Title: Holiday Roommates
Author: Tere Michaels
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Novel (189pgs)
Publisher: Tere Michaels (22nd December 2013)
Heat Level: Moderate – Explicit
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥ 3 ½ – 4 Hearts
Reviewer: Pixie
Blurb: Nate Brandywine is an actor without prospects in need of an emergency roommate for the month of December. In the middle of a humiliating gig as a Christmas elf at a NYC department store, he meets Sean Callahan – his producer – a man struggling under the weight of a loan coming due and desperate for a place in the city for a few weeks. One month of sharing a workplace and an apartment with someone you can’t stop flirting with? Maybe this isn’t going to be a terrible holiday after all.
Purchase Link: http://www.teremichaels.com/product/holiday-roommates/
Review: Nate is in desperate need of cash, his roommate has disappeared and stiffed him for the rent, he has had to take an acting job as a Christmas elf in a new department store as acting gigs are scarce and he needs a new roommate if he is going to keep the roof over his head and eat. Meeting his new boss, Sean, has him getting some of his prayers answered, now if only he can stop flirting with the sexy man. Sean needs the production in the department store to be a success, he is trying to keep his head above water but the pressure is starting to wear him down, he has a loan coming due and he does not want to pay the strings that are attached. When Sean meets Nate he jumps at the chance to have a decent place to live and to save some money, living and working together proves to be easy, now if only the sexual tension would stop flaring up between them.
This is a great Christmas story which has strong sense of friendship and paying it forward, helping out and repaying kindness. Nate and Sean are both great characters, they are both in similar situations with both of them facing homelessness and failure if something doesn’t come along right now. They end up helping each other out and developing a friendship while trying to ignore their attraction to each other, but it isn’t long before the spark ignites and they fall into a relationship that surprises them both.
I loved how this story has taken what was two stressful circumstances and brought them together to ease the strain, while adding in a romance and a solution from unexpected quarters. Both Nate and Sean had worries that could have seen them both back under their parents roofs, as they embark on their new relationship Nate helps Sean to get out from under his father’s heel, Sean helps Nate keep his apartment and when the roommate reappears Nate gives Sean the security he needs.
The story switches between both Nate and Sean so we get a good feel for both men, we also understand exactly what is going on with each man’s troubles so we can easily envisage their stress as they try to get back on an even keel. The secondary characters are great, they really bring out the best in the MC’s and add to the storyline perfectly. This story really is a delightful Christmas read, with Christmas hope and a perfect Christmas ending.
I recommend this to those who love struggling men finding a way forward, discovering love and happiness, escaping parental expectations and a very happy ending.