Title: Countdown to Santa
Series: MLR Holiday 2012
Author: K-Lee Klein
Genre: M/M Holiday
Length: Novelette
Publisher: MLR Press (December 16th, 2012)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥2.5Hearts
Blurb: Gabe and Matteo have settled into the highs and lows of new fatherhood—exhaustion, dirty diapers, baby bottles and a whole lot of love. But as their first family Christmas looms on the horizon, Matteo is worried about how his partner is handling his new role as Papa Gabe.
There’s no doubt Gabe adores the twins, but his libido, his sense of proportion and perhaps his sanity seem to have disappeared under the strain. Matteo is determined to make their new family work, but it may take thinking outside the box to get back the calm, sensible Gabe he planned to share fatherhood and the rest of his life with.
Product Link: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=KKCSANTA
Reviewer: Thommie
Review: Oh dear me, what a story…I must confess that I did think when starting this book that I was in for a ride. Well, I was in for a ride alright, but not the expected one. I think I’m freaked out from the memories this book awakened and the frustration that had its hold on me for almost the entire read.
Gabe and Matty are new to the fatherhood lifestyle and of course like all parents, they try to find their path. While Matty seems to be dealing with it pretty good, Gabe has gone crazy with his OCD and shopping mania.
And oh my God, the flashbacks, the déjà vu, and the agony all that brought to me. Sweet Jesus, I thought I’d left all that behind.
As is normal when you have a new baby in the house, the nerves and your sanity takes a good hit, having twins just doubles all that. Eventually the pair goes from the happy place of having the babies to the accusations of you do too much and you don’t do nearly as much and pointing fingers and having fights to the point of breaking up.
What really got me the most during this read was their “talks” (not fights because they did not fight, they were having a discussion, right?) and how real they were. The fact that each of them only said their peace, intentionally blinding themselves to their own mistakes, and oh dear, the misunderstanding of each word was so real to me. I’m still cringing inside.
Anyway, of course the story ends well. The new daddies find their peace after an honest talk that to my eyes felt surreal because you do NOT overcome such emotions with a simple talk and a make-up sex. But even if I do acknowledge the well written part of their problems and agony over their new life, this story didn’t make much sense to me. The end was a bit… I don’t know what the point was and add that to the fact that emotionally and sexually I did not feel the pair’s chemistry at all. This story left me baffled. The only reason for the 2.5 stars I’m giving this story is the realistic portrayal of those oh-so-awful-days when hormones hit you and you barely can cope with the changes of your reality. Other than that, I really needed more and didn’t get it. For me, this story was far off the Christmas spirit with nothing to do with the Holidays at all.