Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: The Christmas Keeper
SERIES: Laurel Holidays
AUTHOR: V.L. Locey
PUBLISHER: Self Published
LENGTH: 186 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 30, 2024
BLURB:
A grumpy pub owner is about to have his chilly heart warmed by a down-on-his-luck country singer.
Brann Argraves has never left the charming village of Whiteham before nor does he wish to. As the owner of the Whiteham Taphouse, he is content to spend his life serving drafts of beer to the locals, shooting darts with his buddies, and shutting himself away in his cabin for the duration of the holidays. Who needs all that ho-ho-ho, any who? His sister, on the other hand, not only yanked him out of his happy yet somewhat solitary bubble, but she’s also reveling in it. Planning a winter wedding was plain foolish, Brann feels, as is making people fly to some frozen wasteland in Canada to tie the knot. Now, he’s never been happier to return home after the wedding and get back to his bar, his darts, and his little home on the outskirts of town.
Landing at a wintry airport smack dab in the middle of a nasty snow squall, Brann and his weary fellow flyers are entertained by a handsome, rumpled man busking outside the airport. There’s something almost magical about the man’s dark, sad gaze as well as his angelic vocals. Perhaps it’s the residual merry-merry of his sister’s nuptials, or maybe he recognizes a lonely kindred soul, but Brann steps way out of his comfort zone when he offers the man a warm place to sleep above his bar. Kenan Gardet settles into the pub with ease and Southern grace. The down-and-out singer quickly proves himself an asset to Brann’s business as a good barkeep and as a nightly draw on stage. What he didn’t expect was Kenan capturing his heart one plaintive song and gentle kiss at a time.
The Christmas Keeper is a standalone grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, insta-love, gay Christmas romance with a bah-humbug bar owner, a recovering country crooner, a small town tavern chock full of unique townsfolk, two geese who are not feeling the Christmas spirit, a gingerbread house bake-off, and a sweet as plum pudding happy ending.
Content warning: This story has references to past substance abuse.
REVIEW:
This was not what I expected at all really 🙂
Brann is a very grumpy gus for such a young guy. He really had a terrible breakup and it’s ruined the holidays for him. Nobody wants to see him unhappy but he’s got a reputation to uphold at this point 😉 No decorations. No celebrations. Then a funny thing happens after his sister accuses him of being a modern day Scrooge. When he gets back to Pennsylvania from her wedding in Canada, he sees a gorgeous, very talented but obviously down on his luck musician being rousted from the small airport for busking indoors. Out of seemingly nowhere, he offers the guy his office above his bar to sleep in for the night out of the cold and snow.
Kenan Gardet is working his way back to something. He’s not had it easy and he’s clean and sober, but it took quite a few tries for it to stick. He’s grateful to Brann for the opportunity and when he begins helping out at the bar and then singing to make some money so he can move on, well Brann is smitten. He still isn’t budging on the holiday decorations though. Until Kenan pulls out the menorah his grandfather left him. This is a little bit of a jab at the annoying business leader in town who is harping at him 😉
Kenan and Brann hit it off. Brann hasn’t been really attracted to anyone in a long time. Kenan has the baggage of being closeted for a long time. His family rejected him and that’s only the half of it. He’s got secrets that he is keeping and when Brann finds out some of them from someone else, well things get a bit tense. Brann’s been cheated on and he has REAL trust issues. He’s also got some pet geese that are a hoot 😀
Kenan and Brann get closer. Brann’s neighbor, Mr. Bloom is thrilled with Kenan’s arrival and he shares some of his late wife’s recipes with Brann and Kenan and he’s so happy to be able to talk to another Jewish person. It’s a lovely relationship.
When Brann’s family shows up unexpectedly, well there are some bumps. Let’s just say it’s the furthest from a Meet Cute moment. Luckily the family redeems themselves and the holiday turns out to be very different than anticipated. And maybe there is a future here for these two prickly men.
I loved this small town story of two men who were really damaged from their pasts. They have reasons not to trust and Brann is still really bitter. Kenan has been at rock-bottom more than once. He’s had a LOT of therapy. He’s got stuff he’s not proud of, but he’s really working hard not to be that guy anymore. It takes a bit of time, but he and Brann are on their way to something solid – if only these speedbumps didn’t keep coming up 🙂 Luckily it’s a holiday story, so you know things are going to end well. If you’re looking for a prickly MC who gets what he’s least expecting, this is a story you will really enjoy. Recommended.
RATING: 
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