{"id":80939,"date":"2025-10-27T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80939"},"modified":"2025-10-27T07:27:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T11:27:54","slug":"release-arc-review-merrymaker-name-in-lights-4-by-kayley-loring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/?p=80939","title":{"rendered":"Release & ARC Review: Merrymaker (Name in Lights, #4) by Kayley Loring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Merrymaker by Kayley Loring is live!<\/strong><\/h4>\n

This is a short, fun, laugh-out-loud Christmas novella with a grumpy\/sunshine, single dad romance, and all the hilarity that I love from a Kayley Loring romcom.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amazon<\/a><\/strong><\/h4>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

\r\n <\/div><\/div><\/h4>\n
\n

Blurb<\/strong><\/h4>\n

TO: Cleo Jones
\n<\/span>FROM: Elijah Abrams
\n<\/span>SUBJECT: Happy Holidays WTF
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

I woke up with a mild hangover and an alarm notification that said, \u201cCheck attachment in email Cleo sent to herself from my phone, Dummy.\u201d
\nYour video proof of me offering you a temporary assistant job over the holidays seems legit.
\nThe payment amount I agreed to was outrageous. However, I have a deadline to meet. Having already fired seven temps this week, I am inclined to give this a shot, assuming you are willing to start today.
\nPlease don\u2019t wear that saucy elf costume, speak in rhyme, or act all festive.
\n<\/span>P.S. I apologize for the confusion caused by my son\u2019s good intentions. He knew nothing of our former acquaintance and film school rivalry. But thanks for playing along.<\/p>\n

TO: Elijah Abrams
\n<\/span>FROM: Cleo Jones
\n<\/span>SUBJECT: And a very merry good morning to you, sir!<\/span><\/p>\n

To your non-festive requests, I must say nay!
\nYou can pay me in cash, starting today.
\nI\u2019ll help you produce movie magic, while spreading Christmas cheer,
\nDespite your mockery of my theatrical career.
\nI\u2019ll bring my balloons and my kazoo.
\nI hope your son can join us too!
\nSo flattered you found my elf costume saucy!
\nSee you at the office, Bossy\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Add to Goodreads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Review<\/strong><\/h4>\n

4 stars<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a short, fun, laugh-out-loud Christmas novella with a grumpy\/sunshine, single dad romance, and all the hilarity that I love from a Kayley Loring romcom.<\/p>\n

Cleo is a ray of sunshine who is cheery and perky and full of Christmas spirit. Elijah is a Hollywood Producer and devoted single dad to an adorable little boy, Paxton, and other than the joy he has with his son, he\u2019s a massive grump fighting against an impossible deadline at work.<\/p>\n

Cleo and Elijah were at film school together and almost hooked up, but it never happened for them. Now it\u2019s ten years later and they\u2019ve been brought together by little Paxton who hires Cleo for a party. It\u2019s a surprising reunion for them, and Eiljah sees it as his chance to finally claim the girl who got away. He hires her as his temporary assistant, and she comes crashing into his life with holiday cheer.<\/p>\n

It’s such a fun read that moves quickly, full of laughs and charm. Cleo\u2019s bubbly personality is quite the force, but I love her lack of drama and no-nonsense attitude. And I fell hard for Elijah, the grumpy dad who melts for his son and his girl. He owns how much he wants Cleo, and that, mixed with his constant snark, is so much fun.<\/p>\n

Fuck, this woman smells amazing.
\n\u201cWhy are you so fucking fragrant?\u201d
\n\u201cI think what you\u2019re smelling is my deodorant spray. I made it last month. I am so glad you enjoy it.\u201d
\nWhy does that make me angry and horny at the same time? Why does almost everything about this woman make me angry and horny? <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This book forms part of the Name in Lights<\/i> series, and the lazy wingmen are there to help out, (I loved seeing them again, if only briefly), but you can easily read this as a standalone.<\/p>\n

This is a great read, lots of fun with a gorgeously happy ending. I loved it.<\/p>\n

4 stars.<\/p>\n

I listened to this as an audiobook, narrated by Erin Mallon and Brandon Francis in duet style narration, and it\u2019s such a fun one to listen to. They bring so much life to their characters, and this audiobook is a delight.<\/p>\n

An Advanced Reader Copy was generously provided by the author for an honest review.<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name in Lights<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Single parents in Hollywood<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\" \u00a0\"\" \u00a0\"\"\u00a0\u00a0\"\"<\/b><\/p>\n

Sleeper (#1)<\/strong> (Shane & Willa)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0\u00a0Amazon <\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0 Paperback\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Charmer (#2)<\/strong> (Nico & Kat)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Troublemaker (#3)<\/strong> (Alex & Emilia)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy: \u00a0Amazon\u00a0<\/a> |\u00a0 Paperback<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0 Audio<\/a><\/p>\n

Merrymaker (#4) <\/strong>(Elijah & Cloe)
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"Name in Lights Collection\u00a0<\/strong>
\nFeaturing all three books plus the bonus novella ‘Pumpkin’s Gotta Give’
\nReview<\/a>
\nBuy:\u00a0 Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

About the Author<\/strong><\/h4>\n

\"\"Before writing steamy romantic comedy novels, Kayley Loring got a BFA in creative writing from a Canadian university and had a fifteen-year career as a screenwriter in Los Angeles (under a different name). She mostly wrote PG-13 family comedies that studios would pay her lots of money for and then never make into movies. In 2017 she decided to move to the Pacific Northwest and write about all the fun stuff that she wasn\u2019t allowed to write about in those PG-13 scripts. Now she\u2019s breathing cleaner air and writing dirtier words. It\u2019s an adjustment she\u2019s happily getting used to.<\/p>\n

Instagram\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0\u00a0Facebook Reader Group<\/a>\u00a0 |\u00a0\u00a0Website<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Merrymaker by Kayley Loring is live! This is a short, fun, laugh-out-loud Christmas novella with a grumpy\/sunshine, single dad romance, and all the hilarity that I love from a Kayley Loring romcom.   Amazon   […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":79801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","yasr_overall_rating":4,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,36,9,24,1036,29],"tags":[59,1140,1525,48],"class_list":["post-80939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lol-funny","category-novella","category-romance","category-second-chance-romance","category-single-parent","category-steamy","tag-arc","tag-kayley-loring","tag-name-in-lights","tag-review"],"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":false,"span_bottom":false},"number_of_votes":0,"sum_votes":0},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Merrymaker.jpg?fit=200%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7gaNL-l3t","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/79801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=80939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.escapistbookblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=80939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}