White-Hot Holiday

Real Men #2.5

by Coleen Kwan

Previously released as part of the Stranded with a Hero anthology. Now available individually!

Nice is about to meet Naughty…

When Aussie Naomi Spencer hears her uncle's American friend is coming Down Under for a short visit, she can't wait to be rid of him. Aaron's “Bah Humbug” attitude drives her crazy...and so does his incredibly sexy smile, and the way he pitches in to help her get ready for all her relatives. Okay, so maybe he's not a total Grinch. But when Naomi’s uncle warns her to stay away from his playboy friend, Naomi’s simple holiday gets even more complicated.

When a volcano grounds all flights back to the States, Aaron Cade finds himself stranded in Oz. For Aaron, family holidays are to be endured, not celebrated. Only Naomi brings magic to the simplest things: shopping for gifts, finding the perfect decorations, and making him feel at home in the bizarrely tropical December heat. His sudden, overwhelming attraction to Naomi will turn his idea of home upside-down…but can he change everything for one white-hot love?

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Novella, Holiday Romance, Amazon, Christmas

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 28, 2014

About the author

Coleen Kwan writes contemporary and steampunk romance for Carina Press and Entangled Publishing.

Coleen has been a bookworm all her life. At school English was her favorite subject, but for some reason she decided on a career in IT. After many years of programming, she wondered what else there was in life — and discovered writing. She loves writing contemporary romance and steampunk romance.

Coleen lives in Sydney, Australia with her partner and two children. When she isn’t writing she enjoys avoiding housework, eating chocolate, and watching The Office.

Reviews

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

White-Hot Holiday by Coleen Kwan is a novella that is a part of the contemporary romance Real Men series. The characters and relationship are new and fine to be read as a standalone.

Aaron has traveled down to Australia for a visit but when his friend gets called away for a medical emergency he finds himself left with Naomi. Naomi isn’t overly happy to be babysitting her uncle’s grinch of a friend right before Christmas but when Aaron jumps in and helps with her store and decorating she begins to see him differently.

White-Hot Holiday was a rather fast paced romance read with it’s shorter length but the characters and setting were rather nice in the story. I’d personally prefer a bit more time for a relationship to develop but I was glad the story was low on the angst level overall and felt it was a nice beginning for Aaron and Naomi so 3.5 stars for this one.

For more review please visit https://carriesbookreviews.com/

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, rounding down

I got this free on Amazon and decided to try out a new author. There’s nothing bad about it, I was just... bored. I didn’t feel much of a connection to the protags at all. Maybe it would’ve worked better as a full-length book.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received an ARC through NetGalley.

My feelings toward White-Hot Holiday are all over the place. I really liked it in the beginning! Aaron is taking a short vacation, and visiting his friend Luke (yep, that Luke!). When he pulls up to the house, he's greeted by a very attractive young woman. Although it's not a very warm welcome, since he's just run over some of her Christmas decorations. Naomi is Luke's niece, and she's all about celebrating Christmas right! Aaron on the other hand is a complete Scrooge, but he can't help but get caught up in helping Naomi decorate and take care of the holiday rush at the store.

White-Hot Holiday started off great! It seemed like it was going to be the perfect holiday novella, with Aaron being the Grinch and Naomi being quite enthusiastic. I also loved getting a sunny, hot Christmas in Australia rather than the typical white Christmas. But once Aaron and Naomi start getting to know each other better, it just got boring. I don't feel like we got to know these two that well in these few pages, so their problems were very one dimensional. Naomi just had a bad break-up, so she's still worried that every man is going to treat her the same way. And Aaron...doesn't like Christmas? That middle portion was just dull because of that.

But then Christmas happened and I wanted to climb into my Kindle! It was so fun, and yummy! But then Aaron gives Naomi his gift, and I cannot even understand her logic. He got her a plane ticket to visit him in New York after he returns home. She freaks out about not uprooting her life for a man again, and moving overseas when she doesn't want to. Um, what? Has she never heard of a vacation?! He didn't ask her to move, just come to visit so they can see each other again and see where this is going. Then the story caught my attention again, only to end with my least favorite romance ending! Why!?

I really wish White-Hot Holiday had worked better for me. I really enjoyed the Christmasy parts, but the romance wasn't hot, or even interesting, at all.

Read more of my reviews at Pinkindle Reads & Reviews.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars.

I have recently read some of Coleen Kwan's Accidentally in Love novels and this was the main reason I bought the anthology.

TBH, by the time I got around to reading the anthology I had forgotten why I bought it and I was probably half way through this before I realised that it was part of the series and who everyone is.

Quick recap. Luke Maguire was the writer suffering from writer's block in Real Men Don't Quit who falls for the single mother next door. In this novella Luke invites his old college buddy Aaron to spend a few days with them just before Christmas. Aaron is from New York and is travelling. Luke's niece (daughter of his bossy older sister Helen) has just returned from living in London with her ex-boyfriend and is staying with Luke and Tyler and working in the cafe cum gift shop with Tyler.

Naomi is all about Christmas, she loves every part of it and loves spending it with her family. Aaron on the other hand hates being forced to spend Christmas with his family in small town Mecklenberg (sp?), wearing Christmas jumpers, eating turkey etc, etc. Of course the two of them don't get along from the first moment when Aaron flattens Naomi's mini fir trees with his flashy rented Porsche. Neither of them can deny the sparks between them but Aaron reminds Naomi too much of her ex, with his flashy car, big salary and living overseas. For his part, how can Aaron get involved with his best friend's niece?

This was perfectly pleasant, I am not a huge fan of Christmas novellas (especially in May) and I found this to be a bit light - I know it's a novella but I didn't really feel I got to understand either Aaron or Naomi and some of her thought processes (she only agrees to sleep with him when she thinks he is leaving the next day - when his plane is grounded by a volcano she starts avoiding him!) were a little unusual. I also felt the end suggested that Naomi had caved on her reason for not getting involved with Aaron in the first place, that she wouldn't move abroad to be with a man again, she was concentrating on her own career and wanted to be near her family.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Naomi and Aaron belong together!
I love how the author shaped their romance. It was slow, sweet and tantalizing!
You couldn't help but hope things would work out, that they would eventually get together. You want love to bloom between these two.
You get pretty invested for being such a short story.
I really liked the flow of the writing.
Then I learn this is like 2.5 in a series.... um, oops, gotta go back and read the beginning books. Yup, it is that good to see what I missed out on.
So don't start here if you're interested either. Start at the beginning!
4.5/5

[Tiffany {Beyond the Stars Books} · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. That is how I feel about this one. It was free on Goodreads so I decided why not? Who doesn't love free books? This one you could literally do without.

Right from the get go the author had the main male character saying things like "...scantily dressed and not actively discouraging him..." uh, she was in her pajamas, in her uncles house. She can wear whatever she wants and just because she doesn't tell you to stop staring at her legs doesn't mean she's encouraging you to make moves against her. Get out of here. Next, Xmas. It is Christmas, not XMAS. Don't be a lazy POS. The whole novel is about CHRISTMAS, why would refer to it as XMAS. Who is your publisher again?

Obviously, I wouldn't of been okay paying for this. I barely finished it and it was free and only 100 pages. It was kind of cute, and when I say kind of I mean calling this "novella" cute is a stretch.

[Donadee's Corner · Rating 5 out of 5]

"White-Hot Holiday" by Coleen Kwan is a delightful novella in the Real Men series. The story follows Naomi Spencer, an Aussie who is less than thrilled about her uncle's American friend, Aaron Cade, visiting for the holidays. Aaron's "Bah Humbug" attitude initially grates on Naomi, but as they spend time together, she discovers his charming side. When a volcano grounds all flights back to the States, Aaron finds himself stranded in Australia, and Naomi's simple holiday becomes complicated. This heartwarming tale of unexpected romance and holiday magic is perfect for fans of feel-good love stories.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Good

He goes too Australia for vacation & to see a college friend just before Christmas. He meets his friend niece who is going to be teaching. His friends is more a brother to his niece because he is the youngest.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holiday Romance

This was a cute story about Naomi and Aaron. Can he heal her broken heart. Will she take another chance on love, in and how will this all work when she lives in Australia and he lives in New York. I give this story 3.5 stars.

[Jessica Lucci · Rating 3 out of 5]

"White-Hot Holiday" by Coleen Kwan is a short cute holiday romance. A grinchy man and an antler-wearing gal bring out the best in each other. A predictable story that fans of romance novellas will enjoy during the holiday season.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Christmas novella - short, quick read.

[Natasha Mcbride · Rating 2 out of 5]

Predictable

It's a cute predictable romance. Boy meets girl, adversity, and they fall in love. A feel good story nonetheless. A very quick read.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Holiday love story...

A fun loving story about the magic of Christmas and finding the right person for you! I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to a friend.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet and fun!

Found a new favorite author 😀read this book pretty quickly and enjoyed every minute. Great chemistry between the characters and lots of humor.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

White-Hot Holiday is a Christmas novella in the Real Men series by Coleen Kwan. This quick read introduces us to two people in the life of Luke Maguire, male lead character of book two--one of his closest friends and one of his nieces. Even as Luke warns both of them to not pursue anything more than friendship, fate has other plans when a family emergency forces Luke and his family to leave the house for a few days and brings the two people who seem like such opposites closer than they ever thought possible.

Aaron Cade doesn't do Christmas. He's not into decorating every single inch of an area, he can't stand the songs that are played over and over again, and he doesn't understand how there are people who are just so gung-ho about the holiday season. So, when he decides to visit his friend Luke Maguire in Australia, the heat is certainly different from what he's used to but then he meets Luke's niece and sees that she appreciates Christmas and all its traditions and trimmings. Oh, he notices that she's quite beautiful too.

Naomi Spencer is looking forward to Christmas. It gives her something other than her failed relationship. She uprooted her life in order to try and build a new one with her boyfriend in London but he was too busy flaunting his wealth to even see that their relationship was doomed. Now, she's spending time with her uncle's family and even plays hostess to her uncle's friend from the U.S. Unfortunately, he could give Scrooge and the Grinch a run for their money, what with his cynicism regarding the Christmas holidays.

Though Aaron and Naomi notice each other right away, both are approached by Luke, asking them to keep their distance and not engage in anything that may result in a broken heart for Naomi. But when Luke and his family have to leave to tend to his mother-in-law, Aaron and Naomi spend more time together and Naomi starts to see that there's more to Aaron than his money and success and Aaron realizes that Naomi knows more about him now than any of the women he's been involved with before.

Naomi and Aaron's romance is like a start-and-stop love story, which lends to it a sense of realism because these two were very much aware that Aaron was only going to be in Buronga a few days and then return to his life in America. This wasn't even a case of insta-love but more of two people experiencing mutual attraction and feelings for each other spending every day in a short amount of time together resulting in a more compact but still intense road to realizing that they may, indeed, find happiness with one another.

This was a short but still substantial read. Naomi and Aaron were interesting characters and the fact that Naomi has an aversion towards wealthy guys made her thing with Aaron more intriguing. So far, this series has been consistently enjoyable and you know you're addicted when you enjoy having the old characters still be part of the story line. I'm on to the upcoming third book in the series and I've got my fingers crossed that it'll put a smile on my face just like White-Hot Holiday has. Four stars for this one! ♥

[Kim Reads (Read Your Writes Book Reviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviewed for Read Your Writes Book Reviews
by Kim

White-Hot Holiday by Coleen Kwan is the story of Naomi Spencer, Luke Maguire’s niece from Real Men Don’t Quit, and one of Luke’s best friends, Aaron Cade. Aaron is a high powered finance guy who lives in New York. He is in Australia on vacation because his boss has ordered him to take some time off. Naomi has recently returned to Australia, after following her ex-boyfriend to London. She spent a year or so there, only to realize that she wasn’t happy with the relationship and what her ex expected her to do. Since returning, Naomi has decided to forget about men. Especially ones who are like Aaron with money and fancy jobs.

For Naomi and Aaron, the attraction is there instantly, but these two are from totally different worlds and continents. Naomi is an elementary school teacher in Burronga, Australia who likes the simple things, isn’t concerned about money and flash and LOVES Christmas. Aaron likes his finance job and being able to drive nice cars, eat at nice restaurants, and shower his loved ones with nice gifts. But for Aaron, he doesn’t do all of these things to show people that he is better than they are. He simply does it, because he wants to be a nice person. But unlike Naomi, Christmas for Aaron is just a day he needs to get through.

Aaron is forced to spend Christmas with Luke and his family, and this is a chance for Naomi and Aaron to spend more time with each other. It also allows Naomi’s family to see the sparks between them. Unfortunately, Naomi’s past is still at the forefront of her mind and she refuses to change for a man again. “Nothing’s impossible if you put your mind to it.” And “Going after the person you love can be terrifying, but it can also be the best thing you ever do.” In White-Hot Holiday, Aaron and Naomi are going to realize that this Christmas is the best yet.

Source: Publisher

[Kate Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

To read this review and others like it check out my site at www.homelovebooks.com

I love Christmas, more than most normal people love Christmas. I do have a tendency to listen to Christmas music in the middle of summer, and literally my living room is Christmas all year round (hey we are in the middle of remodel so there was no room to store the decorations so I just decorated the living room instead, don’t judge). Anyway I was excited to read this book because its Christmas in Australia which means Christmas in the summer, something I have never experiences, but I would think might be pretty cool.

I will say right off the bat this book is well, fluffy, full on fluffy. It’s very cutesy, almost too much so for my taste. I loved that Naomi is in love with Christmas, because hey I love Christmas too. And I didn’t mind that Aaron wasn’t exactly all about Christmas, but I didn’t think he was a bah humbug as Naomi made him out to be.

I have to say the book started off a bit on the slow side. And more than that I thought that the conversations between the two of them didn’t seem to be all that organic, also Naomi kind of annoyed me, at one point she used the phrase “pooh poohed” and it just made her seem to be juvenile.

As the book went on though the romance picked up and the pacing got better and I thought it was a cute romance. If you are looking for for a cutesy, fluffy, Christmas novella then this might be the one for you.

[Ekaterine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.Thank you Netgalley & Entangled Publishing, LLC for the opportunity!

Well shame on me! I didn't know this was a part of the series. I will definitely be reading Ally's story and rest of the books in the series.

White-hot Holiday is a cute, fluffy read for romance lovers. It was a short, drama free and enjoyable read. And can stand on its own. I liked Naomi and Aaron from the start, they are cute couple. When Arron arrives in Aussie for hot Christmas he is a real Grinch. But soon Christmas enthusiast Naomi awakes Christmas spirit in him. I liked that part of the story, the transformation.

At first conversations felt really forced and fake, it made me cringe. Never a good sign. But after sometime author got comfortable with the characters or something else and it stopped bothering me.

It's nice to know there is someone out there who can right a nice romance without using sex and drama to make an impression. Their romance was sweet, even though it's a novella nothing felt rushed. The author did great job of portraying her characters and gave us time to fall in love with them. I really liked this novella and can't wait to try other books from the series.

[Vangelina · Rating 4 out of 5]

FLUFF. FLUFF. FLUFF AND SOME MORE FLUFF. GAH this book was mountains of adorableness. I found myself squeeling at how cute these main characters were. Just GAH. Adorable.

Okay now that I'm done with that here's the actual review.

Again. ANOTHER SHORT BOOK THAT I DIDN'T WANT TO END. These short books are going to be the death of me. But GAH I love them so much, especially the ones that are written this well.
Naomi's emotions were on her sleeve. You saw every emotion she was going through if you paid attention, and Aaron paid attention. She had no secrets. She was willing to tell you anything and be straight about it. And the same goes for Aaron. Though he liked to think that he hid his emotion well, they were just as obvious.

This is like Christmas Carol meets romance story. And it is so adorably cute. The characters interact and fit so well together. You don't want to leave this happy state that this books puts you in. I want more.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aaron Cade goes to Australia on a forced vacation and is going to visit his college roommate, Luke. when he gets there he meets Naomi Spencer who is Luke's niece. He's immediately attracted. Luke warns him off Naomi who has recently been hurt badly in a relationship. Luke also warns Naomi that Aaron is a playboy. Both Aaron and Naomi end up sharing more information about themselves than they have with anyone else. Aaron dislikes Christmas and Naomi loves it. Aaron gets stuck in Australia. Naomi helps him learn a lot about himself. He also knows he wants to get to know her better. Because of her past relationship failure, Naomi is very reticent. This is a easy-to-read and positive story. It was great to see the growth in the characters and eventual trust. I'll definitely try the rest of the books in this series.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fun novella provided by Netgalley and Entangled LLC. White-Hot Holiday is about an Aussie native who is back living with her family after a bad break up. She knows that her Uncle's American friend is coming for a visit but it doesn't bother her. Christmas is coming and thats all that matters.

Aaron thinks Christmas is overrated and wants nothing really to do with it but will he be able to battle Naomi when it comes to what she wants?

It was a fun short read. I enjoyed it and can't wait to get my hands on the next book.

[Jessica Alcazar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley & Entangled Publishing, LLC for the opportunity to read this novella in exchange for an honest review :)
ANOTHER WINNER ..... yippeeeeeeeeeeee Now I cannot wait to read all the Real Men series!!!
the story flowed beautifully and was captivating!
the chemistry between Aaron and Naomi burned~~they had the perfect balance of flirting, romance and touching heartfelt moments *****swoooooon*****
AWESOME NOVELLA!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet and romantic book. The characters were really likeable. I liked that Naomi was level headed and was thinking clearly at first instead of jumping into changing her lifestyle after what happened in the past. I really enjoyed watching the sparks fly with Naomi and Aaron. I thought that this book was well written. This is a great little holiday book thats perfect for the winter holidays but can be enjoyed at any time.

[Reading Rediscovered · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sweet, light romance novel. A breath of fresh air compared to some of the romance novels which are all about the physical aspects of a relationship - this was focused on the emotional part of the relationship, which was well written.
Naomi & Aaron were very likable characters who were relatable & enjoyable to read about. I enjoyed seeing them grow together through the course of the book.

[Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun to read a Christmas story that takes place in the southern hemisphere where everything is hot and summery! I liked the epilogue of this short story that gave a more realistic feel to how the relationship developed and a brief look at how they handled some of the challenges of their relationship.

[Bette Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colleen Kwan gives us some holiday joy Australian style...no snow here. Just a hot guy, a volcano and lots of sparks between Aaron & Naomi. Great story with wonderful characters. Fun to see how others celebrate the holiday!I recommend this one.

[Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tropical Christmas, who can resist the story of Aussie, Naomi and American, Aaron otherwise known as Bah Humbug. Aaron becomes stranded in Australia. Let the flirting and holiday spirit begin. I so loved this fast paced fun story.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this novella when it was part of the Stranded with a Hero anthology book.
White-Hot Holiday was a fun and enjoyable read :)

[Cara]

Cute little novella. Brought me into the Real Men series

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Very slow and boring plot. Sorry.