Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Stanley’s Christmas Redemption

AUTHOR:  Gabbi Grey

PUBLISHER:  Self-published

LENGTH:  371 pages

RELEASE DATE:  May 2, 2022

BLURB:  

Stanley

I have life figured out—a good job, a nice car, and an ex-boyfriend whose heart I broke. But then my half-brother dies unexpectedly, and I go back to our hometown to settle his affairs. A quick trip before Christmas. Instead, I get the shock of my life. Do I face this new challenge or do what I’ve always done—run? Or will I stay and get to know the most amazing man I’ve ever met and take on a responsibility I’ve never dreamed of facing? This will be a holiday season like no other.

Justin

I’m a therapist who helps people deal with grief. My life is fulfilling. So what if I’ve been single for years? I have the kids I counsel and co-workers I adore. Maybe I’m tired of going home to an empty house and not looking forward to another Christmas alone. But I’m not going to be taken in by some slick city guy who can’t wait to leave town. I’m not going to upend my life just because I’ve met the man of my dreams. Right?

This is an 85K, opposites-attract, instalove, mid-angst gay romance novel. Previously published in the charity anthology Secret Santa: A Romance Collection, the story has quadrupled in size with more love, laughs, and a touch of Christmas magic.

REVIEW:

I so enjoyed this slightly bittersweet story of Justin and Stanley.  Stanley is a slightly jaded middle-aged guy who has done well for himself despite his rough upbringing.  He’s successful and has moved on from his small town to Vancouver where he’s got a pricey condo in an adults only building.

Just before Christmas, he gets a call that his half-brother Hans, who he hasn’t even seen since said brother was 6 years old has died.  He’s on his way back to his home town to settle the affairs when he hears from a counselor that his brother has a son – and 8 year old names Angus.  And unfortunately his brother’s wife Christobel has passed away a couple of years before, leaving Angus an orphan.  Hans’ will leaves everything to Stanely – including guardianship of Angus.

Unfortunately seven years earlier Stanley had left the town because he and his partner wanted different things – including a family.  Stanley’s former partner, Maddox, has moved on and married and has twins now with his new husband.  Stanley is stunned about all these turns of events.  But when he meets Angus and Justin, Angus’s counselor, things change 🙂

Justin and Stanley are attracted very much to each other.  But of course they have to tread lightly given all that Angus and Stanley to some degree are dealing with. Justin wants to do the right thing for Angus, but he’d also like Stanley to stick around too 🙂  Stanley has guilt about a lot of things that he has to deal with as well.  Justin doesn’t want to push and he doesn’t entirely trust this thing with Stanley either.

The one thing that is clear is that Angus will be taken care of one way or another. There are plenty of folks who want to make sure that he is OK.  Well as OK as a kid who has lost both of his parents in short order.  I just wanted to hug Angus throughout this story.

Yes, there is an instalove aspect of this story in that these guys kind of fall fast for each other but they are in an incredibly intense situation which pushed them together.  I really enjoyed the slow burn aspect and the way they put Angus first, even if I wish they had communicated a bit better at times.  Justin is really a bit of an old soul and his care for his patients is admirable.  I was impressed with how Stanley really became a standup guy given how he started off at the beginning of the story.  He really did put Angus first and grew up a lot himself during this story 🙂  It was really heartwarming to see this little family develop.  Definitely recommended for fans of slow burn age-gap stories with adorable kids.

RATING:

BUY LINK:

Amazon