Reviewed by Donna
TITLE: Dust of Snow
AUTHOR: Indra Vaughn
PUBLISHER: Indra Ink
LENGTH: 158 Pages
BLURB:
‘T is the season. Greg’s nights are silent and his bells don’t jingle. This time last year his boyfriend broke up with him, and he’s determined to get through these holidays with only minor bruising. So what if he lives with a cat and his best friend is his mother? Peace and quiet: that’s life how he likes it. Nothing is going to blindside him this year, no sir. Especially not a rogue secret Santa.
REVIEW:
Greg isn’t in the most festive mood, no matter how hard he tries to fake it. He’s still struggling to get over his ex-boyfriend who left a year ago, his love life consists of mooning over his sexy but straight boss and his mother has just rediscovered sex. And she’s willing to share the details. When mysterious yet thoughtful gifts start turning up on his work desk Greg is convinced that someone must be playing a joke because surely nobody could truly be interested in a boring person like him. Now suddenly, Greg’s routine life is getting all kinds of interesting, and Greg isn’t sure what to think or if he appreciates it.
The new sales manager at work, Mr. Montgomery, seems determined to become friends but whether it’s just friends or something more, poor Greg is unsure. His boss, Carl, (sexy but straight remember) tends to become a bit flirty and maybe not so straight whenever he’s had a few drinks and Greg knows for certain that that is a terrible idea. Add to that Greg’s nasty ex, David, has reappeared. He’s determined that they should get back together and is willing to resort to drastic measures to pressure Greg into giving him what he wants. And to top it all off, Greg’s mother is asking Greg to meet her new girlfriend. Greg wants to be supportive but nothing quite shocks a man like his sixty year old, previously assumed straight, mother realizing she’s bi-sexual.
The book is written in first person from Greg’s point of view and the blurb, I’m assuming deliberately, doesn’t mention the name of Greg’s love interest. It doesn’t take too long to figure it out but to start with I wasn’t sure if Greg was going to end up with Carl (the boss) or Ashley (Mr. Montgomery). Unfortunately by the time it did become obvious I’d kind of latched on to the idea that Greg was going to end up with the other guy so it was a little disappointing when that wasn’t the way it happened. Actually that other guy ended up being my favourite character so it would be awesome if one day he gets his own story.
The romance builds very slowly, it’s almost friends to lovers, but the time it takes is necessary really considering how insecure Greg is. He’s convinced that he’s not deserving of anybody’s affection or attention but thankfully he’s not all woe-is-me and annoying with it. Sometimes self-doubting characters can grate on my nerves but not so with Greg.
One of the most satisfying aspects of this story is its length. ‘Tis the season of Christmas shorts and finding an almost full-length holiday novel feels like a win. The epilogue was especially fun. Recommended for anybody needing some Christmas cheer.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Does is ease the pain a little if I say a certain French boss will have his own tale to tell next Christmas? 🙂
Thank you for the review <3
Oh yes! Thank you! I really hope we get to see him demonstrate the correct way to make use of his closet (handcuffs and all) 😉
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