Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Winter Courtship 
SERIES: A Nymph Solstice Romance
AUTHOR: Gigi Rivers
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 188 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 6, 2023
BLURB:
An MM fantasy winter holiday novella.
A lonesome village blacksmith. A nymph determined to court him.
Blacksmith Ulrich struggles to connect with those in his mountain village. But at least he has his pet reindeer to keep him company through the long winter. Then one day, a nymph approaches him and declares he is courting Ulrich. He calls Ulrich “pretty.” Ulrich can’t comprehend what is happening. How can anyone call him, the uncouth, hulking blacksmith, pretty? And why does Ulrich like it?
Lutoth is part wind nymph, part mountain nymph. He has spent his whole life travelling. Now he yearns for a place to call home. He sees the blacksmith and immediately recognises him as the boy he knew years ago. His first crush. In that moment, Lutoth decides he will court Ulrich and make the man his.
However, Lutoth has never stayed still. In fact, some believe his wind nymph blood makes him incapable of it. Can Lutoth give up his wandering ways so they can be together?
Each book in the A Nymph Solstice Romance series contains an HEA with no cliffhangers and can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
Note: This the fourth book in this series. It does contain minor spoilers for previous books, but it works as a standalone quite well.
Ulrich is the village blacksmith. He’s a big hulking guy and he’s never met anyone that he feels comfortable with – well aside from his pet reindeer Ethel. He’s tried things with men in the big city and that didn’t go well at all. So he spends his life working and talking walks with Ethel. He does his best to avoid his father who only puts him down at every turn. His brother escaped to the big city, but that’s not in Ulrich’s future.
One day at solstice, he’s out with Ethel and approached by a beautiful nymph, Lutoth, who gives him a solstice gift. He’s flummoxed. No one has ever done that before. Is this nymph teasing him? But no, Lutoth returns and tells Ulrich he is going to court him. He say him the previous solstice and made up his mind. It turns out they spent a summer together 20 years earlier and Lutoth was taken away and never got to say goodbye, but he never forgot Ulrich. He’s determined to make Ulrich his.
Well Ulrich is still shocked by this and doesn’t know if he believes Lutoth. But the more Lutoth is around, the more he thinks this might be something he wants. In fact, he wants it more than anything. But he’s still afraid Lutoth will leave and he’ll be broken hearted. Ulrich makes a mistake that might cost him everything.
This is another sweet romance from Gigi Rivers set in this mountain small village with both Nymph and Human characters. I loved Ulrich and felt so terrible for him – being raised by what he rightly describes as a very not nice man. Ulrich’s mother died when he was small – he doesn’t even remember her and his father has talked badly of her all Ulrich’s life. I was happy to meet his brother Elias who put some perspective on things for Ulrich in the end. Lutoth is so worried about taking after his mother and leaving those who love him and those he loves behind as he follows the wind. Spending a year proving to himself what he wants is achievable is admirable – although not sharing that fully with Ulrich does lead to some communication issues. I loved Ethel so much! How wonderful to have a lovely pet reindeer that really loves Ulrich and Lutoth and is so amenable to the village and the children. She is truly magical. Together Ulrich and Lutoth have to navigate their two different worlds and experiences to get the thing they want the most – a life together. There are many sweet and romantic moments and plenty of spice too (if that’s your thing 😉 ).From adolescent crushes to committed partners, these two have to face a few obstacles and confront their pasts and those who might not understand them fully. In the end though, there is a happy solstice all around 🙂 I can’t wait for the next book. Recommended for fans of fantasy especially.
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