Title: Greeting Cards
Author: Tinnean
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (158pgs)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (5th December 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥4 ½Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Holidays are for lovers, just apparently not Ben Haggerty. Not this holiday. After his degree-seeking lover leaves humble blue-collar Ben, Ben spends the Yuletide miserable. He’s not accustomed to being alone, not after seven years. Eventually Ben finds his lover’s new address and sends him a greeting card asking when he’ll come back home—only to learn in the returned correspondence that his card reached the wrong address and another man, Jason Prescott, by mistake.
Jason is touched by Ben’s appeal to his lover, and he and Ben spend months growing close as pen pals. Frequently exchanged correspondence turns into weekends spent together, but after learning Jason’s working on his second master’s degree and is even smarter than Ben’s ex, Ben wonders if Jason will be able to love someone as ordinary as he is.
Purchase Link: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3461
Review: Ben is all alone for the holiday after his boyfriend just ups and leaves. After several months of hoping he will come home, Ben finds his new address and sends him a greeting card with a message. Months later he gets a reply from a stranger. Jason is touched when he receives a card by mistake and begins to correspond with the man who just wants to be loved. Jason and Ben begin to develop a close friendship, but Ben is still unsure if Jason could ever really want him. He’s just a blue-collar worker and Jason is on his second master’s degree.
Tinnean has written a beautifully sweet story that wasn’t too sickly sweet or over the top sweet. It was a sweet that has you sighing, smiling and rooting for the characters. Ben comes home from work one day to find his boyfriend of seven years gone with just a brief note of explanation. Abiding by Rick’s wishes, Ben holds out for a couple of months before trying to contact him. But, instead he finds Jason. Jason is working on his second master’s degree and for fun he sends his sister greeting cards for any occasion. when he receives a card from a man trying to find his sweetheart, he replies to let him know he has the wrong address and it begins a greeting card relationship which develops into something more.
There is so much I loved about this book, it was written really well, the characters were brilliant, the storyline was sweet and romantic and Ben and Jason were ssssssooooooo wonderful. Ben has been put down badly over the years by his ex-boyfriend Rick. so much so that Ben really does believe that he has nothing to offer anyone. When Jason meets him he can’t believe that anyone would allow Ben to get away and jumps at the chance to have him for himself, defending Ben every chance he has and going so far as to contact the parents who Ben believes don’t want him for being gay.
The storyline flows smoothly, with the relationship taking months to develop and we are along for the journey as they fall in love. We are there as they discover the depths of Rick’s nastiness and as they begin to build a life together with Jason supporting Ben and encouraging him a hundred percent. There isn’t great passion in the story other than some kisses, but the story doesn’t let us down because of lack of sex. It actually enforces the relationship between Jason and Ben that we aren’t distracted by naked men. It’s a relationship that isn’t based on sex. It is so sweet and cute that even after they move in together, they still leave cards for each other lying around with messages in them… awwww.
I have to recommend this to the true romantics, those that want true love, rebuilding a man’s self-esteem, cute messages, the ex-boyfriend getting what he deserves and a very happy sweet ending.