How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by 
I kept seeing How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn all over TikTok and Threads since it was released, talking about a candy cane scene. That alone was enough to have me pick this up. Then I saw the audiobook cast and knew it had to be a book to listen to over reading with my eyes. This was such a fun and sexy holiday book that I definitely think needs to be in every spicy romance reader’s holiday library, especially as an audiobook.
The narration was perfect in this book. I saw that Shane East was listed but not as main cast, which had me confused as to his role. Turns out his role was narrator and he was so incredibly funny! The playfulness between the narrator and Cole, played by J.F. Harding, made this so much more cheeky and bubbly than simply reading the words on a page. J.F. Harding really brought the angst and emotion, bringing Cole’s trauma to life and his conflict with Storee palpable. Vanessa Edwin, who is starting to become a favorite as well, did a great job toeing the line between vulnerable and competitive. She absolutely crushed the scene of Storee driving in the snowstorm, which hit me hard living in Colorado and having to drive mountain passes in bad weather. Oh to have a Cole Black around to rescue me in such times!
One of the tropes I live for is fake dating/marriage and this was done so well here! There’s a bit of miscommunication prior to the start of the book which led to both Cole and Storee developing shields to protect their tender hearts. That all gets torn down when they decide to fake date and then for real date. The sexual tension between the two was delicious, as was the emotional fragility of deciding to put themselves out of their comfort bubble to grasp at the chance of something real. The spice was wild. It was incredibly well-written and steamy. The duet narration made it hot as sin and was incredibly risky to listen to at work.
Despite having a steamy and sweet romance and incredibly narration, there were a handful of things that annoyed me, but obviously not enough to rate this under 5 stars. Storee’s sister was so wildly unlikable and like, I get it. She’s not meant to be likable. She’s meant to be villainish, but still. It made me wish Storee would stand up to her. Would realize her worth and that they aren’t children and she doesn’t need to put up with that. The second was the whole Aunt Cindy angle. This is definitely a “me thing,” but I’m a reader that has gone NC with family for numerous reasons so to force this togetherness, especially when Storee’s sister was so uncaring and bitchy toward her, rubbed me the wrong way.
Now, if you’re looking for a holiday romance that has steam but is also fun and incredibly Christmas themed, I think you’ll love How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn. Don’t go into this expecting a typical every day contemporary romance. It’s a holiday romance for a reason. It’s feel good. It’s fluffy. It’s steamy. The focus is on the holiday and that is the plot. The conflict isn’t earth shattering and everyone walks away happy. What more could you want?
