Advent Calendar Review: A Holiday Tradition (Warmest Wishes Advert Calendar) by Chrissy Munder

Reviewed by Marieke

TITLE: A Holiday Tradition

SERIES: Warmest Wishes Advert Calendar

AUTHOR: Chrissy Munder

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

RESEASE DATE: December 1, 2018

LENGTH: 65 pages

BLURB:
Paul Carpenter has his life all planned out. Or at least his father does. The right school, the right degree, the right job. Paul is on track, until a bus accident has him sitting out a coveted internship, babysitting, or being babysat, by a grandfather he barely remembers during his holiday stay in a Florida RV park. His father’s reasoning? How much temptation can Paul find around a bunch of senior citizens playing bingo? There’ll be nothing to distract him from his studies.

It’s hard to muster his holiday spirit when Paul is used to snow and cold, not sun, surf, and plastic flamingos in Santa hats. But then Paul meets Kevin Lombardo, who offers to show him some new holiday traditions. Suddenly Paul’s fast track hits a curve.

REVIEW:
Paul’s dad makes him go to Florida with his grandfather, which he hasn’t seen or spoken much since his mother passed away. During the drive his grandfather asks him about being gay and his reaction is pretty funny. This sets the tone for the rest of the story.

When Paul meets Kevin he has no intention of acting on his attraction, but faith (or a horny grandfather) decides otherwise. His laptop crashes and Kevin offers him the use of the computer in the office. The next weeks are spend working on his paper and getting to know Kevin.

Kevin is smart, attractive and pretty young, and Paul wonders why he’s running a trailer park for old folks. When he gets to snoop around, he makes a surprising discovery about Kevin’s past.

This short story is one of the few that doesn’t feel too short or rushed. Of course, there are a few things that aren’t cleared up and a few things are told instead of shown, but overall it didn’t feel like a short story at all.

Paul is kind of a wuss, but the author does give us the reasons why he lets his father walk all over him. I didn’t really feel it, but I did feel Paul’s love for his father and late mother, which makes it okay.

Kevin is wonderful. He’s funny, without being too in your face about it, and knows when not to bother. You can immediately feel his interest in Paul, which I loved. Mainly because the story is from Paul’s POV, yet the affection and attraction coming from Kevin was obvious in a subtle way. That’s exactly what I like to see in Christmas stories. So, for me this was a winner.

Because there was one thing I’d loved to have ‘seen’ instead of been told, I can’t give this story a full five stars, but it does deserve four glowing ones. It’s really a warm and sweet holiday read.

RATING: