Reviewed by Louisa
TITLE: Came Upon a Midnight Clear 
SERRIES: A 2017 Riptide Holiday Charity Novel
AUTHOR: Katie Porter
PUBLISHER: Riptide Publishing
LENGTH: 291 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 20th 2017
BLURB:
Up-and-coming film producer Kyle Wakefield lives in the closet rather than risk the wrath of his influential, conservative parents. The only time he took a chance on love was a tempestuous teenage affair with Nathan Carnes. But when Nathan proved himself hell-bent on self-destruction and wound up in prison, Kyle closed off his heart.
Almost a decade later, Kyle’s production partner hires Nathan’s stunt company, Second Chances, to work on a big-budget action film in London. Nate is floored by his explosive reunion with Kyle. But he sure as hell isn’t surprised that Kyle still treats their mutual needs—and Nate—like dirty little secrets.
As the London holiday season casts its dazzling spell, the two men find themselves falling in love again. Kyle is one breathless kiss away from declaring himself to Nate—and to the world—but they cannot ignore secrets borne of youthful mistakes. To protect their bright new future, Kyle and Nathan will need all their passion and trust . . . and a little Christmas magic.
REVIEW:
Came Upon a Midnight Clear by Katie Porter is a Christmas book without huge amounts of fluff. I enjoyed the more serious side to this Christmas story and I really like the fact that it was part of a charity serries. The story certainly has the flair of the two main characters being from different sides of the tracks. They have a shared past of going to an elite boarding school, Kyle because his parents are wealthy and Nathan because of a scholarship. But after school Kyle went to Yale and Nate (Nathan) to prison.
This book has a lot of sex. And I do mean a lot. And I found myself skim reading parts of the sex because, for me, there was just too much of it. I also found that the lack of loving connection in the sex made it hard to connect with. The men don’t fall into bed together, they come together and screw. It really didn’t hold an emotional connection for me.
The two MC’s are also fairly awkward. Kyle is a rich, up and coming and influential man who wears expensive suits and hides from the world. Nate is the ex-con, desperate to make his stunt crew company pay off. They don’t have a lot of depth for me. I would have enjoyed more character development. The secondary characters are fairly good, especially Steph, Kyle’s production partner.
The thing that I really enjoyed, was reading the stunts being performed. The descriptions were great and the emotions for both Nate and Kyle were really well written. I could feel the thrill and the concern from both of them. They are probably the parts of the book that I enjoyed the most.
So overall, I just didn’t connect to this book. But if you are looking for some Christmas spirit and a whole bunch of sex, this might be the one for you. Christmas stories are really good for the whole year!
RATING: 3 hearts
BUY LINKS: