I was intrigued by the premise, but sadly, this one fell flat for me. Neither character was all that likeable, and since we had both POVs, some of the information became repetitive. Furthermore, I didn't feel any heat between the characters, and I couldn't understand what drew them to each other in the first place. Finally, all that can go wrong, does, but it felt just too contrived.

I am a Lauren Layne obsessed reader. She is and has been one of my favorite authors and even after this that isn’t going to change. I love a good second chance romance. This was so wonderfully done ♥️🩷🤭

A beautiful tale of second chances. Loved their banter and the adventure that they go on to make it home in time for Christmas. The narration was amazing. I had not listened to these 2 much but they kept me in the story and brought it to life perfectly.

Katherine is an attorney in NYC with a ruthless reputation. Christmas can come and go in Katherine's opinion as it's not her favourite day, and hasn't been for a long time. Her ex-husband, Tom, loves Christmas. In fact, it's been a holiday tradition for the men in his family to propose at midnight on Christmas Eve. With a ring in his pocket, and his girlfriend coming to meet his family, Tom is ready to move on. So when he gets a call that his ex-wife is in the hospital, and he's her emergency contact, Tom has no choice but to bring Katherine with him to Chicago, since she can't be left alone after suffering a serious concussion. With an impending blizzard, the trip to Chicago isn't smooth sailing, and along the way Tom and Katherine realize that maybe they don't actually hate each other after all.

I loved this story, and the audio was top notch. Read with humour and heart, the dual POV really served the characters well. The banter, and teasing moved into honest conversation which elevated this second chance romance. This one will be an annual holiday reread.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

In case you haven't already prepared yourself based on the publisher's reference to Planes, Trains and Automobiles, get ready to suspend your disbelief. This farcical second-chance romance taking place on a journey from New York City to Chicago just before Christmas was just as I anticipated—mostly light and fun.
Why in the world, you might ask yourself, would a romance genre–resistant, non–Christmas celebrator request to read such a book . . . and rate it well, to boot? Here's my bizarre little secret: I have an inexplicable affection for Hallmark/Hallmark-like Christmas movies and, apparently, their book cousins. I'm at least as surprised as you! In recent years, I've given up resisting. They've become a favorite form of seasonal stress-relief packed with plenty of schmaltz and silliness.

Emergency Contact includes a strong dose of snark; plenty of humor; and a bunch of fun side characters, including coworkers, medical personnel, Tom's family, and strangers met along the journey. [My favorite might be the trucker.] Katherine is not terribly likeable, which is a bummer. Somehow, the story still works.

I enjoyed Brianna Cohen's and Tim Paige's narration of the audiobook. The publisher's suggestion of the book being right for fans of Sophie Kinsella's seems accurate to me—I'm reading Kinsella's latest as of the day I'm writing this review (a week after finishing this book).

3.35⭐

Thank you, NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing—Audiobooks, for the audio ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review. It was published October 24.

Such a great read! Katherine and Tom are exes who are thrown together for the first time since divorcing several year back. It was funny, a tad angsty, swoony, and all around a really fun story.


Thanks to NetGalley for giving me a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

It was fun second chance romance/ drama book. Not too sexy, but great winter/ christmas book. Todd and Krisitine devoriced because of job obligation- but know life puts them together and gives them 2nd chance. Day before Christmas Eve to save his ex wife he has to take her to her to his parents house to Chicago where his new girlfriend is waiting to be proposed. The adventure making from New York to Chicago thoigh blizard and getting even stuck at Buffalo was my favorite part.

I enjoyed the narrator as well as the story of this book. I had to listen to this book no matter where I was or what I was doing, if I was on my way to work, doing the house chores, or just trying to catch up on some self care. I finished this book very quickly for my self.

The perfect rom-com! This made me so nostalgic for late 90s-early 2000s cheesy rom-coms. I couldn’t be happier that this style of story is coming back. I love this so much! I would recommend to anyone of almost any age!

So this was a really cute, easy holiday read. I liked the concept of a second chance romance as well. Their journey and mishaps were adorable and I liked the reasoning for the connection.

I struggled a little bit with the characters and I didn't love Katherine so the book was a little hard to read because of that. I also never truly enjoy a book when one character is already in a relationship.

Other than that, it was a good one for the holidays.

This was the perfect holiday read! I’m a sucker for second chance romances and hate to love, and Tom and Katherine really embody the perfect mix of those two tropes! My favorite romance books are the books that are really centered around the couple’s journey back to each other. It was really fun going on their wacky adventure through the US with them. I loved watching them slowly falling for each other again during that crazy journey.
This was the perfect quick holiday romance!
I also loved the narrators! I’ve liked Tim Paige’s voice in past audiobooks and I now have a new favorite narrator in Brianna Cohen!

This book legitimately had me giddy. I didn’t stop smiling for like five minutes after finishing it. I am a huge lover of Hallmark Christmas movies and while there have been a lot of books that I’ve loved because they give me Hallmark vibes, I have to say that this book is truly every single one of my favorite Hallmark Movies rolled up into one book! It has everything! A divorced couple forced to spend Christmas together! They keep messing up their travel plans! They sort of hate (but really still love) each other! There’s some “Christmas in the City” magic going on. PLENTY of great banter! And the trope of one of them taking care of the other!

I loved Tom and Catherine. Their “bad” character traits actually made them very lovable. I also loved how they were opposites in ways like how one of them is vehemently against Ubers while the other is very in favor, but the fact that they each bother to think about something so trivial shows that they really seem to complete each other. I also think that it was adorable how each of them would complain about the “bad” traits while also subtly saying that those negatives were what made them love the other person.

Also, I need to mention how adorable I think it is that Lauren Layne wrote this with her real-life husband, Anthony LeDonne! It made the dual POV feel more realistic!

The only thing I wish were different is that I wish that they had had a little bit more time to be together at the end, but I can get behind them not simply because that’s how all of my favorite Hallmark Movies play out too.

I can see this easily becoming a book I reread every Christmas just like my favorite Christmas movies!

Thank you to NetGalley and to Blackstone Publishing - Audiobooks for an ARC of this audiobook.

I had never read anything by this author before, but the title and the summary sounded promising for me. I absolutely love this book! It was so fun, funny, and heartwarming all at the same time. It definitely gave me the Christmas feels!

Katheryn and her ex-husband Tom wind up in a predicament when he finds out he is his ex-wife's emergency contact after she gets into an accident.

This book was just so fun, and I loved the dual narrative of the book!
I listened to this as an audiobook and loved the narrators as well. I will definitely be looking forward to reading more books by this author.

Definitely check this one out!

Thanks NetGalley and the author for giving me early access to this awesome audio book! I loved the love hate relationships between the two characters. This Audio book put me in holiday spirit and I couldn’t stop listening. So good!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved listening to this audiobook. The narrators did such a great job, I did not want it to end.

An ambitious lawyer gets into a car accident that gives her a concussion the day before Christmas Eve and her emergency contact is called to take care of her. That emergency contact ends up being her ex husband. Tom is on his way to his family in Chicago where he can propose to his new girlfriend when he gets the call about Katherine.

Taking pity on her so she doesn’t spend Christmas in the hospital, Tom decides to look after Kates and bring her to Chicago with him. The entire trip gets derailed multiple times as flights get canceled, train rides get derailed, and they get stranded in a snowstorm. And yet, as they spend time in close proximity again, they both start to think about their failed marriage and why it ended in the first place. Can they give it another try? Or is it too late for them?

I really enjoyed this story of second chances. The banter between Katherine and Tom was so fun, and I liked how they opened up to each other and allowed themselves to be vulnerable. I liked the sprinkle of holiday mischief and fate as well. This really put me in the holiday mood now!

Things I loved:

❄️ Second chance romance
❄️ Banter and hilarious situations
❄️ Forced proximity

I love the premise of this book with Katherine's emergency contact being her Ex husband Tom and of course she hits her head right before Christmas! This was just a fun book with the enemies troupe and a series of travel misadventures, and exactly what I needed! The narrators were perfect on the audiobook!

Never forget to change your emergency contact when you leave your marriage. That is the lesson Katherine didn't follow when she and her ex Tom split up. Close to Christmas Katherine gets in an accident in New York and the hospital calls Tom. Tom feels obligated to do the right thing though Katherine was not someone he was crazy about seeing again and comes to Katherine's aid. Tom has plans though for Christmas. Plans to propose to his new girlfriend on Christmas Eve. Tom, ever the good guy, can't leave the concussed Katherine alone so he convinces her to fly with him to Chicago to spend Christmas with his family and yes, soon to be fiance. Through several blunders Tom and Katherine slowly make their way to Chicago and in the course of their adventure they start to wonder if their old feelings of love for each other may still be present. The narrators did a great job of moving the story along with voice modulation. I struggled with finding Katherine extremely unlikable and Tom a little crazy for being so drawn to her. Not my favorite love story but an ok romance for Christmas. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook for an honest review.

Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne & Anthony LeDonne

A high power lawyer gets her lonely holiday plans turned upside down when she gets into a car accident on December 23rd. Forced to let her ex-husband help her through a concussion, they end up on a planes, trains and automobiles type of holiday adventure to get him home to see his family and propose to his new girlfriend.

This was a sweet holiday romcom. It was a tad unrealistic and unbelievable, just like any classic Christmas movie. But there was surprising depth and love between the characters and I really loved learning more about Katherine’s back story and relationship with her Dad.

Definitely recommending this to anyone looking for an easy and fun holiday read! The narrators were fantastic, it was a quick and entertaining audiobook.

Thank you to @blackstonepublishing for the audio copy!

I finished about half of this book!! I enjoyed the way that the female main character was written but I struggled more with the male main character. This is not my favorite trope and I was hoping to stretch my wings a bit, but ultimately I was too stressed about everyone staying faithful.

Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony LeDonne was such a sweet audiobook! Katherine is trying to make partner when an accident throws her off course and into the arms of her ex husband who is heading home for the holidays to propose to his new girlfriend! I loved this romantic twist on planes, trains, and automobiles.