5 out of 5 stars
Ebook. 1st edition. 42 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Jared’s been all over the world as a
traveling manny with Holiday Helpers, and the itch to put down roots is
starting to eclipse his wanderlust—especially since his current family is a
handful.
After culinary school, Wes did some wandering of his own, exploring Central
America before settling as a resort chef in his mother’s homeland of Costa
Rica, a place he loves and where he plans to stay. If he’s learned one thing,
it’s to be wary of flings with vacationers. Still, he can’t stand to watch two
little Swiss kids lose their belief in Saint Nicholas, so he’ll lend a hand to
the manny assisting the family. It won’t be easy to recreate a traditional
European Christmas in a tropical paradise.
Between a snowball fight on a sunny beach and sledding down an active volcano,
Jared and Wes discover some renewed holiday magic of their own. Can they make
it last a lifetime?
A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar
Likes:
- Great characters.
- Interesting setup.
- The kids didn’t overwhelm the story.
- Sweet romance.
- Perfect length.
Dislikes:
- No smut.
- Wes’s physical appearance wasn’t well established.
- We didn’t get to see Wes’s and Jared’s first meeting.
I’ve read books by Bru Baker before and honestly they weren’t as good as this story. Holidays Are Where Your Heart Is is definitely one of the best stories I’ve read in this anthology so far. I have no big complaints about it.
There’s enough information at the beginning to really make Jared a well-rounded character. He’s relatable and fun to read about. So are the kids. I’m always a little wary of kids in romance. They can be annoying, poorly written, or take over the plot. Lia and Lucas were present just enough to help push the plot along and provide lots of reasons for Jared and Wes to be together.
This story didn’t contain any on-page smut, but the tender moments between the men more than made up for it. I was a little disappointed at first that the reader doesn’t get to see Jared and Wes’s first meeting. That also prevented Wes from being physically described in detail. None of those points took away from the story in the end.
The length of this story was perfect. Long enough to round out the characters and have a really nice ending. There have been a lot of stories in this anthology that make me wonder how the characters have gotten to where they are in their lives. This story gave both Wes and Jared enough backstory to answer all the immediate questions.
Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.
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