Narrated by Tim Paige

Annabeth Albert’s The Geek Who Saved Christmas is just the ticket if you’re looking for a sexy grumpy/sunshine romance with lots of festive spirit and Christmas cheer. I read it when it came out in November and enjoyed it – and when I saw Tim Paige was narrating the audiobook version, I decided to revisit the story and enjoy it all over again!

Gideon Holiday and Paul Frost have been next-door neighbours for a few years but have never really progressed beyond the ‘nodding acquaintances’ stage. Gideon certainly wouldn’t say no to getting to know the hot silver fox better, but Paul keeps himself to himself and Gideon is resigned to the fact that getting better acquainted isn’t likely to happen. Knowing Paul hasn’t put up so much as a single Christmas decoration in all the time he’s lived there means Gideon is surprised to see him in attendance at the neighbourhood community meeting about this year’s holiday decoration theme – Gideon loves co-ordinating their lights fundraiser every year, selecting the theme, organising the donations and planning various holiday-themed activities – and his presence means that Gideon will at last have the chance to suggest the plan that’s been forming in his mind for a while now, that Paul can contribute to the fundraising efforts by ‘loaning’ Gideon his house. He’ll set up lights on Paul’s house and put them all on timers, so Paul won’t have to do a thing.

Paul doesn’t ‘do’ Christmas and doesn’t see what all the fuss is about – it’s just another day in December – and his initial reaction to Gideon’s offer is a big nope. Though the guy is ridiculously cute and he’s certainly nice to look at, with his impish grin and sparkling eyes as he explains the decoration theme, Paul really doesn’t want to get caught up in any schemes – he just has to find a way to convince Gideon to leave him to enjoy his seasonal funk in peace.

A few days later, however, Paul finds himself in need of Gideon’s help and expertise when his younger brother Brandon tells him he’s coming for Christmas with his fiancée – and that he’s planning the perfect proposal in front of the tree on Christmas morning. Listening to Brandon enthuse about a real Christmas with snow on the ground and a big tree in the living room, Paul’s heart sinks. No way is he going to tell the brother he hasn’t seen in ages to stay at a hotel – but his house isn’t exactly Christmas – or perfect proposal – ready.

Fortunately for him, help is at hand, no matter that he absolutely hates that he needs it. Gideon catches him at an unguarded moment, and all Paul’s worries about not knowing what to do and letting his brother down just spill out, and Gideon immediately leaps into action. He’s only too happy to help and very quickly draws up a plan of action. (Colour-coded, of course!)

Over the next few weeks, Gideon helps Paul turn his somewhat cold and empty house into a warm and welcoming home, and their various shopping expeditions and adventures in decorating see them getting to know each other and becoming friends. Paul finds it easy to talk to Gideon and finds himself telling him things he hasn’t spoken about in a long time, while at the same time learning that Gideon’s almost perpetual chirpiness is a cover for a lonely man who works hard to keep himself busy – especially during the holidays, because he doesn’t really have anyone close to spend them with.

Paul and Gideon are loveable, relatable characters with terrific chemistry, and their journey from wariness to friendship to love is superbly done. They’re kind, decent men who have just lost their way a bit and fallen into patterns which work for them but which aren’t really right for them – and they need a nudge in the right direction to help them to get to where they’re supposed to be. Paul spent much of his young adulthood being a father to Brandon, sacrificing having a life of his own for the sake of his younger brother, and Gideon, who has watched his friends all couple-up (including his ex-wife, who is now married with her own family), longs for connection and companionship but doesn’t think it’s something he can ever have. He’s become so used to being the go-to-guy, the person with the solution to every problem, that he’s started to measure his self- worth by what he can do for others and needs to realise that he deserves to be loved for himself, while Paul needs to learn that it’s past time he reclaimed the life he put on hold to care for Brandon. Listening to them providing the love, care and understanding for one another that they both so clearly need is just lovely.

Tim Paige is a narrator I enjoy listening to, although I think every time I’ve heard him recently has been in a dual narration. Here, he’s flying solo, and delivers a strong performance that breathes colour and vitality into the story and the characters. Mr. Paige has a lovely voice – a soft, rich baritone with a slight huskiness to it – and is spot on technically in terms of pacing, characterisation and differentiation. All the characters are clearly and expertly differentiated, his female voices are really good and his portrayals of Paul and Gideon fit them very well, with Paul’s deep, rumbly tones clearly marking him out as a large man (and a bit of a grump!) and providing a good contrast to Gideon’s higher-pitched, more upbeat manner of speech. The one criticism I can level, really, is that those differences are sometimes not apparent in the narrative; the story is told in third-person alternating PoVs, and I would have expected there to be a bit more of a difference between the narrative voice in Paul’s chapters and the narrative voice in Gideon’s. But that’s a relatively minor issue, and it didn’t impact on my overall enjoyment.

Although I generally like a bit more angst in my romances, I can appreciate well-done fluff when I come across it, and The Geek Who Saved Christmas is very well-done, its fluffiness not leading to any lack of depth or emotion. As both leads are in their forties, there’s plenty of baggage that needs to be unpacked before they can reach their HEA; their journey is sweet, funny, poignant and sexy, and Tim Paige’s excellent narration makes a great argument in favour of experiencing this charming, feel-good love story in audio.