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Scrooge-ish

By: L.B. Dunbar
Narrated by: Stella Hunter, Teddy Hamilton
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Summary

I hate Christmas.

I don’t know who thought every female must love shopping, wrapping, baking, and hosting, but I’m missing the memo. On top of that, I manage a top-end department store. Sprinkle in the fact I’ll be turning 40 during this holiday season, and my life is a Christmas cookie recipe gone wrong.

And every year I become a little more Scrooge-ish.

But the spirit of the most wonderful time of the year (insert sarcasm) seems to have a plan for me and my midlife-crisis attitude.

First, my past returns when I attend a high school reunion happy hour and run into that boy—the one I had a summer fling with after graduation and before college—then promptly ghosted me.

The torture continues because that boy is now a man, worldly and wise and sexier than I remember. And he invites me to attend a holiday work party with him.

Which leads to my discovery that there is a lot more to this 40, fine former NFL quarterback who's now a fireman, like being a single father to the sweetest little girl, putting me at risk of falling for both of them.

However, I have my reasons not to believe in love and the happiest time of the year. And the first 25 days of December test all my strength.

Just what the Dicken is happening? Charles himself might approve of this plot.
Even I’m a little curious to see how it all plays out.

With the past behind her and the future uncertain, can Eva Nazar accept that the present is a gift and love is the greatest treasure we receive even if it isn’t always wrapped in pretty paper with a perfect bow on top?

Find out in L.B. Dunbar’s first over-40, flirty sexy-silver-fox second-chance holiday romance.

©2022 L.B. Dunbar (P)2022 L.B. Dunbar

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Wonderful Story & Listen🎧A Charming Gift of Love❣

I loved everything about this fabulous second chance romance, from L.B. Dunbar’s wonderful writing style to the amazing characters and storylines she created to the perfectly cast narrators who bring it all to life from the pages to your ears. Also love the originality of this story and the author’s spin on Scrooge’s tale. The characters are realistic, easy to connect with and relate to, they are easy to care about too. Eva Nazar works in a department store and is not a fan of the Christmas holidays, the busiest time of the year for the store, but that is not the only reason she hates Christmas, her past Christmases have not been good ones. And then a H.S. reunion brings in her past and the boy she had a summer fling with before he headed off into the sunset to become a quarterback in the NFL. Zebb Scroggs is a firefighter, and the attraction he had for Eva in H.S. is still there and he still wants her, though his life is not as simple as it was when they were in high school, but neither is hers. I loved these two together and for each other, he loves Christmas, she doesn’t, but he will do his best to get her to enjoy it. This is a charming and heart-warming holiday romance that you can enjoy anytime of the year, it has a perfect balance of drama, heartfelt emotions, some humor to lighten things up and a fantastic second chance romance. L.B. Dunbar, thank you for another wonderful story and emotional rollercoaster ride.

🎧📚🎧And for the fabulous narration, Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton are the perfect cast to bring these characters and story to life. Their voices complement each other’s and they work well together grasping the essence of the story and who these characters are. I love how they take each role, run with it and make it their own, sounding natural and believable in every role they played. You could hear how much heart they put into the work as they capture the characters emotions and project them into their performance. These mega talented narrators are versatile voice artists and entertaining storytellers. Their performance enhances this already fabulous story to another level. Thank you for another amazing listen, it is alway a pleasure to listen to your work.

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Fantastic holiday story!

Get ready to be in the holiday spirit! LB Dunbar has written a wonderful feel good, single dad, second chance romance sure to warm your heart. Eva has hated Christmas since she was a child. Now working in a department store, she is flooded with the holiday vibes, and it's not helping her mood. Going to her high school reunion isn't going to help either. Except there she bumps into her senior year high school fling and the magic is still between them. Zeb had gone off to play for the NFL and since retired is a fire fighter. The man is gorgeous and sweet and everything Eva remembers. But can the holidays rekindle their love and create a new memory for Eva? Talk about swoony! Zeb is quite the charmer and with his daughter, he had my heart melting. He comes with baggage, and I love his positive outlook that may be the winning ticket. Eva has some serious issues to overcome. It's time she hits them head on. This story is sweet, spicy, and pushes all the right buttons to push out the Grinch and bring in Santa! I especially love that the characters a mature and give the story a whole, fresh outlook on life. Kudos to LB Dunbar! You have a new fan!

To make this story even better, it is cast with Stella Hunter and Teddy Hamilton. What a pair these two are. Duet narration brings this fabulous story to life. Their choice of voices is spot on, and the warmth and love flows out of them. I absolutely adore Stella's child voice too! I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this listen! Top of my list!

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Totally scrooged

I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did.

And it’s a clever one. Look at the characters’ names, sound familiar? It’s a play on the main character in A Christmas Carol. Are you seeing it now? Well, little bits of the classic story are scattered around. Look for them, it makes the book even more enjoyable.

For instance, the story is about Eva. We only read her point of view, so she’s really the main character. And she’s being scrooged for Christmas for sure. Because the holiday reminds her of a past trauma, she keeps reliving it, thanks to Christmas spirit everywhere. After meeting again with Zebb and seeing how he spends his holidays, she’s thinking hard about how she does it. And by her mother returning in her life, she’s lead to believe she’s seeing her future Christmases too. By the end of the book, she sure is reevaluating what’s important in her life and what she wants to make of it. Totally scrooged.

The book has more to offer than just this gimmick, and it’s first and foremost a romance between forty something people who had a short fling decades before and finally reunite. We don’t get much details about their love life, except for the fact that Eva hasn’t had a boyfriend in a long time, and Zebb has had one meaningful relationship… with the mother of his daughter.

Of course, they couldn’t forget each other. To be honest, it’s an annoying trope for me, because it too often means nothing–since the characters had multiple relationships in between–and is mostly used to skip the seducing and falling in love part of a romance. I understand here, as it is a novella, it’s a convenient trope, so I won’t complain. And there’s a bit of seducing anyway.

It’s a little angsty, just so you know. Eva’s childhood wasn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows; and Zebb lost the mother of his child, and the child is disabled. Those elements aren’t there just to bring some tears. They play an important role in the way their personality developped, and also may hinder their new relationship.

Also, it’s hot.

The narration was quite good. Even though the story is said through a unique point of view, the author chose duet narration, meaning there’s a male narrator for the male characters. And it was a great idea, as it makes the audio more dynamic. And the male narrator was perfect for Zebb. The female narrator narrates and does the female characters, and she did great in both.

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