Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Handmade Holidays
SERIES: Little Village
AUTHOR: Nathan Burgoine
NARRATOR: Giancarlo Herrera
PUBLISHER: Dominant Trident Books
LENGTH: 2 hours and 25 minutes
RELEASE DATE: November 16, 2021
BLURB:
At 19, Nick is alone for the holidays and facing reality: This is how it will be from now on. Refusing to give up completely, Nick buys a Christmas tree, and then realizes he has no ornaments. A bare tree and an empty apartment aren’t a great start, but a visit from his friend Haruto is just the ticket to get him through this first, worst Christmas. A box of candy canes and a hastily folded paper crane might not be the best ornaments, but it’s a place to start.
A year later, Nick has realized he’s not the only one with nowhere to go, and he hosts his first “Christmas for the Misfit Toys”. Haruto brings Nick an ornament for Nick’s tree, and a tradition — and a new family — is born. As years go by, Nick, Haruto, and their friends face love, betrayal, life, and death. Every ornament on Nick’s tree is another year, another story, and another chance at the one thing Nick has wanted since the start: someone who’d share more than the holidays with him.
Of course, Nick might have already missed his shot at that one, and it might be too late. Still, after 15 Christmases, Nick is ready to risk it all for the best present yet.
REVIEW:
Nick has been abandoned by his family because he is gay. He’s working as many hours as he can at the mall and has a crappy little apartment. He brings home a leftover tree hoping to add a little holiday cheer to his otherwise sad apartment. His friend Haruto drops by with a small gift and helps him put the tree together. But when he realizes he has no ornaments, he gets even more depressed. But Haruto’s gift serves more than one purpose and saves the day.
Thereafter, Nick hosts an annual get together for his friends who have no family ties. These other LGBTQ individuals combine to make a sort of found family. They dub this the “Christmas for Misfit Toys” after the Rudolf story with the Island of Misfit Toys 😀 As the years go on, the group changes and adds more member. Nick and Haruto move through the years sharing a special ornament bond each year. They move through different relationships that don’t seem to quite fit. Their lives move on with loves and losses, children coming into the mix and others moving on, but the core continues. Nick tries to follow his dreams. After 15 years, he finally sees exactly what is in front of him and decides to risk it all.
This is a fantastic shorter audio that I just fell in love with. The author and narrator were both new to me. This story is a wonderful stroll through the lives of a group of friends who become family. Nick and Haruto form the initial pair of friends and they are the heart of the story. I don’t want to spoil the story because I really think it’s best to experience how things change from year to year and what this group of friends means to each other and how they either are or aren’t there for each other. There are some hard truths to be learned – even within their own group. Each year, things change and grow and the friends continue to support each other. The friends to lovers over the 15 years is just absolutely beautiful. I loved every second of it. The narrator does a fabulous job with all the various voices and I was just pulled in from the get go. Highly recommended!
RATING: 
BUY LINKS:
Audible