Just Another Girl and her Books: 30 Days of Christmas - Day 17

Thursday, December 18, 2014

30 Days of Christmas - Day 17 - The Gift by S.L. Dearing

I am back on track!!! Yes, that does require three exclamation points. Today's selection is the final story in the Winter Kiss Anthology from the lovely ladies at Rising Indies United, and it has helped to heal my heart a little after Rene Folsom destroyed it.

Genre: Romance/Holiday

Published: December 15, 2014

Pages: 264

Ages: 18+

Synopsis

It’s been eight months since Kate and Matt met, fell head over heels, and moved in together. Now that the holidays are upon them, can they combine their two celebrations and families into one, or will an unexpected problem tear them apart?

Review

The holidays can be stressful under the best of circumstances, but when you're boyfriends mother hates you simply because you're not Jewish, that stress is magnified by about a hundred, at least that seems to be the case for Kate. In spite of that, she wants to get the whole family together, hers and Matt's, for a big celebration on Christmas Eve, which also happens to be the last night of Chanukah. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

This story is told in third person, so we are able to follow all the action rather than being stuck in just one or two people's heads, although we do spend most of the story following Kate and Matt. I like this approach to storytelling almost as much as I like dual POV, although with the current trend in indie books (at the very least) being told in 1st person, this can seem like an awkward way to tell a story because you start to get accustomed to everything being first person. I thought S.L. Dearing did a great job of not making it seem awkward and the story still flowed pretty much seamlessly.

I was totally engrossed in this story from the beginning. I couldn't wait to see how things played out between Kate and Matt's mother, although I kind of wish Kate's reaction had been different.

Overall I give this story 4.5 out of 5 stars because it was entertaining, sweet, and a little dramatic. There were a few spelling/grammar errors in the copy of the book that I read though (like four I think), and the conflict resolution felt a bit rushed and simple. I would still definitely recommend this story to anyone looking for a sweeter holiday romance.

Conclusion

Since The Gift is the last story in the Winter Kiss Anthology I feel like I should write some finishing remarks on the anthology as a whole. Here they are. This anthology has a little something for just about everyone. Magen McMinimy's "The Wish" fulfills a paranormal romance fans desires, Rene Folsom's "The Wager" will appeal to the gamer's and nerds, and "The Gift" gives us a story on the sweeter side. All the stories are fairly well crafted, and you just might find a new favorite author. I did. - Katie

Buy the Book