Reviewed by Sadonna

TITLE:  Felix Navidad

SERIES:  Little Village

AUTHOR:  Nathan Burgoine

PUBLISHER:  Bold Stroke Books

LENGTH:  155 pages

RELEASE DATE:  December 13, 2022

BLURB:

Felix doesn’t do impulsive anymore. But attending a friend’s wedding reminds Felix he’s the only one of his friends attending solo, and recent losses have him thinking he’s swung too far in the not-impulsive direction.

So, impulse decision number one? Cutting in on a dance with handsome farmer Kevin, the ex of one of the grooms, for a spin at the reception. Impulse decision number two? Planning his first holiday vacation off work. Christmas in Hawai’i will be a gift to himself.

When dancing doesn’t work out, Felix keeps high hopes for his vacation right up until the first flight cancellation. After bumping into a stranded Kevin, who lost his flight home, Felix gives impulse a third try: Why not drive to Toronto together? But after ice rain strands them halfway, it looks like Felix isn’t going to get to give himself his gift after all. Instead, this Christmas is a small cabin—and Kevin.

Then again, sometimes unexpected gifts turn out to be the best.

REVIEW:

I have been a fan of this series – particularly the audio books which I have thoroughly enjoyed over the past couple of years.  I was sad this one is not available in audio because I really like the narrator, but I still wanted to read this book as it included a number of my favorite characters from other stories in these holiday novellas.  I’m really glad I did.  What an absolutely delightful story.

Felix is a Nurse Practitioner.  He is perpetually single.  One of his patients, a former drag queen, widower who is recovering from pneumonia tries to encourage Felix to be bold 🙂  He should not be single!  He is even instructed to take notes 😉

Felix attends some friends wedding.  He feels sort of meh about the whole thing, even though he is glad for his friends who are finally able to have their wedding after two delays due to COVID.  While there he sees a guy who intrigues him.  He realizes it’s the ex of one of the grooms.  He wants to ask the man to dance but he’s cut off.  He gives it s go even though it doesn’t go as planned.

He’s off to Hawai’i for a long awaited vacation just before Christmas when his flight is cancelled.  He has to get to Toronto from Ottawa so he decides to drive.  Who should also be trying to get to Toronto but Kevin, the ex from the wedding!  On impulse he offers to take Kevin along since there are no more rental cars.  Kevin agrees and they set out.  But then the weather gets worse and they end up spending more time together as they wait out the storm 😉  Maybe things will change for the better?

This was just so lovely!  I adore this universe and these characters.  This author writes such wonderful stories and really provides so much insight into their worlds.  I loved the timeline – going back a year to the present – and I loved Vanya.  It was clear that Felix loved his job and was a good guy but hadn’t quite believed enough in himself yet.  Kevin also has some things he’s dealing with and I thoroughly enjoyed their time together.  I cannot recommend this story enough.  If you’re a fan of this series, I think you will absolutely love this latest installment as the characters, the holiday warmth, the history and the relationships make it a very worthwhile read!

RATING: 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon