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 31
Reviewed by Marieke
TITLE: Matthew’s Present
SERIES: Dreamspinner 2016 Advent Calender; Bah Humbug
AUTHOR: Sarah Hadley
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 23 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 01 , 2016
BLURB:
Matthew Blick is almost thirty years old, and he hates the thought of another holiday alone. He has become a bit of a wet blanket when Christmas rolls around every year. So much so that even his five-year-old niece, Hannah, knows something needs to change. She asks the department store Santa to bring her uncle a man to love, and when Santa sees her uncle, he formulates a plan to set that possibility in motion.
Santa shows up at Matthew’s house and at first Matthew can’t place him, but then the memories of his first kiss flood his mind and he is shocked to find that Santa is the man he has carried a torch for since high school. Will this twist of fate help Matthew change his view on the holidays? Only a kiss can tell.
REVIEW:
Matthew doesn’t like Christmas. It wasn’t always like that, but six years ago something happened and ever since then he really hates the holidays. Oh, rationally he knows he should let it go, especially because it doesn’t really hurt any more. But he just can’t do it.
Then one day he is in line with his niece, Hannah, for Santa. When his eyes meet Santa’s he knows they look familiar, but he can’t place them. His niece then sits on Santa’s lap and asks for something, which the department store Santa won’t reveal.
That night Matthew gets his own visit from Santa…
This is a typical Christmas story, short and sweet, very sweet. Of course that’s how we like our holiday stories, or else we wouldn’t be reading them, right? Most of the Advent stories are also a tad predictable, which I don’t happen to mind this time a year. This particular one is no exception, and I got that warm fuzzy feeling which I was looking for in my Christmas reads. The author nailed that part. But there was one little thing I missed (okay maybe not that little) There wasn’t enough emotion in the bit where Matthew realized who Santa really is and why he wants to be with him. Not a lot of thought either. It’s not a major problem for me, but just a little nagging feeling I had when I finished reading.
So, in conclusion; a sweet, romantic holiday story that I can recommend for a fast read before bed. Well written and entertaining!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Thanks for the review. I love a sweet Christmas story.
A cute story. Thank you for the review. 🙂
I love a sweet story, and this sounds cute enough for me. Thank you for the review, Marieke
A sweet Christmas story is always a good lead up to the holidays for me. Thank you for the review. I am adding this to my wishlist.
Sounds just right for me!
Another great review. And this sounds like another wonderful read. My TBR has been filled exponentially with these advent treats. Looking forward to reading all these new to me titles. Thanks you!
This is also another favorite of mine from advent collection this year; thanks for the review
Sarah Hadley is a new author to me. I notice she also story in an another anthology. Thanks for the heads up!
Sounds sweet, thank you for your honest review.
Thank you for the review. Happy New Year =)
Thanks for the review, it looks like this is a sweet perfect Christmas read. I put it on my tbr list. Happy New Year !!
Congrats to Ami, Tanja & H.B winning the three prizes!
That is awesome. Thank you so much.