just made no sense. It was like one second Nick was angry at Noelle for keep such a big secret from him and the next they are jumping into bed together and are one big happy family. With all that being said while I love second chance romance the way this one was executed just was not it for me.

[3.5 Stars] This book has everything you would want in spicy, Hallmark-esque, cheesy romance: holiday inspired names, someone coming back to their home town, and a surprise guest who tries to throw everything off. Noelle had tried to keep the identity of her child's father a secret, but now that he's home for the holidays, the secret is harder to keep, This is a shorter story of a second-chance romance that's a quick and easy read for the holidays.

I really liked this story, I thought it was cute and to the point. I liked the involvement of other characters, meaning that I didn't feel like it was so narrowly focused on the two main characters. It's cheesy, but I found that easy to look past because 'tis the season! My only annoyance was the constant use of the word "daddy." This was particularly due to its usage being in relation to their daughter ("Holly's daddy") and the current sexual connotations applied. This implication is even used in the title so I don't feel comfortable with it being used like this, which is main reasons behind my rating reduction.

In terms of the audio narration, I thought the cast did an excellent job. I particularly enjoyed how Scott Rose did his feminine voice; there are so many male narrators that make the women sound weird or kind of whiny.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select and Net Galley for the ALC.

I love a good oopsie baby where the MMC treats the FMC kindly and respectfully (trust me). HOWEVER, this was too unrealistic. There was no struggle with the time missed and the main characters just immediately jumped back into love with each other. I really wanted to love this story, but it just needed more character development and angst. I did LOVE the audiobook on the production side of things though.

Thank you Net Galley for my free copy in exchange for an honest review.

There was not much of relationship building. There was just talked that they dated and now, they’re both back in town. I understood her initial reason for not telling him about their daughter, Holly, at first, but <spoiler>
.
.




she should have told him after a couple of years, not wait until 10 years. And even when he showed up unexpectedly, she didn’t even want to tell him. She also wanted to continue to lie to his sister, who was also her best friend. Eventually, she had no choice but to tell him that Holly is his child. He forgave her too soon. The author did not make the FMC lovable enough to be on her side with this issue. </spoiler>

Thank you to NetGalley for the audiobook ARC I loved this book! It was a perfect mixture of sweet and spicy! I loved that the author got straight to the point and did not drag out the story. I do not suggest listening to it when younger ears are in earshot. This book definitely gets ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was a delightful story about second-chance love! I really enjoyed how each character felt so real and understood each other’s imperfections. They didn’t dwell on past mistakes but instead chose to forgive and move forward, which was heartwarming.

Who doesn't love a story about getting with your best friend's brother and having a secret baby? I know I do! This was a quick and easy listen. It had me giggling and having a great time. I enjoyed the pacing of the story; however, I wish there had been more time to develop the relationship between Noelle and Nicholas. I found it hard to believe that Nicholas just forgave Noelle. Then they just picked up where they left off? The narration of the audiobook was **chef's kiss**

This book was a nice quick spicy holiday read but not much more besides that. The pacing was really fast and the characters didn’t seem to have much personality outside of wanting a family and a past romance with each other. The problems that arose like keeping a child secret for 10 years seemed major but got put aside quickly by everyone accept the best friend. Which also seemed odd since she secretly knew and was okay with it until suddenly she wasn’t? There were issues that came up that never got readdressed like the FMC feeling guilty for her parents death and others that felt unnecessary like the MMC’s ex fiance. It was a fast read and entertaining enough but not something I would read again or recommend to others unless they are looking for a simple fast holiday read with some spicy scenes in it.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of a secret pregnancy trope but do love a second chance romance, so I went into this novella skeptical, but hopeful. I do not understand the decisions Noelle made and am not a fan of her. I did love Nick, he is a true gem and not angry enough in my opinion! Holly was hilarious and me laughing out loud. Found myself wishing this was full length so we could get more character development.

The audiobook of Daddy December offers a cozy, festive atmosphere perfect for the holiday season. The dual narration by Maxine Mitchell and Scott Rose adds emotional depth, with both narrators bringing warmth and personality to the characters. However, the story itself feels predictable, and the resolution to the central conflict comes across as rushed. Noelle and Nicholas’s romance has sweet moments, but their chemistry could have been more compelling. While the narration helps elevate the experience, the plot’s simplicity and lack of complexity left me wanting more. A pleasant listen, but not a standout holiday romance.

This was a great second chance romance story. Very short story, so great for a quick holiday romance Maxine Mitchel is always a favorite to listen to which made this even more enjoyable.

Thank you to @NetGalley and @BlueNosePublishing for the ARC. Daddy December was a sweet second chance romance. Nick and Noel have not seen each other for ten years but when they see each other they know the spark is still there. This is a short novella, about 3 hours, and set during Christmas. I enjoyed this easy read.

I liked this book in the beginning, but somewhere along the way, it lost its sparkle. I think it could have benefited from added length to really flesh out Noelle and Nick’s characters. The flame between them seemed to come out of nowhere, and felt one sided to me.

As for the narration, it took me a little to get used to the overly enunciated words. But once I was used to it, I enjoyed it.

Thank you NetGalley, Linzvonc, and the publisher for a copy of this audiobook.