I have read the previous full-length novels in this series and enjoyed the light banter and fun of them; however, this Novella fell flat for me. It was okay enough for a light read, but it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable to me. I did like the goose character, but felt it was so unrealistic for a “house-pet” that I couldn’t get into the story as much. The end-cap portion of the novella also threw me since it jumps ahead by 10 years and I was not expecting that at all for a short Novella. I’m hoping this is just a blip and the future books will be more like the novels have been.

I didn’t expect to fall head over heels for a book that opens with a goose rescue at Oktoberfest, but this audiobook completely stole my heart.
The dual narration is perfection. The male narrator brings the frazzled, secretly-soft sports agent to life with just the right mix of sarcasm and sincerity, while the female narrator delivers a powerhouse performance as a plus-size model who’s confident, clever, and entirely unforgettable. Their banter had me grinning from ear to ear, and when the emotions started creeping in, I felt every beat.
The story itself is a total rom-com fever dream in the best way. A fake engagement to solve mutual housing disasters. One room. One bed. And a cantankerous goose with a sock-stealing habit and more personality than most side characters. It’s chaotic in the most charming way, filled with laugh-out-loud moments, unexpected tenderness, and just enough slow-burn heat to make things interesting.
There’s something undeniably satisfying about watching two people pretend to be boring for the sake of appearances while secretly falling harder with every forced proximity mishap. Add in Christmas madness, nosy parents, and a goose with a growing social media following, and you’ve got a love story that’s both wildly funny and genuinely sweet. It’s festive, flirty, and full of feels—and the audio format makes the chemistry between the leads absolutely crackle.
A honking good time with heart, hilarity, and holiday heat!
I received a complimentary copy from NetGalley and Dreamscape Media and am voluntarily leaving my review.

Like all of her books, this one was a lot of fun!
The narrators were great! I love a good, easy audio to get lost in.

Honkers Under the Holly by Amy Award is a delightful holiday treat! This book is a perfect blend of heartwarming romance and festive cheer. Amy Award delivers a story that is both sweet and satisfying, with characters you'll root for and a plot that will keep you engaged from beginning to end. It's the ideal read to curl up with during the holiday season!

This book was HILARIOUS and heartwarming. I loved every second of it. It was so unserious in the best kind of way.

This was such a fun filled goose centered romance.
Mac & Sarah Jane were such a sweet couple. Their whirlwind romance, their goose filled shenanigans, & their hard work made this such a sweet holiday romance that was full of laughs, love, and found family.

A cute, sweet, and fast paced holiday novella from the Cocky Kingmans world. This one has some insta love vibes, and I don't think it can be read as a standalone (reading alongside the rest of the series I think makes it more enjoable/easier to connect to). The premise is cute- a plus sized model and sports agent rescue a ghost at Oktoberfest, and we also have some backstory romance with Bridger and April and a very short story with cousin Levi. The stories are sweet, quick reads- definitely not fully developed (it's a novella with multiple mini-stories) and all full of feel-good vibes and holiday fun with curvy ladies. And a goose, of course.

The Honkers Under the Holly is narrated by Allie Shae and Kyle Mason. Neither I was familiar with prior to this listen, but I really enjoyed both of them. Allie brings a lot of heart to the performance (and some great German pronunciation, or so it would seem to me), and Kyle has a great tone and is easy to listen and fall into. They enhanced the enjoyment and the narration itself was great- I just wanted more meat to the stories overall, even for novellas.

This was really cheesy, it was fine but I probably will not continue with the series. The narrators were fine, but not my favorite.

Thank you to the publisher for the ARC in exchange for a review.

What a fun, feel-good ride! This delightful romance is packed with charm, laugh-out-loud chaos, and surprisingly sweet moments. The premise—a fake engagement sparked by a rescue goose named Sir Honksalot—sounds ridiculous in the best way, and the execution delivers all the heart and holiday hijinks you could want.

The chemistry between the sports agent hero and the confident, plus-size model heroine is electric from the start. Their forced proximity (hello, one bed trope!) leads to a slow, believable build of real feelings behind the fake relationship . I especially loved how body-positive, self-assured, and funny the heroine was—she absolutely owns every scene she’s in.

The goose is a total scene-stealer (sock obsession and all), and the supporting cast, from meddling family members to social media antics, adds even more layers to the festive fun. Perfect for fans of cozy holiday romances, curvy girl heroines, and unconventional pets.

A cozy, chaotic holiday treat—and a fabulous intro to the Kingman football family world!

"Honkers Under the Holly" was a cute novella about a tyrannical goose who brought good things to those around him. When Sir Honks-a-lot brings a plus-sized model and a struggling sports agent together, it's practically love at first honk, and the story just gets funnier from there.

The only drawback for me was the open-door scenes. I'm a sweet romance kinda gal and prefer closed-door romances myself. That said, I did appreciate the plus-size representation.

Thank you to Amy Award, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

I really enjoyed this! The writing is sharp and witty, and the characters are so much fun, i hold a special place in my heart for Sir Honksalot. I was genuinely laughing out loud in places and swooning in others. The romance felt natural and had a great slow burn with just the right amount of spice.
It also had a comforting holiday vibe, like wrapping yourself in a blanket while chaos unfolds in the best possible way. Fluff, but the best kind! And narration was on point too!

Honkers Under the Holly by Amy Award is a cute, fluffy romance that delivers exactly what you'd expect from a holiday-themed love story. It’s light, cheerful, and sprinkled with just the right amount of spice to keep things interesting. While it didn’t blow me away, it’s the kind of feel-good read perfect for cozying up with under a blanket and some cocoa. Fun, festive, and easy to enjoy, but not super memorable for me.

This was just as fluffy and fun as the rest of the series although it wasn't quite clear at first how it relates. I highly recommend giving this quick, holiday spirited novella a listen. Allie Shae and Kyle Mason do a fantastic job on the audiobook.

Thanks to Dreamscape and Netgalley for my ALC.

This is such a cute novella in The Cocky Kingman’s series, which tells the story of how two for the side characters met and fell in love. It takes place about 15 years before book 1 in the series. I love that there are subtle hints towards future relationships and events. However, you could read this book first and not have to worry about spoilers!

Being short, it was very instalove, but the whole series is also fairly fast paced. Sara Jayne(an aspiring plus-sized model) and Mac (a former football player, turned sports agent) meet over a goose fiasco at Oktoberfest. To boost their career prospects, they pretend to be engaged and fall for each other quickly through forced proximity and an only one bed scenario! Sir Honksalot the goose was absolutely hilarious! I also loved the BFF Tommy, who just rolled with the chaos.

Amy Award does it again with a perfectly silly, witty and characters you’ll love heavy romance that will leave you smiling! This audio was perfect, the narrators brought it to life and added in another layer of sweetness that made you fall in love with their story from the start.
You will fall in love with this story immediately, wanting to know more and get to the good stuff. The MMC worships her (as he should), while treating her with everything by she deserves and is so adorable you don’t know what to do! The spice, chemistry and banter is on point while perfectly timed for this novella paced story- while never being too cheesy.

While it's a good read, it didn’t stand out to me as one of the more memorable books in the collection.

I was promised fluff and it delivered! Short, sweet, and a bit cliché - a great taste of the Kingman's series while we wait for the next.

This author is new to me, but I will be keeping an eye out for anything else they publish. I loved the story and the characters. The pacing of the story was great and the characters were relatable.

I am a huge fan of this series and Award's writing style and this was a nice novella of some of the pre-stories.

It was a really cute novella! I wasn’t as invested in the characters since we didn’t know them from before and there wasn’t too much time to develop them but the story was cute and fun!