Spicing Up the SeasonHope brightens a bleak Edinburgh December. A man gets a second chance with his high-school crush. A decade-long game of cat and mouse comes to a passionate conclusion. And Santa Claus drives a red muscle car. Heat up your holidays with this collection of four festive tales from some of the top talent in the male/male genre.
The anthology includes: "Mistletoe at Midnight" by L. B. Gregg, "Nine Lights over Edinburgh" by Harper Fox, "I Heard Him Exclaim" by Z. A. Maxfield, and "Icecapade" by Josh Lanyon.
Listening Length: 13 hours and 17 minutes
Mistletoe at Midnight by LB Gregg 4♥s
This was cute, sexy and just fun. All of the things that LB Gregg does best made this quite an entertaining little holiday read.
Owen and Caleb get a second chance after being apart since high school. They end up reuniting when Owen is spending the holiday with his family. Because of the whole fam being there, crazy shenanigans ensue.
The side-characters were memorable and fun, the dialogue was funny and the romance was sweet. It really was just a nice, feel-good, holiday read.
Nine Lights Over Edinburgh by Harper Fox 3♥s
Sometimes I just don't get Harper Fox. This is one of those times.
Her way of writing can be confusing for me, so I didn't really grasp what was happening until at least 25%. And then once I was in, I didn't really buy the romance. I'm sorry, but the rescue mission to save your abducted daughter is not the time to fall in love. It just isn't. I don't care if he realizes that it's weird, I don't care if love happens at unexpected times, it was weird to me.
I did enjoy the characters and the plot, but just not with a love story at the same time.
I Heard Him Exclaim by ZA Maxfield 3.5♥s
Well, this was just darn cute. I admit, the beginning was weird. C'mon, they meet at a gas station, then when Chandler's car breaks down he just goes with Steve. Just gets in the car. WITH HIS NIECE! So he's a nice guy and has Santa eyes... who the fuck cares? STRANGER DANGER!
Anyway, once I was past the weirdness of their meeting I really enjoyed Steve and Chandler's romance. I love the way Steve took care of Chandler and gave him confidence. They were loving and sweet and had off-the-charts chemistry.
Icecapade by Josh Lanyon 4♥s
This is my favorite story of the bunch. I love the premise, with a diamond thief and FBI agent there's bound to be some fun banter. And there was.
I'm pretty sure I say this after every Lanyon book, but I wish there was a little bit more post-HEA bliss time. Just a little bit would have sufficed, I would have felt like they really were going to be together. They way it ended felt more HFN-ish to me and, of course, I would prefer something a little more solid.
This was a great anthology, filled with great stories and read by great narrators. Definitely recommended for holiday reading, and if you're an audiobook listener, grab the audio version.
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