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frumpburger's review against another edition
3.0
Cute, if a bit cliched, collection of romantic queer short stories perfect for the holiday season. The writing quality isn't as consistent as one might desire, and some stories are more entertaining than others, but each is heartwarming and enjoyable. A nice, easy reading seasonal collection for those who need the occasional escape from heteronormativity in literature.
iamjeneillelewis's review against another edition
4.0
Pretty awesome summer read. I read it in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. Would recommended it to my book club once for my friends to read too.
oracleofoaks's review against another edition
3.0
I think that I enjoyed this book only because I was desperate for some Christmas stories that were literally anything except heterosexual romances. A lot of the stories really didn’t grab me at all and I thought the whole thing was just average. Is it an enjoyable read if you need some Christmas cheer? Absolutely! Is it something I would recommend for any other reason? Not really.
Gracious Living Magazine Says It Has to Be a Live Tree By Killian B. Brewer
2 Stars
I didn’t really enjoy this story at all. It was really cheesy in the wrong ways and it just didn’t really interest me. It is a spin-off story of the author’s other books, however, so I may have enjoyed it more if I had read them beforehand.
Shelved By Lynn Charles
3 Stars
This was a cute idea but it as just a bit awkward at times for me. The MC was really pushy about setting her uncle up with Wes and I think I would have enjoyed it better if she had been more casual about trying to set them up.
Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille By Erin Finnegan
2 Stars
Another story I really didn’t vibe with. It didn’t really go anywhere and the “love interest” was really pushy about trying to get the MC to move on from his dead boyfriend… even though they had only known each other for an hour.
True North By Pene Henson
4 Stars
This one was my favorite and the redeeming factor for this book. It was a really cute romance with an awesome best friend and a wonderful family. It gave me all of the fuzzy Christmas vibes.
Halfway Home By Lilah Suzanne
3 Stars
This one was good too. I really vibed with the MC. She wasn’t exactly anti-Christmas, but she was having trouble feeling the spirit of the season which I related to a lot. I thought the development of the relationship was excellent.
Gracious Living Magazine Says It Has to Be a Live Tree By Killian B. Brewer
2 Stars
I didn’t really enjoy this story at all. It was really cheesy in the wrong ways and it just didn’t really interest me. It is a spin-off story of the author’s other books, however, so I may have enjoyed it more if I had read them beforehand.
Shelved By Lynn Charles
3 Stars
This was a cute idea but it as just a bit awkward at times for me. The MC was really pushy about setting her uncle up with Wes and I think I would have enjoyed it better if she had been more casual about trying to set them up.
Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille By Erin Finnegan
2 Stars
Another story I really didn’t vibe with. It didn’t really go anywhere and the “love interest” was really pushy about trying to get the MC to move on from his dead boyfriend… even though they had only known each other for an hour.
True North By Pene Henson
4 Stars
This one was my favorite and the redeeming factor for this book. It was a really cute romance with an awesome best friend and a wonderful family. It gave me all of the fuzzy Christmas vibes.
Halfway Home By Lilah Suzanne
3 Stars
This one was good too. I really vibed with the MC. She wasn’t exactly anti-Christmas, but she was having trouble feeling the spirit of the season which I related to a lot. I thought the development of the relationship was excellent.
jessicadoom's review against another edition
4.0
Gracious Living Magazine Says It Must be a Live Tree: I'm already more excited about this collection than the last one I was reading just from this story alone. Just like with most "Hallmark"y Christmas things, I knew the ending, but it was a wild ride to get there. In just a few pages, I fell in love with these characters and will definitely be looking into the finding the original book it follows.
True North: Although I truly don't care one lick about basketball, I did think the premise of this story was cute. The author's writing style wasn't exactly anything innovative, but it was otherwise fine.
Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille: I had my suspicions about the bartender, but was still pleasantly surprised by the ending of the story. It was very heartfelt and did justice to Jack's grief. I could've used less 4-letter "J" names in close proximity, but that's just nitpicking really.
Halfway Home: I'm sure I'm partial because I'm a dog person and this had a lot of cutesy dog stuff...but I really enjoyed this story. It was adorable and I could identify with Avery and her desire to hold back emotionally to avoid being hurt. I was glad for the happy ending on multiple accounts!
Shelved: This was my favorite of all the stories in this collection! I would not change a damn thing. It was adorable and had a little lesson, even. I want more of their story. I want more holidays and cute book exchanges. And, best of all, I have a few new books to add to my TBR!
True North: Although I truly don't care one lick about basketball, I did think the premise of this story was cute. The author's writing style wasn't exactly anything innovative, but it was otherwise fine.
Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille: I had my suspicions about the bartender, but was still pleasantly surprised by the ending of the story. It was very heartfelt and did justice to Jack's grief. I could've used less 4-letter "J" names in close proximity, but that's just nitpicking really.
Halfway Home: I'm sure I'm partial because I'm a dog person and this had a lot of cutesy dog stuff...but I really enjoyed this story. It was adorable and I could identify with Avery and her desire to hold back emotionally to avoid being hurt. I was glad for the happy ending on multiple accounts!
Shelved: This was my favorite of all the stories in this collection! I would not change a damn thing. It was adorable and had a little lesson, even. I want more of their story. I want more holidays and cute book exchanges. And, best of all, I have a few new books to add to my TBR!
camilleisreading24's review against another edition
4.0
Adorable collection of romantic holiday short stories, all with LGBTQ+ characters in the main roles. I honestly enjoyed each of the five stories and will likely return to the collection next Christmas! They are light yet compelling stories, and very cute. Only complaint is that the stories are all set at Christmas, despite being billed as a "holiday anthology." So that is a bit misleading and I think the collection would be strengthened by a story set around Hanukkah or other winter solstice celebrations.
heresthepencil's review against another edition
3.0
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
3.5 ☆
Five christmasy gay stories for a price of one! Well, count me in!!
But see, the problem with rating anthologies is that not all pieces are equally good, and that's especially the case when we get different authors. So while there's no doubt all of them were very gay & very cute, I only really enjoyed three of them...
My favourite might actually be Halfway Home by Lilah Suzanne. I've never related to a lesbian more than I did to Avery! We meet her as her girlfriend breaks up with her on account of Avery being dead inside and then see her rescue a stray dog. She runs into a doctor with the most beautiful smile at the animal shelter and proceeds to gayly panic every time they're next to each other. It's great fun, I loved every single second of it. There are also hideous christmas sweaters & even a christmas miracle!
Another one I enjoyed was True North by Pene Henson, about a professional basketball player who comes home for christmas and reconnects with her first crush. Said crush also happens to run a ranch... I mean, does it get better when it comes to tropes?? The only thing I'm not so sure about here is the fact that main character is a black lesbian & the story spends quite a lot of time talking about challenges a black woman faces while the author, well, isn't black herself. I get we (white people) want to write more diverse stories but is it really our place to be vocal about things we know nothing about?
The last one I loved was Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille by Erin Finnegan and to be honest, this was one of the softest things I read lately! Our protagonist, Jack, re-learns how to enjoy life and how to be himself and how to open his heart again after losing his love. It's very simple in terms of the plot - though there is a great, surprising twist that you can interpret however you want!! - but what really counts is the amazing writing & the incredible calmness and hope this story offers.
All in all, this is a very solid collection & it's really cool to read some light, lowkey cheesy stories that are so very indisputably gay. Definitely a good book to put you in the christmasy mood!
3.5 ☆
Five christmasy gay stories for a price of one! Well, count me in!!
But see, the problem with rating anthologies is that not all pieces are equally good, and that's especially the case when we get different authors. So while there's no doubt all of them were very gay & very cute, I only really enjoyed three of them...
My favourite might actually be Halfway Home by Lilah Suzanne. I've never related to a lesbian more than I did to Avery! We meet her as her girlfriend breaks up with her on account of Avery being dead inside and then see her rescue a stray dog. She runs into a doctor with the most beautiful smile at the animal shelter and proceeds to gayly panic every time they're next to each other. It's great fun, I loved every single second of it. There are also hideous christmas sweaters & even a christmas miracle!
Another one I enjoyed was True North by Pene Henson, about a professional basketball player who comes home for christmas and reconnects with her first crush. Said crush also happens to run a ranch... I mean, does it get better when it comes to tropes?? The only thing I'm not so sure about here is the fact that main character is a black lesbian & the story spends quite a lot of time talking about challenges a black woman faces while the author, well, isn't black herself. I get we (white people) want to write more diverse stories but is it really our place to be vocal about things we know nothing about?
The last one I loved was Last Call at the Casa Blanca Bar & Grille by Erin Finnegan and to be honest, this was one of the softest things I read lately! Our protagonist, Jack, re-learns how to enjoy life and how to be himself and how to open his heart again after losing his love. It's very simple in terms of the plot - though there is a great, surprising twist that you can interpret however you want!! - but what really counts is the amazing writing & the incredible calmness and hope this story offers.
All in all, this is a very solid collection & it's really cool to read some light, lowkey cheesy stories that are so very indisputably gay. Definitely a good book to put you in the christmasy mood!
aquariusvintage's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
So much pure queer joy it made me sob!!!!