Posts Tagged With: Series – 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug

Book Review: Pixies and Paperwork by Cassia Rose

Reviewed by Nikyta

pixies-and-paperworkTitle: Pixies and Paperwork
Author: Cassia Rose
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Michael & Ryan
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 49 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner PressAmazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Micheal Donovan’s family has kept the peace between mortal and magical realms for generations, but Micheal skipped out on glory for other plans. He finished school, got a nine-to-five, and tried to fit in. When his cousin meets an unfortunate end on All Hallows’ Eve, Micheal abruptly inherits the position of Riftkeeper, along with all the prestige and responsibility he didn’t want. Estranged from his family, Micheal never learned the details of the job. All the grumpy, ancestral spirit now possessing his goldfish can tell him is that a mistake could be catastrophic. Micheal isn’t feeling the holiday cheer, and coworkers’ attempts to encourage him only add to a headache of magical proportions. To make matters worse, Ryan Nickles, Micheal’s colleague and cubicle neighbor, has assembled enough Christmas decorations to attract more pixies than Micheal can hide.

When Micheal’s attempts to find the Winter Court on the week of the solstice leave him with nothing but a bad cold, he fears he’ll be the first Riftkeeper to break the ancient contracts. He’s too stressed to handle Ryan’s attempts to get him into the holiday spirit, but Ryan might know more about the magic of the season than Micheal realizes.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Of Mooning Santas and Penis Lights by Thianna Durston

Reviewed by Nikyta

of-mooning-santas-and-penis-lightsTitle: Of Mooning Santas and Penis Lights
Author: Thianna Durston
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: John &Kaden
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 39 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Former US Marine John Ving hates everything about holiday displays: they’re tacky, they waste energy, and they’re an eyesore. So what does his new neighbor do? He sets up the holiday spectacle from hell, and he doesn’t seem to care which holiday—he has a menorah, a baby Jesus, a Santa, and everything in between. Not to mention it’s swathed in enough lights his house is probably visible from space.

High-school teacher Kaden Melling loves the holidays, and huge light displays on his lawn make his heart glow. He’d love to share some cheer—and maybe some kinky fun—with his smoking hot neighbor John. Odd things start to happen to his displays, but just as he begins to think life is going his way, with the holidays and with John, a Grinch destroys everything.

It’s gonna take the display-hating John to set things right—and what he has planned might blow Kaden’s mind.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Book Review: Crashing the Party by Ginger Streusel

Reviewed by Ami

33003449Title: Crashing the Party
Author: Ginger Streusel
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Kale Green/Wes Armstrong
Genre: MM Holiday
Length: 24 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Retail workers and evil never get a day off, and traveling printer salesman Kale Green is no exception. He might look like a Jolly Green Giant, but he can be a real Grinch. Working on the holidays can dampen anyone’s spirits, and on top of that, a sleepy Georgia town has it out for Kale and his car. From fender-benders to flat tires, Kale and his trusty company car Bessie suffer through it all.

While everyone else enjoys holiday parties, Kale drives down south to demo printers. Business is good, but on Christmas Eve, the weather turns bad. A few patches of ice put an end to Kale’s Christmas plans—a night alone with his video games. While Kale waits for the police, his only consolation is the company of fellow driver Wes Armstrong. As festive as a Christmas tree and as jolly as Kris Kringle, Wes proves unexpectedly charming. Kale never thought he’d crash right into a crush.

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Review: Okay, first of all KALE Green?!? Seriously, I need to question his parents’ idea of a name *laugh*. Poor Kale. His childhood was probably not fun. Anyway, this was a cute established relationship story – but the structure of it threw me off in the beginning.

See, the story opens with Kale calling his boyfriend’s house, and telling Wes that he will be there soon. But then then the scene changes to the previous year when Kale first met Wes. I was really confused because there wasn’t any ‘sign’ that it would switch into the past. In fact, I had to re-read the story from the beginning to make sure that it wasn’t a glitch somehow.

However, after I was familiarized with the structure, I was able to enjoy it. Kale has the worst luck when it comes to his car whenever he goes to South Georgia. But it also gives him the chance to meet Wes, who co-owns an automotive shop.

I thought they were cute together. Wes has a sunny disposition so it is easy to believe how Kale was charmed by him. Wes also teaches Kale a lot about cars! That part where Kale is so proud of being able to change the tire by himself amused me so much. Now that is a good relationship. *laugh*

In conclusion, I enjoyed this – and since Ginger Streusel is a new-to-me author, I might check out her other (or future) stories.

Overall Impression: I liked it

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for a fair and honest review.*

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Matthew’s Present by Sarah Hadley Brook

Reviewed by Nikyta

matthews-presentTitle: Matthew’s Present
Author: Sarah Hadley Brook
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Matthew & Tyler
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 23 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner PressAmazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Matthew Blick is almost thirty years old, and he hates the thought of another holiday alone. He has become a bit of a wet blanket when Christmas rolls around every year. So much so that even his five-year-old niece, Hannah, knows something needs to change. She asks the department store Santa to bring her uncle a man to love, and when Santa sees her uncle, he formulates a plan to set that possibility in motion.

Santa shows up at Matthew’s house and at first Matthew can’t place him, but then the memories of his first kiss flood his mind and he is shocked to find that Santa is the man he has carried a torch for since high school. Will this twist of fate help Matthew change his view on the holidays? Only a kiss can tell.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dual Book Review: Krampus Hates Christmas by Andi Van

Reviewed by Ami and Nikyta

krampus-hates-christmasTitle: Krampus Hates Christmas
Author: Andi Van
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Karl & Lewis
Genre: M/M Paranormal
Length: 104 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon and Barnes & Noble
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Karl Kringle hates the modern-day Christmas. He was born to be Krampus, but the Holiday Council refuses to let him help his brother Nick—aka Santa Claus—with the Naughty List until he finds his holiday spirit. To meet that challenge, he’s turned human and dumped in a strange apartment.

Lewis Weatherby loves the holidays and always has. Not only do his parents own a pumpkin patch and tree farm, he’s also inherited a Christmas-themed shop. All he wants from Santa is the man of his dreams, and the Big Guy might’ve just delivered. Lewis’s new neighbor Karl is gorgeous, sweet, and has a fantastic sense of humor—if his jokes about being Krampus are any indication.

Soon getting home is less important to Karl than what will happen when Lewis inevitably realizes the truth behind his jokes. He’s finally starting to understand the real joy of the season—now he just has to figure out how to hold on to it.

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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Anyplace Else by Kim Fielding

Reviewed by Ami

33001951Title: Anyplace Else
Author: Kim Fielding
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Grant Beaudoin/Predimir
Genre: MM Holiday
Length: 33 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Grant Beaudoin should be thrilled to escape Minneapolis at Christmastime and grateful to lounge on a Hawaiian beach. Instead he is mired in self-pity and drowning in too much tequila. His twin is marrying the perfect man, while Grant is stuck in middle management with no love life in sight. A walk into the rain forest leads to a meeting with a doomed man who has a story about a holiday that predates Christmas. Grant comes to realize that difficult endings can lead to new beginnings—and perhaps a brighter future.
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Categories: 2 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Popcorn Garlands by Ariel Tachna

Reviewed by Ami

33003490Title: Popcorn Garlands
Author: Ariel Tachna
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Carlos Mendez/Ned Williams
Genre: MM Holiday
Length: 32 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Carlos Mendez spends all year working hard at his Houston-based landscaping business, and he sends every spare penny he earns back to his family in Mexico. By the time the holidays roll around, he doesn’t have much patience for the unadulterated greed and consumerism paraded past him. But a chance meeting with his neighbor, Ned Williams, and Ned’s cancer-stricken daughter, might help to remind him of the real meaning of the season—something beyond the gaudy lights and extravagant displays—something he wants to be a part of.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Cursed Miracles by Meg Harding

Reviewed by Ami

33001866Title: Cursed Miracles
Author: Meg Harding
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: William Mashinter/Brady Gallagher
Genre: MM Holiday
Length: 48 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Two hundred years ago on Christmas Eve, William Mashinter was frozen in time, cursed by his wife to roam the world on his own, waiting for the love of his life to find him. The love of his life, whom she killed. Time hasn’t healed this wound, and William is tired of the happy holiday and the constant reminders of a love that’s been taken from him. But then the impossible happens, and maybe… maybe he can get a new Christmas perspective.

Brady Gallagher has lived three different lives, always aware of the first and most important, yet unable to find the man who will fill in the missing pieces and let him know he’s not crazy. He encounters him at a work event, of all places, but is he willing to throw everything else to the wind and embrace the miracle laid out before him?
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Fortune Cookie by Matt Burlingame

Reviewed by Nikyta

the-fortune-cookieTitle: The Fortune Cookie
Author: Matt Burlingame
Series: Series – 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Laurence & Nick
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 49 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Thirty-three-year-old technical writer Laurence Hart is a modern-day Scrooge when it comes to the holiday season—and the rest of the year too. He doesn’t like most people, they don’t like him, and he’s happy to keep it that way. Over lunch with his best friend, he receives a fortune cookie promising him true love. The next day, forced to work on a holiday charity committee or lose his job, he meets Nick, a jolly ginger giant who loves all things Christmas. Together they face numerous obstacles to put together a holiday fair to raise money for children in foster care in only four days. While Laurence has to mend his curmudgeonly ways to make the event a success, Nick’s holiday magic might mend Laurence’s heart.
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Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Book Review, LGBT, Nikyta's Reviews, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Book Review: Santa for Hire by Asta Idonea

Reviewed by Ami

33003625Title: Santa For Hire
Author: Asta Idonea
Series: 2016 Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
Heroes: Richard Barrett/Blaine Ryder
Genre: MM Holiday
Length: 31 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2016
Available at:  Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb:  Dumped by his ex on Christmas Eve two years ago, Oxford Street department store manager Richard Barrett now hates the holidays. Things go from bad to worse when the store’s usual Santa is too ill to reprise his role and the firm sends cocky but handsome Blaine Ryder to take his place. The attraction between the two is clear, but Blaine is an incorrigible player who reminds Richard of his ex. His idea of a relationship is a quick roll in the hay, and his advances have Richard running for the hills. It might take some special intervention for both of them to realize they can change enough to have a chance at a holiday romance.
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Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, LGBT, Published in 2016 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment