A review by emmalita
Secret Santa by Eli Wray
5.0
In Secret Santa, Sage asks her partner, Dove, to find a third person, a stranger to her, with whom to have a sexual encounter. The stranger Dove finds is Isaac, a trans man who is not, in fact, a stranger to Sage. With the new dynamic, new negotiations are required. Isaac is worried about meeting their needs, while Sage and Dove want him to let go of expectations and be himself.
Wray is writing subversive romance on a number of levels. Bodies and identities are allowed to be defined by the people who inhabit them and room is given for fluidity. In the sex scenes, the characters give and receive pleasure with their bodies while also not being defined by their bodies. The joy of being able to define themselves is mixed with the exhaustion of having to create themselves with no pattern. A pivotal moment in each book is when a character, or characters realize they are in a safe place: Mason and Natalie realize their attraction is mutual, Devon realizes he can’t fail Christmas, and Isaac accepts his desire is more important than his function. In being seen and accepted, they lay down a burden and give themselves over to love and joy.
I cannot recommend this series enough. It’s short, fluffy, and shows me a world where people don’t have to be anyone other than who they are to be seen, desired, and valued.
Wray is writing subversive romance on a number of levels. Bodies and identities are allowed to be defined by the people who inhabit them and room is given for fluidity. In the sex scenes, the characters give and receive pleasure with their bodies while also not being defined by their bodies. The joy of being able to define themselves is mixed with the exhaustion of having to create themselves with no pattern. A pivotal moment in each book is when a character, or characters realize they are in a safe place: Mason and Natalie realize their attraction is mutual, Devon realizes he can’t fail Christmas, and Isaac accepts his desire is more important than his function. In being seen and accepted, they lay down a burden and give themselves over to love and joy.
I cannot recommend this series enough. It’s short, fluffy, and shows me a world where people don’t have to be anyone other than who they are to be seen, desired, and valued.