Reviewed by Vicki
SERIES REVIEW: North Pole City Tales
AUTHOR: Charlie Cochet
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
BOOK ONE TITLE: Mending Noel
LENGTH: 64 pages
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All is not sparkly snowflakes and sweet candy canes in North Pole City. Office workers Tim and Noel do nothing all day but antagonize each other—petty fighting that might be based on hatred… or a heated mutual attraction. It’s up to Jack Frost and his elf-friend Rudy to broach the hostilities and introduce some Christmas kisses, but is the Frost Prince up to the challenge of launching a new romance when someone’s trying to break his holiday spirit?
REVIEW:
Wow! What a complex story for being so short! It starts off like it’s going to be fluffy, but it actually has a lot of story crammed in to a limited number of pages. I like that!
Tim, a young elf at barely 245 years old, is stuck in a dead end job, working for the Abominable Administrative Department. His options are limited, he has no talent, so he files away, miserable, while all the other elves have exciting jobs. He is tormented by his supervisor, the obnoxious Noel, who seems to have a bug up his ass when it comes to Tim. For no reason that Tim can remember. One evening on his way home, after Noel leaves him to unload a delivery of coal, he overhears something he shouldn’t. It appears there is a plot by the Mouse King to kill Jack Frost, the Frost Kings son! Tim is startled when Noel pops up, he has heard the conversation as well, and the two are seen and take off running with the Mouse Kings hoodlum and two toy soldiers hot on their tails. They make it to the home of Rudy, the Squadron Leader of the Rein Dears. The Rein Dears are pilots for Mayor Kringle, delivering presents on Christmas Eve… So there is a little excitement and drama, with Tim and Noel showing up on Rudy’s doorstep, then in comes Jack Frost himself! Tim and Noel tell their tale, and the boys figure out a way to foil the plot, with Tim and Noel unwittingly drawn right in to it. It appears that there is something going on between Jack and Rudy as well.
So there isn’t a huge amount of plot here, it is a short story so it’s pretty basic, but the details are fantastic. Charlie has created a really cool (pun intended) world for these books, weaving bits of holiday goodness all together with creative characters. There is a little romance between Noel and Tim, no sex, but a nice connection between them, as they figure out who they are as a couple. There are hints of more to come with Rudy and Jack, and there is some serious drama with Jack and his asshole father.
I’m looking forward to reading the other stories in this series!
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BOOK TWO TITLE: The Heart of Frost
LENGTH: 120 pages
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At the North Pole, no one is more powerful and feared than the Prince of Frost. As general of the toy soldier army, Jack Frost has been working extra hard to put away the villainous Mouse King once and for all. If that isn’t taxing enough, Jack has to deal with the scandal and gossip brought on by news of his relationship with Rudy Rein Dear, captain of the Rein Dear Squadron, which hit headlines last holiday season. Lucky for Jack, his reputation has managed to deter any foolish attempts to stir up trouble. At least until now.
When someone sabotages Rudy’s plane during a test run a few weeks before Christmas, Jack is determined to find the culprit by any means necessary. The closer he gets to finding answers, the more difficulty he has not falling back to his icy ways. Has the Mouse King stepped up his game in order to throw Jack off his, or is someone a little closer to home behind the attempt on Rudy’s life? Either way, Jack has every intention of delivering a Christmas they won’t soon forget, even if it means losing the newfound warmth in his heart.
REVIEW:
Oh no! Trouble for Jack and Rudy…. We first met Jack and Rudy in the last book, learning that they have been secret lovers for some time. In this book we get a little more of their history, and see the deep bond the two have.
The plot of this story is just right, it’s a short story and a short plot. Charlie gives us lots of small details about this world, but doesn’t try and cram too much story in a small book. This world is oddly homophobic, and Jack being such a prominent figure is really in a bad position. His father is not happy he’s with Rudy, although I’m not sure it’s because he’s male so much as because he’s an elf and a pilot. But there are a lot of other elves that seem to have an issue with Jack and Rudy. And someone is out to get Rudy. Is it the Mouse King? Is it Fig, the obnoxious elf? Is it the Frost King? Jack needs to find out who attacked Rudy and caused his plane to crash, Jack barely saving his life. Unfortunately it may cost Jack everything to find the culprit. Jack has some anger management issues, and things go bad as his heart starts to freeze. The only one that can save him is Rudy. Jack nearly manages to destroy all of his relationships, hurting his friends, family and lover as he hunts down the bad guy. Rudy has been injured, yet has to go out and face his worst fear, again.
In this book we get more details about North Pole City and its inhabitants, and a couple of new characters. Plus we see Tim and Noel from the last book. There is some action and drama, both with the Mouse King in the beginning, and later with Jack saving Rudy as his plane crashes, and Rudy saving Jack from himself. I am really enjoying these stories and characters, piecing together how this world works as I read. I found myself almost wanting to make notes to remind myself who does what and how this all fits together. There is Winter Wonderland, which seems to be a kingdom, but then there is North Pole City that is dedicated to Christmas. There was a war, there is a Mayor of the city, and a King of Winter Wonderland. There is history here that we don’t know about, it’s kinda cool!
I liked the first book, and I like this one too! Fun stories, not as fluffy as I expected with holiday stories, great characters, great writing, and an interesting world. Yeah!
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BOOK THREE TITLE: Vixen’s Valor 
LENGTH: 81 pages
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Rein Dear is a prestigious title, accompanied by admiration, devotion, and celebrity status, all of which one saucy Vixen thrives on. Alas, Vixen’s only concerned with having fun, unlike his stuffy and sensible best friend, Rudy Rein Dear, who Vixen has always been jealous of. Aside from being chosen by Mayor Kringle to be Captain the Rein Dear Squadron, Rudy’s managed to snag himself a prince, even if that prince is the dangerous and imposing Jack Frost.
All’s not lost for Vixen though. He discovers Jack’s cousin Vale has a soft spot for him. Vale Frost might not be a dashing prince, but he’s the next best thing: a decorated Lieutenant for the Toy Soldier Army, and a member of the Frost monarchy.
Determined to get what Vixen feels he deserves, he sets off on a mission to ensnare the kind-hearted lieutenant. But Vixen’s selfish ways are sure to lead to disaster, and it’ll take more than a little courage to set things right.
REVIEW:
This one was a little hard for me to get in to, Vixen is kind of a shit for most of it, but Vale makes up for him. I loved Vale! Vixen, as we learn has some childhood issues, and has been trying to garner attention ever since. He’s cocky and selfish, especially when it comes to Rudy. He calls himself Rudy’s best friend, but really he’s jealous of his success as a Rein Dear, and of his relationship with Jack. Jack is a prince, and Vixen wants a prince of his own. Unfortunately Jack is the only prince. His cousin Vale might be a good substitute though, Vixen decides to see if he can gain Vale’s attention. He knows Vale has a crush on him, so he’ll use that to his advantage and get a royal, even if he isn’t a prince.
Vale is not the idiot he can appear, he knows exactly what Vixen is trying, but goes along with it because he sees past the outward appearance and sees the inner sweet elf that Vixen is. I didn’t see it…. But Vale thinks it’s in there! So he decides to court Vixen and see what happens. What does happen is some very sweet moments between them, and Vixen realizing that he may have gotten more than he expected. Vale slowly wins his heart. But Vixen has to do something stupid and fuck it all up! In a major way. Vale pays the price for Vixen’s mistake.
The first half of the book was very nice, Vale courting Vixen, Vixen being a brat. The second half had more action and was more interesting. This book also had sex, the other two did not, I was happy to see that. When Vixen is being a normal elf, and not an ass, he’s quite sweet, and the sex between them was very good. But he bugged me! I could see what he was going to do a mile away, the only surprise was exactly how he would be stupid, not that he was going to, if that makes any sense. I enjoyed the book though, even though Vixen was annoying! Vale made up for him, as did seeing Jack and Rudy again.
So the first two books had more issues around the sexual orientation of the main characters, by the time this book takes place that doesn’t seem to be a problem anymore. Vale’s family seems fine with him being gay, and there were several other elves who seem to be of the same persuasion. I like to hope even in this made up world people (elves) can learn to accept one another, and be who they are!
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