Reviewed by Lisa
TITLE: Twenty-nine Hours to Eternity
SERIES: 2018 Advent Calendar – Warmest Wishes
AUTHOR: Elizabeth Noble
PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press
LENGTH: 25 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2018
BLURB:
Being gay and pagan can make for a lonely holiday season, as Ian knows well. He’s used to celebrating alone. The last place he expects to meet a like-minded guy is at LAX during a twenty-nine hour layover.
Ian’s never felt so comfortable or compatible with another man, even if there is an air of mystery to Race.
Race is no stranger to holiday isolation, and he decides they should seize the opportunity they’ve been given and observe the Saturnalia the way it was meant to be. A grand celebration ensues, where every moment is special and every meal a feast. The ancient traditions take on new meaning as the men find meaning in each other. But each of them has a destiny and for their paths to continue together, it’ll take a kind of magic that hasn’t been seen in centuries.
REVIEW:
I don’t recall ever seeing a holiday story with pagan MCs, so I was intrigued by the blurb. I really feel like there should be more stories that feature holidays other than Christmas. I also liked the sound of magic being included in the story.
Ian is an airline flight attendant stuck in LAX over the holiday while he’s waiting to fly out to his next job destination.
Race is following a sense that he should be there at that particular time but he’s not exactly sure why.
The guys run into each other, find out they’re both pagan and make plans to hang out together while waiting for their respective flights.
Although I enjoyed the story, it was clear from the beginning it wasn’t going to be what I thought. Other than the guys briefly mentioning they’re both pagan and that they both celebrate Saturnalia instead of Christmas, there wasn’t any other history or descriptions of the celebrations.
I felt like their love story was rushed due to the word count limitations. Because of the way the story starts there wasn’t any surprise for me at the ending. I would have liked to have seen more descriptions of how the Saturnalia holiday is typically celebrated. I would recommend this story to people who like action/adventure type stories, modern mythology tales, or fated mates.
RATING:
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Interesting premise. Thanks for the review!
(Another title to add to my ever expanding to-read list!)
Thank you for the review. I would have given this a try but seeing as there isn’t any history or descriptions of the celebrations I’m not sure I’ll try it.
I might give this one a try.
I never ran across a Pagan story either. I wasn’t sure what Saturnalia was in the blurb but appreciate the review giving me an idea of what it was.
Sounds like there’s potential, at least!
Oh, I was hoping for.more about saturnalia as well.
Thanks for the review. I liked this story, but would have liked it a bit longer.