🍷🍷🍷🍷 #Audible #Review of Rebel Without a Claus by Abigail Drake

Title: Rebel Without a Claus

Series: Tink Holly Chronicles, Book #1
Author: Abigail Drake
Narrator: Elizabeth Scott
Format: Unabridged Audiobook (7 hours AND 33 minutes)
Published: 22 Nov 2021 (Abigail Drake)
ISBN: ASIN B09MDSJ1SF
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Audible
Reviewer: Linda
Source: Books Forward
Rating: 4 out of 5 Wine Glasses
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Christmas elf Tinklebelle Holly is a screw-up. Demoted to a job in the reindeer division after one infraction too many, she hates her job, hates her life, and despises the North Pole.

But when a surprise visitor arrives from Elven High Council and Tink is assigned to show him around, everything changes. Jax Grayson is a dark elf, and unlike anyone she’s ever met. Looking past his obvious hotness, Tink knows he has a secret, and the audit he’s supposedly performing doesn’t feel legit.

After an unexpected tragedy occurs, Tink’s life is thrown into even greater turmoil, and it seems like Jax might be the only one Tink can truly trust. Can she help him figure out what’s happening on the North Pole, or will Jax be her worst mistake of all?

Linda's Thoughts:

"Glitter is like herpes, once it's on you, it's almost impossible to get rid of. " 

I expected a light and fun holiday romance when I requested the audio of Rebel Without a Claus for review. I had never read anything by Abigail Drake previously and was surprised when my listen turned into something unanticipated, yet riveting and entertaining. 

As this tale begins, readers are introduced to Christmas elf Tinklebelle Holly. She is well-known as “Tink” and is a square peg in a wonderland of round pegs at the North Pole. Despite her utter lack of faith in herself, she’s a strong character. She’s not a fan of Christmas which seemed ludicrous at first because her dear uncle is Santa. She has botched and bumbled every job she’s been assigned at the North Pole. Hoping for a promotion from her current position at the Reindeer Barn to the Naughty List, Tink seeks to prove herself. I couldn’t help but root for her. I confess it was wonderful to see her discover her strengths as she starts finding her way gaining confidence by leaps and bounds. But, there is truly something really bad going on at the Pole and Tink finds herself in the middle of it not knowing who to trust. 

IF you are looking for a romance, there is sweetness and some light hanky panky in Tink’s relationship with Jax Grayson, a hot, dark elf and Elven High Council auditor. Tink doesn’t know whether to place her faith in him, but I wanted her to as I craved more between the two of them. 
Rebel Without a Claus ends with a set-up for the next installment and I’m holding out hope that, in it, Tink’s and Jax’s relationship will take a more romantic turn. Don’t worry, the ending is NOT a cliff-hanger. It’ll just make you want to pick up the next book.

This was also the first time I’ve ever listened to a production by Elizabeth Scott. She delivered a solid, professional performance with a pleasing, easy-to-understand, well-paced voice. My only complaint – and it’s a small one - was that I was unable to differentiate some characters by her voice. However, with this book, it rarely mattered as the characters I couldn’t discern between were seldom in the same scenes and, when they were, I was able to figure out who was talking in those scenes by what was said. Based on Elizabeth’s narration of Rebel Without a Claus, I would not hesitate to pick up another audio narrated by her.

Rebel Without a Claus is a funny, dark and dangerous romp in a Christmas wonderland with bad boy reindeer, quirky elves with creative names, comical expletives and witty Christmas idioms that had me snorting and laughing out loud throughout. I’ll never think of Santa’s reindeer in the same way – and that’s not a bad thing. This was an intriguing, cozy murder mystery set at the North Pole that I didn’t want to stop listening to. I look forward to listening to the next installment. 

Please know that I received this audio for review from Books Forward. All opinions are mine and mine alone.