Reviewed by Kat & Sadonna
TITLE: A No-Strings Noel
AUTHOR: Annabelle Jacobs
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 204 Pages
RELEASE DATE: November 18, 2022
BLURB:
A week of no-strings fun in a winter wonderland setting. No consequences, no expectations, no hurt feelings. Right?
Henry:
Finding his boyfriend in a compromising position leaves him with a week off work and no holiday to go on.
A night of vodka, ice cream, and his sister’s sympathetic ear is the only way to deal with it.
It’s also how he finds himself on holiday alone a few weeks later, at an English holiday village in the countryside, surrounded by Christmas cheer and happy families.
He’s expecting a week of relaxing days and early nights, doing his own thing, and taking some time for himself. And hopefully finding some festive spirit along the way, because it’s sorely lacking at the moment.
What he’s not expecting is Dom.
Dom:
Coming to somewhere so familiar soothes his broken heart after yet another failed attempt at finding someone to settle down with. He’s ready. They never are.
Seeing a lost-looking stranger on the first day of his holiday triggers his protective instincts, so he steps in to give him some helpful advice.
Who knew that advice would mean they end up spending the day and then the whole week together? But he figures a holiday fling is exactly what he needs to get through this slump: no expectations, no misunderstandings, no heartbreak.
Or that was the plan.
He knows Henry wants more, but he doesn’t trust himself where his heart’s concerned.
He doesn’t trust Henry not to break it.
A Christmas MM romance featuring a meet-cute, a sexy holiday fling, a meddling but awesome sister, a teeny bit of angst, and a festive HEA.
REVIEW by Kat
What could be more fun than a week of no-strings fun and sex for two men just off from bad relationships?
Henry doesn’t have the best luck with men but even he didn’t foresee coming home to seeing his boyfriend balls-deep in the neighbor. At least he had the decency to be wear a condom so that should have been some consolation. After getting drunk commiserating with his big sister he agrees to go on holiday to a resort since he’s not going on the ski trip with Kyle. Dom is returning to his favorite holiday getaway only he’s now alone after he and his fiancé broke up. When he spots the attractive man looking confused he befriends him and offers to take him about to show him the ropes. When attraction leads to hand holding, and hand holding leads to a dinner invitation and then kissing and frotting a week of no-strings sex and fun seems the perfect answer. But what to do when the week goes by way too quickly and feelings started to seep in?
I liked both men but their lack of faith in their own worth and trust got to be a bit much. Their dialogues in there heads, that took them out of the moment all the times, should have clued them in that this was becoming something more! And their lack of communicating what they were thinking and starting to feel got a bit tedious after awhile. I appreciated that those that cared about them the most gave them the shoves that they eventually needed.
This is written in England English and there were times I didn’t have a clue what the author was trying to convey. That would take me completely out of the moment as I tried to decipher what she was aiming for or saying.
Although I liked both men and wanted them to get their HEA I got a bit frustrate with the amount of angst that what written. If you are texting each other for two weeks after you no-strings sexathon is done then maybe you need to man up and talk about what you want/need and where this is moving! Just saying.
RATING:
REVIEW by SADONNA
Henry walks in on his BF of six months Kyle really giving to his neighbor Mika. In fact they are so into it, they don’t even notice Henry until he starts speaking to them 🙂 Kyle can’t really be bothered. But Henry is done. He’s down in the dumps as it’s holiday time and he’ll be on his own. He doesn’t love his job at Tesco (for non-UK folks, think like Meijer or Super Target or something like that) and he lives with three of his mates since he’s just finished uni and he’s looking to find his dream job at some point. He goes straight to his sister Ella’s to commiserate. He’s taking vacation time for a ski trip that Kyle had planned, despite Henry’s lack of experience and fear of heights. So Ella get it in her head for him to do something else and books him in at a Holiday park (I don’t know what the US equivalent would be for this except for maybe a resort with cabins and activities).
Once Henry arrives at the park, he feels like a fish out of water. In swoops Dom, a guy who can tell Henry has no idea what he’s signed up for 🙂 Dom is also just out of a relationship with a long term BF and he’s hoping to relax before things get really hectic for the Christmas season. He offers to show Henry the ropes, so to speak 😉 But Henry and Dom hit it off pretty quickly. They decide that a nice weeklong no-strings attached fling would be good for both of them. Both guys are on board for just that.
Somewhere along the way, it’s pretty obvious that they both have caught some feelings. But both are a little afraid that they are making too much of this thing between them. It’s only sex right? And a good time? As the week goes on though, they spend time doing things they both enjoy, eating meals, taking walks, swimming, playing games, cooking together. And then there is the glorious sex. Dom also helps Henry face one of this greatest fears. And because he doesn’t push but rather supports, Henry is able to make some changes. If only they had more than a week and lived closer. Things end on a rather vague goodbye.
When Henry gets home, he realizes how much he misses just talking to Dom. He reached out via text and they start chatting a bit. Then things get a little more heated. At some point though, Dom doesn’t respond and Henry thinks he’s blown it. He’s never had success in a relationship before, so he’s not sure if he’s on steady ground or not. Dom is also worried that maybe he and Henry aren’t in the same place in life or want the same thing. He’s also afraid to talk about it, so they go nowhere fast. Then a little serendipity forces them to communicate – just in time!
I really enjoyed this story. It’s a fairly low-angst story of two guys who get together for a fling and maybe it can be so much more, if only they can figure things out and communicate. I loved Dom’s family and his friends who push him to go for it and be honest with Henry. I loved Ella and her pushy and nosy ways. Without her, I doubt Dom and Henry would have sorted themselves out. I loved the UK Christmas vibe and the way that both men got real with their misgivings, insecurities and desires – even though it took them a couple of tries. Both guys are deserving of love and an HEA and I was happy to see them get past things and give it a real go.
If you’re in the mood for a forced proximity story of a fling that turns into more with the backdrop of a love holiday, then this might be the book for you. Recommended 🙂
RATING: 
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