Adrian Delgado's time in the Peace Corps has been rewarding, but with Christmas around the corner, he is starting to get homesick. Life in Mongolia is very different from Texas, from the holiday celebrations to… dating. Take his coworker Batbayar, for instance—they've slept together several times and spend most time outside of work in each other's houses. But are they “together,” or friends with benefits? Maybe a Mongolian Christmas and a sheep's head in the bathtub can lead to the answer.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".
Cute little story. Too short,
really. It was the tale of an American and a Mongolian in Mongolia. I loved
that foreign words were thrown in, but when an author does this, they either
need to have a glossary of terms, or have the story long enough for the reader
to begin to understand. For instance: by the end, I understood that Adrian’s ger was where he lived. But I’m still
not quite sure what a ger is. Is it a
tent? Or is it more like a yurt? Since his only way to get semi warm was to
stoke up a fire while inside it, I’m assuming a yurt-like place, but there just
wasn’t enough information to tell. However, the story about Adrian and Batbayar
was sweet and at the end when we come to understand what the title is all
about, it definitely brings to mind an “ahhh” moment.
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Ever since he moved to
London, shy editor Eric has been watching his neighbor, Crooked Smile,
jog every morning. Aspiring restaranteur Rhys eats breakfast by the
window so he can see his neighbor, Bed Head, help the old woman
downstairs clean off her car. When Eric's roommate unexpectedly returns
home for the holidays, she realizes their idiocy and, with the help of
Rhys's business partner, Andreas, tries to help both men see there might
be more in their futures than they’re seeing through their windows.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".
I absolutely loved the storyline
– winced at the head hopping. The story of Bed Head and Crooked smile is fun,
cute, and made me laugh. Between Bed head going blank every time he saw his
crush and Crooked Smile wondering what he did to get the guy to dislike him,
their getting together was an enjoyable read. When you add in a new restaurant,
annoying waiters, and terribly good food, what’s not to love? The head hopping.
The story felt like a dual point of view, separated. BUT – it didn’t keep with
that as POV switched into Janet’s POV or even, at the end of Rhys’s POV, we got
Eric’s. That part was confusing. So 5 stars for the story, 3 stars for the head
hopping. 4 stars over all, which is still good :)
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After a one night whirlwind romance, Braylon returns to Toronto on the first of December every year in the hopes of seeing the man of his dreams again. Instead Braylon meets a strange man who tells him Christmas is a magical time, and one never knows what unexpected gifts he’ll receive. Braylon takes a chance and makes a Christmas wish, but instead of getting what he wants, he contracts an infection leaving him dependent on dialysis and unable to make the journey the following year. But the stranger just might be right; an unexpected gift may be the miracle Braylon needs most of all.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".
Wonderful story. It had a strong
hero – Braylan – who was fighting kidney failure but always returned to the
spot he met Ross every year to try find him again. It had another strong hero –
Ross – who gave up his life for several years to help a dying friend. And it
even had a fairy godfather by the name of Chris. Between the actions of these
three men, we come out with a wonderful HFN ending.
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Max moved away from his family to be with Michael, and his family never got over it. Now, for the first time in almost a decade, he’s going to return to London for the Christmas celebrations. He’s confident his family will welcome Michael with open, loving arms. At least that's what he tells himself.
Michael doesn't have his head buried in the sand. He knows he has a lot to prove this Christmas, and he’s not sure if he’s up to the task. All these years and he’d never considered having to spend a holiday with Max’s family. Now that it’s happening he’s not scared to admit it—he’s terrified.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package "Celebrate!".
Poor Michael. He’d made a fool of
himself every time he’s been around his husband Max’s family. The two of them
have always spent the holidays with Michael’s folks but this year, they were
going to London to spend them with Max’s kin. As he expected, it started off
dreadfully – throwing up in an expensive car dreadfully – and he felt it would
get worse from there. Until his father-in-law hurt his husband’s feelings.
Finally, Michael stopped being quiet as he defended his man. Thus starts a
miraculous – to him – change in the way his in-laws treat him. This was a
wonderful story with fun, laughter, pain, erotica, love, and a bunch of men
trying to get a Christmas tree through a doorway – the wrong way. Seriously
guys, the butt end goes first, not the tip.
A definite should read, in my
opinion.
Novella about mending fences 4 ½ rainbows
This 46 page novella is about Max and English man living in
Toronto with his Canadian lover, partner. Max has decided that this year he and
Michael are going back to England to visit his family instead to spending it
with Michael’s.
Michael is not thrilled about the journey or the visit, the
last time they went over it did not go so well, and he is convinced they all
hate him. But he loves Max and will do it for him.
Max and Michael is a very cute and sexual couple together,
the bit of the roof, cold and HAWT all at the same time. The extended family
was funny and well written, and the animosity between the father and Michael,
you could feel rolling off the pages.
And I did like the fact that we got a quick snippet on how these two
met. What I didn’t care for was the vagueness of the relationship, are they
married, partners, obliviously in a committed relationship and for how long?
How did Max end of in Toronto? And I have to admit the two “M” names kept
confusing me.
Five years ago, Neno
Kovač fled California, graduate school, and his lover, Toby Cowan, to
return to his native Croatia. Since then, he’s led a quiet life as a
librarian—until one November afternoon when Toby, who has never stopped
loving Neno, shows up in Zagreb. When he left the United States, Neno
wasn’t ready to give up his home and family to take a chance on a
long-distance relationship. But Saint Martin’s Day has arrived, the day
pressed grapes turn to wine and autumn turns to winter. Perhaps it will
be a day when other changes are possible as well.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package Celebrate!
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2014 Advent Calendar package Celebrate!
This story had such potential. It
was about Saint Martin’s Day in Croatia and it gave me the flavor of the street
and the wine and the celebration. Only, the relationship faltered. Toby came
thousands of miles from California to find Neno whom he had not seen in 5 years
to declare his undying love. Okay, I could buy that. I could even buy that Neno
wasn’t able to return that love. Until suddenly, without any preamble, he was
and next thing they are engaged and… all I could see was a divorce once they’d
gotten settled and realized they weren’t the same men they used to be. So for
me, even though you could say that technically it ended with an HFN, I didn’t
have high hopes for an HEA. I did like Neno’s boss and Mom, though – they were
great characters. The author, in fact, did a great job in such a short story of
drawing very likeable characters. I just wish the whole marriage thing hadn’t
been thrown in.
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