Three winter stories by three cheerfully inventive authors
make HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS a fun medley.
How I Met Your Father by LB Gregg shows Justin on a flight
to an exotic wedding location. A handsome stranger named
Jack presents an enticing diversion, then on it's on to rum
and Rastafarians with the groom's party. Justin is
pretending to be straight because he is a singer with
adoring female fans. Jack shows up at the wedding however -
in the bride's party. Not everyone knows Justin's situation
and realising it could be uncomfortable for everyone, he
swears to himself to keep his hands off Jack, who is older
anyway. I enjoyed the scenic location of this tale and the
warm relationships which barely hint at Christmastime,
there is so much else in progress.
Long the Mile by Ally Blue comes next. I had previously
read a science fiction outing by this author, but this tale
is set in North Carolina. Judah has just been released
from prison and made his own way home. His crime was
insider trading and he's got a lot less money now than he
was used to having. Tobias, asking for some help, is a
homeless man who washes and dines at a centre for homeless
men; he swallows his disappointment when Judah treats him
disdainfully. Trying for any job, Judah gets nowhere.
When his money runs out, he's also without a shelter, and
then he finds out how kind Tobias can be, asking nothing in
return. Maybe these two men are good for each other.
Lost And Found by ZA Maxfield shows former boyfriends Ringo
and Gavin arguing amiably about city hall ordnances at
Christmastime; their resort town is empty of tourists
except the snowbirds. Ringo's a cop and Gavin a musician.
Physically the guys still attract each other but is there a
future for them? Then Gavin's dog Bird is stolen and the
guys come together on the quest to find him.
This is one for the adults with a variety of locations and
characters to suit most fans of gay romance. HOME FOR THE
HOLIDAYS is a fun read with nothing too typical and plenty
that's involving. The three lady authors have each written
several novels and novellas if you want to catch more of
their works.
Home is where the heart is.
The December holidays mean many things: food, presents,
traditions, stress, peace, renewal. But most of all, they
mean families-good and bad, biological and chosen-and
finding our way home, whatever the definition and wherever
it might be. The three holiday-set romances in Home for the
Holidays all explore characters leaving home, finding home,
returning home, and discovering what home means to them.
In How I Met Your Father, members of a boyband search for
happiness years after the fame dissipates, finally coming to
understand that home is any place where love dwells.
In Long the Mile, two homeless men come to realize that they
are home for each other, no matter their living
circumstances.
In Lost and Found, an RV-dwelling musician (with a cute dog)
has been running away from the idea of home his whole life .
. . until he realizes that home is where his partner is.