3.5 out of 5 stars
Ebook. 1st Edition. 24 pages. Published December 1st 2018 by Dreamspinner Press
Blurb:
Photographer Zach is happy to pack up his gear and head to the Mojave Desert over the holidays. Ever since his ex-husband filed for divorce a day before Christmas, it’s safe to say this isn’t Zach’s favorite time of year.
Fortunately, he stumbles upon a town where the residents seem to agree. The good people of Baker would much rather celebrate the possibility of extraterrestrials as they dance under the stars in their unique “Night Sky Festival.” The locals are interesting, to say the least, and they want Zach to join them.
But is Zach ready to let go of his holiday bitterness? And if so, whose invitation should he accept: the cute cashier, the burly single dad, or the sexy fun-loving cop?
A Story from the Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar
Likes:
- Good theme.
- Left me feeling hopeful.
- The beauty of nature.
Dislikes:
- Super short.
- Characters not fleshed out.
I can remember a college creative writing class where we were taught that short stories should have a theme. This story definitely has a theme, but unlike most in this anthology, I wouldn’t say the theme is romance. There’s definitely some romance, but the transformation that Zach goes through has less to do with romance than with moving forward.
Zach’s divorce clearly weighs on him, but he spends so much time not thinking about it that he doesn’t realize how much it’s holding him back. It’s the happenstance meetings in the small desert town that, each in their own way, help him open himself up to romance again. And in the process, finally let go of his bitterness.
The story overall left me feeling hopeful. Getting hung up on something in the past happens to everyone, and it takes some people more time to get over it and move on. And because it was Zach’s failed romance that was the problem, it only made sense for the possibility of a new romance to get him going again.
Of course, given how short the story is, there’s not much to the romance or the characters. The author gets props for capturing Zach’s journey in such few pages. But the shortness left everything very open ended.
Find the Warmest Wishes anthology review here and the full list of stories here.
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