Reviewed by Ro
TITLE: Sentenced to Christmas
AUTHOR: Marshall Thornton
PUBLISHER: Kenmore Books
LENGTH: 259 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 28, 2023
BLURB:
A charming and wacky enemies-to-lovers rom-com from the two-time finalist for the Lambda Literary Award in Gay Romance.
When gay activist Gage Hammond is accused of burning down a patriotic Christmas tree that stands in front of a conservative radio station, the judge sentences him to learn the true meaning of Hammond must join buttoned-up prosecutor Cal Cutler and his family for the holiday. There’s just one problem—okay, maybe a lot of problems. But at the top of the Cal’s in the closet and it’s not even his family!
REVIEW:
I have to start off by saying I think the humor of this book and I didn’t quite click. The over the top characters (hello, Judge Nasty, and Betsy) were so OTT that it really pulled me out of the story. That being said, there are some funny moments.
Gage is an activist with a paranoid, conspiracy-theorist father who’s pretty sure everyone in the world is out to get everyone else. Gage is in court awaiting his plea deal for burning down a Christmas tree filled with patriotic ornaments. The fact that the tree belonged to a media outlet and it’s now a circus. Gage wants to get the plea deal over with and his prosecutor, Cal, wants the same thing. Judge Winthrop, conservative bigot extraordinaire, has other ideas. Not only does he have his baliff dressed as an elf in a courtroom brimming with Christmas decorations, he makes nasty comment after comment. What it boils down to is, for whatever reason, the judge wants Gage to suffer for this. He decides before he will sign the plea deal, Gage needs to spend Christmas with a “traditional” family and return after to describe the true meaning of Christmas. As if the judge has a clue. After asking the public defender to celebrate Christmas despite being Jewish, (“Don’t they make those blue ornaments specifically for you people?”) he settles on Cal. Cal, who brings a photo of his wife and children to the court and faces the picture so the judge can see them.
Except, as the blurb says, it’s not his family. Cal is gay, very closeted and using his best friend’s picture. He doesn’t see it as a lie, just a way to get ahead. The whole courtroom was just too much. The judge asking for an autograph of the victim, Cal’s picture, the constant horrid comments.
So Gage spends the holiday with the closeted Cal, his best friend Mary Ann and her children, her mother, who is a nightmare named Betsy and also makes the horrid comments, and assorted “friends.” Cal keeps up the pretense, “Mary Ann and I are deeply in love” despite the fact that Gage can tell there is something not right about it all. Add in when Gage’s father shows up and it’s just a circus.
There are a lot of one-liners and a lot of arguing about left and right and how wrong each side is. “I meant conspiracy theories about libtards. Not about me!” That sort of sums up a lot of these people. So, while this wasn’t totally my cuppa, it may appeal to those who appreciate the humor.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: