Length: 90,000 word approx.
Cover Design: Wicked Smart Design
Blurb
When Casey Stevens went away to college four years ago, he ghosted on his straight best friend, Joel Vreeland. He hoped time and distance would lessen the unrequited affection he felt, but all it did was make him miss Joel more. Home for the holidays, Casey hopes they might find a way to be friends again. But Joel’s frosty reception reminds Casey of just how hard he had to fight to be Joel’s friend in the first place. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to get past that cool façade again.
Joel isn’t as straight as Casey believes, and his years of pining for Casey have left him hurting and alone, caring for his abusive father and struggling to get by. Unable to trust anyone except his rescue dog—and with no reason to believe Casey is interested in him for more than a holiday fling—Joel’s icy heart might shatter before it can thaw.
Can Casey and Joel’s love overcome mistrust, parental rejection, class differences, and four long years apart? Mr. Frosty Pants is a stand-alone, Christmas gay romance by Leta Blake featuring a virgin hero, childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, and steamy mm first times.
4 Stars
Starts off slow with a pretty literal Mr Frosty Pants, but it's great seeing how things thaw. And, there's a lovely epilogue.
This tale takes some time to get going, which adds realism to it - ghosting someone is not nice, and it takes a big person to forgive, forget and agree to try to be friends again, and at the end, I was glad these guys made it. I went from thinking that Joel was a bit up himself, and that Casey would have a job on his hands to make amends, but then Bruno came along. Battered, abandoned pit bull, Bruno, whose life pretty much would've been over had Joel not taken him in. That made me warm to Joel, because I think that the way a person treats an animal - especially Joel who barely could afford to feed himself - shows their true self (sorry, Brit=pet lover here!).
The tale follows the blurb pretty well, and it's a non-cheesy feelgood Christmas read, with good things that happen, but also with RL hardships, and there's the stark contrast between Everyday Joes/Janes and those on the brighter side of the fence, courtesy of money. And there's some sadly realistic darkness, too, in the shape of parents who could do with a lesson on parenting, and yet there's light when Casey and Joel find strength in each other and learn to stand up for themselves. Yes, they're 22, and they're not NA, but they have both been conditioned by their parents and their good/bad fortunes in life, and putting themselves first has never been on either's agenda. But, they draw strength from each other, and support each other, and each ends up confronting what has a hold over them, and though it's not all sweetness and light, they take the next step in their lives, a step for themselves, and for each other.
The sex in this is sweet and connecting, and I believed in these guys. I believed in their love as teens when neither was sure the other was gay, and what the other's reaction might be to a kiss, and I believed in them wanting to be friends again, and in that love being allowed to grow, to come out in the open and be expressed. The tale ended in my kind of HEA, with stuff tied up, with relationships repaired and with a bright and happy future for all, but like I said, not overdone and non-cheesy.
ARC courtesy of the author and Bayou Book Junkie, for my reading pleasure.
4 Stars
This is my favorite holiday read so far this year. I mean, I've only read three, but still, this is definitely my favorite of those, and got me further engulfed into the Christmas spirit. Leta Blake always seems to know exactly how to incorporate the perfect amount of sweet and angst filling into the stories she writes, with pretty well-rounded, well-developed characters no matter what the situation in the storyline calls for.
Joel and Casey are pretty complex characters, Joel more so than Casey. But they both have some serious feelings and baggage to work through, especially regarding where they both come from and how their upbringing and families factor in. Both these guys had stupid and lame parents, but for different reasons. Joel's dad was mean and homophobic and Casey's parents were just a bit misguided and went about everything the total wrong way.
This is a wonderful second chance they both get at being together, and trying to get past everything they let stand in their way the first time around. They both struggled a bit but I had faith that Leta would not let us down in any way, letting these two guys find their HEA together.
*** Copy provided to Bayou Book Junkie for my reading pleasure, a review wasn't a requirement. ***
November 16 - Joyfully Jay, November 19 - Gay Book Reviews, November 22 - Love Bytes, November 28 - The Novel Approach, November 30 - Bayou Book Junkie
Author Bio
Author of the bestselling book Smoky Mountain Dreams and the fan favorite Training Season, Leta Blake’s educational and professional background is in psychology and finance, respectively. However, her passion has always been for writing. She enjoys crafting romance stories and exploring the psyches of made up people. At home in the Southern U.S., Leta works hard at achieving balance between her day job, her writing, and her family.
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