My first thought when reading this was "millennial cringe" and millennial cringe it may be but it made me laugh so hard I'm sure my coworker thinks I'm mad. Loveddd the characters and their bond. Movie adaptation of this asap pls.

(Review also on goodreads and storygraph)

The book was a warm, genuine, and surprising delight. I enjoyed how it's separated into her adventure with each team member, and then her final decision, leading to the present. Her rambling, quirky slip ups and conscious support of her friends made Maggie such a relatable and likable character right from the start. The only issues I had with the book as a whole were a couple of editing misses where a sentence didn't make sense, as if they read over it and left an extra word in. If you ignored the word, it read fine, so it didn't take away from the book as a whole. I'm normally so picky about loose ends or illogical character development, but these were all so unique and interesting and had such moments of warmth that I genuinely enjoyed the entire read. Even the detestable characters provided such a good contrast that it made the pacing of the book fly by.

Book Review: We Three Kings

So, I just finished We Three Kings, and honestly, it’s such a cozy, feel-good book. As the title hints, it’s about three guys—Frank, Jasper, and Leo—and a woman named Maggi. The whole story is about their friendships and how their workplace turns into this tight-knit family over the years and how they compliment each other just being there.

Maggi is supposed to be spending Christmas alone, but her co-workers—who’ve become her close friends invite her to spend Christmas with them. Frank, who’s super reliable and kind, invites her to her sisters wedding. Then there’s Jasper, who’s got total best friend/brother vibes, always there for her with that playful banter and support invites his family House. And finally, there’s Leo, who has more of a love interest thing going on with Maggi, giving the story a little romantic twist invites her to celebrate Christmas with him 🎊

I love how the book explores different Christmas traditions, and the descriptions of the decorations and holiday spirit really pulled me in. It’s the kind of book that makes you feel all warm inside, like a hot cocoa on a cold day. The writing is simple and sweet, which makes it a super easy read—perfect for when you just want to curl up and get lost in a comforting holiday story.

To be honest, the start is a little slow, and the ending is kind of predictable, but I didn’t really mind that because it’s just so heartwarming. The relationships between Maggi and the guys are what really make this book special. It’s all about friendship, love, and the little things that make Christmas magical.

If you’re looking for something to get you into the holiday spirit, We Three Kings is definitely worth picking up. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s such a comforting, festive read, and I’d totally recommend it to anyone who loves stories about friendship, Christmas, and a touch of romance.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC.

Maggie is the boss of three men in a large company in the IT department. She is planning on spending Christmas alone and each of the three workers invites her to spend part of the two weeks off with each.
Right before the holiday begins, she is given some news from HR that she must have a decision when she returns.
She tries to spend time with each of the men getting to know family and friends of each. Could one be more than a friend? What about the decision she needs to make?
This was a cute book. I really like this writer.

This book was just a sweet heartwarming Christmas read.
So many times I found myself smiling ear to ear from the cute interactions - the geekiness of the characters or the homey Christmas visits.
You wish to work in a work environment like this. Where you have coworkers that care enough to make sure you don’t spend Christmas alone. Where you are welcomed into their own lives for the holiday. I loved it this aspect of it because our society tends to be so uncaring and we don’t tend to connect with the people around us. This part of the book was the best for me.

She is faced with the decision of eliminating one of her team after the holiday. And how awful must that be? She did do what I thought she would do. And that’s all I’ll say about that lol

Overall, just a great story and a heartwarming Christmas read and cannot wait to read more from this author!!

My last review of the summer is for a Christmas book, and it was so good it made me excited for the holidays! Maggie is a supervisor in IT in an office with three guys. When they learn she is going to be alone for the holidays, they each extend an invite to their own celebrations. Will she fall for one of them or will work be an insurmountable obstacle? Read it when it comes out in October to find out! Kristen Bailey is my favorite romcom author because she always makes me laugh (literally out loud), and her characters and stories are so authentic. I hope the Christmas book continues to be a tradition for her because I loved We Three Kings just as much than last year’s Five Gold Rings! Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Books for the ARC!

What a marvelous story! The perfect beginning to your holiday reading. Make sure you’re comfy when you start reading and have tissues for both the laughing and the crying, because once you open this book you won’t put it down until the glorious The End.

When Maggie accepts the position of head of the IT department at a financial firm she expects to have as plush an office as the one she interviewed in – and above ground. What she gets, however, is a grungy basement with two geeky guys as her new team. She hires another geeky guy and her IT team is complete. Maggie is actually very good at her job, adaptable, energetic, friendly, generous, kind and a real people person. The boss we all want. Maggie brightens up and enlivens their workspace and the team provides great service to the “upstairs folks” who pretty much ignore and forget IT exists except when there is a problem that must be instantly fixed.

Speaking of ignoring the IT team, they aren’t even invited to the company Christmas party. When Maggie realizes this she takes them out for their very own celebratory dinner at a Mexican restaurant. It’s at this dinner we begin to get a better look at each team member, and where some very interesting events occur that get the ball rolling for the delightful plot and activity that follow. Maggie reveals that she’ll be on her own for Christmas since her parents are going on a cruise and she doesn’t want to be the youngest person on the ship. Frank, Jasper and Leo immediately decide she’ll spend part of the holiday with each of them. Oh, you already know this is going to be so much fun.

Another intriguing outcome of the festive dinner is that it seems someone has a few too many Margaritas, and some kissing, declarations of affection and memory loss occur. You’ll need to read author Kristen Bailey’s witty, wonderful words to experience the full enjoyment and humor of this situation. And the fun is only beginning.

Maggie’s first night with a work buddy is as Frank’s plus one to his cousin’s wedding and learning right before the event that she’ll also be pretending to be his girlfriend. Time as rich, posh Jasper’s family home reveals he’s not quite that posh or rich, has very interesting family dynamics, and best of all Maggie becomes a fox rescuer. Last but most certainly not least is a few days with Leo and his family up north. His large, warm, welcoming pretty normal family where Maggie feels so at home. Some of that kissing and declaration of affection involved Leo so things are at first a little awkward and then a lot sweet.

We Three Kings is heartwarming on so many levels: they are a good work team and good friends, who discover over the course of the holiday that they know and care more about each other than they realized, and the sparks and possibility of romance between Maggie and Leo are hand-on-your-heart, sigh-into-your-tissue sweet. There are so many goofy, ridiculous laugh-out-loud moments it will be hard to catch your breath, so many eye-opening family moments you won’t stop smiling, and such tenderness that you’ll be dabbing at your eyes.

We Three Kings is well written with a strong, thoughtful plot and charming characters with unique personalities and depth. Full of joy and holiday spirit, it should be a must read for everyone. I can’t believe it was my first Kristen Bailey book; it certainly won’t be my last. Thanks to Storm Publishing for providing an advance copy of We Three Kings via NetGalley. I loved it and can’t wait to read everything else this fantastic author has written. I voluntarily leave this review; all opinions are my own.

Extremely, extremely cute this book was!

I loved the banter & friendship between the main characters so much and it reminded me so much of NEW GIRL.

With the Christmas theme & the beautiful locations, this book is meant to be enjoyed tucked under a blanket with a hot chocolate in hand on a cool & cozy day.

Thank you Netgalley and publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Storm Publishing and author Kristen Bailey for this eARC

This was my second Kristen Bailey book and I think I have found a new auto-buy author.

I absolutely loved We Three Kings! The story was so cute, the characters absolutely adorable and loveable and the vibes immaculate for a christmas read!
I had a huge grin on my face throughout the entire book because the characters (main and side) and their antics were just so cute and the end just leaves you feeling like you just got a warm hug.

👑ARC Review👑

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

What a wonderful, heartwarming, festive book! Not only was the concept unique and so much fun, but the book was filled with wonderful, cute, festive, warm moments from beginning to end.

I adored the friendship formed between our FMC and the “three kings” of the story and how they embraced her in the holiday season knowing she would be alone. I enjoyed reading about her struggles to make a tough decision especially after building such a bond with these guys. There were so many cute moments and I kind of wish this book was coming out closer to Christmas because I would have loved to read it during that festive time of year.

A very fun and enjoyable read!!

We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey releases on October 14, 2024.


📚We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 ~ 3.5 stars (4 on goodreads)

My sincere thanks to Storm Publishing and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey. I give my unbiased opinion of it in the following review.

In We Three Kings, we meet Maggie who is the head of the IT department at a financial company in London. She works with Jasper, Frank, and Leo and they are like a little family after working together for four years with Leo being the newest one on the team. When her co-workers find out she will be alone at Christmas while her parents are on a cruise, they decide to include Maggie in their individual holiday celebrations. What they don't know is that as Maggie is leaving work on the last day before vacation, she is told she has to let one of them go due to downsizing at the company. How will she ever be able to make such a decision? She decides that she can't say anything to them in order to not ruin their Christmas. To top it off, she and Leo seem to be on the verge of crossing the line into a possible relationship. Yes, it is complicated!

What can I say, I really loved this book. All four of the main characters are so different, each having an interesting back story. The romance between Maggie and Leo is so cute. I love that Leo has been pining for a long time and Maggie really had no idea. Maggie's character is amazing in that she is all in for her friends. She always puts their feelings and issues above her own. She is not afraid to look silly and have fun, and she is able to fit in with people of all ages. As she goes from Frank's family, to Jaspers, and finally to Leo's she maintains her personality and is her authentic self even while she keeps that one secret about their workplace. I loved Kristen Bailey's Christmas book Five Gold Rings last year and I have to say she has a way of writing that is so sweet and funny that I am already looking forward to her hopefully writing another Christmas story for 2025. I recommend this book for a fun read this holiday season.

Cute, and the perfect amount of Christmasy. A London IT manager divides her Christmas holiday between her three coworkers’ wildly different families, and in the process, discovers she’s been falling in love without realizing it.

I wish there was a little more backstory/development of the heroine, but loved her and her coworkers regardless. (Also, the title and tagline threw me off a little bit as I started the book, so I’d recommend going with the descriptions as opposed to the those!)

I received an early copy of this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy!

Another fun read from Kristen Bailey, with a holiday spin. Though I felt this one a little slow at times, I enjoyed the high level concepts of the story but as a manager could not help but think how inappropriate these relationships were at time. But then I had to check myself and remind myself this is a light hearted holiday read for enjoyment. When Maggie's three employees realize she is going to be alone for the holidays they create a plan to each spend time with her. Of course there is a romance aspect as well as an HR dilemma. I definitely recommend as a nice holiday read!

5*

Last year, I read a beautiful Christmas romance called Five Gold Rings and wondered if Bailey’s newest book, We Three Kings, could ever begin to rival it. I’m happy to say it does. It’s also set in London, which I still maintain is the most beautiful city in which to celebrate the holiday. It’s also a workplace romance but features Maggie and her three male employees in the IT department of a London firm who have become friends in their four years together. So, it’s no surprise how torn she is when she’s told, at the start of Christmas break, that she’ll have to lay off (make redundant) one of these lovely men who are like family. The painful decision is complicated by the plans these three proposed when they learned she’d be spending Christmas alone, and she doesn’t have the heart to ruin them by revealing the sad news. Her new and budding feelings for Leo also compound her decision with the worry about crossing ethical lines as boss and employee. From attending awkward (probably autistic) Frank’s sister’s wedding as a fake girlfriend and then joining eccentric Jasper’s posh but dysfunctional family for a Christmas party and foiling a fox hunt (cue the adorable baby foxes) to visiting Leo’s warm and welcoming family for a raucous Christmas Eve and Day and participating in an annual donkey abduction, Maggie comes to love this trio of wonderful, quirky men as she learns more about their lives and the influences that have formed them into the true “kings” of men they are.

If you’re looking for a truly heartwarming and humorous Christmas story that is full of kindness, love, laughter, loyalty, fade-to-black romance, and a high degree of silliness, I highly encourage you to check this one out. I guarantee you will be absolutely charmed.

I love how I went into this book expecting an RH and it wasn’t. The FMC had such a fun relationship/friendship with each guy. I loved seeing each guy grow and become comfortable. Jasper had to be my favorite 😍
Maggie was the best kind of FMC. Such a loyal friend and it shines through the whole book.

We Three Kings is an enjoyable contemporary, festive tale focusing on workplace relationships, friendship and romance. It has a diverse cast of characters working in the much-used but often-overlooked IT department. Maggie is the leader and supervisor, but she is an inclusive and understanding boss whose colleagues appreciate her so much that they insist she spends time with each of them when they realise she is spending Christmas alone. As this story progresses, there are some great friendships, gentle romance, and many festivities. It uses sensory imagery well, so it is easy to imagine the characters and what is happening. I like this festive tale's dynamic between the IT team, the romance and the laugh-out-loud humour.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

A wonderful holiday romcom with fun characters set in England (my favorite!)

With no plans for Christmas and her parents away on a cruise, IT manager Maggie plans to have a quiet holiday in her jammies, but when her coworkers find out they make it their mission to not allow her to spend the holidays alone so they invite her to their holiday events. Before the start of the holidays, she is called to HR and told that she has to let go of someone in her department. As she spends time with each employee over the holiday she has to grasp the idea that she has to let one of them go, but as she gets to know them on a more personal level, the idea seems impossible, especially when she might be falling for one of them.

Coworker #1: Frank, a shy introvert whose sister is getting married and his family is bugging him on who he is bringing to the wedding. Maggie proposes she goes with him as a friend so he has an ally at the wedding. He is often pushed around by his large family and appreciates that Maggie is there and stands up for him against his brash sisters and mother.

Coworker #2: Jasper, a grump who just revealed that he has been dating his roommate Miles and needs Maggie’s support at his holiday party. His complicated family situation makes it awkward for him to come out to his entire family but she finds that his grumpiness is a cover and he really is considerate and super thoughtful and thinks of Maggie as an important person in his life.

Coworker #3: Leo, the newest member and also the one that Maggie feels an attraction for, Invites her to come home up north to spend Christmas with his family. Leo has secretly been pining for Maggie since he was hired and Maggie has recently started to feel an attraction towards him.

I loved the organization of this book. Each co-worker and event was a different part of the book but the overall love story weaved in so seamlessly. You really saw how the two connected romantically but also how she was connected to her other co-workers on a platonic friend/family level. It was nerve wracking to see who she would choose to be let go but the conclusion was satisfying. Overall this book was heartwarming and charming. Plus being set in England, it had some of my favorite English words/sayings in the book that I just adored.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for sharing this book’s digital advanced review copy with me in exchange for an honest review.

My rating: 5/5
This was my first Kristen Bailey book and it won’t be my last 🫶 It was hilarious and had so much heart.

Maggie was a charming and loveable MC, and the way she cared for her co-workers was so sweet and touching. All the supporting characters were also lovable. Wyatt, Jasper and Frank were all fleshed out, and had their own troubles, personalities, and quirks which added to the story and made their unlikely friendships believable.

I won’t say much about the romance to avoid spoilers, but it was very sweet and heartwarming and I loved it ❤️

Overall the book felt very much like a British romcom which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I loved that it was a cozy Christmas read, but the storyline didn’t revolve entirely around Christmas, which I felt made it original and memorable.

This is definitely one to add to your festive tbr for a feel-good read! 📚

*Many thanks to publisher and netgalley for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Last year I was lucky enough to be approved for Five Gold Rings. I hadn’t read any Kristen Bailey books prior and it became my favourite Christmas read to date. Since reading that I’ve been making my way slowly through her back catalogue and have loved absolutely everything I’ve read so far, so much so that I don’t even read the blurb any more!
Hopes were therefore very high for We Three Kings. Unfortunately this one came with a little ick for me – I enjoy a workplace romance but one between a boss and direct report (and one that the fmc actually hired too) is a bit much. I would highlight that this is a personal opinion and not one that most readers will likely share!
Whilst I found the storyline a little predictable, I still very much enjoyed it. I only wish I’d read it at Christmas! I adored Frank, Leo and Jasper, and loved the kindness they showed each other and Maggie. We Three Kings is definitely a fun romcom, perfect for the festive season. Kristen Bailey certainly has a talent for a feel good story and I can’t wait to read more.

Without a doubt, this is one of the funniest romantic comedies I have read this year. Kristen Bailey's ability to create relatable and charming characters particularly delighted me and, including the fake dating trope in this storyline, made for an enjoyable reading experience. Bailey's influence might slowly make me appreciate this genre despite not being my typical preference.

The engaging nature of this narrative contributed to its swift pace, keeping me absorbed throughout. The inclusion of comedic elements dramatically enhanced the book's entertainment value, making it a highly recommended read for enthusiasts of this genre.

This is the ideal choice for those searching for a delightful and uplifting book and is highly recommended.