Holiday Hire

The Cartwright Family #2

by Maggie Cole

Widower Alexander Cartwright has one thing on his mind—his kids. He plans on keeping it that way until his mother hires a sassy, free spirited nanny to watch them during the holidays.

Art teacher Phoebe Love needs a job and to take a secret time out from her long-term, not always nice boyfriend. She plans to focus on the two boys and figure her situation out, but their father isn’t making that easy on her.

There are three rules I live by: My boys come first, the rest of my family second, and never mix business with pleasure.

I take pride that I’ve never broken these.

Until her.

She’s a wildcard—the type of woman I never chase.

She has no straightforward plan for her life.

Her version of how to be strict with my boys is laughable.

I swear, she selects her outfits based on what tattoo she wants to peek out, just to make me wonder all day what the rest of it looks like against her flesh.

And that blush she somehow has nailed everytime I look at her, wreaks havoc everywhere it shouldn’t.

The most annoying thing about her?

She’s taken by a neanderthal who treats her like crap (based on the phone conversations I’ve secretly overheard).

So I just have to get through the holidays.

Her two month gig can’t be over soon enough.

Or can it?

Holiday Hire is a billionaire single-dad/nanny romance. It’s a slow-burn, steamy, standalone novel with a strict widower father and a fun-loving, carefree nanny. This workplace love story is sure to keep you entertained.

Genres: Christmas, Holiday, Romance, Westerns, Contemporary Romance, Audiobook, Small Town Romance

446 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2024

About the author

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Maggie Cole is committed to bringing her readers alphalicious book boyfriends and fiercely strong heroines.

She’s been called the literary master of steamy romance. Her books are full of raw emotion, suspense, and will always keep you wanting more. She is a masterful storyteller of contemporary romance and loves writing about broken people who rise above the ashes. Her books can often be found hanging out in the top 100, even years after publication.

Maggie lives in Florida with her son. She loves tennis, yoga, paddleboarding, boating, other water activities, and everything naughty.

Her current series were written in the order below:
All In (Stand alones with entwined characters)
It's Complicated (Stand alones with entwined characters)
Together We Stand (Brooks Family Saga - read in order)
Behind Closed Doors (Read in order)
Mafia Wars
Mafia Wars New York
Club Indulgence Duet
Mafia Wars Ireland
Wilted Kingdom Duet
The Underworld
The Cartwright Family (Holiday Romance)

Reviews

[Lori Kays · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lord Almighty! 😩😩😩 This book should have been titled "The Stallion Rides Again!" No man should ever seriously refer to their cock as the "Stallion" during sex, not even once. Yet our MMC mentions it at least 10 times. The cringe is so real. I started to hate read from the first time he referred to his dick as the stallion and then skimmed through the rest of it, morbidly amused like watching a bad porno from the 80's. The storyline certainly was on par with that. The H was just the worst ever. I can't think of one likeable thing about him except maybe that he holds doors open for women? He was super rude, immature, self-centered and irrationally jealous. To be fair, they both were insanely, immaturely jealous to the point I'm not sure how they planned on having a committed adult relationship. The smallest thing would set them both off in a jealous spiral. This book was just awful from top to bottom. I'm going to be avoiding Maggie Cole books.

[Rachael · Rating 2 out of 5]

THE MORE TIMES HE REFERRED TO HIS DICK AS THE “STALLION” THE MORE STARS I DROPPED.


My stallion's going to make you come so hard all night.


"Greedy girl, squeezing that pussy all over my stallion,"


"Shh, let go. Your stallion has you," he murmurs


"Taste what's making your stallion hard as a rock."


The only place my stallion wants to be is inside Pheebs.


"Fuck, my stallion only loves you. You understand me?"


"I especially love it when you take care of my stallion."


"Like that thing I do to your stallion with my tongue."


She leans back to whisper in my ear, "I'm so excited. Now I have two stallions." She bats her eyelashes, smirking. I grin. "Yeah, and the most important one is waiting for you. He's been waiting for you for a long time."


THANKS I HATE IT

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook 2.5 stars

The trust issues, constant arguing, and weird name for his junk. Not for me.

[Intel Chicky Reads Romance (Kara Merideth) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Story: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Trope: nanny
Angst: 😱😱😱😱
Smexy: 🔥🔥🔥1/2

I love a good nanny trope, and Maggie's second installment in the Cartwright family saga definitely didn't disappoint. It's a fabulous story with a hero that has you waffling between causing you to swoon and wanting to throttle him, lol. Both the hero and heroine have baggage they need to work through, and their journey to happiness is quite the ride. Well-written with lots of fun banter, you can't help but fall in love with this Cartwright family, leaving you wanting more. If you're a fan of Hallmark movies but with lots of angst and spice, Holiday Hire will definitely be for you!

[Mackenzie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Where do I begin? This book was all over the place. The constant, arguing back and forth between the main characters was too much for me. Honestly, the way the paragraphs were displayed threw me off so it was automatically ducked a star 😂

My heart does go out to Phoebe because Alexander’s actions weren’t matching his words AT ALL.

He really is a moron though. The whole book he keeps talking about how his kids are his priority (rightfully so) BUT wants Phoebe to be his but on his own terms? Makes it make sense. AND one minute he can’t admit he loves her back then he’s buying a WEDDING RING?

And Lord helps us all if the refers to himself as “stallion” one more damn time during sex 🙃

[Eva ✧ ࣪ ⋆ ⁺₊ ⋆ evathedreamer ₊˚.⋆ ☾ ⋆⁺₊ ✩ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, hot, and entertaining! While not overly Christmassy, I enjoyed almost everything about this story - except the ‘stallion’ part. That was seriously cringe-worthy! 🐎😅

Around 4.5 ⭐️’s

[KAR · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well....I read other reviews prior to reading...I agree. The whole "stallion" thing is dumb. But the best part of it is that he calls his "part" stallion not only to the h, but to his past f#$ks!!!! So now this poor h runs into his side piece, who he recently dumped to be with her and she goes on and on about his "stallion". Then he continues to call it his "stallion" to h even after. Just gross! I wanted to vomit. Have some pride girl. Call it something else.

[thevampireslibrary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hallmark but make it spicy! Loved the chemistry between characters, Maggie has a way of just crafting men from your dreams (lol) grumpy X sunshine is my favourite trope, this was perfect!

[Emily · Rating 1 out of 5]

not a fan of the writing style or characters. the plot was somewhat interesting but fell off halfway through. i do think phoebe was a good nanny and she really cared for the boys.

overall, alexander and phoebe and their whole relationship lacked depth. i struggled getting through the last third of the book and ended up skimming most of it. their fighting about their previous partners felt extremely immature and toxic, especially how alexander threw insult after insult at phoebe. and he basically apologized by deciding it was the perfect time to propose to her…and she said yes…

also, the whole “stallion” thing got old real fast. it was funny the first couple of times but when alexander kept referring to his dick as “the stallion” during intimate moments (completely serious about it), it felt super cringy.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️/3🌶️

My first book by Maggie!

This was a cute story. I am on a 'Single Parent' genre kick right now, and this book has provided me with the fix!

Loved the chemistry between Alexander and Phoebe!

Such a cute, heartfelt story ❤️

[Michaela Rodová · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pro tuhle vánoční sérii mám strašnou slabost. I když Teda "babygirl" není úplně moje fav a "stallion" pro 🍆 by tam rozhodně být nemuselo (nj, cowboy cringe asi 😅), tak to ty knížce odpustím. Stejně tak to drama, protože lidi se kolikrát hádaj na blbostech a zbytečně, je to uvěřitelný a zbytek to rozhodně vynahradil.

Do týhle rodiny bych raz dva chtěla patřit.

HOT MILLIONAIRE COWBOY DAD, OH BOY 😍

Takový spicy contempo Bridgernovi (velká rodina s 8 sourozenci a mamkou, co by jim chtěla všem někoho dohodit) s nádechem Dallasu 😀 (nj, v Texasu se to odehrává a město je tam zmiňovaný).

[🦉Maggie Whitworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

❤️❤️❤️❤️
💋💋

Really good holiday romance.
Great characters, plenty of angst if that’s your thing.
Must admit to wanting to slap this couple part way through.

[Jamie King · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF… I cannot get into this writing style/dialogue/ story line. It all feels extremely immature

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

Holiday Hire sounded intriguing. I love a single dad and the nanny story, and add in the holidays? Yes please.

Yet for me, a lot was missing.

Alexander rubbed me the wrong way from the start. I get that his mom sprung this nanny situation on him, but he's a grown man and didn't act like it. That turned me off immediately. Phoebe I liked a bit better, but again she wasn't perfect. Their relationship felt forced, and rushed. They just were not a good fit in my mind. Phoebe as a nanny was fantastic. I really enjoyed the relationship that she built with the kids, and the way she continues to help them grow through activities and responsibilities.

The drama with Phoebe's "ex" was just okay. The only thing it really did for the story was give Phoebe a reason to leave CA for TX.

I'll be honest, the title of this book had me thinking it was taking place at Christmastime. That wasn't the case. It was really more of a Thanksgiving read than Christmas. I was expecting that Christmas romance, and it wasn't there.

Oh, and that whole stallion thing? 12 year old boy humor. (which I typically enjoy, but this was a miss.)

[lacie.reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Truthfully Holiday Hire was a huge disappointment. I’m not sure why I even finished the book. I first learned about the series through this book and wanted to read it first but decided to go in order. The first book, Holiday Hoax, was significantly better.

One of the most disappointing aspects of this book was the MMC, who was the voice of reason to his brother Sebastian in the first book, was a straight douche in this book. How does that happen?! He was super immature, rude and abrasive. The MFC was an insecure, hypocritical pushover who needed a huge dose of self-love.

The storyline was predictable, the holiday feels were minimal, and the characters were awful!

True rating: 2.25⭐️

[Katie]

Yeah I got like five pages in and can’t stand the mmc and the a couple characters said they were going on a mission trip and that was the final straw

[Ofra · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Marguerite · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️.5, 🌶️🌶️
It was just ok. It was way too long (over 400 pages) and the arguing got ridiculous.

[Claire Ingledew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great Christmas read by Maggie

Another great read from Maggie, loved the main characters Alexander and Phoebe and their story.

Loved seeing Sebastian and Georgia again and the Cartwright family.

Hoping the rest of the family get a book

4🌟

[Leslie Blair · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this holiday read. Alexander and Phoebe were so sweet to read about. I loved how hard he fought their connection and how hard he eventually fell for her. She really was a breath of fresh air for him and his family. He was a widower whose priority was his two boys. It wasn’t until his family intervened that he reluctantly accepted help with his boys.

I also loved how Phoebe found her voice by the end. She’d recently been in a toxic relationship with her ex. Alexander doing really nice gestures for her was something she wasn’t used to. Overall, I loved this story and cannot wait to see what’s next!

[MaryLovesRomance · Rating 2 out of 5]

My question was why do I care. Honestly, the “hero” was a P.O.S. and he ruined the story. I wanted so much more from this. It could have been so romantic and hot!

Alexander is a single dad to two active boys and his parents decide to hire a nanny for him while they go on a trip. Phoebe is the nanny they hire and in spite of Alexander’s resistance, she not only helps with his kids, but he can’t seem to resist his attraction to her.

I was so excited for this story but it sadly fell short. Alexander seemed like he was going to be the perfect grump with a soft center but he was just not at all worth it. Not only did he screw up royally with Phoebe, but there is absolutely no grovel or even real apology. The way the he treats her for the MAJORITY of the story is honestly borderline emotionally abusive and he never ever grows as a person. It was really shitty and I wanted more.

If nothing else, I thought the book would be really hot and the story would be made up for by the spice but even that turned out to be ick. The hero kept referring to himself and his package as “the stallion” and “my stallion” whenever they were getting remotely intimate. It was kind of funny at first because it was related to a drunken tattoo he has so it seemed self-deprecating but then it got way too serious. It even becomes clear that it is a regular staple of his encounters because his former friends with benefits brings it up too and it is so gross.

Don’t recommend. Wouldn’t read again.

[FANCHON · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF already. He is seriously the king of assholes- like zero redeeming qualities. She’s already suffering body betrayal syndrome from the moment he laid eyes on her and treated her like trash. I can’t.

[Cassie Reads Filthy Smut · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wtf did I just read?
I was sure that at the end someone would say Surprise! That's not the real book, this is the real book.
Headache tablets and a guy named Lance and riding my stallion. Oy.

[sheena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I admit. I — wait, maybe spoilers. Just a heads up.

Ok. The cover was cute. It was holidayish and got me interested. But that’s where the good stopped. I’ve read many books by this author. I don’t know what this even was! It was so disjointed and… Stupid.

Random nanny moving in without any indication of how she was even hired? Yall I’ve been a live in nanny. It’s not that easy of a job to get! Referring to the MMCs body part over and over and dear god over as his stallion? Once it was laughable. Twice like oh ok hah. But after I swear 16 times… The awkward feeling I had just… Ew. I only finished it because I gave a personal goal to beat my reading goal by 4 more books and was too far in this stallion sized storm of misery to stop and DNF

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this author’s first book. Unfortunately, I didn’t like this one at all. The sister Willow is immature and disrespectful, with no concept of personal boundaries. I disliked her SO much, in fact, that I don’t plan on reading her book in the series. Phoebe refers to Willow as a good friend, but she’s not. However it’s also clear that Phoebe is not a good judge of character. She repeatedly internally comments that Alexander is not like her ex, but she’s immediately drawn to his terrible attitude within minutes of meeting him. And the whole stallion bedroom scene. I cringed. It would have been one thing if they were joking about it while being intimate, but Alexander was completely serious. I’d expect a guy who dirty talks like that would be more flirtatious and really alpha - This author mistakes a-hole for alpha. Honestly, I skipped around a bunch, completely annoyed, mostly because of the interactions between Phoebe and Lance, and Willow.

[Raquel.Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect holiday read!

What’s not to love? It has the perfect recipe for a holiday romance: small town, cowboy, single dad/nanny, adorable kids, good chemistry and a whole lot of feel good vibes. The only drawback was that the whole Stallion bit was cringy and unnecessary. Apart from that I loved it and had fun reading it.

[Bookslover09 · Rating 1 out of 5]

🤦‍♀️

I found myself quite disappointed with this book. The characterization, in particular, felt lacking and unconvincing. The "alpha man" portrayal was incredibly off-putting; his immature reference to his 🍆 as "the stallion" struck me as unrealistic and somewhat juvenile. It was frustrating to witness the protagonist become increasingly emotional over the attention he received from other women, especially given that she had yet to end her relationship with Lance. This contradiction seemed somewhat hypocritical.

From the beginning, there was a palpable lack of chemistry between the main characters, which made it difficult to believe in the depth of their connection. Their interactions felt forced, and I struggled to engage with their story. Overall, the narrative failed to resonate with me and left much to be desired regarding emotional depth and character development.

[Christina Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75⭐️

This was a cute holiday romance with the billionaire and single dad / nanny tropes. I didn’t realize that Holiday Hoax (published last Christmas season by Maggie) is Georgia and Sebastian’s story and it’s also a holiday romance…just another holiday book I can buy!

[Stefanie Simeone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story


I really loved this book. I could see an instant connection between the characters. The story flowed at a good pace. Considering they lived together it makes sense that they connected so quickly. It was an enjoyable and heartfelt read.

[Patricia Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the story aspect of these books by Maggie Cole. She really brings the characters to life and makes you want more. Decent banter between characters at first and then a lot of falling in love. ❤️