Author: L.D. Blakeley
Publisher: Self-Published
Length: 68 Pages
Category: Holiday, May/December Romance
At a Glance: Even with a small page count, this short story provides plenty of room for the two MCs to build a sweet relationship.
Reviewed By: Cassie
Blurb: When Jamison Pritchett is roped into replacing the mall photographer at Santa’s Village a week before Christmas, he’s certain he’ll be spending the holidays recovering from a nervous breakdown. A throng of sugar-frenzied kids might be enough to send this uptight photographer back into the darkroom permanently. Inappropriate thoughts about his far-too-attractive—and far-too-young—assistant aren’t helping fight that urge to hide, either.
For Noah Hawkins, adulting is a snap. Too bad relationships aren’t. With his business temporarily closed for repairs, he’s happy to help his sister out of a jam, even if the costume he’s given to wear borders on obscene. Constantly being mistaken for a teenager is no treat either, especially when he discovers his temporary new co-worker is sexy as hell and 15 years his senior.
Can Noah convince Jamison that age is just a number? Or will Jamison resist the gift Santa seems to be handing him on a platter?
Review: This is a holiday winner for sure! Plus, it comes with a holiday cocktail recipe in the back, so you can skip ahead and whip yourself up a cocktail to enjoy while you read this book.
All the characters are nicely developed. Jamison and Noah are fun and likeable as individual characters and as a couple; Noah’s sister and niece are interesting and well-written secondary characters. Pacing-wise, the story felt spot on. Nothing dragged, every scene and conversation felt relevant and streamlined, and the flow allowed plenty of time for a bit of a slow burn, some unresolved tension before everything wrapped up in a lovely Christmas bow. I was pleasantly surprised by how much relationship building L.D. Blakeley was able to cram into such a small page count.
There were a couple places in the text that could have benefited from a second look by a proof-reader, but nothing too bad; and overall, the writing is nicely executed. A missing word here or there ended up being only a minor issue, with no impact on my enjoyment of the story.
So, if you cram in one more Christmas story before the holiday season ends, let it be this one. It’s a lovely little short, with quality writing, fun characters, and is a perfect excuse to make yourself a Candy Cane Martini.
You can buy The Power of Peppermint here:
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