Reviewed by Valerie

TITLE:  Tic-Tac-Mistletoe

AUTHOR:  N.R. Walker

PUBLISHER:  Self-Published

LENGTH:  203 pages

RELEASE DATE:  November 27, 2020

BLURB:

Hamish Kenneally is moving from Australia to the US for a fresh start, beginning with Christmas at his sister’s place in Idaho. When a snowstorm diverts his plane to Montana and leaves him stranded two days before Christmas, he hires a car and drives right into a blizzard.

Ren Brooks has always called Hartbridge, Montana, and his family hardware store, home. After a few failed attempts at love, he’s resigned to being single forever—after all, no guy wants to stay in his sleepy little town for long. And after his dad’s passing earlier in the year, Ren’s Christmas is looking bleak. But when a car runs off the road in front of his property, Ren pulls the driver out and takes him home to get out of the cold.

With the storm and the holidays leaving Hamish with nowhere else to go, Ren kindly offers a place to stay. Hamish is certain he’s crashed right into a Hallmark Christmas movie, despite more car delays and road closures and the prospect of not seeing his sister for Christmas. And with help from Hamish, Ren is beginning to feel a little Christmas cheer.

These two unlikely strangers have more in common than they first realise, and after two days of Christmas decorations, cookies, and non-stop conversation, it looks like Christmas might be saved after all.

REVIEW:

Perhaps my film tastes aren’t particularly refined given my all-time favorite movie is Planes, Trains and Automobiles, a film about a series of travel related catastrophes and shenanigans during the holidays. This is how Tic-Tac-Mistletoe – a darling Christmas love story – begins with a diverted flight and a blizzard bound rental car driving off the road in rural Montana a few days before Christmas. 

Australian Hamish Kenneally packed up his house in Sydney and is moving to Idaho where his sister moved four years prior. After flying all day, a snowstorm strands his plane in Montana instead, hours from his sister. Hamish’s only option is to drive. Unfortunately, his rental car comes with a steering wheel on the wrong side. For an Aussie, that is. Suddenly he’s faced with driving in a blizzard (he’s never even seen snow before), on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car, with clothing and footwear inappropriate for several feet of snow, and no cell service. When his car skids off the road, gets stuck in an embankment, and won’t restart, Hamish is in the middle of nowhere and ill-prepared for survival. As he panics about serial killer bears, he’s rescued by Ren Brooks who lives nearby in the town of Hartbridge, Montana. 

There’s obviously nowhere else for Hamish to go so Ren brings him home for the night. These two are genuinely nice guys who have an immediate rapport. Ren is mesmerized by Hamish and the idea of sharing his life with someone special. He had convinced himself he was okay without a man, but now he sees the possibility and wants to grab onto it. He’s realizing he doesn’t have to settle for his current, unfulfilling existence. Hamish is also quite taken with Ren, although he’s distracted by the need to get to his sister’s home by Christmas Eve. They have a lovely few days together while snowbound, chopping down a tree, decorating, baking, and snuggling in front of the fire. It‘s just what Ren needs for his first Christmas without his recently deceased father. Hamish’s sister and her husband play a part in the Christmas festivities and further provide Ren with the sense of family he craves. 

N.R. Walker has created two masculine leading men who are unapologetically gay without being a femme, twink, or queen. They sing along with Mariah, quote Schitt’s Creek endlessly, watch piles of Hallmark movies, and share a love of Legally Blond. There’s a fabulous gay tone to Tic-Tac-Mistletoe. I found the character development to be refreshing, and enjoyed having an Australian character come to a rural American town.  

This is the sweetest of sweet books. Ren and Hamish fall in love while enjoying simple, homegrown holiday traditions. It’s warm and wonderful, and has a perfect happy ending. Plus, any book that mentions Snuffleupagus from Sesame Street is okay by me. Highly recommended.

RATING: 

BUY LINKS: 

Amazon