We will review the Dreamspinner Press advent calendar one review a day. At the end of the month THREE winners will be picked to receive some great prizes!

First prize is 10 books from your Dreamspinner wishlist .

Second prize is 5 books from your Dreamspinner wishlist.

Third prize is 3 books from your Dreamspinner wishlist.

December 6th

Reviewed by Donna

TITLE: Ranger Station Haven

SERIES: 2016 Dreamspinner Press Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug

AUTHOR: S.A. Stovall

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 47 Pages

RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2016

BLURB: 

Federal park ranger Carter Williams dislikes kids almost as much as he dislikes Christmas. He chose his career to escape human contact, not embrace it. And no matter how much his husband Owen tries to sway his opinion, Carter is a grump who would rather ignore the holiday. Owen’s efforts are put on hold, however, when they get a call about six missing foster kids lost in the park.

Christmas Eve takes a turn for the worse when Owen injures himself rescuing the children. Stranded in a snowstorm until dawn, Carter has to keep Owen awake and healthy while simultaneously watching six runaways. What he thinks is a nightmare come to life is actually a beautiful gift in disguise—the kids transform the ranger station into a Christmas wonderland. And before it’s all said and done, they might transform Carter’s heart as well—if he can keep his bah humbug attitude in check.

REVIEW:

Could this story have been any darn cuter?! As the blurb tells us, this is the story of married ranger partners, Carter and Owen, who are as different as day and night. Carter is definitely not a people person. He loves his job because he gets to spend so much time away from any other human contact – except of course for his beloved husband, Owen. He has no interest in celebrating Christmas, although he does certainly enjoy Owen’s sexy attempts to lure him into the spirit of things. When they get the call that six children have run away into the park, just as a snow storm is due to hit, they set out into the cold knowing that they themselves may be in danger. When Owen is injured while rescuing the kids, Carter finds himself stuck with a bed ridden husband and a whole bunch of children he has no idea how to handle. But it’s just till morning, right? So what could possibly happen in such a short period of time?

I’m a sucker for Christmas stories and stories that manage to cram in a whole lot of cute children. So this book was kind of a no brainer when it came to dividing up these advent calendar stories. It had to be mine! The author did a fabulous job of balancing just the right amount of bah humbug with holiday miracle sweetness. Carter was a hilarious grump rather than being a mean bastard. I loved the nicknames that he came up with to use on the kids, rather than bother learning their names. Owen was a nice contrast to Carter, with his crazy excitement over celebrating their Christmas Eve Eve. Christmas totally starts on Christmas Eve Eve. It was great to see a fellow holiday devotee. The children were a fun and loveable part of the story and kudos to the author for including six of them into a short story without overwhelming the reader.

This is the first story that I’ve read from the Advent Calendar this year, but it was certainly a great place to start.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Dreamspinner Press – Full Set of Stories

Dreamspinner – Single Story

Amazon