Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Wrapped Up In You
SERIES: 2013 DSP Advent Calendar – Heartwarming
AUTHOR: Lucy Whedon
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Publishing
LENGTH: 28 pages
BLURB: Friends of Norris Mason and Danny Falk said their relationship was guaranteed to last. But lack of communication and individual insecurities broke them apart, and their love affair ended with Danny seeking employment in Japan. Now it’s two years later, Danny is back in town, Norris hasn’t let go of his love for Danny, and their friends are determined to see them happy again—together. A bit of Christmas matchmaking may encourage a new start for Norris and Danny… if they’re willing to take a chance.
The holidays bring first dates, new love, reunions, and a renewal of devotion to a relationship. Romance can warm even the most cynical or sad of hearts, and these stories will get you in the mood for love. Your Christmas present to yourself!
REVIEW:
Norris, finds out last minute that his ex (who he hasn’t gotten over) is at his friends’ annual Christmas party. So Norris hides in the bathroom…
“I give up,” he said. “I’m not over him, I’ve never been over him and I’m hiding in here until he leaves or there’s an earthquake or something. I’m reverting to my fifteen-year-old self, thanks very much.”
And revert he does. Actually, Norris comes off as a drama queen, he was the one who broke it off with Danny, after all. And Danny seems to be doing all the work at trying to reconcile.
Luckily, their caring friends don’t seem to have chosen sides and conspire to help the couple along.
This is well written. I felt Norris’s hurt and confusion, though Danny remains a bit of a mystery, and yet, I think I like him better. It’s not clear at the end how the guys will fare down the road.
For me, this is more about the gift of all those caring, supportive friends than the struggling romance.
Elizabetta rates it – 
BUY LINKS: Dreamspinner Press
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ADVENT CALENDER EVENT
Dreamspinner Press and The Blog of Sid Love bring to you an opportunity where you get to win a free set of DSP’s “Heartwarming” Advent Calender 2013. Yes! The full set with 31 stories including contributions from authors like Andrew Grey, Cardeno C., Grace R. Duncan, and many more…
If you wish to enter yourself into this contest, all you have to do is comment on every advent event post we make each day till the end of this month. Look out for titles with “Advent Calender Event” mentioned in them (such as this one) and the posts will be reviews on each and every story from this anthology.
The contest will end on 1st January, 2014 and the winners will be announced on the 2nd of January.
So, good luck to you all and Happy Holidays!
This sounds incomplete… more like a novelette in between two stories.
Yeah, all shorts run that risk don’t they? This had a HFN feeling because of how far Norris would have to go to trust Danny again. And he still seems like that drama queen to me, not sure if he’s grown much in the interim. Anyway, the writing is quite good and I’d rec it for that. This is getting lots of good reviews on GR, you may love it!
Norris’s words do sound like a sulking teenager!
I try so hard not to be dissuaded from super, super short stories. What sounds great about this one is their caring friends. Sometimes it’s the supporting characters that can really make a story shine.
That’s pretty much what I got out of it Peaches… their friends were pretty awesome and not in an overt, interfering way. I was just a bit put off of Norris, it’s true but his friends save the day! Hope you enjoy 🙂
Thanks for your honest review. Authors can always benefit from all types of reviews.
Thanks for the review. I’ll check out GR too. 🙂
Sounds like it has potential. Some of these short stories need to be expanded.