Title: A Holiday Crush
Author: CJane Elliott
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Length: 50 Pages
Category: Contemporary, Holiday
At a Glance: This one was a nice addition to this year’s advent story collection. It kept my Christmas cheer going for sure!
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: San Francisco lawyer Brad Halberstam is in a rut. At forty-one, he’s successful but alone. Even his holidays are predictable—he spends every Christmas golfing in Napa with his ex-boyfriend. Then attractive but oh-so-young filmmaker Michael Blair invites him out. Brad joins Michael and his housemates in their holiday celebrations and learns that life can be joyful. He hesitates to saddle Michael with a much-older boyfriend but as their attraction ignites, Brad’s tempted to let Michael sweep him into a bright new future.
Michael lives in a group house in Berkeley. He loves making life into a celebration, especially during the holidays. Michael longs for a partner, and he hopes serious but sweet Brad Halberstam is the one. Michael’s infatuation grows over caroling and cookies, but his housemate reminds him that Michael always latches on to someone during the holidays, so he won’t be alone. After a misunderstanding, Michael loses heart, no longer sure if his relationship with Brad is real or just another Christmas crush.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2017 Advent Calendar “Stocking Stuffers.”
Review: A Holiday Crush, which was my first CJane Elliot story, is very cute. The title, taken from Michael’s habit of crushing hard on people during the holidays, fit the story perfectly, and I liked the flow of the storyline, for the most part (I had a couple of little niggles, but nothing major). I’m glad I chose this as one of my picks from the collection this year!
Michael was so sweet and earnest. I really enjoyed him. I completely understand his love of Christmas. #ChristmasGirl 😊 And, I loved how tickled Brad was by Michael’s holiday enthusiasm. I mean, what’s not to love about a guy who makes the best Christmas cookies ever, and is the perfect caroling partner?! Brad tried to keep the brakes on pretty hard at first, because of his issue with the age gap between them, but he soon realized that Michael brought him to life again, and reminded him about things he really loved before the law firm took over his life. Things like music, for example. I loved the scenes of them doing Christmas karaoke, and going to a Handel’s Messiah sing-a-long.
There is a silly miscommunication between the guys, though thankfully Elliot didn’t needlessly drag it out; the guys sorted it out pretty quickly. But, other than that, A Holiday Crush was a feel-good romance with quite a bit packed into its fifty pages. There was a side story involving Michael’s best friend Bao—who I LOVED—that was well-done, if a bit rushed, and which also led Brad toward a potential new career opportunity. And, the epilogue was a nice little shot of sweetness and glimpse at the guys a bit down the road that made me smile.
This one was a nice addition to this year’s advent story collection. It kept my Christmas cheer going for sure!
You can buy A Holiday Crush here:
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