Advent Calendar Review: Slow Summer Heat (2018 Advent Calendar - Warmest Wishes) by Renae Kaye

Reviewed by PizzyGirl

TITLE: Slow Summer Heat

SERIES: 2018 DSP Advent Calendar

AUTHOR: Renae Kaye

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 63 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2018

BLURB:

Geoffrey Saxon is in his forties, a bit plump, a lot fuzzy, and rather boring in bed—and thanks to a very public breakup, everyone in his street knows it. However, what they don’t know is that Geoffrey sometimes watches his hot young neighbor, Vaughn, in the pool. Vaughn has invited Geoffrey to join his pool parties, but Geoffrey knows it’s only pity.

As if things can’t get worse, Geoffrey’s air conditioner breaks during a heat wave in Western Australia—and just before Christmas. In search of some relief, he camps out in his backyard, where he also has a prime view of Vaughn swimming… naked. When Geoffrey’s injured falling from his spying post, Vaughn comes to his rescue and Geoffrey doesn’t think he can be more horrified.

But he could be in for a sweet holiday surprise. Is he ready to take the dive?

REVIEW:

This was an adorable age-gap story. It was short, but it gave me everything I needed to enjoy the start of this promising relationship.

I really enjoyed getting to know these men and seeing them learn each other. Their personalities were a great match and I LOVED the snarky and humorous internal commentary. Geoffrey may have been the older MC in the pairing, but in a lot of ways, he came across as more innocent and younger. His baggage left him in a place of self- doubt and even though Vaughn was younger, he was more self confident and was the lead in this relationship. He took such great care of Geoffrey’s heart that it left me feeling warm and fuzzy and a tiny bit jealous.

I liked that even though this story was short, it never felt rushed. There was history between these men, but not so much as to forgive an instant love situation and I am grateful the author did not go that route. Yes, these men fell hard and fast, but it was based on being forced to get to know one another quickly and never felt fake or perfectly planned out. Time went by quickly, but I never felt like their development went quickly.

This was not a full relationship from start to finish. This short story was the beginning of something that I hope lasts. I would love to have another story with these men so that I could get to know Vaughn better and understand more of why Geoffrey was his choice. For me, that was my only complaint, not knowing more about Vaughn. However, I still recommend this read as it was heartwarming and highly fulfilling.

RATING: