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Making Spirits Bright: A Fake Dating Holiday Novella
One wrong bed. One fake boyfriend. One month until New Year's.Connor McNamara lives by checklists, calendar invites, and color-coded folders.
So when he wakes up in his carefully curated bed to find a stranger curled against him—barefoot, blanket-hogging, and definitely not on the schedule—he's more intrigued than he expects.
Hannah thought the apartment was empty. She's been bartending while rebuilding her life after her world fell apart, and crashing in her roommate's spare bedroom beats the lumpy couch. She definitely didn't plan on an accidental hookup with the meticulous executive assistant who measures his vermouth and never misses a deadline.
One night should've been it. But when Hannah's condescending ex corners her at an engagement party, Connor plays the perfect fake boyfriend—complete with a protective arm around her waist and a kiss that feels way too real. Suddenly they have a be each other's holiday armor through December's chaos of winter weddings, Breakfast with Santa events, and family gatherings. Then walk away clean on New Year's Day.
The rules are no feelings, no future, no falling in love.
Too bad Connor's already mentally rearranging his life around her laugh. And Hannah's starting to realize that the man who reorganizes her bar setup and shares his mother's recipes might be worth the risk.
Between mistletoe kisses and domestic mornings, their fake relationship starts feeling dangerously permanent. But Hannah's been burned before by putting her trust in the wrong person, and Connor's spent his whole life caring for everyone except himself.
Falling for each other was never part of the plan. But maybe the best things never are.
A steamy holiday novella fake dating that gets too real • roommates to lovers • one bed/wrong bed • he falls first • forced proximity • found family • mistletoe kisses • a sweet cinnamon roll hero who uses spreadsheets as a love language
... and the kind of messy, inconvenient love that rewrites all the rules.
So when he wakes up in his carefully curated bed to find a stranger curled against him—barefoot, blanket-hogging, and definitely not on the schedule—he's more intrigued than he expects.
Hannah thought the apartment was empty. She's been bartending while rebuilding her life after her world fell apart, and crashing in her roommate's spare bedroom beats the lumpy couch. She definitely didn't plan on an accidental hookup with the meticulous executive assistant who measures his vermouth and never misses a deadline.
One night should've been it. But when Hannah's condescending ex corners her at an engagement party, Connor plays the perfect fake boyfriend—complete with a protective arm around her waist and a kiss that feels way too real. Suddenly they have a be each other's holiday armor through December's chaos of winter weddings, Breakfast with Santa events, and family gatherings. Then walk away clean on New Year's Day.
The rules are no feelings, no future, no falling in love.
Too bad Connor's already mentally rearranging his life around her laugh. And Hannah's starting to realize that the man who reorganizes her bar setup and shares his mother's recipes might be worth the risk.
Between mistletoe kisses and domestic mornings, their fake relationship starts feeling dangerously permanent. But Hannah's been burned before by putting her trust in the wrong person, and Connor's spent his whole life caring for everyone except himself.
Falling for each other was never part of the plan. But maybe the best things never are.
A steamy holiday novella fake dating that gets too real • roommates to lovers • one bed/wrong bed • he falls first • forced proximity • found family • mistletoe kisses • a sweet cinnamon roll hero who uses spreadsheets as a love language
... and the kind of messy, inconvenient love that rewrites all the rules.
205 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 5, 2025
4 people are currently reading
18 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 3, 2025
4.5 - Thank you so much to Bailey Seaborn for the complimentary copy of the book!
This book will be out on Dec 5th.
I first read Bailey earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was such a sleeper hit for me and now I'm looking forward to the 3rd book. But until then she gave us this little novella to hold us over until Two Wrongs comes out late winter.
I will say it took me a bit to remember the characters but once I got rolling, I was able to fill in the gaps and it all came back to me. Our leading lady Hannah is starting over after hitting semi rock bottom and while working as a bartender she meets Connor who we did meet in All Tweak. This book packs a punch in such a short book. As mentioned Hannah is starting over and trying to figure out what her next path is. Connor was not part of the plan but somehow she wakes up on top of him. And from there the two of them just couldn't stay away from one another.
"You're insane."
"I'm in love."
I love how each of them have their own journey that they are doing. Hannah rebuilding her life while Connor trying to slow down his. Connor is so used to being in control and having a plan and having a plan for the plan. Which some might find this is a strength, it eventually becomes a huge obstacle in his relationship with Hannah. Connor was dealing with a lot as he still was grieving his mother who had died a few years prior. There was a moment with Hannah's family that kind of shocked me and honestly in books I love how he stuck up for Hannah.
My only small critique would be I wish we got to see more of the couple being a couple! I would have love to see them on dates and spending quality time together.
I also love how the beginning of this took place at the same time as Twerk. I felt like this book really brought the two prior books together and sets us up to the 3rd book. I just really enjoyed this novella and had a good time while reading it!
This book will be out on Dec 5th.
I first read Bailey earlier this year and thoroughly enjoyed the book. It was such a sleeper hit for me and now I'm looking forward to the 3rd book. But until then she gave us this little novella to hold us over until Two Wrongs comes out late winter.
I will say it took me a bit to remember the characters but once I got rolling, I was able to fill in the gaps and it all came back to me. Our leading lady Hannah is starting over after hitting semi rock bottom and while working as a bartender she meets Connor who we did meet in All Tweak. This book packs a punch in such a short book. As mentioned Hannah is starting over and trying to figure out what her next path is. Connor was not part of the plan but somehow she wakes up on top of him. And from there the two of them just couldn't stay away from one another.
"You're insane."
"I'm in love."
I love how each of them have their own journey that they are doing. Hannah rebuilding her life while Connor trying to slow down his. Connor is so used to being in control and having a plan and having a plan for the plan. Which some might find this is a strength, it eventually becomes a huge obstacle in his relationship with Hannah. Connor was dealing with a lot as he still was grieving his mother who had died a few years prior. There was a moment with Hannah's family that kind of shocked me and honestly in books I love how he stuck up for Hannah.
My only small critique would be I wish we got to see more of the couple being a couple! I would have love to see them on dates and spending quality time together.
I also love how the beginning of this took place at the same time as Twerk. I felt like this book really brought the two prior books together and sets us up to the 3rd book. I just really enjoyed this novella and had a good time while reading it!
December 10, 2025
Spice: 1
Tropes:
forced proximity
one bed
fake dating
cinnamon roll MMC
grief rep
Dual POV
I love Bailey Seaborn's books. If you've not read her yet, I highly recommend you do. While the All or Nothing books are interconnected standalones- I suggest reading them in order for peak amusement, feels, and to catch those easter eggs.
We got a Connor book! Omgosh Can you tell how excited I am for this?! I have loved Connor since book 1, now I'll be honest, book 2 is the one that really sealed the deal on him for me though lol. He's the perfect cinnamon roll. He's always putting everyone's needs above his own- which he should also work on prioritizing himself too. But he's witty, smart, and I just was so excited! I had no idea- but should have, since this was a Seaborn book- that there was so much to unpack with Connor and I loved it. Thankfully he has Hannah to help him learn to adjust and put himself on his list of things to take care of!
Speaking of Hannah, she was fun too. She was relatable in the way some of us tend to run away from our problems and trying to figure out what comes next when our careers don't pan out the way we expected. And the weight of our parents' expectations.Hannah and Connor were adorable. I love their meet cute at the bar, where Hannah was a bartender. It was fun and then the whole fake dating is always a favorite trope of mine. I cannot wait to see them in future books!
Tropes:
forced proximity
one bed
fake dating
cinnamon roll MMC
grief rep
Dual POV
I love Bailey Seaborn's books. If you've not read her yet, I highly recommend you do. While the All or Nothing books are interconnected standalones- I suggest reading them in order for peak amusement, feels, and to catch those easter eggs.
We got a Connor book! Omgosh Can you tell how excited I am for this?! I have loved Connor since book 1, now I'll be honest, book 2 is the one that really sealed the deal on him for me though lol. He's the perfect cinnamon roll. He's always putting everyone's needs above his own- which he should also work on prioritizing himself too. But he's witty, smart, and I just was so excited! I had no idea- but should have, since this was a Seaborn book- that there was so much to unpack with Connor and I loved it. Thankfully he has Hannah to help him learn to adjust and put himself on his list of things to take care of!
Speaking of Hannah, she was fun too. She was relatable in the way some of us tend to run away from our problems and trying to figure out what comes next when our careers don't pan out the way we expected. And the weight of our parents' expectations.Hannah and Connor were adorable. I love their meet cute at the bar, where Hannah was a bartender. It was fun and then the whole fake dating is always a favorite trope of mine. I cannot wait to see them in future books!
November 18, 2025
I love the opening scene to Connor and Hannah's love story, what a great "sort of" meet cute ... they technically met before the scene.
Hannah brought a work thing to the attention of people who should have protected her (ahem ..i.e. her ex Sebastian) but she ended up quitting because of the scandal. Now she's working in her uncle's bar.
Connor is working for Victoria. When he steps in between Hannah and her ex, they start to fake date for the wedding of Alex & Grace. He seems a bit controlling but he feels he's just helping. It takes Hannah to show him that he needs to prioritize himself and also be there for others but work as a team with them instead of trying to pave their way without the other party involved.
I love the work that Alex and Grace do for the children's hospital and the sensory room that calls back to their story so that was nice to see in the book.
Hannah brought a work thing to the attention of people who should have protected her (ahem ..i.e. her ex Sebastian) but she ended up quitting because of the scandal. Now she's working in her uncle's bar.
Connor is working for Victoria. When he steps in between Hannah and her ex, they start to fake date for the wedding of Alex & Grace. He seems a bit controlling but he feels he's just helping. It takes Hannah to show him that he needs to prioritize himself and also be there for others but work as a team with them instead of trying to pave their way without the other party involved.
I love the work that Alex and Grace do for the children's hospital and the sensory room that calls back to their story so that was nice to see in the book.
December 5, 2025
I enjoyed this holiday set romance. I liked that Connor tried to orchestrate everything in his life, but Hannah is more of a "life comes at ya" kind of gal. In their work life, they both need to be more rigid but in their personal lives, Connor cannot get rid of his tendencies. Their meet cute was a new one for me. I liked that they did not jump into bed with each other right away. Granted, the move there was quick, but it wasn't a one night stand. The writing really gave me a good feel for their apartment and how they each wanted to have the relationship work, but didn't have all of the answers. This is a good book for the season and I will recommend it to people.
Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion. Please be aware of any trigger warnings, as your mental health is most important.
Thank you for the copy, this is my honest opinion. Please be aware of any trigger warnings, as your mental health is most important.
December 16, 2025
BAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!
Bailey Seaborn, what have you DONE to me?!
Let’s start with Connor, because I have loved this man since day one. Absolute cinnamon roll behavior. Makes spreadsheets like it’s a personality trait (and also literally his job). Has a plan. Has a backup plan. Has a color-coded contingency plan. A dream.
And then there’s Hannah. A little messy, extremely real, and the perfect hot pink pen next to his flawlessly written lists. She says exactly what she’s thinking, makes a killer drink, and may or may not have single-handedly toppled an entire empire my exposing their fraud. Casual. Iconic.
Yes, this is a novella, but don’t let that fool you. It reads like a full-length book with how smoothly Bailey weaves this story together. Zero wasted moments. All vibes. All feelings.
Do yourself a favor: read Peppermint Bark, read All Twerk, and then immediately grab this one. Trust me. You will not regret it ❤️
Bailey Seaborn, what have you DONE to me?!
Let’s start with Connor, because I have loved this man since day one. Absolute cinnamon roll behavior. Makes spreadsheets like it’s a personality trait (and also literally his job). Has a plan. Has a backup plan. Has a color-coded contingency plan. A dream.
And then there’s Hannah. A little messy, extremely real, and the perfect hot pink pen next to his flawlessly written lists. She says exactly what she’s thinking, makes a killer drink, and may or may not have single-handedly toppled an entire empire my exposing their fraud. Casual. Iconic.
Yes, this is a novella, but don’t let that fool you. It reads like a full-length book with how smoothly Bailey weaves this story together. Zero wasted moments. All vibes. All feelings.
Do yourself a favor: read Peppermint Bark, read All Twerk, and then immediately grab this one. Trust me. You will not regret it ❤️
December 3, 2025
A cute and cozy holiday read. Hannah and Connor meet at a bar and then turn out to be roommates… sort of. This novella is about finding oneself and shaking off insecurities to be the best version of yourself. A wonderful Christmas story
December 6, 2025
This is the perfect holiday novella... especially if you've been following the Saratoga crew through this series, which is absolutely delightful.
Loved this brief foray into Connor and Hannah's lives and the start of their relationship. Classic moments of wanting to scream at them for not just SAYING THE DAMNED THING THEY'RE THINKING... but such is storytelling and suspense.
Can't wait for Kate + Nick's story next... thanks for giving us these characters, Bailey!
Loved this brief foray into Connor and Hannah's lives and the start of their relationship. Classic moments of wanting to scream at them for not just SAYING THE DAMNED THING THEY'RE THINKING... but such is storytelling and suspense.
Can't wait for Kate + Nick's story next... thanks for giving us these characters, Bailey!
December 30, 2025
2.5
I felt like the "bumps" their relationships went through were unfair to one or the other of them. I just was not involved like I have been in previous works of this author's
I felt like the "bumps" their relationships went through were unfair to one or the other of them. I just was not involved like I have been in previous works of this author's
January 1, 2026
Review coming soon!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews