Emergency Contact is a delightful romantic comedy that does not disappoint. Kate and Tom have been divorced for several years and have not spoken in all that time. It is now Christmas, a time of year Kate loathes because her father died on Christmas day. She is aware that she is a Grinch. Tom on the other hand has always loved Christmas. Kate is a very driven lawyer who main goal in life is to make partner in her current law firm. On her way home to carefully avoid any holiday festivities she is injured in a car crash and wakes up with a concussion in the hospital. Sitting beside her is her ex husband Tom. Why? Because she forgot to change her emergency contact information at her place of work. Kate has no family and friends are all away for the holidays and she must not be allowed to fall asleep for the next twelve hours due to her concussion. Enter Tom who grudgingly offers to take her home to Chicago with him to celebrate Christmas with his family and soon to be fiancee. Thus ensues a hilarious journey where the two former lovers are thrown together for the journey of a life time. Second chances abound. I really enjoyed this rom com. It's full of clever and snarky dialog and the characters are a lot of fun. Highly recommended.

Emergency Contact- Planes, trains and automobiles christmassy. The adventure you never want to take with you ex the scrooge. Will it be a Happy New Year for Kathrine and Tom. Wait and see are you willing to go on this ride.

Thank you NetGalley for an amazing Audiobook.

I loved the journey I went on with Katherine and Tom. It was quite the ride! It made me laugh and warmed my heart! I enjoyed every minute of it!

Katherine is a workaholic lawyer who has an accident. She’s in the hospital with a concussion when her emergency contact is called…and it’s her ex husband. Tom begrudgingly helps, but Katherine can’t be alone and it’s close to Christmas. So they’re off to Chicago to visit his family. Worst part is: Tom plans to propose to his girlfriend on Christmas Eve. Will Katherine and Tom stay old flames or ignite a new spark?

This was a funny, heartfelt read! Quick pace and an easy read.

Thanks to Net Galley, Blackstone Publishing, Lauren Layne, and Anthony LeDonne for the ARC! Pub date 10/24/23

Thank you Netgalley & Blackstone Publishing for letting me listen to this story in exchange for my honest review.
Planes, trains, and automobiles with a romance twist. Kate doesn't have family. She's essentially alone for the holiday season. When she's in an accident, her Emergency Contact is called. Tom is Kate's ex-husband & an emergency contact that was never updated, but he can't just leave her alone and injured. Problem, he was on his way home to propose to his new girlfriend.
All the things go wrong & it couldn't be more fun.
Loved all of the characters & the storyline. A great holiday read. A family friendly second chance romance.

A perfect book for those who like second chances and want the happily ever after. This is a fun version of the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and quite an enjoyable Christmas book.

I like a relationship with substance, and this one hit the mark. Enough time had passed since the divorce that they were able to have some great conversations, understand the other’s perspective, and reopen their hearts.

I listened to the audio book and the narrators are pretty good. It was easy to differentiate who was speaking and they brought just the right spark to their role.

Thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this book prior to publication.

Feel good holiday second chance
This second chance holiday romance was sweet, complicated, witty, & sucked me in at the very beginning.
Katherine’s lonely life has put her in a precarious situation when she needs supervision after a concussion. Enter…stage hospital room…her ex-husband & apparently still her emergency contact, Tom.
These two have magically managed to not run into each other in the same city since their divorce, but I guess New York IS a big city. But this chance reunion puts them in each other’s presence for a few days. Queue the witty banter, the unfortunate circumstances, the issue of one disaster after another, & you have the recipe for a perfect second chance reunion.
As these two navigate their current situation, they slowly find what made them each fall in love with the other…and they both see what made them go oh so wrong.
I loved the humanity in this book. Tom’s good samaritan/white knight personality and Kat’s sacrificial heart to do anything to ensure Tom’s happiness. But in the end, their true happiness was well founded in each other.
Sometimes, we get it right the first time.

Audiobook Review:
Tim Paige & Brianna Cohen delivered a stellar performance. Both pulled me into the story & had me rooting for both sides the entire way.

Emergency Contact was sooo cute and charming! I’ve enjoyed this author’s books over the years but this one was definitely my fav! This is a second chance between a divorced couple as they go on an impromptu holiday roadtrip together!

Katherine is an ambitious NYC attorney who is seen as prickly and often referred to as a grinch and a workaholic. But she doesn’t care at all, she just wants to make partner. It’s two days before Christmas when Katherine gets hit by a car leaving work during a snowstorm. She ends up getting diagnosed with a concussion and must be monitored for 48 hours. The hospital makes it all worse when they call her emergency contact who still happens to be her ex-husband Tom! Tom loves Christmas time and is ready to leave the city to head home to Chicago for Christmas and to propose to his new girlfriend when he gets the call from the hospital. Next thing he knows, he’s taking Katherine back home with him for Christmas! Along the way, they get kicked off a plane, try to take a train, try to rent a car, get bus tickets, end up robbed, and end the trip with a ride from a truck driver.

This was just bonkers and entertaining in the best way! Katherine and Tom are hilarious together and they had me laughing often. This book is also co-written with the author’s husband which I feel like is even more fun! I loved the discussion about the double standard with prickly, unlikeable heroines getting hate vs loving unlikeable heroes. Katherine didn’t always hate Christmas, she had a lot of memories with her beloved, late father (those moments totally had me with tears in my eyes). This was just super sweet and fun and charming! No steam in this one, I don’t even think we get kissing, but I loved seeing the HEA!

I received an audio ALC from NetGalley, all thoughts in this review are my own!

Forget sugary holiday fluff, Emergency Contact delivers a raw, second-chance romance. A car accident throws divorced Katherine & Tom back together, forcing them to confront regrets and simmering feelings under the Christmas pressure. Through obstacles and snowy detours, their "hate" thaws, leaving room for vulnerability and maybe, just maybe, rekindled love. Narrated to perfection by Brianna Cohen & Tim Paige, this audiobook is a poignant dose of holiday chaos and life at its messiest, most hopeful.

Emergency Contact is a second-chance story that hits your heart hard. It's not your traditional warm and cozy type of holiday romance, but instead raw, real, and filled with regrets of past decisions that resulted in the end of Katherine and Tom's marriage - which both clearly have unresolved feelings over.

Katherine is in a car accident outside of her work and never updated her emergency contact. After 4 years, Tom walks back into her life, the only solution to not spending Christmas in a hospital bed. He had been on his way to the airport to fly home to his parents' house for the holidays, where his girlfriend had already arrived, and where he is planning to propose on Christmas Eve. After learning Katherine can't be alone due to a concussion, he decides to take her with him - what could possibly go wrong?

As obstacle after obstacle prevents them from getting to their destination quickly, they find the layer of hate they thought they felt for each other melting away.

I listened to the audio book and Brianna Cohen and Tim Paige did an excellent job of narrating. It feels as if you're right there in the story, observing it first hand. A perfect dose of holiday and life this time of year.

Thank you to Blackstone Publishing, NetGalley and the authors for an advanced listening copy in exchanged for my honest review.

The holiday-themed room-com, inspired by 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles,' featuring a divorced couple, Katherine and Tom, was charming. As they countdown to Christmas Eve, their travels become increasingly challenging with hilarious mishaps along the way. While the storytelling was a bit far-fetched, it kept me engaged with these characters. Overall, it was an entertaining Christmas romance, well-narrated, and thoroughly enjoyable

This was not Layne's best book but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. I love the whole ridiculous journey of everything going wrong. The narrators were so good and it was just as good as reading the ebook version.

3.75 stars rounded up.
This is a slloooowwww burn, second chance romance between a couple that has been divorced for several years and has had almost zero contact in that time. Through a series of increasingly ridiculous unfortunate events, they are stuck traveling together on Christmas Eve. Told in dual POV between Katherine and Tom, each chapter has a time stamp to show the count down to midnight on Christmas Eve when Tom is supposed to propose to his soon-to-be second wife. There are some serious Planes, Trains, and Automobiles vibes--which the authors even acknowledge in one chapter.
Overall, this was an entertaining read that, despite its implausibility, kept me interested. I was curious to see how the book ended. The narrators were great! And the whole story gives evidence to the theory that passion burns at both ends.
Cons (why it didn't get 5 stars) - the ending was a bit too tidy and easy and, although not unexpected, a bit clunky in the landing. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that this ends like a typical romance is supposed to end based on genre expectations. It just came a little out of left field for me. The couple spends like 99% of their conversations sniping and fighting and hurting each other with words, while thinking the complete opposite in their own heads. Not a lot of soul searching and explaining and feeling sharing together. We are supposed to believe that after only having been married for a few years and then divorced (with zero contact) for the same amount of time that they are able to communicate their true feelings through misty eyes and broody silences. A bit of a stretch. And yet...
Pros - I was still rooting for this couple! I like each of them individually. I LOVE a good snarky, witty character with equally snarky, witty banter, so I was here for all that. There were some definite parts I laughed out loud. Some of their words were cruel (they did have a bit of a contentious divorce), but overall, they were fun characters to spend a few hours with.
This is a clean romance - only one kiss throughout the entire book - but it didn't bother me (I usually like some steam).
Thank you to NetGalley, the authors, and the publisher for an ARC copy of the book for leaving my honest review.

The perfect blend of Christmas spirit with some Bah Humbug mixed in, this is a great second chance romance for the holiday season. Bigshot NYC attorney Katherine has an accident leading to a concussion that needs constant monitoring, which wouldn't be an issue if she had someone in her life to call for help. In a moment of unintended serendipity, and to Katherine's mortification, she hasn't updated her emergency contact and the hospital calls her ex-husband, Tom. Shocked and annoyed, but also sympathetic, Tom suggests Katherine travels to Chicago with him for the holidays. Yet with a blizzard afoot and a series of unlucky breaks, the pair end up in an over-the-top misadventure that brings to light old feelings even as Tom prepares to take a different next step in his life, purposing to his girlfriend. Likely still shelved with the cheesy and feel good Christmas reads during the holiday season, this book reads more true to real life. With flawed characters who don't pretend to have it together and dialogue that is snarky, yet funny, this read is fun, festive, and filled with a great enemies-to-lovers romance. I recommend!

I absolutely loved this audiobook. I thought the narrator was fantastic! I loved the main character's banter and thought it was such a great idea for a story. And the authors did is so well. I was so happy with the ending and thought that it was believable. Highly recommend this audiobook!

I really enjoyed this second chance romance. The forced proximity and constant mishaps kept the story entertaining. I appreciated that the two main characters were able to have lots of banter and tension without crossing the line since one of them was in a relationship. This had all the holiday vibes and was written well. I definitely would have liked more of their relationship together at the end.

The narration was done really well!

3 1/2 stars

This one snuck up on me as being a really sweet Christmas/Holiday story. The premise of the whole thing is just wildly absurd as I'm not sure any ex spouse would really drop everything to take care of their ex on Christmas while planning on proposing to their current partner on Christmas Eve, but that's why it's fiction.

As far as a sort of enemies to lovers story goes, it was good. The wacky hurdles that Katherine and Tom have to go through just honestly had me smiling and laughing at times. The absurdity of it all is perfect for those who really enjoy the romcom Hallmark style holiday movies. The narrators were fantastic. I really enjoyed the way they approached the characters. It might've worked a little better as a duet (with her only doing Katherine and him only doing Tom), but even when they were reading the dialogue of the other it didn't take away from the story.

The fact that it was written by Laruen and her real-life high school sweetheart husband really sealed the deal for making it just the sweetest story ever. It was almost a little too sweet for me which is why I gave it a 3 1/2 instead of a 4, but please if this is all your kind of jam, please pick it up as you will not be disappointed.

Thank you NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for gifting me the audiobook for my honest review.

So cute! A little far fetched but if you just go with it, it's a funny, quirky ride! I listened to this on a road trip and it was actually the perfect book! Very fun & adorable for christmas.

Many thanks to Blackstone Publishing, authors Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne, and Netgalley for providing me the eARC.
Released on October 24, 2023

Our fmc Katherine seems to be an uptight, Grinchy, and lonely career-driven woman. When she gets a concussion, the hospital calls on her emergency contact: her ex-husband. Tom appears and whisks Kat back to Chicago for recovery, a family holiday, and his planned proposal to his fiancé. These exes get kicked off their flight and end up trekking the long way to Chicago. All the way, they annoy each other, relearn each other, and start to wonder why their marriage didn’t work.

💚seasonal holiday read
❤️second chance romance
💚forced proximity
❤️moderately angsty rom-com
💚good bickering & banter
❤️no spice

I love how Layne and LeDonne portrayed the history of Katherine and Tom. It’s not done through heavy-handed flashbacks. Instead, these exes bring their history to the dialogue, internal reminiscing, and perspectives on each other loaded with familiarity and notice of the little details.

Kat and Tom themselves are layered characters that were enjoyable to explore. Katherine is no stick in the mud but a product of her loss and perseverance. Tom as the ex-husband is not a jerk, pining for Katherine, or overly perfect. The authors made Tom a conscientious, likable person who’s trying to live his life in the present, having moved on since his marriage to Katherine, but also still deeply cares for Katherine.

The forced proximity and cozy Christmastime vibes made me feel warm and happy while reading. Then we get the second chance storyline for these exes, and it’s such a hopeful story. The narration by Brianna Cohen and Tim Paige is smooth; their voices fit the main characters. I fully recommend this romantic Christmassy story and audiobook!

Thank you to Netgalley for the audiobook ARC of Emergency Contact. All opinions are my own and my opinion is that this book is INCREDIBLE. I’m in love. This is absolutely a Christmas book and I will be listening to it again. We shall meet again, Emergency Contact.

Author Lauren Layne (who wrote another one of my favorite audiobooks, To Sir, With Love) teamed up with her comedian husband Anthony LeDonne to write this hilarious book that absolutely tickled me. But it’s not all LOLs- I also cried! I don’t like crying in my free time, but this was not an ugly cry, it was a lovely cry that I will willingly do again.

Grinch-like NYC attorney Katherine has a know-it-all attitude and an ex-husband, Tom. After an unfortunate event, she finds out he is still listed as her emergency contact and cue Planes, Trains and Automobiles 2.0 with slight You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle (which I love) vibes. Yet this book is so uniquely its own.

The characters are so flawed yet so lovable. Katherine is downright prickly, and I’m truly laughing thinking of the things she did. I want to give so many details but I think it would be so much better to just learn for yourself. Every side character was memorable and had a purpose. My absolute favorites are Gorby and Rebecca.

Narrators Tim Paige and Brianna Cohen BECAME all of these characters and they landed the hilarious lines perfectly. I rewound so often just to hear their delivery, and often had to replay entire scenes.

Needless to say, I highly recommend and it's available now!

Closed🚪
5/5 ⭐️
Location: Manhattan, NY, I won’t say if there are other locations
7 h 27 m long audiobook