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Blurb: Sawyer is too busy to
worry about something as frivolous as Christmas. College is hard, but he’s
focused on getting into law school. Kable is studying to make the family
business, Del Buon Gusto, into a successful chain restaurant. When a party debacle
at the restaurant gives Kable a chance to get close to Sawyer, he’s shocked to
learn Sawyer’s a Christmas Grinch. He's determined to change Sawyer’s mind, but
their dates are one debacle after another. It might not be possible to make
this into Sawyer's first Merry Christmas after all.
Excerpt:
What a waste of time. He could’ve been home
starting his paper or even watching a movie if he wanted to slack off.
Fed up avoiding questions of family traditions
and travel plans, Sawyer strolled away from the crowd in the dining room and
headed toward the tree. He nodded and smiled at a few people but didn’t stop.
Everyone else was enjoying the appetizers that had just come out, but he’d
already had dinner before he left home, since he’d expected to work. He could
pass more time pretending to examine the ornaments or watching the snow drift
down now that the storm finally hit. He’d just have to wait a little longer until
he could politely make his escape.
“You don’t like eggnog?”
“What?” Sawyer blinked and shrugged the hand
off his shoulder. He took a step to the side. He’d been focused on the snow,
watching the puffy flakes float down to coat the sidewalks and road. The grassy
verge along the road was already completely white. He hadn’t even heard Kable
approaching, which was odd because he was normally impossible to miss. He was
just as loud and energetic as his dad.
“Your cup is still full.” Kable gestured toward
the red cup in Sawyer’s hand. “Usually when you don’t drink something that
means you don’t like it.”
“It smells gross, and I definitely don’t think
a dairy product should be this thick and still be drinkable.” Sawyer’s filter
was gone, just like it usually was around Kable. He got so nervous, he always
ended up saying whatever came to him. It wasn’t like he was trying to hide that
he was gay—everyone already knew that—but he hoped his crush wasn’t as obvious.
He’d had enough embarrassment for the evening.
Kable laughed. “Then why’d you take it?”
“It seemed like the thing to do.” Sawyer
rotated the cup between his palms, disgusted by the way the glop reacted.
Surely it couldn’t be safe to drink the stuff.
“So, is it just dairy-based holiday drinks you
don’t like? Or is it something more? You haven’t had a single thing to eat, and
you’re not exactly dressed for the party. There’s so much fun to be had
from dressing up for Christmas parties.” Kable waved a hand in front his chest.
“Like this.” He was wearing an awful sweater with reindeer prancing around a
Christmas tree that had bedazzled ornaments decorating every puffy bough. Not
even something that hideous could detract from his dark-haired, blue-eyed
handsomeness... but really, Sawyer shouldn’t be noticing that at all.
Sawyer scoffed. “I’d rather be here in my
underwear than wear something like that.”
“Or your uniform?” Kable gestured toward
Sawyer’s black slacks and plain white shirt. “Is it just that you don’t have
another outfit?”
“Of course I have other outfits! Why would you
think that?” Sawyer snapped. His face was hot and prickly; no one else had
mentioned his clothes, even if they noticed he was wearing his work uniform.
It’s not like he was wearing something inappropriate, like shorts and a
t-shirt.
Kable cocked his head to one side. “If you had
something else, why didn’t you wear that?”
“You’re nosy, you know?” He was always asking
questions and getting into everyone’s business. The others didn’t seem to mind.
Kable was Mr. McArthur’s son, and he worked the occasional shift at the
restaurant when they were short a waiter even though he was in school full-time
to get a business degree. He was friendly, sometimes too friendly, and made
Sawyer uncomfortable with his casual intimacy. Kable was always patting him on
the back or arm when they spoke, and Sawyer liked it a little too much.
“Yep.” Kable grinned. “But wait, don’t tell
me! You never come out for a drink with the rest of us, not even for coffee,
and you’re always studying those books on your breaks. I’ve never heard you
even talk about doing something like going to a party. You thought you were
here to work tonight, didn’t you?”
Sawyer grit his teeth. “So what? Your dad just
said he wanted us all here.”
“And you didn’t put two and two together?”
Kable gestured toward the room.
“I did once I got here. He said he was
throwing a party for friends and family. What else was I going to think?”
Sawyer was getting tired of Kable’s questions. He lifted his before Kable could
notice his scowl and figure out he was getting to him and made the stupid
mistake of taking a drink.
“Oh, ew.” Sawyer desperately wanted to spit
out the eggnog, but there was no polite way to do so. He forced the mouthful
down, swallowing repeatedly in an attempt to get rid of the liquid still
coating his tongue. It was as horrible as he thought it would be. He stared at
the cup in disgust. “People actually drink this... on purpose?”
Review
There is
only one word to use to describe this book – adorable. The characters are
adorable, the situations they get into are adorable and oh the lengths Kable
goes to give Sawyer a good Christmas are utterly adorable. I absolutely adored
the book.
The editing
is flawless, apart from a few tiny mistakes that I, as a grammar nazi, spotted
but no one else probably will. There is one small issue in that if you’re
reading on a kindle app on PC the scene breaks seem to disappear.
The
characterization is magnificent, as usual. This was one of the things that
first drew me to Cia’s work and she has never disappointed. All Cia’s
characters, including the supporting cast have individual and unique
personalities from which she never deviates. It is quite clear from the start
that Kable is bubbly and loving while Sawyer is repressed and bordering on OCD.
The way these two interact is fascinating.
Sawyer has
grown up with parents who do not celebrate Christmas, which they consider to be
nothing more than crass commercialism. Neither do they – and therefore Sawyer –
eat food that is not healthy and nutritional. Therefore *gasp* Sawyer has never
tasted nougat or cracked caramel toffee, or cocoa. He doesn’t even drink
coffee.
Through a
series of surprise dates, all of which have at least one disaster involved –
from baby spiders hatching in a Christmas tree to almost breaking an ankle on
skates – Kable introduces Sawyer to the spirit of Christmas, one sweet thing at
a time, although the toffee eating came at a price.
To see these
two explore some Christmassy activities and find the magic even in a crowded
shopping mall was truly magical and I held my breath to see what was coming
next.
With every
experience, Kable and Sawyer grew closer, their love growing gently and
blossoming one petal at a time. The epilogue almost had me in tears.
This is a
must-read for Christmas. If this doesn’t get you in the Christmas spirit then
you need more help than Sawyer.
Author
Bio:
The number one question folks ask Alicia when she
shares she's a MM romance author: "Why gay fiction? Why write men when
you're a woman?" and her answer is: "Why the hell not!" Alicia
Nordwell is one of those not so rare creatures, a reader turned writer. Striving
to find an interesting story one day, she decided to write what she wanted
instead. Then the voices started... Yep, not only does she talk about herself
in the third person for bios, she has voices in her head constantly clamoring
to get out. Fortunately, with the encouragement of her family and friends, she
decided for her own sanity to keep writing.
Now you can find her stories both free and
e-published. When she’s not on the computer typing away, she's a wife and a mom
of two in the dreary, yet ideal for her redhead complexion, Pacific Northwest.
Except for when she disappears into one of the many worlds in her head, of
course! She can also be found quite often at her blog, where she has a lot of
free fiction for readers to enjoy or working hard, or maybe hardly working, as
an admin on GayAuthors.org under her online nickname, Cia.
Social
Media:
Thank you so much for the review and featuring Disastertastic, Nephy! (hug)
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