Title: Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf
Series: N/A
Author: B. G. Thomas
Genre: Christmas themed Contemporary
Length: Novella (95 pages)
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press (December 1st, 2013)
Heat Level: Mild
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥4Hearts
Reviewer: Eli/Mandingo
Blurb: Kit Jefferies, a part-time department store Christmas elf, is an artist who loves life and his family. Unfortunately, his car dies at a rest stop in the middle of nowhere as he is heading home for Christmas. Enter Nick St. George.
Nick is a very unhappy man—he’s achieved his professional goals only to find the rest of his life bleak and empty. Deciding there was only one way to make everything right, he is on his way to San Francisco on a dark mission, and even the horrible sleet storm that blocked his path won’t deter him. That’s when he found Kit.
At first, Nick is pretty sure rescuing Kit was a big mistake. Kit’s personality is just too, well, effervescent. But as the miles go by, Kit begins to bring light to his dark heart. It might even be bright enough to illuminate a Christmas miracle.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming.”
Purchase Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4506
Review: Nick is a douche when you first meet him and most people would have written him off altogether, but for whatever reason he’s kindly towards Kit and so they embark upon an unlikely road trip, which will lead Nick into spending time in Kits’ infectious presence. Kit’s inability to curse or be mean is representative of the true meaning of Christmas and what Kit does for Nick is in every way what we expect to see in a Christmas miracle. Nick is finally able to see that there is more to life than he first thought and that he must have the courage to not only save himself but to reach out and capture happiness when it is facing him.
Kit is able to see the Nick that Nick himself is not able to see. When Kit gives Nick his Christmas gifts, Nick is finally able to see himself in a way he’d never seen himself before and it is that single act of kindness and compassion which will change the trajectory of both their lives.
This is a lovely and heart-warming story about the holidays and the true meaning of Christmas, complete with the Christmas miracle that Kit will give to Nick.