3 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition. 34 pages. 1st edition. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
All his life, astrophysicist Peter has dreamed of seeing the comet that last appeared on his birthday—and won’t be seen for another thirty-eight years. Since it could be his only chance, he travels to New Zealand. But his dream might be quashed after all when his rental car breaks down on the way to the observatory. He doesn’t even have a place to stay.
Fortunately a New Zealand native with a heart of gold offers assistance. But is kindness the only thing drawing the two men together?
Rangi can’t leave Peter stranded so close to Christmas, and his family has plenty of room—and love—to share. While Rangi is attracted to Peter, he’s seen too many of his friends get their hearts broken by tourists. Will they manage to see the comet on its decades-long journey across the sky… and take advantage of a rare opportunity that might never come again?
A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar
Likes:
- Travel story.
- New Zealand slang and scenery.
- Maori culture.
- Sweet ending.
Dislikes:
- No stranger danger.
- How quickly Rangi’s family wants them to get together.
- Lots of backstory for such a short story.
- Peter’s never even been out of Maryland before.
I’ve never read anything by Cassie Decker before, which isn’t surprising seeing that she’s only written a few short stories. And while I like this story well enough, I think the premise would have done better in a slightly longer format. I could definitely see this being turned into a novella.
The story premise was fun and unique. Peter’s trip to see the comet was both deeply personal and a way for him to finally travel. The New Zealand setting was well done with both the Maori culture and scenery. Enough to make the story feel authentic without long paragraphs of description. And the New Zealand slang was definitely fun.
Rangi was an interesting character, and his family was super cute. Although his complete lack of stranger danger was a little weird. He offers to let Peter stay at his place only half an hour after meeting for the first time.
Peter on the other hand didn’t feel as fleshed out. Mostly because none of his normal life was actually shown. All of the information given about him was backstory, and not very interesting backstory at that. Peter’s shining moment was at the end, when he finally saw the comet.
I do think there was simply too much backstory for Peter. It took up page space that could have been used to show him in the present. Granted, I can see why the information was included – the difference between his unhappy relationship with his Great Aunt and Rangi’s boisterous and welcoming family was great. But the information could have been presented in a much more succinct fashion.
It felt very unrealistic that Peter had never even left his home state before his trip halfway around the world. I mean, he’s 38. There was really no reason to include that, and it really stuck out as something weird.
Overall, the story was cute, but it felt a little unfinished. Like there would be another chapter instead of the story just ending. The ending was sweet, but a little too open ended for my tastes. Would Peter end up moving to New Zealand so he could have a real relationship with Rangi ? Or is their relationship doomed to be short? I have no idea.
Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.
Love is Love Reviews 