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 28th
Day 28
Reviewed by Vicki
TITLE: Popcorn Garlands 
SERIES: 2016 Dreamspinner Advent Calendar – Bah Humbug
AUTHOR: Ariel Tachna
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 26 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 1st, 2016
BLURB:
Carlos Mendez spends all year working hard at his Houston-based landscaping business, and he sends every spare penny he earns back to his family in Mexico. By the time the holidays roll around, he doesn’t have much patience for the unadulterated greed and consumerism paraded past him. But a chance meeting with his neighbor, Ned Williams, and Ned’s cancer-stricken daughter, might help to remind him of the real meaning of the season—something beyond the gaudy lights and extravagant displays—something he wants to be a part of.
REVIEW:
Oh… what a great little story. Stories this short are so hard to review, since you don’t want to give anything away. Especially when there is a good blurb that tells you what the story is about. So I’ll try to be careful here.
This story features Carlos, and takes place right before Christmas. Carlos owns a landscaping business, supporting a few employees. He comes home from work one day to see his neighbor has put up popcorn garlands on his balcony, and knows the apartment manager won’t like that. He stops by to warn his neighbor, and sees a man in a much worst position than he is….
Ned is a single parent with a very sick little girl. He’s lost his job, his home, and is just keeping his shit together until he’s daughter makes it through chemo. He has nothing to spent on Christmas, and he’s annoyed when his neighbor points out that his home-made popcorn garlands won’t be acceptable. But this moment leads to so much more.
This is a very sweet story, and brought tears so my eyes. We really only get a small glimpse of the lives of these two men, and it’s just the beginning of their story. We see a bit of Carlos’s life, but nothing of Ned. They spend very little time together, there is no relationship, no sex, it’s just the start of what could be a happy story. And yet, I loved it. It shows the caring of people when someone is in need. It shows the holiday spirit, and what Christmas is supposed to be about. I’m going to assume these men live happily ever after!
Ariel Tachna is one of my favorite authors and I was happy to put my name on the list to review this story. This was just what I needed to read. I’ve read a handful of the advent stories this year, and it this one of the best ones so far. Give it a read!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
This sounds like a very special Christmas story. Well anything by Ariel can’t be but good.
Seems a bit tear-jerker considering some aspects of the story. Pretty encouraging review though, I think I wouldn’t mind having a box of tissue nearby. Thanks for the post!
Thank you for another great review. I’ll be sure to have tissues handy when I read this one.
Sounds a bit heartstring-tuggy, but I’m sure it’s well-done…
I read this early on, thanks for the review
I keep wanting to read something from Ariel, but I never seem to find the time. This seems the perfect way to start. Thank you for the review, Vicki
Sounds like a good read. Thank you for the review.
Thank you for the review
Great review, but it sounds that this story needs a follow up/sequel. I’ve put it on my tbr list because i just love this kind of story’s.
Thanks for the review! Hopefully there will be a follow-up – sounds like one is surely warranted.
This sounds lovely. I’ll definately be adding this short to my TBR 🙂
This sounds so good! You can never have too many reminders of our need to celebrate the holiday spirit all year long.