Reviewed by Sid

TITLE: Holly and Oak

SERIES: 2013 Advent Calender – “Heartwarming”

AUTHOR: J. L. O’Faolain

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 28 pages

BLURB: Twice each year, during the solstice, the Holly King battles the Oak King as Nature takes its course. This year, however, Holly concedes defeat far too easily. Curious about his brother’s haste, Oak nags his brother into revealing his secret: a new relationship with a human. While loving a mortal is not taboo, Oak fears his brother’s love may run too deep. But despite knowing he risks his heart, Holly is determined to share warmth with his Sergio for as long as the world will allow, if not beyond.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.

REVIEW:

In the words on an intelligent man, it was legen – wait for it …

It is the time of the year when two brothers come face to face for a battle. One has to win, one has to lose and the fate has already decided its course. Holly King is tired of fighting this old battle with the Oak King and yet, he goes on with it. The fight ends in Oak’s favor – but too soon for his taste. He discovers that there’s a commitment that forces Holly to give way to his brother’s win and Holly returns to the mortal world to be with his human lover called Sergio in order to spend this holiday time with him.

Oh, you are still waiting for it? Well, I was too, till the end of the book, to figure out exactly what in the mortal world was going on! I had no idea why these two men were fighting, I had no idea at all how Holly even survived the battle if he was defeated and killed and I didn’t have a single clue how they even got to the “mortal” world if they weren’t in it already.

To clarify what the author missed out to include in this story – The tale of Holly King and Oak King is a mythological one. The two have been warring each other time and again to reign as the seasons change. At the winter solstice, Oak King defeats the Holly King and rules over till the summer time, after which they both battle again only to have Holly to win and rule.

My best friend, Google, told me all that and that’s how things made sense, when I had a second round to read it through. Giving it a second chance was solely because I thought O’Faolain excelled in story-telling. The rich choice of words had made me continue till the end the first time (and also hope that things will get cleared up). Also, I thought the description of tender moments between Holly and Sergio was outstanding. You see that “Heartwarming” theme on the covers of all advent books? Two men deeply in love, sitting half-naked by the fireplace and staring at each other with longing … that comes alive in this book. I could so imagine Holly and Sergio in that setting.

Yet, the story seemed incomplete to me. There was this huge elephant in the room that remained unnoticed. I kept waiting, hoping that Holly would, at some point of time, tell Sergio the truth of his existence and it never happens. That killed the whole mood of such a beautiful story and of course, the initial confusion.

So if you think you know the legend of Holly and Oak, I’d say – go for it! You may be the better judge of this book.

Sid rates it –

BUY LINK: 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!