Reviewed by Sid

TITLE: Celebrating You

ANTHOLOGY: 2013 DSP Advent Calender – “Heartwarming”

AUTHOR: Grace R. Duncan

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 49 pages

BLURB: With the world’s population down to almost nothing and his husband dead, Daniel is sure he’ll spend Christmas alone with his dog, cats, and goats. Jake has been wandering aimlessly since the world went to hell and he lost his partner. As far as he’s concerned, there’s nothing to celebrate. But he finds himself helping Daniel with his Christmas tree and listening to him describe all the things to be thankful for.

Through tree decoration, dinner, and a chess game, Daniel and Jake discover a connection between them that hints at a possibility both had long declared impossible. When the chess game is over and they’re in each other’s arms, they realize how good it feels… and how right. But after having lost everything, are they willing to believe in the possibility of something beyond basic survival?

REVIEW:

Hope for the better should never die; Christmas and holidays give us that eternal hope for happiness, even at hard times.

Jake and Daniel are survivors. They are trying to survive through the phase where the world around them is going to ruins. Nothing is the same. Not in the world, not in their own lives. Both of them have lost their partners, their love, their family and they are left behind to walk the difficult path alone.

It is when their paths cross that the boys realize they could have a reason to celebrate Christmas after so many years. They have an instant connection and as they bond more over the now-extinct coffee, milking of the goats and a game of chess, their feelings and desires toward the other deepens. They embrace the moment, celebrating the beauty of their budding relationship.

This was an interesting read. Let me start by saying that I quite liked how the author gives contradicting personalities to the main characters. Both Jake and Daniel have gone through a similar heartbreak, yet the two adapt to their environment in a very different way. Jake seemed to be the one who had given up all the hopes in his life that there maybe a happy ending for him while the world is crashing down. Yet, he survives in his own way, taking each day at a time as a challenge. On the other hand, Daniel is the one leaning heavily toward hope. Of course, he is battered by his past too, but he seems to have been more pro-active toward surviving rather than whining over his fucked up life. I am not blaming Jake for being any other way, not at all. I am just saying that their distinct identities played an important role in this story. If it hadn’t been for Daniel, Jake wouldn’t have understood the true ways of surviving.

One other thing that I enjoyed about this story was the effort that Duncan puts in creating the post-apocalyptic world around the characters. Some very intelligent set-ups are sketched out and the situations are fit perfectly in them. I’d say the author has done her homework quite well.

But sadly, it wasn’t all perfect, though I wish it would have been. It is a beautiful story… but…

What bothered me was that the characters never connected to the reader in me right till the end. The experience was like I was floating through it all where there was no empathy in me toward these characters. Sure, I felt bad and sympathised with them but nope, never once felt like I lived their hurt or happiness. This was the first time ever that an insta-love storyline didn’t go right with me. I am usually cool with it but with Jake and Daniel, I wanted so much more!

I would say this was not one of the best from Duncan. Knowing what the author is capable of, this left me a bit disappointed.

Sid 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!