How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn

Narrated by JF Harding, Vanessa Edwin, Shane East, Emma Wilder and Robert Hatchet

Christmas RomCom Standalone

Meghan Quinn never fails me! You’d think with how often she publishes, some books would eventually disappoint, but nope! How My Neighbor Stole Christmas is officially my new holiday favorite. It’s a bit of a Grinch retelling, complete with fun Grinch-themed Easter eggs sprinkled throughout the story.

Each chapter kicks off with a little holiday rhyme, and I listened to the audiobook where Shane East narrates the poems—and sometimes even interacts with the characters! It’s clever, charming, and totally entertaining.

The story follows Storee, who spent every Christmas in Kringletown at her Aunt Cindy’s house. Kringletown is the ultimate Christmas town, but when Storee was a teen, she caused some chaos, had a major mishap, and in a moment of frustration, bitched to her friend and neighbor Cole about how much she hated the town. After that, she left and never came back. What she didn’t realize was that Cole had just suffered a terrible tragedy, and she wasn’t there for him.

Now, ten years later, Aunt Cindy breaks her hip, and Storee returns to help, only to find that Cole has become a grumpy recluse. He’s still angry that she left—and that she thinks she deserves to win the town’s Christmas spirit contest after bashing Kringletown all those years ago. When Storee enters the contest for Aunt Cindy, Cole’s fury pushes him to enter, too—just to beat her.

And so begins the most adorable enemies-to-lovers rivalry ever! Cole’s banter with his best friend Max is hilarious, and Max absolutely needs his own story! Storee’s aunt and sister help her, and the rivalry gets intense as both Cole and Storee are determined to win.

“Get a good look?” he asks, shocking me right out of my green muscle trance. “Yes,” I say, chin held high, not wanting him to see one ounce of my appreciation for the view. “And it’s confirmed—you look like a jackass.” He lightly nods. “That’s not what the drool from the corner of your mouth is telling me.”

It’s a slow burn, but when things heat up, they really heat up! Let’s just say, you’ll never look at candy canes the same way again.

Likes:

The amazing banter and sexual innuendo.
The fun rhymes at the beginning of each chapter.
When the narrator interacts with the characters.
The clever Grinch Easter eggs.
Cole and his buddy Max—seriously, their bromance was amazing.
The whole community of Kringletown and its meddling small-town residents.
And the sex scenes were 🔥—again, candy canes!

Like AND Dislike:

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas is LONG. At over 500 pages in the ebook and 13.5 hours in audio, it’s quite long, especially for a Christmas book. Part of me loved this because I never wanted the story to end, but the story itself could have been tightened up a bit. There’s some filler, but I was so entertained that I didn’t mind at all.

The Narration:

If you enjoy both reading and listening, I highly recommend you listen to the audiobook. It’s a full-cast, duet-style production, which made it even more fun! Shane East narrated the rhymes at the start of each chapter, and he was fantastic, though I did notice that his voice was quieter than the others in my ALC copy, which might have been fixed by publication. He also breaks the fourth wall and interacts with JF Harding, who plays Cole, which was hilarious. Vanessa Edwin was perfect as Storee, and Emma Wilder as her sister and Robert Hatchet as Max were just as amazing. This is one of my favorite audiobook productions.

The Down & Dirty:

How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn is officially a new Christmas favorite. Yes, it’s long, but I enjoyed every single minute of it. Meghan’s immature humor (which I love) is spot on, and she knows how to weave in the emotion, too. The banter and sexual innuendo made this a blast, and if you’re an audiobook lover, this is a must-listen—naughty, nice, and full of spice!