Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: A Refuge Bay Christmas: Their Daughter’s First Christmas
AUTHOR: Susan Saxx
SERIES: The Refuge Bay Holiday Series
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
LENGTH: 210 pages
RELEASE DATE: December 14, 2020
BLURB:
Two Gay Men. Their Adopted Daughter. Her First Real Christmas.
Welcome to Refuge Bay. Where trouble is brewing in a young girl’s heart this holiday season…
When Nathan and Og fell in love, little did they realize their union would end up in an adoption: that of the six-year old runaway child they found at Hope House. Now her first Christmas is fast approaching, and everything is hard for the orphan who’s never had a real family. She’s still dealing with ghosts of the past, and she’s trying to do it alone. How can Nathan, Og, and the whole gang at Hope House show her everything Christmas can be, in a forever family? Most importantly, how can they make sure that the Refuge Bay community’s unparalleled Christmas magic will work its special miracle…on her?
REVIEW:
A Refuge Bay Christmas: Their Daughter’s First Christmas is a continuation of the book’s predecessor, Nathan Unwrapped. Nathan and Og met when Og was considering investing in Nathan’s project, Hope House. One night they find a young girl, Trasher, hiding in Nathan’s barn. She’s a runaway from her latest foster home. Within a short period of time, Nathan and Og fall in love and jointly adopt her.
Now, the three are approaching their first Christmas together. The storyline centers around the men providing Trasher with the best Christmas ever because she’s never lived in a stable, loving home. It also comes to light that no one knows Trasher’s birthdate, including the girl herself, so their goal is to incorporate that celebration, too. Included in the festivities are Nathan’s best friend and business partner, Zach, and Zach’s boyfriend, Galen. This highlights one of the problems I have with the book, because at the end of the last book, Galen was a minor character and not involved with Zach. Suddenly Zach and Galen are an established couple and several plot points which must be from Zach’s book, Zach Undone, are referenced but don’t make any sense. Apparently, Zach Undone was supposed to be published before this one.
There are inconsistencies and more than a few plot holes that are distracting, as well. In this book, Trasher is said to be younger than she was in the previous book. Palmer, a wealthy, uppity clean-freak is happy sleeping on the floor of the centuries old house. Og says, of his adopted daughter, “She’s not really my daughter”. What adoptive parent speaks like that? Furthermore, the book loses authenticity with the use of British spelling among an all-American cast, and things mentioned like Yorkshire pudding.
This book just didn’t work for me; specifically, I didn’t care for the writing style. Nothing about it carried me away into the story. The narrative lags and at times is mired in unnecessary details. The book tries to be a standalone but the regurgitation of information from Nathan Unwrapped is off-putting. The dialogue was often stilted and inorganic. I like most of the characters but didn’t feel connected to them.
One high point of the story was the inclusion of Og’s boss, Palmer, who gets stuck at the family’s home for a few days. He is the “Grinch in the room”, a man who doesn’t celebrate Christmas and hardly recognizes its existence. The way Trasher transforms him, in the style of Cindy Lou Hoo, is endearing.
I suspect this might be an “it’s me, not the book” situation, so if you enjoyed Nathan Unwrapped with its charming, rural setting and family of characters, I think you’ll like A Refugee Bay Christmas: Their Daughter’s First Christmas. I don’t think it works well as a standalone, though.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: