Review: The Probability of Mistletoe by E.J. Russell

Title: The Probability of Mistletoe

Author: E.J. Russell

Length: 43 Pages

Category: Contemporary Holiday Romance

At a Glance: The Probability of Mistletoe is a wholesome story standing strong amongst stars.

Reviewed By: Jenn

Blurb: When software engineer Keith Trainor decides to start his own company, he knows exactly who he wants as his partner: Parker Mulvaney, his best friend from high school. But in the ten years since graduation, their contact has dwindled to nothing, and it’s all Keith’s fault. If he hadn’t tried to kiss Parker under the mistletoe at the winter formal their senior year, Parker wouldn’t have bolted. At their ten-year reunion, Keith intends to do everything in his geeky power to make amends.

Parker should have known that scheduling the reunion the day before Christmas Eve was a recipe for a headache of monster proportions. But when Keith sends a text that he’ll be attending, the evening doesn’t look so bleak. Can an unnecessary makeover, a nostalgic breakfast, an abortive shopping trip, and a whole lot of mistletoe culminate in a long-overdue first kiss?

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2017 Advent Calendar “Stocking Stuffers.”

Review: This is probably one of the few stories that isn’t incredibly sweet or sugary within the Advent Calendar anthology. Instead, there’s something a bit realistic and caring about it. Parker and Keith were an unlikely friendship in high school, but valued it dearly. An abortive kiss one winter dance puts a strain on that friendship, something Parker doesn’t quite regret but does mourn as they then drifted apart. Parker’s choice not to kiss Keith isn’t from a lack of feelings, but the opposite. He wants his friend to reach his full potential and feels that a relationship between them would hold Keith back. Yet, now that they are ten years older, he looks forward to reconnecting and hopes a relationship is still possible.

After ten years of separation, Parker is still the only one that Keith trusts to become an entrepreneur with. In fact, he’s ready to become friends again, and willing to just be friends and not more like he had hoped when in high school. However, he’s worried that because of his attempted kiss a friendship isn’t possible. The reunion is only the start of the story as Keith gets the wrong idea of what Parker wants from a friend, or a partner, and then starts trying to become that to gain Parker’s attention.

This begins their journey of rediscovery, and cements Parker’s desire to start a romantic relationship with Keith. This story explores nostalgia and the growth that people can take, ending with the far more common decision that the important parts of people, the parts that really matter, never do change, and the rest of it is all window dressing. The Probability of Mistletoe is a wholesome story standing strong amongst stars.

You can buy The Probability of Mistletoe here:
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