Publisher: Self-pub
Release Date: November 29, 2018
Received From: A Novel Take PR
It’s recent college graduate Zach Greenfeld’s favorite time of the year and he’s just received a temporary gig planning Lighthouse Bay’s Christmas parade. Not only does it speak to his penchant for organization, it also puts him face to face on a daily basis with his unrequited crush–Holland Stone. But his new job starts off in disaster when the most important float–Santa’s sleigh–gets damaged.
Holland needs to win the Lighthouse Bay Christmas parade float competition in order to grow his new dollhouse-making business. The prize is an article in a major city newspaper, and nothing beats free advertising. Except, eager to help the adorable parade organizer, he volunteers to help fix Santa’s sleigh, leaving no time to work on his own float, and putting his prize at risk.
Damaged floats, snowstorms, and a last-minute parade emergency force Zach and Holland closer than ever. All they need is a little bit of Christmas magic to help them realize they belong together.
Christmas Lane is a sweet, May/December, small-town Christmas romance with an HEA!
GENDER: cisgender
SEXUALITY: homosexual, demisexual
ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: homoromantic, demiromantic
PAIRING: M/M
TROPES: age gap, holiday romance, snowed in
TAGS: adult, contemporary, romance, queer romance, queer characters
WARNINGS: cancer mention, ableism, binary language, cheating mention
CHRISTMAS LANE is a lovely, heartwarming holiday romance, with some great identity representation!
First off, I loved the sweet and easy plot of this book. The way Holland and Zach just fall together and fit so well was just nice to read. There are, of course, a few drama-rama moments, mostly brought about by assumptions and miscommunication, but I liked how they were quickly and easily fixed, and made the relationship better and stronger once they came through on the other side. And it was so great to read about the two of them being so domestic and being able to joke around and relax with each other as they learned about the other and navigated bringing their lives together. Also, I loved the way the two were determined to protect and help each other but didn’t stand in the way when the other explicitly said they wanted to do something.
Second, the demiromantic and demisexual representation was well done, in my opinion. It was good to see Zach trying to figure things out, even while not really settling on a label, and how Holland was there to support him through his confusion. In particular, I liked how easily Holland accepted it when Zach said he didn’t want to have sex, without making reassurances that sex could be enjoyable when done right, because he knew that’s not what Zach needed to hear and respected his boundaries and limits. Also, it was nice to see that the most they really did was kiss, and even after Zach realized he wanted to have sex with only Holland, his boundaries were never pushed beyond where he was comfortable.
Finally, I really enjoyed the relationships in this book! Obviously Holland and Zach, but also the friendships between the two of them and the secondary characters of Dev, Clark, and Mika. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of all of them in the coming books in the series!
I started writing on a rainy day in fourth grade when my class was forced to stay inside for recess. Tales of adventures with my classmates quickly morphed into tales of adventures with the characters in my head. Based in the suburbs of Toronto, I’m a marketer at a large environmental non-profit in Toronto by day, and a writer by night. Book enthusiast, animal lover and (very) amateur photographer, my interests are many and varied, including travelling, astronomy, ecology, and baking.
I love connecting with readers! You can find me on Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter or sign up for my infrequent newsletter at http://eepurl.com/ddvWFv
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Kobo
IndieBound
Small Queer, Big Opinions 