Reviewed by Becca
TITLE: Stocking Stuffers
SERIES: Anthology
AUTHOR: H.Q. Kingsley, Meredith Spies, Angelo Diaz, Denise Wells, Megs Pritchard, J.P. Sayle, Colette Davison, Alie Nolan
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 728 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 1, 2019
BLURB:
An MM holiday romance anthology. A collection of sweet, sexy, fun holiday stories from MM authors.
REVIEW:
This was a pretty good collection of stories for the holidays. Some were really good, some left me wanting more. But it’s a good collection for the holidays. Some are super sexy and some are so intimate it almost hurts. But it’s what makes each story special in it’s way and different. I think overall, it’s a good anthology people will enjoy.
In Fix Me Up, by H.Q. Kingsley, Nettles is getting away to his aunt’s cabin in the mountains to work on his dissertation. But the experiment he was doing went wrong and exploded, causing the lid to fly out a great ways. When he finds it, he finds someone who was hurt by it, and it happened to be his old friend/enemy, Ian. He struggles to get him to the cabin and help him and all he seems to get for his troubles is Ian yelling at him constantly. He didn’t mean for Ian to get hurt. And Ian just thinks Nettles thinks he’s better than everyone else and gets defensive at everything. They end up coming to a compromise, but it may take a Christmas miracle to get these two to stop snarking at each other and remember when they were actually friends.
Communication is always key. Where Ian always thought Nettles was above everyone, he was so far from the truth, it wasn’t funny. Nettles was just passionate about his work as Ian was about snowboarding. He has a smart brain and he is actually very shy. Not at all what Ian thinks of him. But instead of talking it out, they just grew apart and Ian got resentful over something he shouldn’t have. Completely unfair. If anything, I think Nettles should be the one ticked off. He was judged harshly and wrong and it wasn’t right to lash out at him over something that was an accident. I don’t know. I just didn’t like Ian’s attitude at first. Like that saying ‘Never judge a book by it’s cover.’ Well, Ian totally did and I just think Nettles was the bigger person about it by not reacting any more than he did.
Not a bad story though. Angsty of course. Gives it that edge you need.
In Jingle My Balls, by Meredith Spies, we venture into the prejudices of the supernatural world. Demon-born are considered lower than slime, yet if it weren’t for them, the witches who hate them wouldn’t have magic at all. And while some don’t hate demon-born like Rowan, it’s not enough to sway the ones who do. But what makes things even worse for Rowan, is the mixed signals he’s getting from Whitaker, one of the witches in the oldest prominent family. He claims to want to see Rowan be able to join the council, but doesn’t stand up for him when it counts. But both their grandmothers had something in mind to end this mess, and when it came to a head, the greed and power were trying to be fatal.
Prejudices against anyone are so pointless. And it’s stupid for sure when the beings that give you the magic are the ones you shun. But it’s even worse when the ones who claim to adore you, shun you in the same instance. I felt so bad for Rowan. It was seriously not fair to him to be treated like garbage the way he was. Or any of his kind. Especially after all his kind had done for others. But no one wanted to remember that part. They all wanted to conveniently forget what had been done for them. It’s another one of those moments where we need to be able to reach through the books to slap someone. But I loved Rowan. He never gave up. Even when he wanted to, he kept going. Trying to do what he was supposed to and be the best he could be. Even in the midst of all that hatred and greed. That takes character and he’s just the best.
Angelo Diaz brings us a story called, Jake’s Heart for Christmas, that made me cry so bad. Jake has been talking with Declan online for over a year and somehow they’re so comfortable with each other, they tell each other everything. They’re best friends, even though they’ve technically never met. But when Declan loses his girlfriend and his business due to betrayals, Jake figures it’s time to get him out of his funk and meet and spend time together. Declan agrees and when they meet, it’s the best feeling ever for both of them. And Declan is starting to learn something about himself. Especially after a kiss under the mistletoe. But is what he’s feeling real or is it a rebound? And if it’s real, can Jake’s heart really be his for Christmas?
This made me cry so bad. Sad tears then happy tears. I wanted so bad for Jake and Declan to get together. They were just perfect for each other. But with Declan being straight, Jake had to aim his crush elsewhere. Until Declan realized some things about himself after being with Jake. And it was so beautiful. They had an intimacy from being friends that was just amazing already and the feelings of more just made it that much more special. I loved these two. They finally both seemed to get what they’ve both really needed for so long. Someone to love them for them and for real. *sigh*
Next, we have Rebel Without a Clause by Denise Wells. Nick is a struggling actor, working part time jobs to have money to pay rent on a crappy place. While he’s working a bartending gig for a company party, he serves a drink to a man that makes him sizzle when they connect. But the woman hanging on him make him think he’s straight. Then he sees the man again with a woman and two kids and thinks he’s a cheater on top of being married and a father. But when he finally gets to hear from Kris’s lips that they aren’t his kids or wife, but sister and relatives, it’s too late. Kris is gone. And trying to catch him is impossible. But Kris tries to get closer to Nick by playing Santa and it works for a bit, until Nick finds out who Kris really is. And the money becomes an issue. So now it’s up to both of them to find some even ground or it’s going to be over before it starts.
It’s hard on a relationship when you basically come from two different worlds. It’s kind of like the whole Pretty Woman movie. When the worlds collide, it’s often not with good results. The money friends think you’re a gold digger and you know they have nothing in common with poor people that could be your friends. At least that’s how it often seems. But if you truly want something to work, you both have to work past all that and move forward. Find common ground. Quit worrying that money is going to break you. It doesn’t mean you are a kept person or that you have a sugar daddy. It just means that someone has a bit more money. And if it’s one of those people that are good about it and not one of those snobs that think they’re better than everyone because they have money, then that’s even better. It means they were raised right and not raised to be buttheads. It just takes swallowing some pride on both counts and finding common ground. And lots of communication.
In the next one, we have All Wrapped Up by Megs Pritchard. Best friends for years, Roan and Crispin were basically attached at the hip. But just as friends. Both had marriages that ended in divorce, and still they were there for each other. But for Crispin, things are changing. He’s fallen in love with his best friend. He doesn’t know when it changed for him, but it has. And telling Roan has caused a rift between them that is breaking Crispin’s heart. He didn’t want to lose his friend, but he had to tell him how he felt. Now it’s up to Roan to decide where they go from there. Do they move apart, stay friends and forget it was said, or finally move forward into new ground?
It sucks when you feel for someone who you aren’t sure will love you back. Whether gay, straight or somewhere in between, it’s hard. And when you feel like you’ve lost not a possible lover but your best friend, life just seems to stop. It’s so painful. But Crispin knew he couldn’t go on in his life without ever letting Roan how he felt. And I felt for him. It broke my heart and I cried with him. Even if they could never be partners or lovers, he didn’t want to lose his best friend. But what do they do? I just wanted to hug him so hard. When you think you’ve been straight all this time, and your feelings change, it’s huge. So I felt for both of them really. They had a lot they needed to work through to get past the awkwardness. And to decide if they were going to be friends, more or what. A sweet but heart wrenching story.
In A Christmas Wish by J.P. Sayle, we have to deal with a few things. It doesn’t go into great detail but there is an incident of attempted rape.Roman as his forever. He had to leave for now, because his parents job. But he would be back t But in this one, it all comes down to a vow a 17 yr old made. It was his Christmas wish to have o find Roman and make him his. Claim him. Let him know he’s loved. Hopefully, Roman would still be single. When Donavan moves back and finds out Roman is still single, he’s happy because it’s time to stake his claim. And with the help of Roman’s brother, they make a plan for it to happen. And if Donavan thought he was in love before, the new Roman made him even more so. He was as beautiful as he always has been and Donavan wanted him. But he knew he’d have to move slow. Some things happened in Roman’s past and it would take a bit of patience to get through it all.
I hate people who body shame. It’s bad enough that the people with the bodies have trouble looking in mirrors or stepping on scales, but to be made fun of and put down is just pure hell. And like Donavan, I wanted to rip the guy’s throat out. Roman was perfect just the way he was. He was sweet, adorable, and got so much pleasure from the little things in life. But I loved that Donavan was willing to wait even more for him. He knew it would take Roman time to settle in and believe someone actually wanted him and Donavan was more than willing to wait. I loved it.
Colette Davison brings us One Room at the Inn. Three old high school friends, caught in a snow storm on their way home for the holidays. One room left at the inn and they agree to share. But what happened is that secrets on how they feel and felt about each other are suddenly told and everything is changing. Where they felt awkward at first, now they are missing each other and want to make it work. Can they really patch things up after 8 years and make it work, or is it just going to be one night of their dreams?
When friends grow apart, it’s sad sometimes. Especially when they had been so close before. Best friends. Getting in trouble and who knows what. But lives change and they’ve gone their separate ways. When they get together in the inn, they learn a lot about each other they never knew. Playing a drinking game could have been a dangerous thing, but it lowered their inhibitions enough to finally get out how they felt about each all along. But for one, it was a bit harder. He wasn’t out, but meeting his friends again and after their night together, he knew he couldn’t hide anymore. Coming out is never easy, especially when you are almost positive the reaction you get is not going to be a good one. But sometimes, people surprise you. Even friends. And you have to learn, sometimes it’s ok to let go and grab life by the jingle balls and go with the flow.
And last but not least, Until After Christmas by Alie Nolan. I think this one was my favorite. It’s hard when you lose your family over being gay, or different, doesn’t matter how you look at it. The fact is, parents should love their children no matter what. Doesn’t mean they can’t be disappointed, but love doesn’t come with strings. Or isn’t supposed to. So when Callum and Henry strike up a conversation at the Christmas party, Henry agrees to be Callum’s fake boyfriend for the holidays. But what Henry doesn’t expect, is he gets the family he always wanted. Without strings. And between them and how he’s really feeling about Callum, it’s becoming too much. And he runs. And it’s up to Callum to show him it’s ok to be loved and have family.
It breaks my heart when parents make their love come with strings attached. Like we will love you, but only if you aren’t gay. We will love you, but only if you act this way. Love doesn’t work that way. Love is supposed to be unconditional. So I get how Henry feels when he finally finds a family that not only accepts their son, but accepts him as one of their own. It’s overwhelming. It’s like finally being able to breathe but having your breath taken away at the same time. It hurts. But what makes it better, is when you find that love is finally unconditional. It may not be blood family, but it’s family all the same. Doesn’t mean the hurt isn’t still there. But the love helps make it so much better. Because you finally feel like you belong. Like you are finally loved for who you are and not who you are supposed to be. And it’s freeing.
RATING: 
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