Title: Holiday Hootenanny
Author: Ari McKay
Genre: Contemporary / Holiday
Length: Novelette (66 pages)
Publisher: Torquere Press (December 10th, 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥3 Hearts
Reviewer: Thommie
Blurb: Clint Barker wants to take his relationship with boyfriend Joshua Cash to the next level, and that means meeting Josh’s family at Christmas. Clint is sure he can deal with anything, even though Josh has expressed reservations that his big, loud hillbilly family might be too overwhelming for an introvert like Clint to handle.
Josh loves his family, but the only other time he brought a boyfriend home to meet them, the guy didn’t last through dinner. Clint means everything to him, and though he knows his family means well, Josh is worried their nosiness and sheer overwhelming presence will drive Clint away.
Between having to fix an illegal still, getting treed by a wild hog, and barely avoiding a bar fight between rednecks and bikers, the holiday doesn’t get off to an auspicious start. Then at the traditional Christmas Eve Hootenanny, Josh and Clint argue, and Clint later turns up missing. Will this spell the end of their relationship, or will a newborn in a stable work a little Christmas miracle for them both?
Product Link: http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4090
Review: Meet the family? Ouch! That is very overwhelming for nearly all people, but when a family is consisted by 500 people (yes, you heard right) then overwhelming takes a whole new meaning. So how do you take your relationship with the man you love to the next level if you can’t survive a couple of days with his family? Not easy to do that either, what with bikers itching for a fights and wild boars running you up trees, illegal stills needing fixing and a huge family running after you with the oddest questions ever. Add to that the only child fact and Josh fears his lover Clint will start screaming and running away from him without looking back.
Funny enough this story is light-hearted and brings the element of fun on the mountains. Though I do come from a medium/large family myself, I could not imagine of having one hundred plus cousins. Those numbers were huge, colossal, freaking vast. Thus, the entire read became a bit ludicrous for me. In addition the characters were a bit flat and way too sweet for me, everything flowing effortlessly, their personality shinny and sparkly. By the time Clint needed that time out and breath of fresh air I thought he was a freaking Saint. The intense moment when he vanishes somehow didn’t quite make it, as it should, a bit of the tension being lost there in the lines. And as for their lovemaking, yup, sweet like honey.
But then again, one might think that’s exactly what you’d want to read for holidays. Yes, this is a fast, funny, and enjoyable Christmas story with a very romantic ending, and if you love this type then I’d definitely recommend this one to you.
p.s.
It’s so weird reading about stills being illegal when I’ve grown up around them making “moonshine” every year and having parties at the still as a tradition. We call it raki here and we make it from grapes, in Creta, almost every house has one for themselves. *sigh*