Merry Little Bookshop (Pre-Order)

This is a pre-order of Merry Little Bookshop and will be available in your Audiobrary app on November 23, 2026. Upon the publication of the audiobook, you will receive a notification in your app and email saying it’s live! However, once you place this order, the projects will preemptively appear in your app. In there, you will have an audio message from Julia filling you in on what to expect.

(Run Time: approx 6 hours)

From the USA Today Bestselling author of Battle of the Bookstores, a new bookish romance for the holidays!

When her company sends her to tiny Azalea, Texas, to open a holiday pop-up bookstore for the month of December, Shira Schwartz knows the real reason she got the assignment—they figure she won’t mind missing Christmas. What they forgot? She’s also missing Hanukkah.

From the moment she arrives on Thanksgiving Day, Shira is swept up in the town's charm—and right into the path of Jonny McKay, a local who traded big-city dreams to come home and care for his dad. He’s cocky, flirty, and totally not Shira’s type…but he might be perfect for a no-strings holiday fling.

Together, they turn the bookshop into more than a store: it’s a gathering place, a haven for new readers, and maybe the start of something magical between them. From cookie-decorating chaos with Jonny’s family to Azalea’s sparkling Christmas tractor parade, the season wraps Shira in warmth she never expected. And when Jonny rallies the townspeople to surprise Shira with their own heartfelt take on Hanukkah, she realizes this assignment might be the best holiday gift she’s ever been given.

MERRY LITTLE BOOKSHOP is a steamy, romantic holiday tale about unexpected love, community spirit, and finding your place where you least expect it.

Author’s Note: This small town holiday romance is approximately 225 pages in print—somewhere between a long novella and a short novel. Expect banter and chemistry, cozy small-town charm, spicy bookstore moments, shared Christmas and Hanukkah traditions, and a heartwarming happily ever after.

Ali Brady (Author) Ali Brady is the pen name of writing BFFs Alison Hammer and Bradeigh Godfrey. They are the USA TODAY Bestselling authors of romantic, heartwarming, funny novels including The Beach Trap, The Comeback Summer, Until Next Summer, and Battle of the Bookstores. Their books have been "best of summer" picks by The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Parade, and Katie Couric Media. Alison lives in Chicago and works as an advertising creative director. She’s also the Founder and Co-President of The Artists Against Antisemitism, and the author of You and Me and Us and Little Pieces of Me. Bradeigh lives in Utah with her husband, four children, and two dogs. She works as a doctor and is the author of psychological thrillers Imposter and The Followers. alibradybooks.net

Julia Whelan (Narrator) is an author, screenwriter, lifelong actor, and acclaimed audiobook narrator of over 700 titles.

She is, most recently, the recipient of Spotify's Narrator of the Year Award (the most listened-to narrator globally), the first-ever Gracie Award for Best Fiction Narrator (presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation), the SOVAS (Society of Voice Arts and Sciences) Lifetime Achievement Award, and winner of the Audie Award for Best Fiction Narrator of 2025. She also captured both the winner and runner-up slots in the inaugural audiobook category of the Goodreads Choice Awards.

Her latest books — the Audie nominated duet romance, Casanova LLC (coming in print, Spring 2027), and the annotated Victorian poetry anthology The Poetry Of My Oxford Year — debuted exclusively on Audiobrary. jmwhelan.com

Rex Rhys (Narrator) is, among many things, a linguist and traveler. He looks for adventure in the ordinary, an intriguing conversation, and the pleasures of the soul. He is equally stimulated by the quiet rhythms of nature and the pulse of city streets. But no matter what, he always has a book in hand and a story to tell. Always. You can find him on Instagram @rex_rhys or cutting through the highlands on his motorcycle.