Title: Aunt Dee Dee’s Holiday Check
Series: 2012 Dreamspinner Advent Calendar: Evergreen
Author: Joel Skelton
Genre: Holiday
Length: Novella (65 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner (December 1, 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Blurb: After his Aunt Dee Dee sends him a windfall, Ethan decides to bail on the family holiday drama and go on a college skiing trip instead. Then a reservation snafu lands him in the same room as Henry, another student on the trip, and Ethan stumbles onto a bonus present of another kind: one that could last through Christmas and beyond.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3407
Or purchase the entire 2012 Dreamspinner Advent Calendar: Evergreen: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3476
Reviewer: Cameron
Review: This is a very sweet tale of loss of virginity. The two main characters were likeable, but the plot reminded me very much of an old fan-fic ploy which has been done to death. That having been said, the inner dialogues and soul-searching are excellently portrayed, and it is extremely well written.
The only reason I like it, rather than love it, is that it moves very slowly from the beginning (quite naturally in a courtship dance), then explodes into a sudden coupling, and, if you’ll pardon the ski analogy, heads downhill at breakneck speed to finish. The pacing was wrong. This might be a book I would recommend to someone who has never read M/M before, as it follows a very hetero pattern and the sex scenes are mild enough to give to a broad-minded elderly relative.
The character I love most is the one after whom the book is named, and who only appears in a telephone call. I truly hope that Ethan and Henry will take a vacation to Hawaii once they are an established relationship to go visit his crazy aunt and her girlfriend. Now, THAT, will be the one I will grab if it comes out.