Chrissy Munder

One of my reads pre-Goodreads which I never registered my rating and comment about, until today.

The entry from that time in my personal database says: "Giselle Ellis' story shines like a diamond in this anthology."

It's been a decade since I read her first and only story, Take my Picture, in this anthology. Then I bought the individual release, which I read and reread a few times. It stood the test of time, remaining intact among my absolute favorites.

Individual ratings

Sight Unseen by Shay Kincaid - 1 star

Take My Picture by Giselle Ellis - 5 stars

Start From the Beginning by Chrissy Munder -2 stars

Evan's Heaven by Nicki Bennett - 2.5 stars… (altro)

A Holiday Tradition is part of the ‘Warmest Wishes: Dreamspinner Press 2018 Advent Calendar’. The story is told in third person through the eyes of Paul Carpenter, a Finance student.

The blurb does a good job of describing the plot so I won’t go over it again.

This is a very low-key book. There’s no roller coaster ride of emotions. A lot of this book is Paul’s monologue over his internal debate on how much he doesn’t what to go into Finance, and how miserable he is. I found it to be repetitive after a while.

Paul’s romantic attraction is, Kevin Lombardo, who’s the manager/caretaker of the Florida RV park where Paul and his grandfather go to vacation for the Christmas holiday. Both Paul and Kevin’s voices were similar and I wish there was more distinction between the two.

The writing is smooth and if there were any grammar errors, they were so minor I didn’t notice them. A Holiday Tradition is a fast, easy read. I don’t find the characters memorable so I probably won’t read this story again. However, if anyone wants to read a book that has no tension and to pass the time, you’d probably like this. I give this book. 3 Stars.
… (altro)

Evan Versus the Sharlotka is a Christmas story staring Evan Carmichael, a support tech, and Gavriil Cottan, a programming supervisor, both who work at the same company. The story is told from Evan’s pov.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s sweet, adorable and has all the fluffiness of the holiday. The blurb does a good job of describing the plot so there isn’t much else to add.

Evan has had a crush on Gavriil for a while, but is shy about voicing his attraction. When the office party comes around, he figures the best way to show his feelings for Gavriil is to bake him a sharlotka, Gavriil’s favorite sweet when he was young. The title of the book is about Evan’s battle to bake a successful sharlotka.

The author did a good job with the characters, each had a distinctive personality and the descriptions of their mannerisms and speech were well written.

The company event where Evan brought his sharlotka to share pulled at my heartstrings, as it wasn’t a happy occasion for Evan. However, all worked out in the end, and the two men get their HEA which was very sweet.

Evan Versus the Sharlotka is a perfect holiday story and a happy read to lift your spirits if you ever need it. I just wish it were longer. I would read this again and any follow up story. I give this book 4 Stars
… (altro)