Merry Kismet by Anneka R. Walker is a cute second chance holiday romance with a few funny moments.
Brie is given a journal from a Mrs. Claus to write her Christmas wishes in. Her wish appears on her doorstep a moment later after writing it.
The story is clean and told in a duo POV with a HEA. This book is available now, so go get yourself a copy. It’s a great holiday read!
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Select for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

⭐️⭐️.5/5
Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for this Arc.

2.5 stars for Merry Kismet. I have to be honest in my review and say that this wasn´t my cup of tea. The book itself it´s not bad but I found the story predictable and sort of lame.
For me, second-chance romances are the most difficult to write. Conveying all the emotions that brought to the first break up and to the eventual getting back together. If the premises for this are not strong than the plot it´s a flop for me.
In the case of Merry Kismet, I´m torn. On one side I really liked the beginning of the book, but from 60% in I was struggling to keep reading and moving forward.
The characters are boring and too close personality-wise that I really don´t see the spark between them.

Regarding the audiobook, I really liked the voices, but I think there is a need to adjust the volume of the male voice. He was so much lower than the actress and not in timber.

Anyway, I´m sure this is a very subjective review and many people will love this book. It is cozy and sweet.

Thank you, Dreamscape Select and NetGalley, for allowing me to listen to Merry Kismet by Anneka R. Walker. It was a lovely second chance, a small-town Christmas love story. The story is short, but sweet, it also has that touch of "magic" because of the "kismet" part, but I think it mas because of Brie who seems to daydream alot. I'm happy the story was during Christmas time and felt Christmasy at some point. I dislike when the story should be a holiday book and turns out it is everything but a holiday story..

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ALC of the audiobook.

I quite enjoyed the story, very quick and cute. Love a second chance holiday romance (no cheating!) in a small town. Regarding the audio, I really liked both narrators but the production quality was pretty drastically different that it was jarring going from a well produced female narrator to a quieter and more echo-y male narrator. That's my main criticism.

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.