Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Working at the Craft Emporium keeps Adam Martinez busy during the holiday season he absolutely hates. Enter elementary schoolteacher David Okoye, who can’t get enough of Christmas or craft supplies. David is cute, wholesome, and Adam can’t deny a little bit of a crush.

 

Making the holidays special for his students is only part of the reason David makes excuses to go to the Craft Emporium. He also holds a torch for Adam. He takes it as a personal challenge to show Adam how to enjoy the holidays when he asks Adam to teach him to knit. David promises the holidays can be wonderful when shared with the right people, but how can they share them when David is going home to his family and Adam will be left all alone?

 

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Calendar "Homemade for the Holidays."

Book Review

“Not into Christmas?” David uncrossed his arms, which was a shame, but now he was looking at Adam with curiosity, as if determined to get to the bottom of this holiday anomaly.

Calling someone with a somewhat Grinch-y attitude toward the holidays an “anomaly” made me laugh – only a total holiday enthusiast could come up with such a label. But it is an excellent description for Adam, who tries to make a living writing for blogs and hates the holiday season – not that he attempts to avoid it. He deals with his “holiday malaise” through outright confrontation, which is why he works extra time at his day job at the Craft Emporium where his exposure to holiday cheer is relentless. David is an elementary school teacher who loves doing holiday crafts with the children in his class, and he is baffled by Adam’s attitude. Enough so that he decides to try to change it… and that is the beginning of a wonderful holiday romance.

There is a little sizzle of interest between Adam and David from the start, but they are so different that they might have never made an effort to make more of it – had it not been for David’s request to learn how to knit. It’s his way of showing Adam that it is possible to enjoy the holiday season, and I loved David’s creativity! The “Santa Project Wishlist Distribution Day” is not just a worthy cause, it becomes the centerpiece of David’s strategy to woo Adam into liking him, ahem, the holidays.

Set in the small fictional town of Whitesprings and told in glimpses of Adam and David’s lives in the weeks leading up to Christmas, this is a charming story. With lots of details of crafts, knitting, and some very sweet dates, it had me rooting for the two men from beginning to end.

If you like sweet holiday-themed romances, if small towns and their traditions are your thing, and if you’re looking for a fun story with a touch of suspense of the will-they-or-won’t-they kind, then you will probably enjoy this wintery short story.

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review.

Additional Information

Format	ebook
Length	Novella, 55 pages/18309 words
Heat Level
Publication Date	01-December-2019
Price	$3.99 ebook
Buy Link	https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/the-santa-project-by-elinor-gray-11534-b