Reviewed by Paul

TITLE: Iced

SERIES: 2016 Advent Calender Anthology

AUTHOR: Jon Keys

LENGTH: 47 pages

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RELEASE DATE: December 1st 2016

BLURB:

Keith Walker, a mall bookstore employee, is struggling to get through another miserable holiday season while trying to preserve a crumbling long-term relationship. One of his few comforts is his morning coffee made by a good-looking, younger barista. Austin Novak felt an attraction when Keith started frequenting the coffee shop, but he doesn’t think the older man has any interest in him or his graphic novel collection. A Christmas week snowstorm buries the city and locks Keith’s car into its parking spot. Keith decides to show Austin his gratitude for helping free the car from the ice with a dinner invitation. The meal becomes complicated when Austin meets Keith’s boyfriend, Shawn, and things go downhill from there when Shawn announces he’s heading to Cancún with his coworkers. Keith is caught between keeping his boyfriend happy and keeping his job. But Keith might not need a plane ticket to find the happiness that’s been missing from his life.

REVIEW:

An anthology is always fun to read, but details make a fun series a good one. Reviewing just one of those stories is a little different, and connecting the stories might actually add to the quality. But for now I will concentrate on the story I’ve read. But I will guarantee you that I will read the whole series, as they have great potential.

Iced is a 47 page short story that tells us about Keith, a bookstore employee, who’s in a long term relationship with Shawn. The writer sets the scene in the first chapter by describing the rescue by Austin, a barista at the mall, from a flat and frozen down car. I was feeling cold and shivering, as the guys dug out the car. To say thank you to Austin, Keith invites Austin for dinner at his place, where Shawn is entertaining a random guy. Shawn’s behavior is weird and abrasive. It seems like Keith is in a abusive relationship and Austin feels sorry for a nice guy like Keith.

And from there a story develops that brings Keith and Austin closer together with every chapter and Keith coming to the realization that he shouldn’t be with Shawn anymore. And then in two pages, Keith finally realizes what everyone else already knew, the relationship was over. In a heartbreaking scene he finds Shawn doing the random guy. So Keith rushed out, and drove his car into the canal, but managed to call 911.

At the crash-site Austin and Keith reconnect as Keith hadn’t called 911 , but autodialed Austin’s number instead. Austin takes Keith home after he hears what has happened. The night ends with a close encounter, but both realize that quick, cheap sex might ruin their chances of a long term relationship. But during the Christmas weekend they end up being together. Although a short story, Jon Keys managed to cramp in a lot of info into the story, carefully explaining the motivations of the Main characters, sometimes I felt like Austin was too much thinking and contemplating things. But all in all it was a heartwarming Christmas story that I would happily rate at 3,5 stars, nothing special, but entertaining for a cold winters night. It will guarantee you a horny dream or two 😉

RATING:

BUY LINKS:

Dreamspinner Press

Amazon