Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Irises in the Snow
AUTHOR: Isabelle Adler
PUBLISHER: NineStar Press
LENGTH: 97 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 4, 2019
BLURB:
It’s Christmas, and Justin’s life is fraying at the edges. The family business he took over instead of going to art school is bleeding money, and his boyfriend of seven months cheated on him. Under these circumstances, family gatherings can be rough, but Justin believes he has everything under control. That is, until Elliot, his former best friend (and the first guy to ever break his heart) unexpectedly shows up at the holiday dinner party.
With both of them still nursing the wounds of the past, it might take a real Christmas miracle for Justin and Elliot to learn to appreciate the art of second chances.
REVIEW:
Justin is looking forward to the holidays with his family. Things have really been going badly for him lately. His family business is failing. He discovered his boyfriend cheating on him. He still lives in his same small town above said failing business and his only real friend is the owner of the independent coffee shop across the street. So he really needs some cheering up. But when he walks into the first holiday dinner, who should be there, but his former best friend/first love who bolted town years before. Yeah – sooooo not what he needed.
Turns out that Elliot is in town to settle and finalize family business. As he’s alone for the holidays, Kelly, Justin’s mom, has invited him to spend the holidays with their family. AWKWARD! Seems that when they went their separate ways years ago, things didn’t go so well for Justin. He wanted Elliot to go, but he didn’t think Elliot would just cut him off, so it’s a bit of a shock – and not necessarily a good one – to see him after literally nothing for years. He’s not sure he can handle the whole holiday week with all these reminders of what he missed out on right in his face while everything else is going wrong as well.
Without being spoilery, there are a lot of unresolved issues for Justin and Elliot. They were each others firsts of a lot of things. But they’ve lost touch and aren’t in sync any more. Justin realizes just how much he’s missed his best friend and how uninspired his life has been. He’s grateful for his family, but he’s kind of missing his own life. Elliot’s life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be either. But the question is, can they find a way forward where they can both be happy?
This story was a lot more dark than I expected. There is just a lot of tragedy in this book for these young guys. Having experienced early tragedy in my own life, I kind of related to how it really does derail hopes and dreams. Sometimes permanently. Sometimes not. I felt for Justin who definitely felt stuck and trapped. Sometimes when your family needs you, sacrifices have to be made and he’s done that. He’s having a hard time moving forward and living his own life. Elliot feels guilty and while he’s achieved a lot he’s not really been happy. I really liked seeing Justin decide to just stand up for himself. I also liked his family a lot – especially his sister and his mom. This is definitely a hard won victory for these two. Recommended especially for those who love second chances and overcoming obstacles stories.
RATING: 
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