Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Silent Knight
SERIES: Christmas Falls
AUTHOR: Beth Bolden
PUBLISHER: Self-published
LENGTH: 220 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2023
BLURB:
Of all the things Murphy Clark loves about Christmas Falls, there’s always been one he loves a little more than the rest:
His childhood best friend, Jem Knight.
Doesn’t matter that Jem’s barely been home in years, or that he’s busy conquering football fields instead of hanging out at Jolly Java or admiring Murphy’s carved wooden gnomes. Murphy’s always loved him anyway.
But now Jem’s finally returned to Christmas Falls to be the honorary figurehead of the biggest holiday festival in the Midwest.
Murphy’s hoping to rekindle their friendship but he didn’t count on Jem not recognizing him. Or flirting with him. Or re-igniting the hopeless crush he’s always had for his best friend.
He definitely didn’t expect for his crush to no longer be hopeless at all.
Or for both of them to realize that all they want for Christmas this year is each other.
Christmas Falls is a multi-author M/M romance series set in a small town that thrives on enough holiday charm to rival any Hallmark movie.
REVIEW:
Jem Knight, NFL star for the Charleston Condors, is home for the holidays in Christmas Falls due to a season ending injury. Jem is wondering if this is really the end of the line for him since he knows things will be changing with the Condors after this season. He’s crying into his beer when a strapping gorgeous lumberjack of a guy approaches him at Frosty’s the local watering hole. Jem feels a hint of familiarity, but he doesn’t recognize the guy who apparently wants to cheer him up. Jem has accepted the invite to be the honorary Grand Marshall of the Christmas Falls Holiday Festival when the actor who was supposed to do it broke his leg. Jem flirts with the man that he doesn’t recognize. Only after the man bolts does the bartender, Mik, tell him that was his childhood best friend, Murphy Clark. Jem is gobsmacked because he certainly has grown up a lot! Like 6 inces and 50 bls of muscle and a beard grown up.
Murphy can’t believe the best friend that he pushed away when they were in high school is back and that he was hitting on him. He is torn between telling Jem who he is and avoiding the guy. He pulled away from Jem when they were in high school and it was clear that Jem was going places as a three sport athlete who was looking to leave their small town in his dust. So rather than be left behind, he did the leaving first.
When Griff asks Murphy to be the “liaison” for Jem and the festival, he doesn’t have a good reason to say no. He reluctantly accepts the role, but then he tries to ditch Jem for anything except the “official” events. Jem isn’t too excited to have somebody who obviously doesn’t want to be around him in the role, but his friend Deacon tells him to go with the flow and to enjoy the time he has in this small town. He’s the “guardian of Christmas cheer” after all.
Jem ends up running into Murphy and they sort of start to clear the air. Jem thinks he somehow did something when they were in HS that either hurt or upset Murphy since he basically stopped hanging around. Little did he know that Murphy was trying to protect his heart. He just knew he wouldn’t be “enough” for a soon to be star like Jem. So he protected himself but backing away.
Jem has made a good life. But something’s been missing. He hasn’t connected with anyone really in all the years he’s been away. As Jem and Murphy spend more time together, ice skating, tasting pie, drinking cider and hot cocoa and all the other festival activities, they get closer. As each man reveals his insecurities and desires, they realize that maybe there is more to this relationship than just a rekindled friendship 😉
This is another warm and romantic tale in this Christmas Falls series. I really enjoyed the estranged friends to lovers scenario here. Murphy was such a sweetheart. Jem is at a crossroads in his life and he’s not sure what he’s going to do next. His injury has but a real damper on the holidays and his return to his home town. He’s missing his best friend Deacon who is also making preparations for life changes. I enjoyed Deacon’s “voice” in Jem’s head throughout this book. There are plenty of obstacles for these two to overcome, but they grow up a lot during the course of the festival. Both men are struggling with what they really want in life and are figuring out their way forward. The supporting cast (including characters from the other books in the series and Beth’s Condors series) are well written and add both warmth and humor. And the epilogue! Swoony! If you’re looking for a holiday HEA that brings the feels, then you will enjoy this one. Recommended.
RATING: 
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