Advent Calendar Review: Nøtteknekkeren by Felicitas Ivey

December 12th

Reviewed by Jenna

TITLE: Nøtteknekkeren

SERIES: Sleigh Ride (2015 Advent Calendar)

AUTHOR: Felicitas Ivey

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

BLURB:

Thijs and his older brother, Rik, are spending Christmas Eve at their uncle Yvo’s annual gathering. For Thijs, it’s the first time he’s been there in almost a decade.

Thijs has vague memories of the magical Christmases spent with his uncle. But he doesn’t know if the images in his mind of the enchantment that happened while he waited for Santa are dreams, memories, or the product of years of therapy for an accident he doesn’t remember. He just knows when he stopped visiting Uncle Yvo, the dreams stopped too.

Are his dreams of a prince waiting for him every Christmas Eve just dreams? Tonight might finally be Thijs’s chance to learn the truth.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2015 Advent Calendar package “Sleigh Ride”.

REVIEW:

For the first time in a long while Thijs and his brother go to his Uncle’s house for Christmas. Ever since the accident Thijs has memory loss and though his memories of many things are gone, he has fond feelings about spending Christmas at his uncle’s house. He remembers falling asleep under the tree and dreaming of a handsome prince coming for him. The night starts out rough with Thijs’s brother, Rik, being rude to him and causing a scene. Their uncle finally has to intervene when Rik does something that might damage his antique nutcracker. That night Thijs lies down under the tree, hoping to discover whether his dreams of a prince are actually real.

This was a cute and sweet Christmas story. I was amused by his brother’s attitude and all the troubles Rik causes. That he had to deal with a brother like that made me want Thijs to have the fantasy world and prince he dreamed of. Though I’m not sure I ever dreamed of a prince as a child, Thijs magical dream seemed so reminiscent of a child’s Christmas dream, filled with all sorts of good and wonderful things. It almost felt like he was waking up in the North Pole. By the end, I was a little bit confused about whether things were still in a dream or some fantasy land. However, the ending was so sweet, that it really didn’t matter to me. I recommend this story to anyone who loves fantasy, Christmas dreams come true, and m/m romance.

RATING: