I’m not a fan of Christmas. I’m happy to stay up in my mountain cabin and let the silly season pass me by. But when a friend asks for a favor, I can’t say no. Now I’m stuck in my cabin during a snowstorm, trapped with the most beautiful man I’ve ever met—who can’t wait to get away. He just might break my heart when he goes.
Ravi
I’m racing to get home for the birth of my goddaughter when mechanical troubles force my plane’s emergency landing. There are no beds at the inn due to a horrendous storm, but a friend says she knows a guy who won’t mind putting me up until the bad weather passes. Now I’m trapped with that man, and I must decide if I stay, hiding from the rest of the world, or go and face my past to earn a shot at my happily ever after.
This is a 72k word, hurt/comfort, lumberjack/nurse, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity MM romance novel with a moderate amount of angst.
Ginger Snapping All The Way is an emotional holiday romance by Gabbi Grey. I feel into this one easily and couldn't put it down.
This story starts off with some insta love between Mad and Ravi. They're likable from the start and it's easy to root for them.
This is a story of opposites, both of whom have some tough times in their pasts to deal with. This story has some serious moments and some difficult situations. But it's also wonderfully sweet, with lots of heart, and some major heat.
Their story takes place over a short time period, with some forced proximity pushing the two to deal with things quickly.
The writing is wonderful, with some fantastic characters and a riveting storyline. I enjoy the dialog and the sensitivity the author brings to their writing.
Ginger Snapping All The Way is a great read. Gabbi Grey certainly puts them men through some tough times to get their hard fought happy ending. But rest assured, it's all worth it. This is definitely worth a read when you're in the mood for a hurt/comfort holiday romance.
All of a sudden, the mechanical whirr of a window descending sounded through the cabin, and within moments, a blast of cold air hit my neck.
“Jesus, Sofia.”
I glanced in the side mirror, and damned if the dog didn’t have her head stuck out the window. She must’ve climbed over my bag and, apparently, knew how to lower the window.
Impressive.
“I’m rolling up the window.”
More whirring, and an indignant yip.
I didn’t speak dog, but I knew pissed when I heard it.
“I don’t care.” Maddox gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles were white.
Another yip.
“Okay. One French fry. But that’s all you’re getting. Zephyra said no more treats.”
I hesitated. None of my business, but I couldn’t help myself. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, who is Zephyra?” I probably didn’t need to know, but this was the first conversation in about fifteen minutes, and even if I was interrupting dog/human communication, I wanted in on the discussion.
“Dr. Zephyra Dixon is Sophia’s veterinarian. Her clinic is across from the A&W, and she might have spotted me giving Sophia a French fry.”
Two quick successive yaps.
Ah, now the truth was coming out.
Sofia placed her front paws on the center console by my elbow and nuzzled my ear again.
“Holy crap, dog, you’re all wet.” And cold.
“Hence the reason I don’t want her rolling down the window. Doesn’t have the sense God gave her.”
I glanced over my shoulder to find a grinning pup. Oh, she was mighty pleased with herself.
“At least she’s strapped in.” I’d noticed that. Some kind of harness system. She could go back and forth between the two back windows and come up to the front console, but was clearly secured.
“There’s a reason for that.”
I waited, but no further elucidation came. “Care to share?”
A grunt. “Not long after I got her, we were driving home from town. When I arrived at my place, the back seat was empty.” He shot a quick glare at the dog who didn’t appear the least bit cowed. “She won’t tell me if she slipped or jumped, but she’d gone out the window when I’d slowed down to make a left. Took me two hours of walking the back roads. Finally, someone stopped and told me where they’d seen her. Little shit.” That last bit was muttered, but clearly audible.
I turned to face Sofia. “That must have been traumatizing.”
A snort. “Little dear was lapping up the luxury in someone’s backyard, sunning herself after a dip in the kiddie pool. Damn lucky no one shot her.”
“Shot her?” I pressed a hand to my chest.
“Plenty of my neighbors have guns. Wouldn’t be legal, but that wouldn’t stop some of them. She lucked out.”
I tweaked her nose. “Did you hurt yourself?”
A snicker. “She was just fine. Shaved a couple of years off my life, but she was no worse for wear.”
Gabbi lives in beautiful British Columbia where her fur baby chin-poo keeps her safe from the nasty neighborhood squirrels. Working for the government by day, she spends her early mornings writing contemporary, gay, sweet, and dark erotic BDSM romances. While she firmly believes in happy endings, she also believes in making her characters suffer before finding their true love. She also writes m/f romances as Gabbi Black.
Christian Kringle: College professor, reluctant Santa, and...fake dating my neighbor?
I'm a grinch and proud of it--but this year, there’s no avoiding the Christmas cheer.
First, I get roped into playing Santa. Shudder. Then, while trying to dodge a setup with my boss's brother, I somehow promise to attend a holiday party with my boyfriend--who doesn't exist.
Next thing I know, my (soon-to-be former) best friend has set up a profile on a hookup app to find me a date. With the username of....wait for it...SantaWantsYourChimney.
Go ahead and laugh. He sure did, the traitor.
Before I can delete the profile, I match with an easygoing guy with amazing photos. His teasing about Santa kink makes me laugh, and blush, and feel things I haven't since my divorce. For the first time in years, I look forward to dating.
Until we meet, and he turns out to be my neighbor. My very young, very off-limits neighbor who I've clashed with for years. Only now I know just how sexy, charming, and sweetly devoted to his daughter he is.
I should walk away, but I still need that fake boyfriend. The only problem? Jaxson's so convincing I can't tell where the pretense ends and real feelings begin.
Falling for him is easy. Loving his daughter? Effortless. Trusting that I can keep them is the hard part.
It'll take the magic of love, family, and yes--even Christmas--to teach this old grinch new tricks.
Sexted By Santa is a standalone holiday romance set in the Thrust Into Love universe.
Sexted by Santa is the fourth book in the Thrust into Love series by DJ Jamison. This is a fun and delightful holiday romance.
The set up for this story is full of funny moments. The history between Jaxson and Christian is full of anger and hatred. Christian didn't hold back when he thought Jaxson was making a mistake. But, now, getting to know one another, some understanding breaks down the walls between them.
Christian as Santa is a hoot. Just imagine the grumpy man who hates Christmas and being forced to play Santa. So funny.
Jaxson is totally loveable. Raising his young daughter, most of his energy goes towards her. But he has needs and he certainly desires his older grumpy neighbor.
This is a story with some super hot sexting, an adorable child, and plenty of Christmas fun.
I enjoy most of Christian's found family, but damn, I hate his ex!
This tale also includes some serious moments, as Jaxson's daughter has diabetes, which is illustrated throughout. There are plenty of serious moments surrounding this aspect and I appreciate the way it's all handled.
Sexted by Santa is a great holiday read. I enjoyed every moment of this DJ Jamison story.
In the following scene, Christian logs onto a hookup app after his friend made him an embarrassing profile with the username SantaWantsYourChimney:
I finally opened the app that Barry had installed on my phone.
Time to change this ridiculous profile—or maybe delete it altogether.
There were a handful of notifications. Huh. I had some match requests, more than I would have expected given the lack of any real photos on my account. But my notifications also included men who had accepted my request—a neat trick since I hadn’t made any yet.
Barry, you scoundrel…
I should delete the whole lot of them. Why would a normal guy go for this Santa schtick? With great skepticism, I took a peek at one of the messages.
I want to ride Santa’s pole!
Charming. I checked the guy’s stats. He was older, at fifty, but clearly not mature, as my profile—well, the one Barry had written for me, at any rate—had requested. He wasn’t bad looking, slim but handsome. His user name, Best_You’ll_Ever_Have, didn’t encourage me. It was too close to my ex-husband’s brand of ego. Fynn was beautiful, and he knew it. He’d used it to his advantage on more than occasion. But when that didn’t work…Oh, he became furious. His ego was huge but fragile. Even for a single date to a work party, I wanted a guy who’d be a little more even-keeled. The last thing I needed was some ridiculous drama playing out in front of my colleagues.
I bypassed him to review another match. This one in his sixties.
If you’re tired of naughty boys, maybe Santa needs a Daddy.
Nope. Delete.
I picked through a few more, not overly impressed with the offerings—until I reached CasualDad.
I almost passed him by—until I realized this wasn’t another Daddy wannabe. This was an actual dad. Was that good? Not for anything serious—I wouldn’t know the first thing about dealing with a kid—but luckily I only needed a date to a party. No commitment required.
I checked his profile for red flags.
It read: I’m a dad first. Just looking to relieve some stress and have fun. Open to casual dating, but I don’t have the time or energy for anything serious.
Well, that sounded perfect. Plus, he’d accepted a match request Barry sent on my behalf—rather than seeking me out—so perhaps he wasn’t a weirdo turned on by a pixelated Santa. Why he’d accepted the request was a still a mystery though. Maybe he didn’t see it actually going anywhere. Why would he, when the guy requesting a match was a fictional person?
CasualDad’s pics were enticing.
He had a broad, firm chest with script over his pecs that read Love leaves no room for regret. A nice sentiment, though I didn’t know if I agreed. My love for Fynn had created plenty of regret. But I didn’t have to agree with the man’s tattoo to take him on a date. Preferably, a date that ended very pleasurably for us both.
I’d gotten on this app to find a date to a work party, but these pictures reminded me that my body had its own needs, which had been ignored for some time now. Maybe I could get more than arm candy for a boring night with my colleagues out of this.
My mouth watered as I studied the various pics showing his chest and stomach, not overly muscled but solid. There was no direct face shot, but there was one shot of him in profile. He had nearly shoulder-length hair, which was blowing across his face. Water—maybe a lake—filled the background of the image. I could just make out the edge of his smile—and it was mischievous, maybe a little amused by someone off camera.
Jaxson Hicks flashed through my mind for a split second. His smile as he took pot shots at my Santa performance had that same edge of mischief. But I shut that thought down. I’d set my filters to hide anyone under thirty-five—and a quick look at CasualDad’s profile confirmed he met that threshold. Jaxson was much younger. He’d dropped out of college about seven years ago. If my math was correct, he would be somewhere around twenty-six or twenty-seven.
Even if he were old enough, Jaxson and I had never been anything but oil and water since we’d first met as student and adviser. He hadn’t liked what I’d had to say, and the feeling had been mutual.
Better to focus on this guy in front of me. This delicious-looking guy.
I decided to send him a quick message.
Hey, there. I like your pics and your profile. You seem like someone I’d like to know better, maybe over drinks? Apologies for the ridiculous username and profile. I’ll update soon.
His response came just as I was putting aside my reading for the night and turning off the light.
CasualDad: The name gave me a good laugh. If you change it, does that mean you won’t be cleaning my chimney? And is that a euphemism for what I think it is?
I groaned, mentally cursing Barry again.
SantaWantsYourChimney: My jerk of a friend thought it was funny. Obviously I need a new friend. If this doesn’t work out, you can have the spot. As long as you can resist matchmaking and setting up ridiculous profiles for me on dating apps.
CasualDad: That’s a high bar. I don’t know if I can meet it. I kind of want to see where a Santa kink could go ;)
SantaWantsYourChimney: ButI hate Santa, and Christmas, and all this seasonal nonsense.
CasualDad: That only makes this name funnier. Now you have to keep it.
I dropped my head back on the pillow. It seemed as if I were destined to play Santa in all aspects of my life. But even I had to admit it had served as a pretty good ice-breaker with CasualDad. His easy teasing made me smile.
Maybe I can keep the name if it means you chat with me again, I typed.
He was quick to reply: Maybe I’ll chat with you again if you send me some sexy Santa pics.
Oh, hell no. Volunteering as Santa was bad enough. But posing for X-rated Santa selfies wasn’t happening. I sent him a reply, then turned off my phone before I could be tempted into embarrassing myself.
Listen, I’m just not that kind of Santa. I don’t rush down anyone’s chimney. But I do hope we can chat again…
When I woke the next morning, the first thing I did was check the Thrust app for his reply.
Hahaha, okay, Santa. We’ll play it your way. Message me again when you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.
DJ Jamison writes romances about everyday life and extraordinary love featuring a variety of queer characters, from gay to bisexual to asexual. DJ grew up in the Midwest in a working-class family, and those influences can be found in her writing through characters coping with real-life problems: money troubles, workplace drama, family conflicts and, of course, falling in love. DJ spent more than a decade in the newspaper industry before chasing her first dream to write fiction. She spent a lifetime reading before that and continues to avidly devour her fellow authors’ books each night. She lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons, one snake, and a sadistic cat named Birdie.
He might look like a daydream, but he’s anything but.
My life is perfect. No, really. Dream career, great social life, a fantastic condo, and I’m easy on the eyes. It’s just that I’m a little bored with it all.
Until my new neighbor moves in. He’s unfriendly, uptight, and unwilling to compromise. Looks like annoying him just became my new hobby.
Poor guy has no idea who he’s up against. The Jerk Next Door just met his match.
The Jerk Next Door is a standalone romance featuring two warring neighbors, unexpected favors, an awakening of epic proportions, and very thin walls. It is low angst, high heat, and even higher snark.
My Rating - 4 Stars!
The Jerk Next Door is a fun and delicious enemies to lovers romance by Mia Monroe.
Reign and Ace are neighbors who can't help but to antagonize one another. I enjoyed every moment of seeing them fight and then starting to lower the walls. They go from not being able to stand one another to connecting deeply and profoundly. Best of all though is watching a commitment phobe grow into loving himself and then someone else.
It's beautiful.
Their story is full of snark and banter. Their story is full of character growth and a sexual awakening. Yes, there are some major immature moments, but I was obviously in the mood to find them kind of funny.
The Jerk Next Door is a sweet and compelling romance. This Mia Monroe story hit all the marks for me and left me delighted to have met these men and followed their journey.
Raven Nez thinks he’s got problems. Everybody expects him to become a big pro football hero and promote his tribes’ casino. He wants to work with gay kids.
Then he meets Dennis Hascomb and finds out what problems really are. Dennis’s struggle to break away from his ugly life and everything he’s been taught could literally kill him.
Throbbing with their unexpected attraction, Raven sets out to rescue Dennis from pain and destruction— and puts himself in danger.
They’re the most unlikely couple on earth, but as friendship grows into more, they’re willing to fight for their love.
First, they have to fight for their lives.
TACKLING THE TIGHT END is a hurt/comfort, friends-to-lovers, opposites attract, MM romance.
NOTE—TACKLING THE TIGHT END is a republication of a previous work. Only the cover is changed.
My Rating - 5 Stars!
Tackling the Tight End is the third book in the Long Pass Chronicles series. This Tara Lain book is awesome. I loved it when it was first released and am thrilled it's being re-released.
This one starts off a little different, as I hated Dennis coming into this story. He was the bad guy in the first book and I couldn't forget how horrible he was. But damn, if you enjoy redemption tales, you will love this.
Yes, there is much more to Dennis than meets the eye. The Dennis we know is actually a victim of his family's control and my heart hurts greatly for this young man. He is truly a troubled character and I enjoy the way he comes to his own in this story.
As for Raven, oh how my heart hurts for him. He is being pressured by his family to live a life he doesn't want. I could feel the tension throughout. I just wanted to hug him and tell him to forge his own path. The poor man.
I have to note that I don't know much about Native Americans, so I definitely can't comment of the genuineness of this aspect. But I do absolutely enjoy every bit of this part and love Raven's grandfather.
This is a story with a lot going on. It's a story of two young men being pressured to take a path in life that neither wants. I enjoy the relationship they forge and the way everything develops between them.
Tackling the Tight End had me engrossed from start to finish. I love this Tara Lain story and highly recommend it. This one is definitely for more than just sports romance fans. I love it all.
A trip that he thought would bring him only pain is about to present him with the greatest gift of all.
For three years now, Cabriolet Vermat has put off, wiggled out of, and outright lied to get out of making this dreaded trip east. The owner of Cabriolet Chauffeur Services in Los Angeles has avoided the yearly invitation to the small town of White Bridge, New York, to speak at their alumni winter gathering but this year they’ve outfoxed him. They’re throwing a dinner to honor his late partner’s dedication to his alma mater and have asked Cab to speak. This time he has to go no matter how much pain it will stir up. Arriving in the picturesque small town beside one of the Finger Lakes, Cab is treated to a special performance of holiday songs and there he sees Julian Gabriel Baez for the first time.
The young singer captivates him immediately, and he finds himself seeking out the much younger man after the performance. The pull he feels toward Jules is unlike anything he’s felt since he met his partner years ago. Confusion and desire war within him, but the outgoing young tenor wins him over with his engaging smile and kind heart. A two-day trip soon turns into an extended holiday vacation. Cab worries that the magic of Christmas will quickly fizzle out and he’ll be alone once more. Or will this festive season bestow a blessing of the heart upon a man who thought he would never love again?
The Christmas Tenor is a standalone small-town gay Christmas romance with a beautiful May-December relationship, a lonely widower, a rising opera star, loving families, and plenty of holiday joy.
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My Rating - 4.5 Stars!
The Christmas Tenor is a sweet holiday romance by VL Locey. The third book in the Laurel Holidays series, it's a nice standalone read.
This is a great read that features an age gap, an opera singer, and an older widow. Cab is a widower who's intrigued by the younger singer, but has a long way to go before fully opening his heart again.
As usual for this author, the writing is great, with well developed characters, a nice storyline, and plenty of romance. This is all told from the older man's pov, so we don't get a glimpse into Jules' feelings, but I can easily overlook that, as Cab has a lot of personal baggage to work through.
The Christmas Tenor is a perfect choice when you're in the mood for a tender, heart-warming holiday romance. VL Locey delights again with this age gap romance.
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USA Today Bestselling Author V.L. Locey – Penning LGBT hockey romance that skates into sinful pleasures.
V.L. Locey loves worn jeans, yoga, belly laughs, walking, reading and writing lusty tales, Greek mythology, Torchwood and Dr. Who, the New York Rangers, comic books, and coffee. (Not necessarily in that order.) She shares her life with her husband, her daughter, one dog, two cats, a pair of geese, far too many chickens, and two steers.
When not writing spicy romances, she enjoys spending her day with her menagerie in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania with a cup of fresh java in one hand and a steamy romance novel in the other.
Aidan might be a bad elf, but he’s never been naughty.
Aidan has always landed on Santa’s nice list, thank you very much. But that doesn’t mean he’s cut out to be a North Pole elf; instead of worrying about the dwindling magic of Christmas, he’d much rather be back in Tir na Nog, calculating where the next end of the rainbow is going to land.
Instead he’s freezing his butt off in Santa’s sleigh.
His situation seems grim despite all the decking the halls, until on Christmas Eve, during a milk and cookies run, he meets Dexter, an engineering student.
They couldn’t be more different, and Dexter couldn’t be more forbidden, but Aidan is drawn to the handsome human anyway. Over the next year, their emails start out as a entertaining way to pass the time in all his interminable elf meetings, but soon, hearing from Dex becomes the very best part of his day.
And when they meet up on the next Christmas Eve? Aidan and Dex discover that their infatuation is so much more than just attraction. If they believe in each other and in the love they share, together their magic might be powerful enough to save Christmas.
Merry Elf-ing Christmas is an adorable, magical romance by Beth Bolden.
In this sweet holiday read, Aidan and Dex fall in love. But the two are from different worlds. The attraction is instant between the elf, Aidan, and the human, Dex, when they meet on Christmas Eve.
What follows is adorable and tender, with magical elves, Santa. flying sleighs, and the North Pole.
Merry Elf-ing Christmas is a great combination of holiday fun, instant attraction, forbidden romance, magic, and heat. Definitely check out this Beth Bolden read when you're in the mood for a quick, fluffy read.
Aidan was supposed to be in Ireland.
He was supposed to be counting golden coins, buffing cauldrons and helping his boss, the vice president of Leprechaun Operations, triangulate where the end of the next rainbow would land.
Instead, he was in Santa’s sleigh.
Currently freezing his balls off.
His friend Ronan had said that “weirder things had happened,” but Aidan wasn’t sure that there was much weirder than at the young age of sixty-seven discovering that he wasn’t meant to be at TÃr na nÓg, but instead that he’d apparently been born under a unique northern star, under a particular set of circumstances—the same circumstances that a North Pole elf had once foretold would produce the Elf Who Would Save Christmas.
AKA the Christmas Savior.
Aidan was flattered, but the truth was, he didn’t want to save Christmas.
He wanted to find the end of the next rainbow.
Santa—no, Aidan reminded himself, Sam, as he’d introduced himself a few weeks back, with twinkling blue eyes and a welcoming smile—turned to him. “Want to stop for a snack?” he asked.
Aidan actually didn’t. He wanted to finish this interminable night and get off this sleigh and stop shivering, finally.
The magic of Christmas blah blah blah had lasted just about as long as it took for that first blast of arctic air to sneak up the back of his fur-lined cloak.
“Sure, we could get a snack,” Aidan said instead, because he was supposed to be assisting, and as Edmund, head of the North Pole elves, had told him when he’d pulled him aside for one last hissed, hurried set of instructions, that meant Santa got whatever he wanted.
“This night,” Edmund said in that annoyingly stentorian voice of his, “is for Santa. It’s Santa’s night.”
“Sam,” Aidan had responded impudently, earning him one of Edmund’s trademark frosty glares. “He told me to call him Sam.”
Edmund had sniffed, clearly unamused. “If that is what Santa said, then so be it.”
He’d learned that much during his last six weeks in the North Pole; Santa’s word was freaking law.
Even the leprechauns hadn’t wielded quite so much power.
But then with Sam, it wasn’t really power. He ruled with good old-fashioned love, inspiring an adoring crowd who would gladly trample anyone who didn’t feel the same.
The good news was that up til now, Aidan had managed to keep his apathy under wraps.
If Edmund or any of the other North Pole elves ever found out about it, he was screwed.
Sam pulled the sleigh, powered by its flying doohicky—Edmund had forwarded him the complicated plans that he’d glanced over and understood exactly zero of—down through the clouds of Chicago, snow thick on the ground.
Somehow, eventually he’d have to actually be able to take the sleigh apart and put it back together, or so Edmund had told him, but he’d been given a pass since it was just his first year. Aidan wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.
Invisibility was one of the elves’ greatest strengths, and their camouflaging magic helped keep the sleigh under wraps. It was the one thing the North Pole and the TÃr na nÓg elves had in common: they were really good at making things disappear.
Still, you had to be careful, as Edmund had lectured Aidan about a dozen times. The sleigh might be invisible, but if they landed in a snowbank, the tracks would show. And if anyone ever bumped into it, the invisibility would fade, abruptly, exposing their secrets to humans.
AKA The Worst Thing Ever.
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Enter the Giveaway:
To celebrate the release of Merry Elf-ing Christmas, Beth's giving you a chance to win:
a $25 Amazon Gift Card
A signed paperback of Merry Elf-ing Christmas (US Winner)
e-copy of Merry Elf-ing Christmas (International Winner)!
A lifelong Pacific Northwester, Beth Bolden has just recently moved to North Carolina with her supportive husband. Beth still believes in Keeping Portland Weird, and intends to be just as weird in Raleigh.
Beth has been writing practically since she learned the alphabet. Unfortunately, her first foray into novel writing, titled Big Bear with Sparkly Earrings, wasn’t a bestseller, but hope springs eternal. She’s published twenty-three novels and seven novellas.
