Reviewed by Taylin

TITLE: Cthulhu For Christmas

SERIES: Tinsel and Tentacles Multi-Author Series

AUTHOR: Meghan Maslow

PUBLISHER: Pun City Pantser

LENGTH: 239 Pages

RELEASE DATE: December 29, 2033

BLURB:

Six accidental tentacles, five naked neighbors, four evil mages, three ugly sweaters, two dead bodies, and one crush on my straight best friend . . .

Some things are simple fact: Santa Claus isn’t real and magic doesn’t exist. As a former foster kid turned cop, I know this for a fact. My life is anything but magical and Santa sure as hell never visited me as a kid.

Another fact in my life: I’ve been in love with Grey Criswel, my gorgeous—and straight—best friend, since we met. Unfortunately, he’s not going to make my secret Christmas wish come true this year—or ever.

But before I know it, fact and fantasy are starting to get all mixed up. I thought I knew Old Bay Isle and its residents like the back of my hand. Now I’m dealing with a bunch of naked carolers refusing to put on their damn clothes and mysterious happenings at the lighthouse. Oh, and murder. Because what says happy holidays like a corpse at a Christmas tree farm?

Worse yet, I’m suddenly afflicted with an aquatic ailment of sorts. Namely—tentacles. Six of them to be exact. Attached. To. My. Back. They even have their own opinions. And they all agree they want Grey. Could he maybe want them—and me—back? Things are so topsy-turvy I’m starting to believe the impossible just might be possible because it turns out magic is real after all . . .

Cthulhu for Christmas is a standalone novel in the Tinsel and Tentacles multi-author winter holiday MM tentacle romance series. It features Zen King—a cop with a tentacular dilemma, a best friend with a closet full (heh) of secrets, a sharp-tongued former foster mom, a beaver for a roommate, found family, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.

REVIEW:

Via the foster system, Zen ended up in the town of OBI. When Zen saved Grey from bullies, the two became best friends. Zen wanted his relationship with Grey to be more. However, not only did Zen believe Grey to be straight, but all those around him said that his fantasy would never happen. With Christmas on the horizon, strange things happened to make Zen believe his dreams were not necessarily imagination.

Cthulhu For Christmas is a standalone novel in a multi-author series. I very much enjoyed it, though I spent way too much time trying to pronounce Cthulhu. The story gets better as it progresses. I began with skeptical hope, and by the end, I was riveted.

The story is told in the first person, present tense, from the sole viewpoint of Zen. The technical side of things was good. It was made clear that tentacles have a mind of their own, but actual hands, on a couple of occasions, became autonomous without prior qualification/caveat. With Zen being the narrator, I heard all his thoughts and observations, which provided some superb imagery, but the descriptions between dialogues were occasionally distracting.

Grey is a sweetie in spirit and profession. He’s a confectioner and son of a ‘First Family’ who dominates his life. Zen is Grey’s escape. Zen, bless him, is a tough cookie with a soft inside for Grey. Also, Zen grew up to be a cop in OBI. Initially, I was somewhat cynical over his powers of observation when it was clear that most of the locals were hiding something, and Zen shrugged them off as weird. Buuutt, later I forgave him because the story improved exponentially, and I figured that after a while, ‘strange’ became the new normal.

There are some scene stealers whose inclusion was inspired. The beaver, the caribou, and the tentacles were awesome. Without these, the story would have been a variation on a theme. However, their presence in a scene made me smile many times. The wider cast was nicely varied, and I will not look at carolers the same ever again!!!

In short, try not to pronounce Cthulhu (go with something close), but persevere with the story. What began as a tale where I believed some people couldn’t be so blind, ended as a magical murder mystery with a Christmassy touch that I would hail as one of my favs of the Christmas season.

RATING:

BUY LINK: 

Amazon