Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: A Winter Redemption
SERIES: A Nymph Solstice Romance
AUTHOR: Gigi Rivers
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 194 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 21, 2023
BLURB:
An MM fantasy winter holiday novella.
An uptight workaholic from the city. A free-spirited half-nymph who propositions him.
Jarne’s world is upended when he catches his husband cheating. He flees the city and travels to a small mountain village where his brother lives. At an inn, Jarne just wants to be left alone. Then a handsome stranger with a flirty smile propositions him. Surprising himself, Jarne accepts. After all, it’s just one night.
When half-nymph Ketho meets the arrogant workaholic from the city, he thinks he’s never met anyone who needed a tupping more in their life. Ketho is more than happy to offer his services. Because whilst Ketho doesn’t do relationships, he always enjoys a tryst.
They meet up again. And again. Still, it’s only temporary. They have no future. Jarne must return to the city. He and Ketho are total opposites. And Ketho has vowed to never be tied to anyone ever again.
But as feelings flourish and their connection grows, will they continue to deny their feelings for each other and destroy their chance at love?
Each book in the A Nymph Solstice Romance series contains an HEA with no cliffhangers and can be read as a standalone.
REVIEW:
Note: The MCs in this book are supporting characters in the first book in this series, A Winter Romance. It’s not necessary to have read it, but in my estimation it does enhance the enjoyment of this story having read that one first.
Jarne has worked in his family’s perfumerie forever. He’s very serious about his job – in fact he’s all about work. When he finds his husband cheating on him, he leaves Bordertown and heads to the mountain village where his brother Aryn lives. When he stays the night at an inn, he is approached by a stranger who initiates conversation and more 😉 Maybe it’s the state he’s in or the state of his marriage, but he takes the guy up on his offer.
Ketho is a half-nymph with a free-spirit personality. He is intrigued by the uptight man in the inn. He is also interested to see what this man is like and so he propositions him 😉 Ketho is not interested in relationships but he does enjoy a bit of fun.
Jarne is a pretty rigid individual at first. He and Ketho continue to run into each other 😉 The keep the chemistry going but again, this is just meant to be a fling. Jarne has his job in the city and Ketho is not one to settle down. But they can’t seem to let it go with each other. Neither one wants to admit what this is and put a name to it. They both have a lot of growing up to do if they want a real relationship.
This was a really interesting story that takes two side characters from the first story in this series and make them the protagonists. I was prepared to not really want to like either of them given the ways they had treated Aryn and Sero, Ketho’s former lover. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I grew to like these guys. Ketho has had a rough upbringing – even spending time on the streets, so he has some very deep trust issues. Jarne has put everything into this work and his social skills are quite lacking. He has to figure out how to behave more genuinely and interact with people and it takes a while for him to do the requisite growing. Jarne comes to realize that maybe he can give and accept love as Ketho definitely makes him feel things he never has before. Ketho’s quirky personality and free spiritedness are a bit of a cover for his fear of being hurt. These characters were both funny and steamy together though which kept me very interested in where this story would go. There is also the 3rd act breakup here, but it doesn’t last long. The story is told from both POVs so that the reader is aware of the motivations of both MCs. There is a lovely HEA and I cannot wait for the next book. Recommended.
RATING: 
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