Member Reviews
A bit too early to read holiday romance for me because Christmas isn't even a holiday or event for me but I loved the author's last release and that's why I requested this Netgalley ARC! We Three Kings is a funny and witty and entertaining holiday romance with loads of colorful characters,celebrating family and friendship and love.
Maggie's team is her family. She heads the under- appreciated IT team in the company. She thought she would have to spend the holidays alone as her parents are away for a cruise. But Leo, Jasper and Frank all suggests a different plan. First, to be Frank's fake date to a wedding to appease his highly judgemental family. Then she has to spend some time at Jasper's family estate. And finally, spending Christmas with Leo and his big family. Just before the holiday starts, the HR asks her to select a team member to sack. How can she take this tough decision, when she is falling for one of them?
It's a very British story so if you love the mannerisms, it will be a blast for you. The story is told from Maggie's POV. She is a very kind and fair and witty character. She loves freely. She has a golden heart. Frank is a bit shy and anxious..your typical nerd but he is a sweetheart. Jasper is the smarta&& of the group. He comes from posh family but he isn't exactly rich or a snob. Leo is a mix of swoony and charming and sexy. I don't want to spoil it for you but you will understand very early who is going to be the hero. The Holidays were an adventure for Maggie as she spent some eventful and memorable days with her friends..one became more. It was full of hilarious accidents and heartwarming moments and Christmas magic. She took the right decision regarding the company too. I just found the romance lacking here.
I reviewed an early copy voluntarily
This was good! I love a good holiday romance and Kristen Bailey delivered that! This is a slow burn office romance, and I loved that when they found out that Maggie was going to be alone for the holidays they jumped at the chance to spend the holidays with her.
We Three Kings is a sweet and cozy holiday romance set in London, I loved the nerdy IT group of characters in this book, it's honestly like watching a cute Hallmark Christmas movie!
🎄 Festive Season Romance
🎄Slow burn
🎄Closed Door
🎄Workplace/Office Romance
🎄He falls first
This is a true slow burn so don't expect sizzles early on in the book!
We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey is a delightful, heartwarming, and witty rom-com that captures the festive spirit while exploring meaningful relationships.
The story revolves around Maggie, the head of an IT team at a financial firm, and the camaraderie she shares with the three men she supervises—Frank, Jasper, and Leo.
As Maggie faces spending Christmas alone, each of her colleagues invites her to join them, creating a festive and charming journey of connection and self-discovery.
Bailey excels in creating relatable and endearing characters.
Maggie, with her fun-loving, kind, and charming personality, quickly becomes someone you'd want to have around, while Frank, Jasper, and Leo each bring their own unique dynamics to the story.
Their banter, chemistry, and the flirty interactions add a playful touch to the narrative, making their friendships feel authentic and full of warmth.
The workplace setting, particularly Maggie's efforts to make the team’s basement IT environment enjoyable, adds another layer of depth to the relationships.
There’s a perfect blend of festive cheer and deeper emotional exploration, as the characters' vulnerabilities and strengths are revealed through their evolving friendships and a subtle workplace romance.
With clever dialogue and well-paced writing, We Three Kings is both heartwarming and entertaining.
The festive backdrop adds a layer of cheer that makes it a perfect festive read, leaving readers smiling and eager for more from Kristen Bailey.
I really enjoyed the different visits Maggie had with her colleagues and friends and really felt like I was there hiding behind a tree clutching fox clubs, eating delicious food at the wedding and peeling carrots at the table in the Lakes.
This was such a fantastic book of friendship and love. I loved the vibe s, the camaraderie, the extended family. Just perfect, the audiobook was done very well too. I was just laughing the whole time, but there is also so much warmth in the book. 10 stars.
#netgalley #WeThreeKings
We Three Kings is Kristen Bailey’s newest standalone Christmas romantic comedy. This story is a slow-paced workplace romance between nerdy employees in England.
Maggie Field is the Team Lead of the IT Department at a London financial firm. Her group is generally unappreciated by the other departments until they have a computer emergency. She manages the three male nerdy employees, steering them away from Human Resources and awkward encounters with other workmates. When some other support departments forget to invite them to the company Christmas get-together, Maggie takes her employees for a festive dinner at a Mexican restaurant. When she has too much to drink, two of her employees take her back to their shared flat where they let her sleep it off and wake her up in time to get ready for work the next day.
When her employees find out that she and her fiancé broke their engagement because he cheated, they each invite her to stay with them over the holidays. Then Maggie’s boss tells her that she will have to lay off one member of her department. She is distraught because their team of four geeks is very tight, and she can’t bear to let anyone go. Frank has nothing outside of work, other than sharing a flat with Leo. Jasper is the sarcastic jokester, and Leo is the reliable, steady one.
Maggie has all manner of holiday adventures as she gets to know her workmates outside of work. As their friendships deepen, the decision on who to cut becomes harder. Meanwhile she finds herself falling for Leo, but she can’t have a romantic relationship with him while she’s his superior. The reader waits for Maggie to come to the only workable solution which can result in a happy ending.
We Three Kings is an enjoyable sweet and cozy British holiday romance. The characters are very engaging and realistic, not caricatures. It’s always a good thing for romances to include female characters in STEM fields. The writing is so vivid that it’s like watching a Hallmark movie set in London. I definitely intend to read more books from this author.
I received an advance review copy (ARC) from NetGalley and Storm Publishing for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
EXCERPT: ' . . . it's the twenty-seventh of November, Maggie,' Frank replies with a heavy hint of sarcasm. 'There is not a hint of Christmas in this place.'
I look around, listening to the November rain thunder down, almost drowning out the mariachi music. Some Halloween decor is still hanging near the kitchens. 'Imagine the cactus in the corner is a Christmas tree.'
They all look confused, like teenagers who've been dragged out against their will.
'How does Darth Vader like his turkey?' I say, trying to lighten the mood, and holding my phone up again, ready. Their faces are blank. Nothing. And you call yourself geeks? 'On the dark side?'
And finally I get a laugh. I take the picture, then turn my phone around to have a look. Frank throws up a touristy peace sign, Jasper is pulling some sort of Elvis lip curl, we've caught Leo mid-laugh, I look less horsey. It'll do. I'll print it out and put it on our office noticeboard as a reminder of the time we attempted to have a life beyond our office walls.
You see, I had thought this would be a good idea. Given that our office smells a lot like Doritos Cool Original chops for most of the year, I thought, where better to host our Christmas dinner than in a Mexican restaurant? This place has hats you can wear and all-you-can-eat fajitas and free Mexican-style Day of the Dead tattoos. It's fun, and I suspect what is lacking in all our lives is a bit of fun. And daylight, to be fair.
ABOUT 'WE THREE KINGS': Maggie Field was looking forward to a solo Christmas in her cosy London flat – before her three workmates decided to liven things up for her.
Maggie loves her job as head of IT at a financial firm, and her three geeky but lovable work buddies. And when they invite her to stay with each of them for the holidays, she can’t resist the chance to get to know them better.
But then her boss tells her she has to make one of her beloved team redundant, and Maggie is distraught. Frank’s work is his world, Jasper’s sarcastic humour is everything, and Leo…well, he’s talented, professional, confusingly attractive, dependable, and funny… Maggie definitely doesn’t want to lose him.
With her career and her heart on the line, Maggie sets off on the Christmas adventure of a lifetime, from playing fake girlfriend at a lavish wedding, to rescuing baby foxes on a posh country estate, to chasing a very confused donkey on Christmas Day in the Lake District. She can’t ignore the sparks between her and Leo – but she also can’t avoid her dilemma.
Can she find a way to keep her work family together, and maybe even find true love under the mistletoe?
MY THOUGHTS: This was my first book by Kristen Bailey and it was fun! It is light and amusing, with (mostly) endearing characters - I am excluding Cressida and the horrid woman from HR.
I loved the chemistry between Frank, Jasper, Leo and Maggie. They are a great team of IT geeks who aren't above taking a little bit of revenge when people do dumb things on their computers - like forgetting to plug it back in and switch the power on!
I loved that the three guys cared for Maggie so much that they organised between them to share her over the holiday season. We get new insights into their characters seeing them in their home environments, away from work.
Maggie's holiday is filled with amusing incidents, including kidnapping a donkey, but all the time there is a cloud hanging over her - who is she to make redundant? I came up with the solution well before she did, but I'm glad she got there in the end.
I was rooting for Maggie and Leo throughout, once they acknowledged their attraction, but talk about a rocky road! There were times I wanted to bang their heads together in frustration. Did they make it? That's for me to know and you to find out.
Innovative and amusing. I'll be reading more by this author.
I combined my reading and listening experience of We Three Kings. Harrie Dobby is an excellent narrator.
⭐⭐⭐.7
#WeThreeKings #NetGalley
MEET THE AUTHOR: Mother-of-four, gin-drinker, binge-watcher, receipt hoarder, enthusiastic but terrible cook. Kristen writes women’s fiction and she hopes her novels have fresh and funny things to say about modern life, love and family.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Storm Publishing via NetGalley for providing both a digital and audio ARC of We Three Kings written by Kristen Bailey and narrated by Harrie Dobby for review. all opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
I really enjoyed this light Christmas rom-com. Maggie is the head of an ID department for a company in london. She works with three men who are all stereotypical "I.T." guys. At times they reminded me of Sheldon and his friends in the Big Bang theory. Maggie enjoys working with all three of these guys but has a particular love for Leo. When she informs them she'll be alone for Christmas they invite her to their own Christmas family activities, including and Indian wedding, a fox hunt, and a family get together. She is told she has to fire one of them in the new year as a part of company wide layoffs which is impossible because she genuinely cares for all three men. There was a lot of humor in this book that at times had me laughing out loud and also a very sweet romance. If you are looking for a Christmas romance that will leave you filled with happiness, I highly recommend We Three Kings.
4.5 stars. Another great book by Kristen Bailey. She never fails to amuse me, her books make me laugh out loud. This is probably my favourite by her, the Christmas feels were perfect. The problem the MC faced made it even more interesting and the romance was so cute.
This was a fun little story! I liked all the characters, and enjoyed seeing how Maggie interacted with the 3 men in her IT tech world. Maggie looks after everyone, and has a big heart. And the three men friends are the same towards her. This takes place during the Christmas season, and Maggie soon discovers she has a tough choice to make concerning her team.
I loved the relationship building, the character interactions, and the vulnerability the author portrayed in each character. There were many times I found myself giggling at the situations. And the romance was lovely- especially in the development of the love relationship, and also in the friendship area.
I have never read a book by this author, but I am definitely going to try another!
Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the Arc. This is my honest and voluntary review.
I honestly can’t even explain how much I enjoyed this book, I love a festive read but this one made me laugh out loud and just gave me all the feels. I didn’t dislike one character it was just such an enjoyable read that I just wanted more and more of after each page huge 5 stars from me 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I love a British Christmas and We Three Kings has me feeling like I need to put up my Christmas tree in October.
I laughed out loud, cried and felt the pain of misunderstanding that can be a difference maker in friendship (and blooming "more than" friends).
Maggie is the head of IT which finds here in the basement of her corporate job, surrounded by her three IT support staff. One's a little grumpy, one's a little sheltered, and one has become the go-to support person for all things personality and connection.
When Maggie finds herself alone at Christmas, her three Kings of IT devise a plan to make sure she experiences the best of Christmas. From a posh London wedding and a disapproving traditional mother to an even more posh trip to the country with the black sheep of the family, Maggie attends each of her King's family events thinking she is being rescued but realizes the depth of her friendship with each individual.
These new found connections however become a little more complicated because Maggie is keeping a secret from the three, that she has to pick one to let go from their job at the start of the new year.
If the foundation of friendship isn't enough, a tequila fuelled team dinner and King number 1 event find the line between colleges and more than friends line starts to become blurry.
This book shows the best of unconventional friendship and that sometimes the family we choose can be just as important as the one we are born into. It's medium spicy with some (tasteful British) swearing, the use of anatomically correct body names and innuendo.
A fun little Christmas story.
Maggie plans to spend Christmas alone. Her work mates are not having that though. They plan to bring her along to their own holiday events.
Some funny moments along with a little romance. The perfect cozy Christmas story. All the characters have their own little quirks that makes for a unique bunch of friends. I loved how they interact with each other.
Thanks to netgalley and Storm Publishing for the arc.
Maggie is the supervisor in her IT department and works with three other guys, Jasper, Frank, and Leo. Unfortunately, Maggie has to spend this Christmas alone, so her co-workers let her come along on their separate holiday excursions. During this time, she gets to know them and their families a lot better. But here's the catch, right before they left for their respective holidays, Maggie was given a really tough choice to make that will affect everyone, and she has no idea what she will do.
What a completely pleasant read that puts you right into the holiday spirit. I've never read another Kristen Bailey book, but I will definitely be adding more to my TBR. The emotional build up between Maggie and her three co-workers was so heart warming and I loved that she was able to spend time with them all outside of work to get to know them better. Although, the decision was rough for her to make, I knew what she would do in the end, and I was right, and I truly think that it was the best that could have happened.
Every character was just so likeable and sweet and Maggie and Leo were just the perfect compliments of each other. Frank is an awkward sweetheart, Jasper was a true angel who wanted nothing but the best for all of his friends, and Leo was just a perfect man. Maggie was a wonderful FMC with soft spots for all three of them, as well as everyone else around her.
Thank you to Storm Publishing, Kristen Bailey, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book. This is my honest review.
Christmas is always better with some romance, right? Kristen Bailey has written a sweet, engaging Christmas romance. Maggie, head of the IT dept, has created a wonderful little family in the basement of their company. When love is in the air, she's over the moon, but then she's stuck with an impossible decision. Will she be able to keep their family together?
This book was a lighthearted Christmas rom-com that delivers all the cozy holiday vibes you’d expect. The banter, fun character dynamics, and holiday setting make it a quick, feel-good read. 🎄💕
The story follows Maggie, the head of the IT team, who is invited to spend the holidays with her three male colleagues. The premise is charming, and the relationships between Maggie, Frank, Jasper, and Leo are filled with cute moments. Maggie herself is a likable character, and I enjoyed her interactions with the men in her life. 🥰🧡
However, I did find Leo’s (the MMC) character a bit of a teenager type. His response during a particularly challenging moment was a bit disappointing. His reaction came across as somewhat immature, and when Maggie made a significant personal sacrifice for him, I felt like the weight of her decision wasn’t fully acknowledged. It left me wanting more depth in how that situation was handled, as it could have added a stronger emotional layer to the story. 😐
That said, if you’re looking for something simple and cozy with holiday spirit, We Three Kings will still give you that festive charm. It’s great for a lighthearted escape into a holiday romance.
This is a very cute book that takes place in London. 4 work friends and their interactions, a little sweet romance with zero spice. It’s a perfect weekend/holiday book. Nothing deep. Thanks to @dreamscape_media and @stormbooks_co for the advanced copies of the audio and digital copies.
IT pro, Maggie Field, joins a small team of three as their manager - often forgotten and in the basement of a nice office building. What makes it most enjoyable is the relationship she's developed with her staff. As the holidays approach, Maggie finds herself planning for Christmas alone, but her colleagues are not having it! She is invited to spend a portion the holiday with each and their respective families. But as she is leaving for the holiday, HR calls her in and gives her the news that she must lay off one of the team. But how can she decide? Each has compelling reasons for her to choose someone else. I found the story somewhat predictable, though the way in which the story unfolds more than made up for it.
Thanks to NetGalley, Storm Publishing, and Kristen Bailey for the eARC.
Excellent Christmas atmosphere. I really enjoyed the characters and the vivid settings. I had some questions about the plot, but frankly that’s not why one reads a holiday romance. I’ll definitely be reading more of Bailey’s books on KU.
Thank you to Netgalley, Storm Publishing and Kristen Bailey for the chance to read this book AND LISTEN to it in exchange for my honest review.
We Three Kings wowed me. If you're looking for romance and STRONG found family this holiday season- this book is for you. The story is cozy, believable and charming. Also- the way this is not an open door romance but is hotter than some open door romances is wild to me.
I know we are all used to falling in love with our MMCs, but get ready to fall in love with the whole dang friend group/work family/besties. I am equally obsessed with Jasper & Frank as I am with Leo. These are truly men written by women at their finest.
Obviously I will read any book by Kristen Bailey so I went into this one without reading the blurb.
All we’ve established beforehand is that it’s NOT a why choose. And I’m so happy it wasn’t because what I got was the most heartwarming Christmas story, full of love and friendships and crazy family dynamics! I mean, you got your IT Crowd-ish team of three geeks and their geeky manager, then there’s a Crazy Rich Asians-style wedding, a posh people fox hunt, and the love story that will make you smile non-stop through the book.
It is very clear from like chapter 2 who is the love interest, so there’s no mystery there. Poor Leo had been pining for Maggie, his manager, from day one. And Maggie finally starts to notice. The way he cared for her safety and wellbeing made me wish he’d been pining for me instead. But don’t mistake him for a sad lonely boy: Leo knows what he wants and he is not afraid to show it when it matters. The way some, ahem, more intimate details were revealed would’ve made me kick my feet in the air, but I was on a plane so I had to reign myself in.
I was afraid since we sort of had 3 main male characters, that there won’t be enough romance and I’d lose interest. But I found myself caring about Frank and Jasper so much. Besides, the boys get their own mini love stories so my soul was happy.
This book is so warm and funny and a total HR mess, but who cares? It got me through another trip and a nasty cold so I’ll always be grateful.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
🌶️🌶️(this is subjective: not explicit but somehow hotter than many)
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️