Padme's Library: 12/24/14

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Random Christmas Novellas Part 5

Unwrapping Hank by Eli Easton
Summary:
Sloane loves a good mystery. He grew up as the son of two psychiatrists, so he finds most people tediously easy to figure out. He finds his way to Pennsylvania State University, longing for a rural experience, and ends up being lured into joining a frat by Micah Springfield, the hippest guy on campus.

Nothing in Sloane’s classes is as intriguing as Hank Springfield, Micah’s brother and fellow frat house member. Hank looks like a tough guy—big muscles, tatts, and a beard—but his eyes are soft and sweet. He acts dumb, but he’s a philosophy major. He’s presumably straight, but then why does Sloane feel such crazy chemistry whenever Hank is around? And why does Hank hate Sloane so much?

When Sloane ends up stuck on campus over Christmas, Micah invites him to spend the holidays at their family farm in Amish country. It’s a chance to experience a true Americana Christmas--and further investigate the mystery that is Hank Springfield. Can Sloane unlock the secrets of this family and unwrap the heart hidden inside the beefcake?

I've never read this author before but I can tell you I will be reading her again. How can you not love Sloane? And what about the title character? Hank is definitely a conundrum wrapped in a very bulky package. Sloane has his work cut out for him trying to figure that guy out. Micah, Hank's big brother, doesn't exactly help matters either. This is a very pleasant holiday story, hell it's a great holiday story and really despite it being a Christmas tale it's really quite perfect for anytime of year.

RATING:

Jesse's Christmas by RJ Scott
Summary:
For Jesse Connor, Christmas is nothing but a series of bad memories. It takes a man imbued with the spirit of Christmas to help him realize that the Christmas spirit lies in everyone--if they only know where to look.

For photographer Jesse Connor, Christmas lost it's shine when last Christmas, Jesse's lover, the man he thought had been the one, absconded with millions of dollars from the company he traded for. The FBI landed on Jesse's doorstep on Christmas Eve, and that was the nail in the proverbial Christmas coffin.

Now, alone in the city, facing another Christmas with nothing more than apathy, he's offered a chance to see Christmas in a different light.

Can the residents of Eden Vale, and in particular a man called Gabriel, show him that he can start again and that Christmas and love can live inside everyone, despite hurtful pasts?

You certainly learn why Jesse has been totally turned off of the whole package that is Christmas right away. Let's be honest, as much as Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year, even I would have been happier if I never heard the word "Christmas" again if I had been in Jesse's shoes. Talk about a buzz kill situation both for the holiday and for love. You gotta love Em, Jesse's agent, who makes Jesse fulfill his contract for a photo Advent calendar for the town of Eden Vale. And Gabriel? As much as Jonah turned Jesse away from Christmas, Gabriel is the perfect balm for that burn to Jesse's soul.

RATING:

Feathers from the Sky by Posy Roberts
Summary:
Cal Thompson is going a little mad over the Christmas holiday, stuck in a tiny house with fourteen members of his immediate family. There's no privacy and no boyfriend to help him cope—because Philip is still a secret, though not for long. Cal's family knows he's bisexual, but they've always assumed Cal would marry a woman and be fruitful and multiply. Just as he's ready to set the record straight, his parents tell the family they're selling the family house and tip this introvert's world on edge.

Philip Sherman arrives at Cal's family home to find his lover mourning the loss of his home, paralyzed by the abrupt and unexpected announcement that trumped his own. Though Philip takes the setback in stride, they won't be able to avoid the calling of their hearts for long: Cal needs to reveal the truth of his relationship with Philip to his family, and Philip has a question he's desperate to have answered.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package "Heartwarming".

Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane
Summary:
Since Hank Calder’s four-year-old niece, Josie, came to live with him, his life has been plenty dramatic, thank you, and the last thing he needs is a swishy, flaming twinkie to complicate things. But when Justin, the daycare worker at his gym, offers to do something incredibly nice for Hank—and for Josie—Hank is forced to reconsider. Justin may be flamboyant in his speech and gestures, but his heart and kindness are as rock steady and dependable as anyone, even Hank, could ask for. Can Hank trust in his dramatic “turkey in the snow” to offer his heart the joy he and Josie have never known?

Author Bios:

Eli Easton

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a game designer, an organic farmer, an avid hiker, and a profound sleeper, Eli is happily embarking on yet another incarnation as a m/m romance author.

As an addicted reader of such, she is tinkled pink when an author manages to combine literary merit, vast stores of humor, melting hotness and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, three bulldogs, three cows and six chickens. All of them (except for the husband) are female, hence explaining the naked men that have taken up residence in her latest fiction writing.

RJ Scott

RJ Scott has been writing since age six, when she was made to stay in at lunchtime for an infraction involving cookies. She was told to write a story and two sides of paper about a trapped princess later, a lover of writing was born.
As an avid reader herself, she can be found reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror. However, her first real true love will always be the world of romance where she takes cowboys, bodyguards, firemen and billionaires (to name a few) and writes dramatic and romantic stories of love and passion between these men.
With over sixty titles to her name and counting, she is the author of the award winning book, The Christmas Throwaway. She is also known for the Texas series charting the lives of Riley and Jack, and the Sanctuary series following the work of the Sanctuary Foundation and the people it protects.
Her goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and most importantly, that hint of a happily ever after.

Posy Roberts

Posy Roberts writes about men facing real life challenges. Families are often at the heart of her stories, she loves writing about drag queens finding greater freedom and power wearing makeup and wigs, and she's not afraid of digging into deep psychological issues where characters are challenged with difficult choices.

Posy lives in the land of 10,000 lakes and loves how the healing nature of water is just outside her door. She's married to a wonderful man who makes sure she eats while she documents these character's lives. She also has a remarkable daughter who helps her come up with character names. When she's not writing, she enjoys crafting, hiking, and singing spontaneously about the mundane, just to make normal seem more interesting.

Amy Lane
Amy Lane dodges an EDJ, mothers four children, and writes the occasional book. She, her brood, and her beloved mate, Mack, live in a crumbling mortgage in Citrus Heights, California, which is riddled with spiders, cats, and more than its share of fancy and weirdness. Feel free to visit her at www.greenshill.com or www.writerslane.blogspot.com, where she will ride the buzz of receiving your e-mail until her head swells and she can no longer leave the house.