Jingle Bell Jilt: A Sweet Romantic Comedy

by Mindy Burbidge Strunk, Alexa Borys (Narrator), E. M. Wylde (Narrator)

All I want for Christmas is some Ben and Jerry’s and a chocolate-induced coma until the holiday’s over.

Shay

I just got dumped…left at the altar! But instead of licking my wounds in the darkness of my apartment, I take the errant advice of my best friend and go on the honeymoon by myself. I mean, who does that? Apparently, me. I do that, even as the universe repeatedly shows me it's a bad idea.

Things only get worse when the rental property I’m staying at floods in the middle of the night. What am I supposed to do? It’s Christmas Eve. There's no place else to stay, except at the landlord's place next door. That won’t be a problem, right? It's only for a week. It doesn’t matter that he’s handsome, sweet, and everything my ex isn’t. I don’t need—no, I don’t want—a rebound guy.

Evan

My old college roommate and his new wife just arrived to stay in my rental property for their honeymoon. Except, my friend isn’t with her. He didn't show up for the wedding. And he says it’s because of my advice. Crap! Now I have this teary-eyed woman staying in my rental. And from what I’ve seen of her, she may not be completely stable. I should have gone home for Christmas with my family.

Now, because of a broken pipe, she’s staying in my guest room. I may have neglected to mention that her ex and I are friends. But that shouldn’t matter, right? She’ll only be here until New Year’s and then it will be back to business as usual. I don’t want to be the guy who gets his friend’s cast-off. Even if I think he's crazy for letting her go. Now if only I can keep my growing attraction and lips to myself for one measly week.

Audible Audio

Published September 17, 2025

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️ This one was cute in moments, I liked how they shared and recreated family traditions, and how kind and respectful they were toward one another. That said, the wholesome cheese felt very overdone and a bit shoved down your throat. It also read a little immature for me. Good writing doesn’t need to spell everything out for the reader to understand the meaning!!

The ending especially didn’t work for me. It felt unrealistic to the point of being frustrating, and that’s always a hard pill for me to swallow since it’s the last thing you’re left with. Overall, it was cute, but with some minor tweaks, it could’ve been much

[Annalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cheesy? Yes. But cute story and totally clean.

[Shelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Round up to 2.5

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, cute, yet unrealistic, read. But that's what I liked about it :)