debbiereadsbook

Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book. Eric isn't having to best start to the college year. His mum showed up to live with him, and he's gotta share his office at work with the new guy in the English department. Now his mum wants Eric to immerse himself in all the Christmas traditions that she did as a child. But Eric is not a holiday person, Eric likes order and peace and calm so to appease his mother, and to get to know Mike, he invites Mike to dinner. His mum will be happy, Mike can talk to her in her native German, and Eric will have his peace and calm. So why does it feel like a storm is brewing inside him, one that might break his heart? Too stinking cute and warm and fuzzies all wrapped up in some 70 odd pages and I rather enjoyed this! It's very well told, from both Eric and Mike's point of view, and they both have distinctive voices, mostly due to their earlier experiences in life. Eric's life has been handed to him on a platter, but Mike had a difficult childhood. Sending your child across the world because you prefer your drug dealer is bad enough but what happened to Mike as a teenager is truly shocking. The attraction between Mike and Eric grows steadily and they come together just the once, which is why I gave it the contemporary tag I did but it's a sexy book! I'm not usually one for the holiday stories but while this one is set around Christmas, it's not shoved in your face on every page! I'm a bit of a Scrooge really! This is only the second book I've read of Speyer and they've both been on the short side. I'd like to read something longer, something with more bite. She can write a lot into a few pages, so I'm curious what would happen in a longer book. 4 solid stars **same worded review will appear elsewhere**