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Kardashian Dish 10 months Kylie Jenner called a monster, shamed by activists in parking garage attack. Streaming More Netflix News ». More Amazon News ». View all Streaming Sites. More Movie News ». More FS Movie News ». View all Movies Sites. More TV News ». More FS Entertainment News ». Quite a few of the authors went for wee peeks into the lives of some of their previous characters like Annabeth Albert, Felice Stevens, Lane Hayes, and Garrett Leigh.
And some wrote completely new short snippets of love which were fully wrapped up like the most perfect of Christmas presents like Annabelle Jacobs, V. Locey and RJ Scott. I fell in love totally with the guys in Clare London's offering, which was just wonderfully sweet with a delivery driver finding happiness at the end of a fire escape. And a similar 'delivery man falls in love with the parcel recipient' theme was also chosen by Eli Easton for her current contemporary romance.
Joanna Chambers provides the only historical entry, a truly wonderful encounter between a maimed cavalry officer and the slightly younger son of his mother's best friend set shortly after final battle in the Peninsula War. And A. Via gave me two lonely hearts making a perfect connection.
If you've not bought this collection yet, I would highly recommend it. Not only do you get 15 beautifully written festive season romances, but every penny goes towards a most worthy cause, raising money for The Trevor Project. Bravo to RJ Scott for organising the anthology and a massive thanks to all the authors who offered up these delightful examples of love in a multitude of ways.
ARC kindly received from the authors in return for an honest and unbiased review. View 2 comments. Jan 02, Meags rated it liked it Shelves: mm , lgbt , anthologies , christmas , romance , shorties-less-thanpages. But as it turns out, 9 of the 15 stories within are shorts in already well established series. Overall, I liked what I read. Stumped to who it may be, Paul wracks his brain trying to solve the Christmas mystery, all while falling harder into his new crush on the gorgeous and caring UPS delivery guy.
Sweet, charming, and with a little bit of mystery to keep things interesting, this Easton short put a Christmassy smile on my face. The First Snow of Winter by Joanna Chambers 4 Stars Set in England, this heartwarming short story follows war veteran and amputee Sam, as he is reunited at Christmas with a childhood friend and once-potential love interest, Jasper.
This one was beautiful in terms of atmosphere and romance. My heart went out to Sam and his feelings of shame and unworthiness, and I adored how Jasper lit him up simply by being. Driving Home for Christmas by Annabelle Jacobs 3. Things are awkward and tense on the trip home, but when a snowstorm sees them bunkering down at a hotel for the night, Jared and Tom each find the courage to acknowledge what went wrong between them and how they really feel about each other, leading to a sweet and potentially life-changing night together.
This was decent for such a short story. Dressed in Holiday Style by V. Locey 2 Stars This one was all over the place for me—sort of frantic in the telling and trying too hard to be humorous, when instead it came across as fairly obnoxious and annoying.
Five Gold Blings by Clare London 3 Stars Christmas grump Gray has a change of heart when he meets bright and talented vlogger Alec on his delivery run in the days leading up to Christmas.
The fashion vlogger theme was beyond my interest, TBH, but I liked the idea of these two very lonely guys finding each other and loving effortlessly during the holiday season. They were sweet and affectionate together, and I appreciated that their story was one of hope and bright promises for their future. An Unworthy Gift by A. Via 4. Although the first story chronologically in the anthology, this was the last one I read.
Interestingly, it was also my absolute favourite of the stories I experienced—and I say interestingly because A. Via is the author I have zero past experience with before now. She impressed me with the easy and engaging quality of her writing, and her well-crafted characters and rich setting.
I kind of adored this one, and although I was sad when it was over, I was also excited, because now I have a whole new author to explore! Especially because the proceeds of this go towards a really deserving charity. And also because they are Christmas stories. Notoriously known for being sugar cookie cute.
But I also want to be honest. I love Christmas books and have been known to read them year round. I only wished it was longer as the end felt rushed. But I loved seeing these two a few years down the line. I may have to try her again. I went to the first two authors' stories that I know would be winners, and they just weren't. Joanna Chambers's story was fine, but meh, and Suki Fleet's story was totally off-putting.
I had no idea what even happened in that story. I'll leave it alone from here. Reading this as part of my Short Stories project; individual reviews of some of the stories will appear under this tag. I'm struggling with this collection as a whole, with some exceptions that will appear under that tag up there, but I'll collect my thoughts into something here when I'm done.
Okay, some thoughts. There are two things I think went a bit wrong with this collection. The first is that it relied, heavily , on readers coming into it as already having read the backlist of most of the Reading this as part of my Short Stories project; individual reviews of some of the stories will appear under this tag.
The first is that it relied, heavily , on readers coming into it as already having read the backlist of most of the contributing authors. Many of the contributions—it felt like half or more—were revisits with characters from previously released novels, and many of those revisits didn't really read like stories so much as scenes. There wasn't enough there to introduce characters to readers who didn't already know them, and so the reader had no buy-in to the stakes if there were any.
This isn't to say that sort of thing can't be done well. The Annabeth Albert story, which revisited Better Not Pout , did so by making the story be about the fellas from her novella hosting two foster kids, and that particular journey from start to finish, and included enough characterization of the leads that I think people who hadn't read the novella would also be up to speed on them.
The other thing that went wrong was a bit more personal for me as a queer guy reading characters that were supposed to be like me, but so very often didn't feel anything of the sort. One story is set in an exclusive gentleman's club that catered to married-but-closeted senators and judges, who are exactly the sort of people who use their power to make life miserable for queer people, and so watching one character work there and another get a membership there and neither of them really struggle with that much was off-putting.
Another story had two very, very touchy-feely queer men and they were discussing potential trips to Sri Lanka or Iran—two places where being queer is illegal and, in Iran, punishable by execution.
They didn't so much as blink or consider what a trip there might be from a safety point of view. There were characters who felt like outright stereotypical caricatures, some stories where losing anal virginity was held up as a kind of "true offer of love" can we just drop that whole thing, please? It doesn't fly for women and it shouldn't fly for queer men , and more than one story with the "But they're your family and therefore important!
And so on. I'm glad this was a charity anthology, and I'm happy to have supported the Trevor Project with my purchase, but as an anthology, I don't think I can recommend it beyond the stories that will pop up via the tag above there, which is to say the four stories that I enjoyed in the collection: Annabeth Albert, Eli Easton, Annabelle Jacobs, and Alex Jane. For them, I'm calling this "It was ok.
Just in time for the Holidays! My buds over at Kimmers Erotic Book Banter divvied this one up, and you can find their reviews for the rest of the stories on the blog. Besties for over twenty years, nothing strains a friendship more than that drunken grope up against a wall!
Jared finally gets his nerve up to kiss Tom only Just in time for the Holidays! Jared finally gets his nerve up to kiss Tom only to have it backfire in the worst way possible. Tom freaks out. After four months of radio silence these two finally let down their walls, open their hearts, and figure out it only takes a bit of communication to set them on the right track.
There's a variety of stories to suit everyone, so get into the holiday mood with this fun anthology! A little word of warning that I wouldn't have minded myself: more than a third of these stories are little add-ons, snippets from already established MCs from other full-scale novels.
Most of these stories I will not rate because I don't know the backstories and previous books. But people, this annoys me. I actually bought this compilation because I was looking forward to these aut A little word of warning that I wouldn't have minded myself: more than a third of these stories are little add-ons, snippets from already established MCs from other full-scale novels.
I actually bought this compilation because I was looking forward to these authors' stories. A couple of other stories are set in an already established universe, but they can be easily read without further knowledge - and that's just fine.
That's brilliant actually - if you like what you read you can check out those other books, but you don't have to. Please issue a warning for the stories that will not make sense to readers unless they have read the full-scale novels these stories rely on.
I feel a little cheated here! There were a couple of real gems in there and a couple of stories I would have dnf'd if they weren't so short. So the three stars overall rating really does some stories not enough credit - and oversells a few others quite significantly. Kudos for that! I loved meeting Teddy and Nick again and their holiday story was heartwarming and full of hope.
If I had one little niggle it'd be that view spoiler [I found the explicit sex scene to be completely unnecessary and countering the general atmosphere. I love good sex in books, but in this case, I'd've preferred it be not spelled out, I think hide spoiler ].
Joanna Chambers: The first snow of winter - It's always remarkable to me how much depth characters in short stories can have if they are written by a skilful writer. This is definitely an example of that. Annabelle Jacobs: Driving Home for Christmas - Cute, little story about two best friends who have fallen out, but are now in forced proximity during their car ride to their respective families.
Fun to read, well-paced, and generally well written. This was a perfect, best friends-to-lovers, feel-good story with all the trimmings. Loved it! The only little niggle here: there were a couple of editing errors - doubled words, punctuations at the wrong place, that kind of thing. Still a great read, though! Unfortunately, it felt incomplete - mostly because it was.
Now, I'd love to read more about these characteres, don't get me wrong and I'm already signing up for these future installments. But I did anticipate to read something that would feel at least somewhat finished.
This story stopped at the equivalent of Chapter 3 in a Chapter book. Nevertheless, I found the story to be boring and forgettable. Mostly, because I felt decidedly neutral about the characters - meaning while I didn't hate them, I felt no connection to them whatsoever.
Did they get their HEA? Maybe, but I really don't care. Locey: Dressed in Holiday Style - Again more of a 2. But there were a couple of funny scenes in this, so I'll round up just for that. Scott: Single Dad Christmas - This fell pretty flat for me. There was nothing interesting about this story or about the characters. I didn't like any of them and I didn't particularly like the kids either at least not Anna , sorry.
Via: An Unworthy Gift - This was mostly okay-ish, if a little boring. And fast. Boy, did these guys lay on the speed pedal. There was little depth to the characters who were mainly described as either overwhelmingly beautiful Spencer or overwhelmingly rich Cole.
The sex scene did not work at all for me. I think, I found little chemistry between the characters and it became really obvious when things got intimate. Nope, not for me. You need to read the series of some novellas first before jumping in this book. This is actually an omnibus of holiday stories from the stories before these. Some of it. I really liked their additional epilogue and HEA in this story! The kids t You need to read the series of some novellas first before jumping in this book.
The kids though, adorable! Good thing I was already read Better Not Pout. AE Via's An Unworthy Gift can be read as a stand alone, but a little cringe-y reading about the gentlemen's club in a modern world though it's fine with me in the historical romances. Love at first sight and the impulsive decision from both, not my cuppa. Joanna Chambers delivered a cute story about two old friends who's never saw each other for five years after their kisses, a second chance of love in the HFN, but you know what happened during that time.
The short story about a singe dad and his manny from RJ Scott made me wanted to read the whole series don't yell at me, okay, I have tons of TBR read!
Clare London's story about a vlogger, was just okay, I think : Full review soon! Release Day! My story offering is 'Sometimes, Always' --a sweet and angst-free Christmas short about Echo and Peri from 'Sometimes There's Stars' if you've read that story, this one takes place after the end, six months into the future. Some were fine, some would have been fine if I read the series they are based upon first, some just followed one of the usual Holiday plots and others So there are 2 I like to point out.
The first is the one by Alex Jane about 2 college roommates who need a little christmas miracle to confess their love - nothing new but with the right kind o Some were fine, some would have been fine if I read the series they are based upon first, some just followed one of the usual Holiday plots and others The first is the one by Alex Jane about 2 college roommates who need a little christmas miracle to confess their love - nothing new but with the right kind of Holiday spirit to make me smile a little.
The other is Eli Easton's story because it's my first ever Covid romance and I'm still not sure if that's not too early for me. Overall average 3. For those who may be wondering stories appear here in the same order as they appear in the anthology… An Unworthy Gift by AE Via 4 stars The holidays are no time for anyone to be alone and yet so often people are.
An unworthy gift if the tale of two men from different walks of life who each find themselves alone at the most wonderful time of the year. I loved both Cole and Spencer and while their story was shorter than I would have liked for me it was filled with the magic of love and the holiday season. Definitely a sweet, enjoyable holiday read worth enjoying. While the story worked well as a standalone. This one was an incredibly sweet story set during the Christmas holiday and filled with love.
It was sweet, adorable and uplifting. I know some authors have opted not to write stories that reflect the current state of the world. But, Ms Easton has not shied away from the world we are not living I in with this story and I have to say, I applaud her for not only going there but for reminding us that, in spite of everything, with faith and a bit of holiday magic there can still be some happy in the world.
Must Be Santa by Annabeth Albert 4. We get a chance to revisit Teddy and Nick and share in their first holiday as parents. Sam and Jasper have known each other since childhood and while their last parting almost ended with a kiss…a lot has changed since then.
Grey and Alec for me were simply adorable and I loved these two as their lives slowly became intertwined thanks to the internet. Grey turned out to be a the Christmas present that Alec needed most and Alec helped Grey to once again feel the spirit of the season and share not just hope but his heart.
Sojourn for Christmas by Posy Roberts 3. I appreciated that this story brings us in at the beginning of this relationship rather than somewhere in the middle. Sometimes, Always by Suki Fleet 3. Filled with love, romance, dancing, their dearest friends and two delinquent dogs. The Gift of Forever by Felice Stevens 3. While I enjoyed the story for the sweet Christmas vignette that it was.
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