The Nest Before Christmas

The Nest #4.5

by Piper Rayne

A grounded plane. A questionable Greyhound bus. A brotherhood on a mission.

When the team’s plane gets grounded right before Christmas, the Falcons will stop at nothing to make it home for the holidays, including launching their own Planes, Trains, and Automobiles-style mission across the country to get back to their wives and kids.

Meanwhile, their wives are back in Chicago, juggling babies, pregnancy tests, and a missing gender-reveal envelope.

From FaceTime flirting gone wrong to a Greyhound bus disaster, the guys’ determination never wavers—because nothing says love like a man sprinting through a snowstorm to make it home before Christmas.

Genres: Christmas, Romance, Holiday, Audiobook, Hockey, Novella, Sports Romance

104 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 4, 2025

About the author

Piper Rayne is a USA Today Bestselling author duo. Our goal is to bring you romance stories that have "Heartwarming Humor With a Side of Sizzle" (okay...you caught us, that's our tagline). A little about us... We both have kindle’s full of one-clickable books. We're both married to husbands who drive us to drink. We're both chauffeurs to our kids. Most of all, we love hot heroes and quirky heroines that make us laugh, and we hope you do, too.

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Reviews

[Piper Rayne]

Available now!

Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited
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[Anila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5⭐️

I had no idea there was going to be a Christmas novella for this series, but it was a nice extra epilogue. It was a bit unrealistic how everyone was pregnant, but I get that the author duo was trying to give everyone a happy ending. I’m now one book away from my reading goal, so if anyone has any other short Christmas themed recommendations, please let me know😂👌🏻

[Chloe Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was super cute. I think I would have enjoyed it more as an audiobook due to the large amount of characters. I felt like it just was a little too predictable. It was cute, just not great. But fun for a holiday novella. I did enjoy the Planes, Trains, and Automobile vibes.

[Just A Girl With Spirit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved seeing my favorites again for the holidays and catching up!! Lots of action happening at the Nest!

[Taylor Balkema · Rating 5 out of 5]

The highest rating I’ve ever given to a novella. This was such a short read (listen: because the audio books are full cast!) but this gave me so many happy feels and being back in this cozy group just made me so happy!

For sure a 5 star just for the vibes!

[Proserpine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25🌟

greening giggling laughing screaming throwing up

This holiday novella is short, fast‑paced, and packed with laughs. At under 200 pages (and with a full‑cast audiobook), it’s the kind of quick read that delivers instant festive joy. The story follows a chaotic friends’ trip gone awry right before the holidays, with multiple POVs giving you glimpses into each beloved character.

Between the travel shenanigans—planes, trains, and automobiles, and another jumble mess—and the cozy tender moments, the book balances hilarious chaos with sweet, heartwarming beats. Piper Rayne keeps the humor sharp while still weaving in tender connections, making it feel like catching up with old friends. It’s light, funny, and easy to devour in an afternoon or cozy late night read session, perfect for anyone craving holiday sparkle and found‑family warmth. 🎄❄️✨

Above all else, massive props to Sean Masters, JF Harding, Connor Crais, Troy Duran, Teddy Hamilton, Erin Mallon, Brooke Bloomingdale, Christine Lakin, and CJ Bloom for their stellar full‑cast narration. Each voice brought the characters vividly to life, making the ensemble feel like a true performance rather than just a reading.

[Olga 🌺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was nice reading about Jade/Henry and Eloise/Connor again. I couldn't care less about the others especially Teddie and Tweetie.

The women were missing their husbands, their support while battling their own life hurdles, meanwhile the men were craving sex with their women 🙄
Yeah sums about right what fictional men are interested in.
Have to admit though, Connor was the only one who was a bit worried about Eloise's visit with her doctor.

Tweetie was a complete idiot, felt second hand embarrassment for that one.

It was meh. Nothing more.

[Jillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Nest Before Christmas is a novella to finish out The Nest series. This is a hockey romcom. This novella is told in multiple POVs and covers chapters from each main character from the prior 4 books. It is set around Christmas time and gives a nice little wrap up for how each couple is doing and what is next for them. I laughed out loud several times reading this. This was a great series overall. I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys easy read/listen, low angst, sports romances, tight knit friend groups, and enjoys having each book loosely connected as the characters are recurring. I read this book through KU. I will eventually purchase the whole series on audible next time I see them on sale. I would listen to / read these again. I am giving this wrap up novella 5 stars. I am looking forward to moving on to the spin off with the baseball players.

[pannit · Rating 3 out of 5]

เล่มพิเศษที่ต้องอ่านทุกเรื่องในซีรีส์มาก่อนถึงจะรู้เรื่อง เป็นช่วงเวลาก่อนคริสต์มาสที่หนุ่ม ๆ ติดแข่งฮอกกี้อยู่ต่างเมือง ส่วนสาว ๆ ก็กำลังเผชิญหน้ากับฮอร์โมนคนจะท้อง คนท้อง และคนพึ่งคลอด POV หนุ่ม ๆ แต่ละคนสุดแสนจะตร่ก ความคิดถึงเมีย อยากกลับไปหาเมียแต่อุปสรรคเยอะเกิน บอสตันชิคาโก้ก็แค่นี้แต่พวกฮีใช้ขนส่งสาธารณะทุกอย่างที่มีในเมกาเลย สู้ชีวิตมาก อ่านได้เพลิน ๆ พอให้หายคิดถึงตัวละครในเซตนี้ และนักเขียแอบเปิดตัวละครซีรีส์ใหม่ด้วยแหละ ยังคงเป็นนักกีฬาในเมืองชิคาโก้!

[Katie Thayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it so much!! The audiobook is hilarious and phenomenal! All the forehead kisses to Piper Rayne for this one! 🫶🏼

[BeeFaith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nest crew is back for the holidays!

The Chicago Falcons have been delayed in Boston due to winter weather and just want to get home to their families. Jade and Eloise have news to share from their OB/GYN appointments; Kayleigh has a secret, and Tedi is overwhelmed and exhausted with a newborn. Everyone needs a break, and a planned secluded cabin getaway is on the horizon. That is until a mechanical issue grounds the team plane, causing further delays. What will Henry, Tweetie, Connor, and Rowan do to make it home in time?

I love all the POVs, especially Ruby and Bodhi's. Plus, Piper Rayne gives us a peek at some of the leading men in their upcoming baseball series, The Dugout. I know Hayes, Easton, and Decker's stories are going to be very entertaining indeed!

[Julie Booklover · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

A fast hilarious read. I loved the Nest series and was glad to be able to catch up with this crew. A friends trip that goes array, right before the holidays. Will they make it home?

Things at home are not going a smooth either, and the chaos just kept me reading.

This book is from multiple points of view, and the chapters are all different individuals. An easy afternoon read at just about one hundred pages. Highly recommended; the holiday novella and the series.

Thank you to the Authors for the advanced copy; this is my voluntary review.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I saw that Piper Rayne had written a Christmas novella that fit into The Nest series, I knew that I had to read it. The Nest Series is absolutely one of my favorite series! This book comes after the four book series. The boys hockey team, the Falcons, have an away game. The weather causes a delay, and then a mechanical failure causes another delay. The boys just want to get home to their women (and children)! So instead of waiting for the plane to be fixed, they take a train, get in a GrannyGo Uber, and rent a car all in hopes that they’ll make it home sooner.

The series of events, the what can go wrongs are all so funnily planned. I mean what Tweetsie did on the bus!! It was gross and fantastic at the same time, haha! If you’ve read the series, you know by now how much these men love their women, so it was really sweet how much they wanted to get back to them.

The book is told in everyone’s points of view it seems – which is nice to “hear” from everyone again! It’s a short, but fast paced read, so you can read it all in one sitting. However, if you haven’t met these characters in the previous books, you may be a little lost here. BUT.. the previous books in the series are so great, you should absolutely read them!

[Willa Needham · Rating 3 out of 5]

rating: 2.5 ⭐️ okay honestly it’s on me that i started this book without realizing it was the last installment of a series and is kind of one of those add on books so that you get more time with the characters…was not bad quality just not necessarily my cup of tea and I obvi did not really have the right context for background on the characters. i will say though that i did like Conor and Elouise but don’t understand why his annoying ass sister had to lowkey ruin their pregnancy announcement (which has been a longer process for them) by immediately announcing her second pregnancy 😃…but still a cute little holiday read fs

[Jaimie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novella is so funny that I laughed almost the entire time. But as always Piper Rayne gives us those sweet moments between the characters.
You get all the POVs from the characters and I swear that makes it even better. Getting at glimpse of the characters that are loved and adored is amazing. You will laugh at the guys trying to get to their women. It is some serious planes, trains, and automobiles shanigans at it's best.

I loved the way it kinda makes mention of the baseball series that is to come.

This is a full cast audio and I ate it up. Every word was perfection.

[Veronica Cruz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m pretty burnt out on hockey romances these days but I really loved The Nest series and it was super fun to come back to the universe with a holiday twist. The multiple POVs and especially the kids were the best part. It was fun to see into the future especially with all the guys being dads. It’s a great series whether you’re a hockey romance fan or not.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun little holiday short story featuring all the couples in the series as the men try to get home for Christmas and the women are dealing with pregnancy news. Sweet and great on audio with a full cast narration, this is best enjoyed having read each of the previous books.

Steam level: PG

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ebook. Library. Short but fun revisit of our favorite Nest guys. Cramming all of them into one book was a little much to juggle from a POV standpoint but loved the Ruby and Bodhi chapters as an inclusion.

[IG | TorturedHeroesDept · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved everything about this.

[Payton Sowers · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE!

Such a sweet little catch up on everyone! I loved this! Getting to see their stories continue was so great! I really loved the Ruby chapter!!

[Laurel Ullman-bockert · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up. Cute fluffy and chaotic just like you would expect the men of the nest to be.

[Rachel Nahabedian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed.

Review to come

[Kyla · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great Christmas wrap up to the series! I am definitely sad to see it has ended but excited for the new baseball series!

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,75 ⭐️

[Claire Steckbauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun story of all the favorite characters at The Nest • Cheesy • Not very Christmasy

[Tatiana Reams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved getting this little Christmas novella with some of my fav characters!! I love all the babies and all the different POVs! If you loved the Nest series like I did you need to read this!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this so much. This is such a cute read. I love seeing everybody back together all the wives all the players all the husbands all the emotions I loved seeing how catching up with people’s lives and all the fun surprises they are going to all come up on too this was the perfect celebration of all the players catching up together such as cute Novella plus now I need to rent the cabin because it sounds absolutely dreamy

[Jess (GetbookedwithJessica) · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

The Nest Before Christmas is a short, fast-paced holiday novella that delivers instant festive joy and laughs, making it the perfect cozy seasonal treat. At under 200 pages with a full-cast audiobook narration that truly brings everyone to life, it’s the kind of quick read/listen that leaves you smiling.

The story follows a chaotic friends’ trip gone awry right before the holidays, with multiple POVs giving you glimpses into each beloved character and updates on where everyone is in their lives. Seeing familiar faces — like Tweetie and Tedi with their baby, Rowan and Kyleigh, and Jade and Henry expanding their family — was so heartwarming, and Eloise and Conor’s struggles hit with real emotion.

While this novella isn’t exactly a standalone (it works best if you’ve read The Nest series first), it’s an engaging, suspenseful, and emotional slice of life with plenty of warmth, humor, and found-family feels. Perfect for cozy holiday vibes!

[Mick C · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a crazy day of trying to get back to their women and finding any means possible to do it. But the gals have quite a few surprises up their sleeves as well. And then add a splash of the next group of guys well get stories about. This makes for a fun and hilarious read.

[Samantha Draws · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5⭐️ I just love this crew so so much!! Such a fun holiday novella! I really enjoyed this one and seeing all the characters getting up to the same shenanigans again!