Reviewed by Elizabetta
TITLE: Sleigh Ride
SERIES: Minnesota Christmas, book 2
AUTHOR: Heidi Cullinan
PUBLISHER: Samhain Publishing
LENGTH: 229 pages
BLURB:
Arthur Anderson doesn’t want anything to do with love and romance, and he certainly doesn’t want to play Santa in his mother’s library fundraising scheme. He knows full well what she really wants is to hook him up with the town’s lanky, prissy librarian.
It’s clear Gabriel Higgins doesn’t want him, either—as a Santa, as a boyfriend, as anyone at all. But when Arthur’s efforts to wiggle out of the fundraiser lead to getting to know the man behind the storytime idol, he can’t help but be charmed. The least he can do is be neighborly and help Gabriel find a few local friends.
As their fiery arguments strike hotter sparks, two men who insist they don’t date wind up doing an awful lot of dating. And it looks like the sleigh they both tried not to board could send them jingling all the way to happily ever after.
Warning: Contains a feisty librarian, a boorish bear, small town politics, deer sausage, and a boy who wants a doll.
REVIEW:
Sleigh Ride isn’t just a light, holiday romance where small-town librarian matches wits with small town bad boy. It’s as much a tribute to libraries and their importance as places of information and education. And in the small, rural towns such as the one in this story, they give children who might not have easy access to ipads or laptops, a way to connect with the bigger world.
Yes, Sleigh Ride has romance and it’s share of steamy sex but, in the end, this is the author’s passionate message.
You’ll remember Arthur from book one, Let It Snow. He and his lover, Paul, almost stole the show with their boisterous D/s loft shenanigans. They added a kinky edge to Frankie and Marcus’ sweet ’n vanilla romance.
Paul is out of the picture, now; he’s moved out on Arthur. I was a bit disappointed but not too surprised… What little we know of them is based on the hot and spanky sex and not much else and it seems that’s the problem. They’re may be better friends than they are lovers.
Poor Arthur, his best three buddies have moved on and he’s now beset by well-intentioned friends and family who want to see him hooked-up and just as happy as they are. But Arthur’s not sure that’s what he wants… stability, commitment, a b-b-b-boyfriend. He’s got very specific requirements in a lover and he’s not sure he’ll ever find anyone to match them.
Well, Arthur’s mom thinks that Gabriel, the cute town librarian is just the guy for Arthur, and she cooks up a scheme to bring them together. It involves raising money for the library by selling holiday sleigh rides in the snow with Arthur as the sleigh-driving Santa and Gabriel as his elf helper. But, while the guys think the fundraiser is a good idea, they aren’t enthusiastic about the matchmaking. It’s not surprising that Arthur wants nothing to do with the nerdy, buttoned-up Gabriel-the-Librarian. He likes his guys a little shorter and beefier and way kinkier. Gabriel just doesn’t look or act like his type. And Gabriel just sees Arthur as a rude, brutish lout.
The old adage ‘You shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover’ really holds true here.
It doesn’t take long for the sparks to fly and set off some kind of invisible kink meter when the guys finally get together. Gabriel may look and act like the nerdy, buttoned-up, uptight librarian, but he’s hiding a wealth of smutty, shameful sex fantasies he’d love to act out. Somehow, Arthur gets it, and he figures he’s just the guy to deliver on demand. I confess. I like Cullinan’s books for the dirty raunch. Man-o-man she does that exceptionally well. Ho, ho, ho, hummers!
There is a lot to like in Sleigh Ride. Feel-good sweetness, cute kids, colorful friends and town folk, a snowy holiday setting, lots of good deeds and family love. I really liked Gabriel, he is adorable, kinks and all. I feel for his worry about fitting into the small town community– a gay man trying to justify his very private sexual fantasies with his clean-cut public persona. And even Arthur grows on you as he grows into a more sympathetic character. He starts falling for Gabriel watching him in action at the library story time…
“… it was sweet… It caught the edges of his heart when Gabriel turned to the kids and looked them in the eye, smiling and loving and bright as he led them in chorus through what were obviously favorite lines of the story.”
There’s no doubt that the writing is strong. I would recommend Sleigh Ride for all of these good things.
On the other hand… I’m afraid that my perverse side felt, at times, like the sweetness got a little too thick and heavy. And sometimes the story fell too close to lecturing or preachiness. This caused some drag and lag and pulled me out of the goodness, unfortunately. But I know Sleigh Ride will appeal to a lot of readers for it’s many moments of romantic tenderness and SSC (safe, sane and consensual) freak-a-licious kink, as well as getting to visit with Frankie and Marcus again. And you can’t beat a sleigh ride with Santa.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
This is on my must buy list – enjoyed Let It Snow last year. Do love the warm fuzzy Christmas reads!
Cullinan knows how to do warm and fuzzy for sure 🙂 There’ll be having lots more holiday reads coming up. We’ll be reviewing the Dreamspinner Advent Calendar anthology again starting 12/1.