Nick and Noel’s Christmas Playlist is about two childhood best friends Noel who lost her family when she was a teenager and Nick who's family took Noel in in the aftermath, both of them joined the military right after high school and reunite after eight years apart when Nick ends his army career and returns home, only for his long time girlfriend to dump him. So Nick and Noel share a kiss in front of said ex to help Nick save face and feelings, and the story goes from there. 

This was an alright friend to lovers romance. However, I'm not sure how it has been labelled a Christmas romance as there isn't much Christmas sprinkled in. The plot regarding Amber Nicks ex and her animosity etc with Noel felt very juvenile to me and at times I felt like i was listening to a high school drama, the way the author kept pitting both of them against each other became repetitive and was eyeroll inducing. I enjoyed the banter between Noel, Nick, and their family & friends, there was some witty humour throughout, and the spice was good and better than I was expecting tbh. This was my first book by this author, and i enjoyed her writing style. The audiobook was included in the Audible Plus catalogue, so for a "freebie," i can't complain. It entertained me for an afternoon, and i will give the other two in this series a listen as they are also included in the Plus catalogue, I was just hoping for more Christmas vibes than we got. 🌶🌶