Merry and Bright
Home Sweet Holidays • Book 2
by Ali Rosen
Narrated by Barrie Kreinik, Eric Nolan
Why Listen to This Audiobook?
At under 80 minutes, this fake-dating holiday romance is shorter than most holiday parties — and considerably more fun.
- Great if you want: a breezy, low-stakes rom-com for the holiday season
- Listening experience: light and fast — finish it on a single errand run
- Narration: dual narrators Kreinik and Nolan keep the banter snappy
- Skip if: you want emotional depth or a slow romantic build
About This Audiobook
Two strangers on the same holiday flight discover they share more than a destination: a mutual dread of family gatherings. Miriam Brody is heading to Charleston for Hanukkah, bracing for the full weight of her family's attention, while pro football player Cal Durand faces his own Christmas obligations with equal reluctance. A flirtatious in-flight conversation sparks an unlikely proposition — pretend to be a couple and weather the holidays together. What begins as a convenient arrangement grows complicated as genuine feelings start to surface, threatening the careful fiction they've constructed.
At under 90 minutes, the story moves with the breezy confidence of a well-told short. Barrie Kreinik and Eric Nolan trade narration duties across Miriam and Cal's perspectives, giving each character a distinct voice and keeping the romantic tension alive between chapters. The dual-narrator format suits the fake-dating premise especially well, letting listeners track the gap between what each character says and what they're clearly starting to feel. It's a compact, charming listen ideal for a single holiday afternoon.
