Posts Tagged With: Series – Advent Calendar

Book Review: Love in 24 Frames by C.S. Poe

Reviewed by Ami

Title: Love in 24 Frames
Author: C.S. Poe
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar | Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Declain & Shota
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 38 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Declan Groves is a CPA in New York City. His adult life is dictated by routine and borderline monotony. The need to express himself, in ways his career and crippling shyness have never allowed, leads Declan to becoming an amateur stop-motion filmmaker.

The one problem is that Declan is also in love with the Wandering Artist Studios receptionist Shota Watanabe. Shota has always had a smile and engaging comment ready for Declan, but even if it is more than casual politeness, Declan hasn’t been able to get out more than a tongue-tied sentence at a time. And a man like Shota surely has no intention of waiting forever.

So when an unexpected change to Declan’s daily schedule throws the two together outside of the studio, it might be the catalyst needed to explore what’s unspoken between them. But if they’re to have a future, Declan needs to find a way to tell Shota how he truly feels. Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Santa Project by Elinor Gray

Reviewed by Ami

Title: The Santa Project
Author: Elinor Gray
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar | Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Adam & David
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 55 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Working at the Craft Emporium keeps Adam Martinez busy during the holiday season he absolutely hates. Enter elementary schoolteacher David Okoye, who can’t get enough of Christmas or craft supplies. David is cute, wholesome, and Adam can’t deny a little bit of a crush.

Making the holidays special for his students is only part of the reason David makes excuses to go to the Craft Emporium. He also holds a torch for Adam. He takes it as a personal challenge to show Adam how to enjoy the holidays when he asks Adam to teach him to knit. David promises the holidays can be wonderful when shared with the right people, but how can they share them when David is going home to his family and Adam will be left all alone? Continue reading

Categories: 3.5 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Swants Soiree by E.J. Russell

Reviewed by Ami

Title: A Swants Soiree
Author: E.J. Russell
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar | Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Brent & Jonathan
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 50 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Introverted software engineer Brent Levine struggles with the life part of work-life balance, but to hold on to his new job, he’ll have to embrace his employer’s dreaded “staff enrichment” events. This year’s annual ugly holiday sweater party will strain his ambition to remain inconspicuous: everyone has to wear sweaters converted into pants—aka “swants.”

Brent’s an ace at coding, but when it comes to handcrafts, he’s definitely at the far left end of the bell curve. Luckily he encounters seriously cute theater costumer Jonathan at the Goodwill Outlet. Jonathan offers Brent both an acceptably ugly sweater and his expertise in swants conversion. Attraction sparks on Brent’s side, but can Jonathan be interested in a guy like him?

Continue reading

Categories: 4 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: A Holiday Homecoming by Liv Rancourt

Reviewed by Ami

Title: A Holiday Homecoming
Author: Liv Rancourt
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar | Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Jon & Bo
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 62 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Ten years ago Jon’s passion for the piano took him across the country to New York, where a demanding concert career consumed his life and left him no time to look back. His father’s stroke is the only thing that brings him home to Seattle. The sickroom makes for a dreary holiday until Jon runs into Bo, whose inner light can make anything sparkle.

Bo loves the holidays: the food, the crafts, the glitter! A fling with an old school friend—who grew up to be his celebrity crush—makes a good thing better. The season turns sour, though, when Jon is offered a gig he can’t refuse. He wants Bo to share the moment, but Bo doesn’t fly. Anywhere. Ever. Is this goodbye, or will a handmade ornament bring Jon home to Bo? Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Fairy Shop by Tara Lain

Reviewed by Ami

Title: The Fairy Shop
Author: Tara Lain
Series: 2019 Advent Calendar | Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Nate & Asher
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 64 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press and Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: When Nate Hawthorne meets Asher Dane, the huge, tattooed hunk is the personification of Nate’s dreams. But Nate knows there’s no future, because Asher is also the personification of his beloved five-year-old daughter Delly’s nightmares. She’s frightened of big men. Things turn around for both of them, however, when Delly goes Christmas shopping at the Fairy Shop and begins her quest for a wand that will make her brave. Neither of them guesses that the Fairy Shop will be the source of far more than Delly’s courage. On Christmas Eve, under the influence of a very unusual fairy, Nate’s life will change forever.
Continue reading

Categories: 2 Star Ratings, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Hole-Hearted by Sam Burns

Reviewed by Ami

Title: Hole-Hearted
Author: Sam Burns
Series: Homemade for the Holidays
Heroes: Luce & Darren
Genre: M/M Contemporary
Length: 20 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Release Date: December 1, 2019
Available at: Dreamspinner Press & Amazon
Add it to your shelf: Goodreads

Blurb: Pediatrician Luce Wright’s bad breakup gets worse when his drunk ex drives a car through his house a week before Christmas. His whole family is coming over in just a few days, and he can’t have a hole with a tarp over it in the middle of his dining room.

Fortunately his neighbor’s son is moving back into town, and he owns a construction company. Can Luce and his homemade cookies persuade Darren to mend the hole in the house… and maybe the one in Luce’s heart too? Continue reading

Categories: 3 Star Ratings, Ami's Reviews, Book Review, Guest Reviewer, LGBT, Published in 2019 | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment