This is part of the 5 book Gift-Wrapped Romance series. Each is a standalone holiday themed story, written by 5 different authors.

As the title indicates, fate/Christmas magic begins the story. I don't usually read books that feature that theme. Thankfully, this wasn't a main story line after all.

I have really enjoyed some of Anneka Walker's historical books and was excited to try a contem9by her.

The characters were likeable and the story definitely has Hallmark holiday vibes.

I listened to the audio and enjoyed both the male and female narrators. The only issue I had was with the recording quality of the male voice. It sounded like he was in a closet or underwater. It was a definite quality contrast to the female.

Thanks to Dreamscape Select and Netgalley for the advanced audiobook. I'm happy to leave an honest review.

Merry Kismet is an absolutely adorable Christmas-y romcom. This book has Hallmark movie vibes, second chance romance, and a sweet, perfectly delightful storyline. This quick read is the perfect holiday choice if you want characters that are so easy to root for.
The narrators did a really wonderful job, my only complaint is that when the male was reading it wasn't as loud, and sounded sort of like he was reading through a tin can.

Thank you to Dreamscape Select, Anneka R. Walker and NetGalley for this ALC

"Holy Kismet" this book was SO stinkin' cute! Like all the stars and love for this adorable second chance Christmas romcom. Brie and Rocky were melt-me cute. I am a huge fan of this trope, but the way Walker wrote this story, it was fresh and fun and felt like a hug on Christmas. Both narrators captured these characters so well too, I felt like I was experiencing their second chance right there with them. I think both narrators did a great job with not only the POV they were performing, but also with the dialogue and I found them easy to listen to.

Brie and Rocky were once in love... and then they weren't. When Brie wishes for Rocky for Christmas, she never thought he'd literally show up on her doorstep. The close proximity and way these two are brought back together kept a smile on my face the whole time I was listening to this. It's the perfect size for a holiday romance, more than a novella, but not a full-length book either. I loved the humor; I really was grinning reading this one. The romantic chemistry and connection between the two are palpable (so glad to hear the narrators capture their connection) and you just want to cheer for them the whole time. I also liked that Rocky had things to work through and the faith he had to put in himself and Brie to move forward and grow together as a couple.

I received an advance listening copy of this from Netgalley and Dreamscape Media. All thoughts and opinions are my own. I definitely recommend this book and the audiobook version was a full five stars for me.

This book was a fun one! The perfect read for Christmas time. It had a hallmark feel to it which was fun.
The characters were sweet and the plot was delightful.
I listened to this one on audio and it was well done. I love when there are dual narrators (a male and female). My only complaint was that the sound wasn’t as loud when the guy took a turn reading. I had to turn the sound up a bit when he read. Not a huge deal but something to be aware of.

Brie and Rockwell dated in high school, but haven’t seen each other since Rockwell left town following his parent’s divorce years ago. When Rockwell comes back to town and ends up sharing the other half of the duplex Brie lives in, will their relationship be rekindled or will Rockwell leave town again?

I needed a good holiday romance to get in the holiday spirit and this was the perfect book for that! I loved this story from the very beginning and I enjoyed watching this second chance romance unfold. The characters in this book were so likable and I was rooting hard for them the whole time. This is a quick read and the perfect book for this holiday season. I really loved this and recommend it to anyone look for a fun, lighthearted holiday romance between two easy to like characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC audiobook version of the book!

A quick and cute holiday romance

*Part of a series, but can be read as a standalone.*

Brie and Rockwell, the ultimate high school sweethearts, were inseparable. But during their senior year, things took a turn for the worse. Rockwell's family went through some major drama that traumatized him, and he ended up breaking Brie's heart and skipping town without so much as a goodbye.

Fast forward to now, and Rockwell is back in town for the holidays. Brie thought this would be the perfect opportunity to finally get closure. Will she be able to get the closure she needs, or will her old feelings for him come flooding back?

This was a cute and entertaining holiday romance that you can easily devour in a day. But the male narration was a bit of a downer. The narration was muffled and of low quality. Which hindered my experience a bit. Don't get me wrong, it's still worth a read, but I wouldn't recommend the audiobook.

***Thank you to NetGalley, Anneka R. Walker, and Dreamscape Select for graciously sending me the audiobook to review. As always, all thoughts are my own.***

This is a cute Christmas rom com. I loved the narrators. The male one was a little quiet but good.
The storyline was good and the ending was great. I actually could read a sequel story about these 2 lovebirds.

Very one dimensional for me. I was bored and couldn’t connect to the characters. It felt very unrealistic and didn’t really give me all things Christmas.

This was a quick, lighthearted, hallmark-style Christmas Romance.

There is not a lot beneath the surface, but it was a great time and I was rooting for our two reconnected high school sweethearts.

Read this for an easy-breezy, low-conflict holiday fun.

This has no spice aside from some kissing and includes forced proximity, second chance, and adorable side characters.

I listened to the audio and loved the female narrator. She had good pacing, good narration, and did the male voice well. Given that this is an early listen copy it may be fixed in final production, but a minor annoyance that the male narrator sounded like he was in a fishbowl. The volume difference between the two was jarring at times.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listener copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

📖: Merry Kismet
✍️: Annika R. Walker
📅: Dec 20, 2023
⭐️: 3 of 5
🌶: Clean
💬: "I dont know about love stories being meant to, but what I've learned is that love requires constant effort."

Troupes & Themes:
- Forced Proximity
- Second Chance
- Small Town
- Dual POV

This was a cute, cheesy, Hallmark-like read, perfect for the holiday season! A quick and easy listen with dual POV narration. I found both voice actors to be a great fit for the characters. However, Sean's parts were lesser in quality as far as sound goes. I got a kick out of the MMC last name being Davenport as that is also my maiden name. It made the story pretty fun and relatable.
Thank you, NetGalley, Dreamscape Select, as well as the author, for the opportunity to listen and review this advanced copy.

I liked Brie a lot. She is a fun character. And I liked Rockwell but he had some real issues with his father's betrayal and really should have gone through therapy to work out his issues. I kinda have a hard time with the 'my dad was a louse so of course I will be too' trope. I was kinda peeved that he couldn't set aside his issues to go home for his mom's sake. They had some fun times together and sweet moments but he was pretty fickle about what he wanted from Brie. I guess the pull was too strong for him to walk away when he was determined to do so. I've read a lot of Ms. Walker's books but I've found that I prefer her historical to contemporary romances. This is still a sweet Christmas romance. It just wasn't my favorite of her books.

The narrators were both good but there were technical issues that I hope will be fixed before the audiobook comes out.

Possible triggers: parent leads double life & leaves family for his other family.
No sex, language or violence

Stand Alone
Audiobook speed- 1.75

A cute, clean, second-chance Christmas romance.

I got off on a bad foot on this one- there are some timeline issues in the beginning- I thought they were worse than they are but figured out it wasn't so bad in the next chapter. Still messy- Rockland arrives on a Friday, they say utilities will be turned on tomorrow and that he is going to his friend's office on Monday. Next scene and Brie is at school (she is a teacher), the utilities are still off, and Rockland did not go to his friend's office. Apparently we went from Friday to Monday, which is fine, but things did not occur as they were scheduled. (Also, another timeline quirk- Brie's school lets out for Christmas 2 weeks before Christmas. I've taught elementary in two different states, and if we were out by the 21st, it was a good year.)

Those types of discrepancies seem to fester in my brain, so, as I said, off to a bad start.

The rest of it was fine. I still don't get Rockland's reaction when he was a teenager- seems to extreme and it was never really explained deeper than surface level.

This is told by dual POVs and the audiobook has two narrators- Elise Taff and Sean Yves Lessard.

Now, the audiobook has issues. I had an advance copy, so hopefully it will be fixed before release. I've listened to around 2,000 audiobooks in the last several years. This was an issue I've never had- the volume was completely different when switching between the two narrators. Enough of a difference that I had to actually change the volume level when they switched. Sean Yves Lessard's audio was not only far quieter, it also sounded muffled. And sometimes you could hear background noise. His performance was fine- it was just the quality of the audio that was subpar.

I received an audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me and audiobook arc of this title

This is a second chance romance book. The MMC skipped town after his high school graduation due to his parents lingering divorce. He found out that his father had a second life with children and made it his whole personality to close himself off in fear of turning out like his dad. Fast forward 7 years later, he returns to try to force his mother to move in with him in the city (he even got her a hospital bed!!), and ends up falling for his high school sweetheart. They both realize they still have feels for each other, and even though we see during his POV that he never wants to be with her again, he still flirts with her, leads her on, and forbids other people from being with her

I do not think the relationship between the two MCs was a healthy one, and they didn’t have any chemistry. The man was extremely sexists (thought, and I quote, “women doing what women do best, erupt into conversation”) and showed signs of weaponized incompetence (what do you mean you don’t know how to wrap presents and she does it better?).

I would have enjoyed this book more if the two MCs didn’t peak in high school. They’re in their mid-twenties, please grow up.

Merry Kismet by Anneka R. Walker was the perfect holiday romance audiobook for the Christmas season or anytime of year you need the twinkle light magic in your life. I loved Brie’s small town life and seeing her embrace Kismet was perfect! Who doesn’t love a forced proximity fake dating holiday romance?!

a very sweet romance, perfect for that time of the year. The characters were fun and cute together and, despite the fact that I hate when books are marketed as "clean romances" (implying that sex is dirty), it's great for me since I tend to cringe easily when reading spicy scenes (men are a cringe species tbh). The narrators were fine, they sounded maybe a little too American but that's a me problem.

Merry Kismet by Anneka R. Walker should be a holiday novella that tops your list. It is guaranteed Christmas joy to warm your heart and put a smile on your face. PEREFCT for a fun afternoon of Christmas cheer. I loved Brie and her willingness to just lay it all out on the line. The super cool lady gave her an amazing gift and she decides to go for it. There were several laugh out loud moments, driven by both Brie and Rockwell. Rockwell is your chocolate chip kind of guy. He is sweet, and wonderful, and impossible to resist. Except, he is determined to leave Bearwood as quickly as he can. Never mind that Brie is all grown up and living right next door. The story is full of cuteness, forgiveness, second chances, and, well, mistletoe. Sigh.
I had the added bonus of enjoying an audiobook narrated by Elise Taff and Sean Yves Lessard, which really brought the story to life in my mind. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher via NetGalley and all opinions expressed are solely my own, freely given.

Merry Kismet is a gem of a holiday read.

Readers will meet Brie and Rockwell. Brie is a teacher at her hometown high school. Rockwell is a business man who now lives in the LA. On an unsuspecting night, Brie creates a Christmas list outlining her wish to be with her and past love, only for him to show up on her doorstep. And he’ll be living next door to her over the Christmas break.

Thank you to #NetGalley for and advanced audio version of Merry Kismet

Brie just wants this Christmas to be different than all the others. She’s tired of being around her family, the only one without a partner. And she’s still can’t stop thinking of her old love Rockwell.

Rockwell hates coming back to his hometown. He wants this Christmas break to be his last visiting and hopes he can convince his mom to move to LA with him.

These two together are sweeter than caramel corn. Brie’s nicknames for Rockwell show just how close she still feels to him. Just by the touch of her hand, Rockwell gets mushy insides for Brie. Their families want them together, their friends want them together, but the two of them….can’t figure out how to BE together. Throughout this book, we find they are equally still very much in love with each other.

This book is great for a happy, Christmas time romantic read. You’ll feel warm inside after reading. It’s like a warm cup of the richest eggnog on the shelf.

My favorite scene was the cat in the middle of the night. That cemented the sweetness and safety Brie and Rockwell shared with each other.

I couldn’t rate it 5 stars because I personally enjoy an insane amount of spice. But this does have a realistic amount of tension for the setting.

I’m interested in reading more of this series

This was such a feel good Christmas romance! Brie is feeling down when she gets a Kismet notebook and writes down her Christmas wishes, one of which is her ex boyfriend, Rockwell. Surprisingly enough, he shows up at her doorstep not too long after. He is in town to convince his mom to move with him to LA to be closer to better medical care, but as the holidays go on and they spend more time together, they are both thinking that maybe they are meant to be. I love that there was no real second act break up and that they worked through typical communication issues without there being a big falling out. This is a very typical, holiday romance. I loved the dual audio POV's

On a night where Brie is alone and feeling down, she unexpectedly receives a kismet notebook to write her Christmas wishes in. When she wishes for Rockwell and then he shows up on her doorstep, she thinks there is something to this and it has to be fate.
Rockwell is just in town to convince his mom to move back with him to LA. He doesn't want to be stuck in this small town, but it seems like fate, and their friends have other ideas. They know the two of them are meant to be, and it is time that they open their eyes and Rockwell stops being scared and goes for what he wants.
Brie has a list of Christmas things that she is hoping to do with Rockwell and after he finds the list, he can't help but want to fulfill them.
This was a sweet second chance Christmas romance and no second act break up!
The male POV audio seemed like it was messed up though, so that was a little odd, but I got through it by adjusting the volume. He did sound underwater at times or in a very large room that echoed.
Thanks to Dreamscape, Anneka Walker and Netgalley for an early copy.

Dual narration for the MCs, each listened to at 2x speed. The voice for Brie, our female MC, was perfectly fine. The voice for Rockwell, our male MC, sounded echoey and tinny. It was tough to listen to the male narration.

This is a cute, quick Christmas story. Brie and Rockwell, or Breezy and Rocky if we go back to their HS nicknames, were once kindred souls, but Rock ended things abruptly and then avoided his hometown for several years afterwards. A wishlist in a (maybe?) magical notebook brings Rock back to town, and both he and Brie search for closure.

The characters are cute. Not a ton of depth to any of them, but the lighthearted development is what keeps the story on pace and holiday friendly. No super steamy scenes. No horrifying language. Just an enjoyably simple story.

Overall: 4 stars

I'll tell my students about: supernatural?

**Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the free ALC. All opinions expressed are my own.**