5 out of 5 stars
Kindle Edition. 1st Edition. 24 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Rival archaeologists Will and Jude slept together a year ago, on the night of the Summer Solstice at a dig in Stonehenge. But they were both wearing masks, so Jude has no idea it was Will he slept with, and Will’s been harboring a powerful, one-sided crush ever since.
Now they’re in Egypt, competing to find the lost tomb of Queen Nefertiti. Jude falls through a crack in the cave floor, and when Will reluctantly climbs down to help him, they find themselves in Nefertiti’s tomb, surrounded by archaeological treasures—where they must spend Christmas stranded by a sandstorm.
Will a few sultry hours stripped almost bare from the heat and sharing a bottle of whiskey sort out who should get credit for the discovery—and the real reason for the tension between them?
A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar
Likes:
- Likeable characters.
- Engaging story.
- Egyptian archaeology.
- Good setup.
- Complete story in such a short page length.
Dislikes:
- White people digging up tombs.
- Will never confessed that the person he’s been pining for is Jude.
- Very coincidental setup.
I was a little hesitant at the beginning of this short just because of how short it is. Not everyone can make good characters, a good story, and romance work in only 24 pages. But I was pleasantly surprised how complete this story is. There’s even a quick sex scene. Even with how ‘coincidental’ the setup is, this story was well worth the five stars.
I loved the Egyptian setting, especially the buried tomb. It was incredibly atmospheric without taking over the story. Of course, I did have to tisk at more white people digging up tombs in foreign countries. There’s a lot of regrettable history and bad blood about foreigners coming in and “discovering” things. But I let that pass. There was no time in the story to get into any of that, and it would have soured the mood.
I loved that Will and Jude had a history. It made the story move so much faster. There was no need for character introductions when Will had been pining for Jude for over a year. I just wish Will had actually told Jude he was the one. Even though they’re clearly together by the end of the story, I wanted that little nugget in there.
Blue Jones is definitely an author worth reading more from if she can make a short story this satisfying. It was a fun, quick read and I honestly wish more of the stories in this anthology had left me feeling so satisfied.
Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.
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