Reviews
they!!!
first of all i am obsessed with this book and i want more cute and smutty christmas romances. second, this being set in a fictional suburb right outside of philly sold me. christmas is hands down my favorite time/holiday of the year, and this book did not let me down. i cried three times, the smut was hot, and i just felt nothing but joy. i wish this had more story to tell because i need it 😭
Low angst, easy holiday read! I enjoyed both characters and their romance, but I wish there was less reliance on miscommunication and a bit more exploration of their backgrounds (particularly Gideon’s) to give the characters more depth. Overall, though, I would definitely recommend to anyone looking for a sweet and satisfying holiday read.
nnabeth Albert is at it again, I simply cannot get enough of how she writes and I do believe she is my go-to author for Romance now. This book is all the good parts of the cheesy Hallmark movies that make your heart ache, but far better and far more relatable. And perfectly queer. Again with the perfect level of "of course these are characters in a romance novel so it's mildly cliche" but with a little "but also you say 'wow that's so me' more than once." It's the adult queer novel balance that so few authors hit. I read this at the holidays, but I truly think this could be a fun little jaunt regardless of season.
As I’ve come to expect from Annabeth Albert, our main characters- Gideon and Paul - are charming and highly relatable. I loved the obliviously mutual crushing and pining. That trope- done well- is so much fun, and Albert handles it like a boss. It was interesting to see how Paul had been interpreting Gideon’s awkwardness beforehand [oh, if only you’d known, Paul, tsk tsk]. Something to be said for Albert- no two couples are the same in the bedroom. I feel like I’ve burned through quite a few of her books at this point, and every couple has their own way of doing things, and their own ideas about what constitutes sex. It was funny, reading this specific plotline, as I am totally a Christmas Elf that married and converted a Grinch. Being able to really show, or just remind, someone how wonderful the holiday season can be is a special kind of joy. I’m not as intense as Gideon [that’s a big “no thanks” to things like getting up at “way too freaking early” for a mob mentality shopping experience], but reading him get so hyped over all the little things that make up Christmas got me super stoked for December. All the warm fuzzy feelings were had. A couple other things I really appreciated about this story: the sibling side story, and that our protagonists are in their 40’s. I’ve said it before, and I'll say it again- I love reading sibling relationships. I’m also an absolute sucker for the “raised by my sibling” trope. I love it so hard, possibly because I grew up seeing my older sister as a parental figure. She very nearly moved me in with her when she was at University. I’m still convinced the only thing that stopped her was the realisation she had no idea what to do about my schooling. As for Gideon and Paul being older, it’s just really nice to be reading romance protagonists that are roughly my age and in roughly the same life stage as myself. This is the perfect make-you-feel-good Christmas romance. Hopefully it’ll be released as a (hard/paper)back, so I can satisfy my obsessive need to own physical copies of the books I enjoy most. Until then, mark your calendars for November 9th, so you can add it to your Kindle library! I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Annabeth Albert and Abbie Nicole, Inc. 💕
