Like the last few years we at Love Bytes are reviewing the whole DSP advent calender

There will be a review posted each day (except Sundays and Holidays so some days will have two reviews instead) throughout the month of December.

Let us know what you think of the reviews and the stories and have a chance to win a fabulous giveaway.

First Prize: 10 Dreamspinner Press ebooks (winner’s choice)

Second Prize: 5 Dreamspinner Press ebooks (winner’s choice)

Third Prize: 3 Dreamspinner Press ebooks (winner’s choice)

Reviewed by Becca

TITLE: Christmas Ghosts

SERIES: 2019 Advent Calendar – Homemade for the Holidays

AUTHOR: Jenn Moffatt

PUBLISHER: Dreamspinner Press

LENGTH: 45 pages

RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2019

BLURB:

Dealing with the unexpected loss of his mother isn’t how carpenter Steve Browning planned to spend his Christmas. Hoping her costume jewelry can bring some happiness to others, he takes it to the local community theater, where he runs into his first love, Troy Baxter.

Troy’s trying to help his sister put on a gender-fluid version of A Christmas Carol, but no one on the cast or crew knows which end of a hammer to hold let alone use a power tool. Then a face from the past brings a present-day miracle… one that could lead to the happy future they both thought they gave up back in high school.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Calendar “Homemade for the Holidays.”

REVIEW:

Man, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry during this little story, so I did both. It deals with death and loss, but hope for a better future and life.

Steve feels guilt like you wouldn’t believe. He feels like he should have known something was wrong with his mom, but she wasn’t letting anyone know. She just told him and his brother Pete, to live life to the fullest and to keep moving on. Love like you’ve never loved before and be happy. But it’s hard to be happy when there’s so much grief. But it changes some when he sees his first lover and best friend, Troy. It brought back all the old feelings and memories they had and old guilt that things fell apart with them. But he was struggling back then with something else and it was too much for the both of them. Now older and maybe a bit wiser, they are picking up where they left off, with a promise to communicate. Will that help this time or will it fall apart again?

Dealing with grief is never easy. And those that are trying to help us through it often don’t get that it takes time. And some longer than others. So it was kind of the straw that broke the camel’s back for them, back then. But time and a little maturity usually help, until it comes time for grief again. And then you have to make up your mind. Are you going to be there for that person you love or let them get away again? Thankfully with being old friends it helped ease the way. And being old lovers, helped even more. They never stopped loving each other. They were each other’s everything and even though the years have gotten away, they really still are. 

It’s a sweet and sad story. I loved it. It’s hard for it being around the holidays when this happened, but sometimes it takes a little Christmas magic to make it better.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

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