Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: To Touch the Light 
SERIES: Irons and Works
AUTHOR: E.M. Lindsey
PUBLISHER: self-published
LENGTH: 170 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 5, 2019
BLURB:
“I see them…In you, I see them.”
Estranged from his family and locked in a demanding job which monopolizes all of his time, Head Chef, Mario Garcia, doesn’t exactly have holiday spirit. He spends all season creating magic for others, and for himself, he’s resigned to another lonely winter. There’s a reason he’s known as the Devil in Fairfield Resort’s high-end kitchen, and he has no plans to change that. What most people don’t realize, however, is that Chef Garcia has a soft spot for one man—a half-blind, Russian dishwasher who is the first person in years to make Mario feel.
Viktor Popov’s life is full of secrets and lies. He showed up in Fairfield with a handful of suspicious papers, no past, and secured a job in the bowels of a resort kitchen. He spends his waking hours washing dishes and trying his best to manage his failing eyesight without anyone taking notice. Once upon a time, he was a man of wealth and reputation, and now he’s living day-to-day, hoping no one will ever take notice.
It’s been forever since Vitya believed in anything, and these long years of loneliness only proved to him that miracles didn’t exist. At least, until the night when warm hands pulled him out of the cold, and a soft voice whispered in his ear that he mattered.
Life isn’t easy, and both men have never expected any different. But maybe, by the soft light of the menorah, both men will finally be able to see that for each other, they’re exactly what they need.
To Touch the Light is a 43,000 word holiday novel set in the Irons and Works Universe. This book contains no cheating and an HEA.
REVIEW:
Mario is the rather hard ass Chef at a resort in Colorado. He’s really good at his job and it’s the thing that has sustained him. He’s fought very very hard to get where he is. He’s not had it easy and he’s very closed off to a lot of things because it’s not gone well for him. In the personal relationships department, he’s not been able to find someone who really can see him – the real him. But maybe, just maybe he can have that with an unlikely person.
Viktor or Vitya to his far away friends and family is barely scraping by. His command of English isn’t great. He doesn’t have the right papers and his old life is far out of his reach now. He spends long days washing dishes at the resort. His failing eyesight has made him the target of a number of the staff at the resort. But his one bright shining light is Chef Garcia. He always seems to look out for him and take his side when he’s being abused. He’s compassionate in a way that Viktor hasn’t experienced in a long time. And that is one of the only things that is keeping him going in his cold and darkening world.
When Vitya is injured in a collision thanks to a thoughtless employee and Mario steps in, things begin to change between them. And when Mario insists on doing a Hanukkah dinner at the resort, it turns out that Vitya is more than a little help 😉 And when Vitya becomes ill, Mario can’t just stand by and makes sure that he’s well taken care of and doesn’t suffer any additional loss. This begins a definitive change in their relationship. And it’s this new phase that leads both men to see that there might be more than survival for them – that they might be able to grab some love and happiness as well.
E.M. Lindsey is a new author to me so this was the first book I’ve read by them. but it definitely won’t be the last. I absolutely adored this story. First, I’m always happy to see another Hanukkah story as there never seem to be enough of them. This book touches on a quite a few issues, but I thought they were beautifully done. Chef Mario is definitely tough in his kitchen, but he’s soft on Viktor 🙂 He can’t put his finger on it, but he’s protective of the man. And Viktor “sees” Chef as his bright spot in an otherwise quite dark and bleak world. His story is truly heartbreaking and I can’t help but wonder how many of these stories there are out there – just unseen. But Mario sees Viktor and knows that there is much more below the surface of this man. When Viktor shares his story, Mario realizes he was right. And so Mario begins to trust Viktor with his secrets as well. I found the way their relationship had some few steps forward/few steps back to be believable and sweet. Vitya wants to help Mario in his own small way but he knows he’s got real feelings for him and that makes him even more vulnerable than he already is with his poverty and his failing sight. He’s not sure he’ll survive without him. But Mario is in the same situation which makes for some very lovely moments as they confess their feelings and their hopes and most importantly share their fears and vulnerabilities. And I loved the epilogue! This was really just so beautifully and sensitively written from both Mario’s and Viktor’s POVs. I was so invested in these two finding a way to address their obstacles and grab their happily ever after. I cannot wait to read more from this author who displays a deep empathy and thoughtfulness for characters that are not always front and center in romance novels. Highly recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Amazon