Break the Ice

Warm, funny, and completely irresistible, this is the ULTIMATE festive rom-com: The Holiday meets When Harry Met Sally wrapped up in one perfect package.

Phoebe has twenty-four hours to deliver a rescue puppy to her sister’s family in Devon in time for Christmas morning. She has enthusiasm, a pink woolly hat, and a heart full of good intentions. What she does not have is a working car.

Her sister’s housesitter does. Joshua is an LSE mathematician who came to England to do serious academic work. And, if he’s honest, to put an ocean between himself and a heartbreak he hasn’t quite dealt with. He has an orange VW Beetle, a neatly labelled travel bin, and absolutely no desire to spend Christmas Eve in a blizzard with a stranger and her howling dog.

But Phoebe is very persuasive, and Steve the dog has already peed in the hallway.

What follows is four hours of gridlocked motorways, a dog who sees a car journey as trauma, and awkward conversation. Phoebe and Joshua have absolutely nothing in common. Until, after a snowball fight on a motorway, a near-miss for Steve at Stonehenge, and a night snowed in together in a firelit shepherd’s hut, the frost between them begins to melt...

From a snowy Christmas in the UK to the magic of New York at NYE, Break the Ice is a warm, funny, properly swoony festive romcom packed with chaos and steamy romantic tension.

Perfect for readers who love:

- Forced proximity

- Grumpy/sunshine slow burn with real emotional depth

- Sizzling chemistry and spice

- Big found-family festive warmth

- A deeply satisfying HEA

- And a rescue dog who absolutely steals the show

This heartwarming, laugh-out-loud romantic comedy will captivate readers of Mhairi McFarlane, Beth O’Leary, and Emily Henry.

Kristen Bailey is the queen of festive rom-coms:

“Guys!! I have found my new comfort read/romcom obsession... an absolute riot, funny, cheeky, heartfelt, and surprisingly tender in a way that makes you laugh-snort one second and swoon the next.” Reader review, 5 stars

“Romcom perfection, hilarious, flirty, swoony, and packed with heart. Kristen Bailey nailed it. Five stars because this is exactly what I want when I pick up a romance: a MMC who steals my heart, a FMC I want to be besties with, and a story that leaves me smiling like an idiot long after the last page.” Reader review, 5 stars

“I couldn’t get enough of this book! It’s like a Hallmark movie in book form, which please, please, please Hallmark pick this up!! ...I had a smile on my face the entire time I read it. If you’re looking for a feelgood, romantic, witty, laugh out loud book this book fits the bill.” Reader review, 5 stars

“My favorite book this Christmas!! I laughed, I might have cried a little... move over Netflix holiday movies, this book has you all beat!!” Reader review, 5 stars

“The banter is top-notch, the romantic tension is delicious, and the holiday setting added just the right amount of sparkle. If you’re looking for something cozy, funny, and full of heart this Christmas, I’d definitely recommend.” Reader review, 5 stars