Christmas Off Script
Evie Alexander
392 pages/9 hours 27 minutes
Emlin Press
published November 1, 2024
This was so much fun. Who knew I could learn so much in book 5 of a rom com series and laugh as I learn? While centered around Christmas, this more specifically focuses on a pantomime. This one was new to me. And it really did lead to some fun. It’s a fun tradition and that part of the book had some very fun dialogue. This new piece of knowledge or trivia was a home run for me.
Not that the entire book isn’t fun. I am not saying that. I really enjoyed Ella and Leo. They were so rootable and they had great chemistry. Their banter, their tentativeness to try something more than friendship and their uncertainty of the other liking each other were top notch. I loved the play on Cinderella (he he calling her Ella).
This is a sweet friends to lovers story many years in the making. And all of Evie’s books have humor, but I thought this one had more than normal and it was just the best type of humor. Ella and Leo’s back and forth at times had me in stitches. The panto lines and props had me chuckling out loud. Of course in all the books when people judge the Foxbrooke’s for their antics, I am always smiling.
I was also able to listen to this and it really made the panto lines even more fun. I was humming along to some of those songs. I am not usually a fan of author’s narrating their audiobooks. They usually come off stiff as they read, but Evie is a pro at this. This is the second one I’ve listened to and you wouldn’t know it is the author and not a professional narrator. She gets the pacing and the voices just right. I listen to a lot of audiobooks and this compares with some of my favorites.
This might just be my new favorite read of the author’s. If you like charming characters and lots of smiles, you need to read this this holiday season.
About the book
Tis the season to fall in love…
Best friends Leo Foxbrooke and Ella Chamberlain love Christmas and each other — in a strictly platonic way, of course. The only secret they’ve ever kept from each other is a mutual crush they had when teenagers. But the timing was never right.
Until now…
Dumped by her boyfriend, Ella’s facing Christmas homeless and alone. The only ray of sunshine in her life is Leo and his family, who welcome her into Foxbrooke Manor. Staying in the bedroom next to Leo’s is a luxury and means more time together prepping for the Christmas pantomime.
Leo always plays a side role, while Ella paints the sets. But as the clock ticks down to Christmas, they find themselves centre stage as Cinderella and Prince Charming. Rehearsal kisses between best friends should be easy, right? So why do they feel so real?
Ella can’t risk losing Leo when she’s already lost so much. But as the Christmas countdown heats up, hearts melt, and practice kisses turn into much more. With Leo and Ella falling for each other faster than the snow outside, maybe this Christmas, they can finally rewrite their friendship and unwrap true love…
Christmas off Script is a friends-to-lovers, forced proximity, steamy, standalone romantic comedy with a modern-day Cinderella, her swoony Prince Charming, and more heat than chestnuts roasting on an open fire… No cheating or cliffhanger, but all the Christmas feels, a sackful of lols, and a fairytale happy ending guaranteed in this fabulously festive and magical romcom!
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