Studmuffin Santa

I’ll admit, I side-eyed the premise at first: *another* grumpy-sunshine holiday romance? But *Studmuffin Santa* disarms you in the first chapter when Brandon, fresh off a redeployment, deadpans, *“I’d rather clear an IED than deal with my family’s Christmas bullshit.”* That’s when I knew this wasn’t going to be saccharine. Fenske’s writing is razor-sharp, balancing raunchy humor (the Santa suit mishaps are *gold*) with moments of genuine vulnerability—like when Brandon’s trauma bubbles up mid-mall shift. The audiobook elevates it further: Nelson Hobbs nails the gruff, *“I’m too manly for this”* vibe without tipping into caricature, and Teri Schnaubelt’s delivery of the heroine’s eye-rolls is so vivid, I could *see* them. That said, the plot occasionally stumbles into rom-com tropes it otherwise mocks (the miscommunication in Act 2 feels forced, even by genre standards), and the secondary characters—especially Brandon’s family—veer into cartoonishness. But the narration saves even the weakest bits. Hobbs and Schnaubelt’s back-and-forth during the *“Santa’s workshop”* scene had me laughing out loud in public, and the way they handle the quieter moments (like the bench scene in the snow) adds depth to what could’ve been pure fluff. Clocking in under five hours, it’s the perfect audiobook for a road trip or a marathon wrapping session—just don’t blame me if you start side-eyeing every mall Santa after this.