The Christmas Pawdcast

Eternity Springs #18.75

by Emily March, Andi Arndt (Narrator), Jason Clarke (Narrator)

Mary Landry and her pregnant rescue dog are on their way home for Christmas when the unthinkable happens: her car breaks down along a deserted stretch of mountain highway in the middle of a blizzard. Facing dire conditions, Mary seeks shelter from a lone cabin in the distance whose warm light beckons her like a Christmas star.

Nick Carstairs has one wish this season—to ride out his least favorite time of the year in peace while working on the latest episode of his hit True Crime podcast. The sexy-voiced podcaster didn’t plan to host a stranger and her pregnant dog, but he’s happy to help a traveler in need…it’s an extra perk that she’s gorgeous. Now if she would just stop trying to change his mind about Christmas.

As they spend time warming up by the fire—and an unexpected attraction roars to life—will Mary help Nick discover the wonder of the season after all?

Genres: Audiobook, Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Fiction, Novella, Contemporary Romance

Audible Audio

First published December 2, 2021

About the author

Pseudonym(s): Geralyn Dawson

Emily March is the New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today bestselling author of over thirty novels, including the critically acclaimed Eternity Springs series. Publishers Weekly calls March a "master of delightful banter," and her heartwarming, emotionally charged stories have been named to Best of the Year lists by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Romance Writers of America.

Reviews

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read several books in Emily March’s Eternity Springs series and immediately snatched up this Christmas novella when I saw it was available. The CHRISTMAS PAWDCAST is a super short novella romance about Mary Landry, a caterer who rescues dogs, who is driving to visit family in Eternity Springs, Colorado when her car goes off the road in a blizzard. She sees a light in the window of a house owned by Nick, who hosts a true crime podcast. I am a big fan of any romance with cute dogs, y’all. Put a cute dog on that cover and feature that dog in the book and I am sold. So I loved Angel/Frankenstein and her failed rescue story and how it brought Nick and Mary together. And their joint podcast was super cute! 5/5 stars.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars



A short, but cute Christmas story featuring a grumpy St Nick and a Mary the little elf and an Angel. I wish it was just a little longer, but overall I liked it!

Audio book source: Audible
Story Rating: 3.5 stars
Narrators: Andi Arndt and Jason Clarke
Narration Rating: 5 stars
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 2h 33m

[Sabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was too hallmark-y. The scenes weren't funny and the romance was sweet but super instant. 1.5 stars

[Heroesinbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Nick & Mary Stars

Awww! This was a quick (2 hour) audible story which definitely gets you into the Christmas spirit.
Forced proximity , a pregnant rescue dog and lots of Christmas cheer. Both the hero & heroine are very likeable.
Low steam. High festive feels.
HEA? Yes
Cheating? No

[Lover of Romance · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a charming novella and just perfectly sweet for the Christmas season. I adored the winter theme to this one and how the hero was such a grinch, he literally hates Christmas and it was so funny because the heroine is all about Christmas and baking lots of treats for it. But these two people really come together in this one, and the hero just made the best dad, I just adored him in every way and the dogs implemented was just the right touch. I think fans of this author, or stranded romances, will get a fun kick out of this one. And its pretty straight to the point with the tropes. Highly recommend!

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the short and very cute story of "how Mary Christmas's gift of giving slayed the Santa Claus Killer using the magical weapon of elf dust, puppies, and love". Fun, light and fluffy.

[Amy | Foxy Blogs · Rating 4 out of 5]

THE CHRISTMAS PAWDCAST
● Christmas novella
● Mary and Nick
● single dad
● True-crime podcaster (Nick)
● pregnant foster dog
● blizzard
● Christmasy references Mary - merry & Nick - Nicolas, etc ...
● forced proximity
● strangers to lovers
● standalone

Audiobook source: Audible Plus
Narrator: Andi Arndt & Jason Clarke
Length: 2H 33M

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible Review

Overall 4 out of 5 stars
Performance 4 out of 5 stars
Story 4 out of 5 stars

Very cute!
This was a really cute story about a grumpy St. Nick and a "Mary" little elf. Definitely had all the makings of a fun Hallmark movie!
Andi Arndt and Jason Clark are always enjoyable to listen to.

I see this is the first in a series of holiday novellas- I will have to keep these on my radar.

[Quinn's Quippy Quotes · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Christmas Stars

This was super cute. I loved the play on their names and just how adorable this story unveiled. I would definitely listen to this again next year before Christmas to get in the spirit of the season.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was adorable. Always enjoy a visit with Eternity Springs.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's pretty much the equivalent of a Hallmark movie and I am a freaking sucker for those things.
This was a no brainer.

I had to have it.

It was so cute and fun and it put a smile on my face. If you want to lift your Christmas spirits, The Christmas Pawdcast is a great way to do it.

Also... this is a clean romance. Which is not typically my jam, but this was too adorable not to love it.

[Elyse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute, short grumpy/sunshine. Definitely wanted more spice! I guess this is part of a series? If it's all as tame as this, then I don't think I'm interested but it was a nice, fluffy, adorable one-off!

[Maida · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely Christmas treat, sweet and filled with familiar tropes. Nice performance by two of my favorite narrators.

[Krystle Krystlesbookclub · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plenty of talk of Christmas magic but it fell kind of flat for me. it's not bad but it's not good either.

[Aly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute little Christmas read about a woman travelling to her hometown for the holiday who ends up staying with a grumpy single dad during a storm. The main characters are Nick and Mary, there's a little manger type setting and a Christmas birth (of puppies!) So there's all the main parts of Christmas right there lol.

I wish this was a bit longer so it could have taken more time for Nick and Mary to get to know each other and develop their relationship. I also wanted to know more about Mikey, he seemed like a sweet little boy. Even so, I had fun listening to this one.

[BrandyD · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! I loved the concept so much. A Grinch and a Christmas Elf with a pregnant puppy reindeer to bring them together ❤

[Lydia's Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a sweet holiday treat! I am left with a huge smile on my face.

The Christmas Pawdcast was a short and quick read but it was nonetheless full of holiday cheer, romance, and happiness.

A perfect book/audiobook for the holidays!

Loved the story and the narrators!

[Katy O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super sweet and short Christmas audio story ~ no angst, chaste + DOGS

[Krystal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, light, holiday listen, The Christmas Pawdcast, is a cheerful way to spend a few hours. Think Hallmark Christmas movie, only maybe even cuter because…rescue dogs. Precious.
There’s tons of Christmas references and some of them had me laughing a bit. Elf dust.. go ahead and put that stuff on everything, it’s Christmas after all.
The romance tropes presented here are the grumpy x sunshine and forced proximity, but neither felt overdone. The romance here is tame.
The narration was good and definitely brought out some of the humor for me. I don’t know if I would’ve laughed as much had a read a physical book.
Overall a good source of holiday vibes.

['Nathan Burgoine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I need to preface this review with how much I laughed while cooking and listening to this audiobook, but to point out that I'm almost certain it wasn't by design—it was the narrator.

So, at the start, we meet Mary. Her narrator is a lady with a perfectly chipper, upbeat, and sweet tone that matches the "Bless Your Heart" notes of Mary's situation: she's a brilliant chef who runs a catering business, just pulled off an amazing holiday party—and had to suffer through her ex and his new piece being there—but she kept her head high (and her curves on full display in an amazing dress) and got through it. She's about to head off to her family holiday, and the only wrinkle in the plan is her very pregnant (and very ugly) foster dog, who she couldn't not find room for at any doggy inn.

Cue unexpected blizzard and ending up on the doorstep of a man who runs a true-crime podcast, bears an uncanny resemblance to Santa (were Santa to get uber-fit while keeping the beard and twinkling eyes, that is) and then we switch to the male narrator and...

Y'all. I guffawed. I snorted. I laughed so much. Because the voice of his man would be so well-suited to "She walked into my office like five-foot-nothing's worth of trouble" noir mystery, or gritty thriller "I was two weeks away from retirement, and I knew this case was trouble" style narrative and instead, this man's voice is all "she was getting her perky elf dust all over my Grinch" and... it was too much. Like, I kept laughing out loud every time he called her 'sugar cookie' or referenced the 'elf dust.' So many elf dust references. So many!

The thing is? Despite the tonal mismatch—or, maybe because of it?—I had so very much fun listening to this audiobook. It was like some sort of mash-up was happening (heck, even the man's backstory included a drug-addicted ex who tricked him into having a kid while they were still married) and every time it went from 'I'm going to give this man some Christmas cheer!' Mary to 'Grr. Growl. I'm rough and tough, but her elf-dust is jingling my bells!' Nick, I would chuckle, choke, or laugh-out-loud again.

Whatever. I'm calling it holiday magic. Unintentional or not, it made me laugh, and the story itself was super-cute, the dog got a happy ending, too, and everything worked out beyond perfectly (seriously, they gilded the lily on this one with Nick's kid, the dogs, and pretty much everything working out in a Christmas Magic TM way) I just didn't care to be cynical about because...

I mean...

Elf dust.

[January · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Christmas Pawdcast by Emily March
2h 33m narrated by Jason Clarke and Andi Arndt, 154 pages
related to Eternity Springs series

Genre: Holiday > Christmas; Contemporary, Novella, Romance >Contemporary Romance; Adult Fiction

Featuring: Dallas, Texas; Catering, Colorado, Pregnant Dog, Road Trip, Onomatopoeias, Snow, Podcaster

Rating as a movie: PG-13

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️¾🎄

My thoughts: 📱13% 19:36 Ch. 2 - Ohhh, this is too cute! But Survivor is calling my name.
📱64% 1:37:50 four minutes from Ch. 11 - I was so close! Very good so far I'm going to be looking up the related series.

This was good. It almost got 4 solid stars but the dialogue became very cheesy near the end. I'm most definitely reading Angel's Rest next year. I don't know why this story isn't part of the Eternity Springs series since it's set there.

Recommend to others?: Yes. I thought this was an enjoyable quick read.

[Cas ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plenty of Christmas cheer, enjoyable holiday jokes, and overall really fun story. I love anything about rescue animals and the peppy holiday spirit woman turns around a grinchy sad man story trope is one of my favorites. And who doesn’t love a doting father!

There was a little disconnect with the romance/spice level where I dropped a star; overall super wholesome and only kissing for anyone worried, but the “inner thoughts” were not wholesome per say and kinda led me to believe it would be spicier at points. I don’t mind the cutesy kiss only stuff, especially for the holidays but it felt like the author might’ve gone spicier then edited it all out in the final cut but left the naughty thoughts and jokes? That’s where the disconnect came in for me.

[Deborah Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a 2 1/2 hour short story about a woman and her pregnant rescue dog on their way home for Christmas. They were traveling on a narrow mountain road when a deer crossed her path in a middle of a blizzard. The car went into a spin, went off the road and down an embankment stopping with the front wheels in a creek. Mary jumps out of the SUV and opens the back to get safety flairs out when the dog decides to jump out and run back up towards the road. Mary is forced to chase after her, but the dog had see lights off in the distance and leads her to the home of the "Christmas Grinch" up in the woods. This is a super cute story; perfect for a little relaxation. I listened to it while traveling to my daughter's and back.

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Christmas book, but I enjoyed Mary, Angel, and Nick. The banter between Mary and her best friend in the beginning drew me in. Then when she met Nick it was sweet. No secks in this one, but I enjoyed it. Rating: 💜💜💜💜💜

[Nea Britto · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a cozy audiobook. It is the cliche story of a woman getting stuck in a snowstorm and finding a house for shelter, where she meets this guy. And they basically fall for each other. There is also a dog in the story, which is nice. The guy also records true crime podcasts, hence, the name.

My only issue with this was that it felt a bit rushed. But I loved the voice acting and there was a male as well as a female narrator, which was great.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

A super feel good, sweet quick listen ☺️

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute little novella that assisted in satisfying my Christmas need.

[Jan Martinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! Okay, Hallmarkish! Fun, easy listen as I was putting up Christmas decorations!

[Alix · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok/cute!