3 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition. 1st Edition. 25 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Grant Cary, a twenty-eight-year-old
grad student, has let his Kwanzaa shopping go to the very last minute. In his
rush to get home, he quite literally bumps into Will Sheritan, a fortysomething
software developer, in the elevator. But luck favors (or curses) the
adventurous, because their elevator shuts down due to a blackout. Grant and Will
learn about each other’s pasts and find more than just a casual interest.
Will has never celebrated Kwanzaa, and he’s reluctant to enter into a
relationship, but exploring a new tradition—with a new friend—might brighten
his lonely holiday. And if Will accepts Grant’s invitation to join his family
for the Karamu feast, Grant might get his Imani gift early.
A Story from the Warmest
Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar
Likes:
- Grant’s attitude.
- Awkwardness of getting stuck in an elevator with a stranger.
- Kwanzaa.
- Surprising amount of character info in such a sort story.
Dislikes:
- Wanted more connection between the men.
For such a short story, it’s not surprising that I wanted more. Not really from the story itself. The plot and pacing were surprisingly good for something that’s only 25 pages long. I wanted more connection between the men. The connection is there in an ‘I just met you and want to take you out for a drink to get to know you better’ kind of way. I guess I wanted something more concrete.
I wasn’t prepared for Grant’s attitude, which completely saturates the story. Since the story is in first person point of view, everything is filtered through him. It took me a bit to get used to Grant’s personality. But by the 36% mark, I’d come to like him. Especially when Grant thinks “He is trying to be civil, even after I just tried to slice his throat with my stank attitude.”
There’s no insta-love in this story, which means that all the uncomfortable pauses and awkwardness of being stuck in a small space with a stranger is fully present. It’s believable without being boring. Best of all, despite the shortness of the story, there’s a lot of character info.
I am really surprised at how complete of a story this is. It’s got a ‘happy for now’ ending and everything. Still, I can’t give it more than three stars. Compared to the other, longer stories in the anthology, not enough happens.
Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.
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