When Ivy Met Mr. Holiday

Friends don’t let friends fake date alone.

Oscar Wilde once said, “Between men and women there is no friendship possible. There is passion, enmity, worship, love, but no friendship.” Ha! Wrong. Dead wrong. And I can totally prove it.

For the last seven years, I’ve been just friends with Jack Holiday—yes, that Jack Holiday. The swoon-worthy, ridiculously famous, self-proclaimed king of the silver screen. Passion? Love? Worship? Please. Unless you count how much Jack worships himself. Take that, Oscar!

Okay, have I thought about being more than friends with Jack? Sure. I mean, the man waters my plants, never forgets my birthday, and knows exactly which ice cream to bring me—whether for PMS or heartbreak. But when our unlikely friendship began, I swore we’d never cross that line—even if Jack, like Oscar, doesn’t believe men and women can really be just friends.

Then Jack drops a bombshell: he wants to come home with me for the holidays. The guy who’s never cared about Christmas suddenly wants to play Mr. Holly Jolly. Worse, he needs me to pretend to be his fake girlfriend to save him from his ex. If that wasn’t bad enough, he’s laughing with my nieces and nephews, charming my family, and being . . . utterly, infuriatingly adorable.

And maybe—just maybe—we had to kiss.

Oh. Wow. So. So. So. Good.

So amazing, it’s making me want to swallow my pride and beg Oscar for forgiveness. But once you leave the friend zone, there’s no going back. There’s no safety net. Now, I have to ask myself, is risking our friendship worth the fall? And will Jack still be there to catch me?

USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Peel presents the merriest friends-to-lovers story bursting with holiday magic and charm.

©2025 Jennifer Peel (P)2025 Jennifer Peel

So so so good!

I loved this book! The writing was great, tension and romance perfect, and the narration was spot on! Will definitely be listening again!

Perfect Holiday Romance!

Holiday festivities wrapped up in a big blanket of swoon? Yes, PLEASE!! Jack and Ivy are everything you would want in a couple. Best friends for a long time. He is secretly obsessed with her. She can’t risk the friendship, but gets promoted to fake girlfriend when she opens her mouth when she didn’t mean to. Excellent combination if you ask me. Seriously, Jack’s shenanigans to get her to realize how good they would be together? Amazing. The over the top holiday festivities that Ivy’s family does and Jack loathes the holiday? Perfection. Just SO 👏 GOOD 👏

Perfect Holiday Read

The perfect cozy holiday read! Packed with festive cheer, sweet family moments, and all the classic holiday activities, this story delivers warmth and charm. The friends-to-romance trope is beautifully done, making Ivy and Jack’s journey both heartwarming and swoon-worthy. Loved every minute of it.

Loved it

Loved the cute and clean Christmas story. The leads were well rounded and I took in the whole book while losing a lot of sleep in one sitting.

Cringe male voice

I really tried with this one. I mean it was free so why not. But I quit half way I just couldn’t take the cringy male narrator. Story line was cute and the female narrator was great - just not enough to keep me hooked.