Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Holiday Huddle
SERIES: Brooklyn Kings x Appleton Falls
AUTHOR: Felice Stevens
NARRATOR: Kale Williams
PUBLISHER: Good Man Press
LENGTH: 4 hours and 21 minutes
RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2026
BLURB:
Wow. I did not expect to run into Brooklyn Kings retired football star Harte McKinney in my hometown of Appleton Falls. It takes me back to my college days when I crushed on him in silence. All these years later, nothing’s changed. Even better, something in his eyes has me thinking he’s not as straight as I’d always believed.
When I find him hurt in a car crash in the snow, it’s my duty as a deputy sheriff to follow him to the hospital and make sure he’s going to be okay. Then we share an unexpected kiss, and I make him a proposal: come home with me to recuperate so we can explore these feelings behind closed doors.
Each day we spend together brings us closer, and we know we want to be together. But small towns have big eyes—we might not be able to keep what we have to ourselves much longer. My partner already suspects Harte and I are more than “just friends.” And when my mom gets an eyeful of Harte in his birthday suit…it’s time.
Let the snow fall where it may—we’re ready to come out.
There’s a fire crackling in the grate, the tree is decorated, and presents are wrapped. We’re all set to huddle together for the holidays and hope that love and magic of Christmas conquers all.
REVIEW:
Note: This book contains major spoilers for the Brooklyn Kings series. Many of the characters are current or retired professional football players from that team and so the events in that series have already occurred by the start of this story. Reading those books will add context, but are not completely necessary for enjoying this story.
Harte McKinney’s football career is over. So is his marriage. He’s moving on by buying a house in upstate New York close to some other retired teammates – a couple actually. Dev and Brody were teammates of Harte’s and they came out and retired and are living their best lives. They have a podcast, football camps and a busy life. Harte is lonely as hell, but he is still kind of licking his wounds after the end of his career and his wife leaving him when he was no longer the star.
Harte’s new house is ready for him, but he needs groceries, so he heads into town to stock up a bit. He gets into a conversation with a guy at the store, but then head home. Unfortunately for him, he discovers his snow driving techniques are rusty and he ends up in a crash in his rental car. Luckily someone sees him and calls for help. The EMS shows up and he’s off to hospital with a broken nose and various other injuries. While at the hospital, the man from the grocery store shows up. Harts is surprised and a bit wary until he learns that Jet is police. He heard the call and wanted to make sure Harte was ok. And it turns out that they had known each other in the very distant past – college in fact.
Jet had a crush on Harte back when hey were in college but he was a freshman when Harte was the star quarterback bound for the NFL. Harte remembers after Jet tell him exactly who he is. With Jet’s injuries, he’s not really safe to be on his own. Jet steps in a volunteers to let him stay at his place while he recovers. Harte is wary at first, but he doesn’t have a lot of options. He doesn’t know anyone in town except for Dev and Brody, but they are out of town.
Harte is grateful for Jet’s offer of assistance. Both men are kind of dancing around their attraction. Harte knew he was bisexual but he’s never acted on it. Between his family and his profession, it just wasn’t an option. Now though? Jet is bi also and he’s been with both men and women, but he’s not out and with his job, there is some trepidation about being open as well – especially since his superior seems to be a bit of a bigot. But as Harte spends more time with Jet, they are both interested in seeing where this might go.
Things have to go slow what with Harte’s injuries. But there is definitely heat between them and they both want to explore their desires. Harte has been lonely for a long time and just spending time with Jet is so nice for him. While he’s convalescing, he enjoys doing things for Harte at his house. He’s not just a freeloader and he insists on helping. Jet really likes coming home to someone too 🙂
After a particularly dangerous shift, Jet is late getting back and when he does, Harte can tell something terrible has happened. He takes care of Jet the way Jet has been taking care of him. It’s a lot and it’s affecting others too.
As Harte recovers, there are decisions to be made. Jet’s job and his family and Harte making a decision to share his truth are all hanging over them. Some things go better than others, but it’s clear that this is something real.
This is a shorter story kicking off this series. With established characters from the Brooklyn Kings series, some groundwork had already occurred. Harte is a character that first appears in that series. Dev and Brody and other players, owners, coaches and their partners appear in this book which is lovely to see. I love a good cameo of beloved characters 😉 There is a bit of work drama for Jet and his partner Emerson, most of which gets resolved pretty well. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book. There are others in this small town that definitely could use a happily ever after (looking at you Theo). This one is set at the holidays and there is plenty of good food and family time to be had after the initial bumps 🙂
Kale Williams does another outstanding job of performing this story. There are a lot of characters we’ve met in past books and the voices are very consistent. Harte is a bit of a sad sack starting out this story – for real reasons. Jet is cautious but open to something with Harte. His reluctance and Harte’s desire collide here in the best way. Jet is very considerate of Harte and puts his own desires second to making sure Harte is Ok and that was very obvious from the emotional tenor of this performance. These guys go through a lot with their own internal issues as well as the external forces that aren’t always super supportive. I loved the way Mr. Williams once again makes us feel the depth of these feelings. Well done and recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
