Books

Hearts Alight by Elliot Cooper

Dave isn’t a grinch per se, but he’s not feeling the magic of the season as he, and his best friend/brother-in-law Jake, fight through holiday shoppers to find ideal Hanukkah gifts. Dave longs for simpler times when it was more about time spent with family and not the materialistic pursuit of the ‘perfect present’.

At Jake’s bar, Dave attempts to chat up bartender Amit, who Dave has had his eye on for quite a while. Dave enjoys attempting conversation with Mr. tall, dark and broody, and any time he gets more than a one-word answer, he sees that as a definite win.

But when Dave finds Amit in the back room, doubled over and unable to catch his breath, it’s clear something is wrong. Jake tells him to get some rest and Dave joins Amit on his walk home.

They make a stop at the nearby art studio where Dave teaches painting, and they talk as they paint dreidels (handmade right there in the shop).

Amit is a man of few words but it’s during this impromptu date that he tells Dave his secret, he’s a golem, a being made from clay and brought to life with magic to do the bidding of others. It turns out that Amit isn’t sick, it’s his magic that is fading. But the meaningful touch of someone special (someone like Dave) helps to recharge him. And it also turns out that the glaze they’re using to paint with, when applied to Amit’s fading tattoo with Dave’s brushwork, also reinvigorates him.

Their first real date is an evening of Chinese take-out and a game of D&D with Dave’s online friends, capped off with a perfect goodnight kiss.

Things continue to go well, even as the holidays increase Dave’s stress levels. They spend the first night of Hanukkah at Dave’s parent’s hose, where he officially introduces Amit as his boyfriend. They’re welcomed with open arms, then eat, play games, and open gifts.

The eighth, and final night coincides with New Year’s Eve. After watching the ball drop on tv, Dave and Amit sit on the porch together, dreaming of their future. They don’t have all the answers when comes to relationships between a human and a supernatural entity, but they’re in love, and whatever problems they encounter, they will happily face them together.

I love sweet holiday stories, like, I literally can’t get enough of them. Gay romances that center around the Jewish holidays are pretty rare, so when I encounter one (especially one this good) I like to shout it from the rooftops, letting everyone know that this story is definitely worth your time.

Nice guys are my catnip (or reader kink if you’d prefer). Dave and Amit’s shy first attempts at connection warmed my heart. Hearts Alight is a super-low angst, feel-good story, filled with lots of heart (just like the title suggests) with just a hint of Jewish mysticism. I think you’ll be rooting Dave and Amit just as much as I was.

This review originally appeared as part of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.

Learned Behaviors by Jayce Ellis

Jaq has just gotten his daughter packed off to college when he gets a message from his boss, Patti Kingsley. Their home and lifestyle brand has just landed a huge account, but Bernhardt wants a holiday exclusive in their stores in time for Black Friday.

Matt, arriving at the Kingsley offices in DC, will be acting as the on-site liaison for Bernhardt and make sure that the development of the new product line stays on schedule.

The stress and accelerated time from of the project has Matt and Jaq butting heads. They drive each other crazy, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t also be attracted to each other.

After working together a while, putting out fires and slowly moving the project forward, they develop a grudging respect, even though neither one of them knows how to deal with the sexual tension that is building between them.

Jaq visits his daughter on parents’ weekend. They hang out with Tanisha’s friend Angela and her dad, who just happens to be Matt. At dinner, the dads catch the vibe that Tanisha and Angela might be more than friends. It’s during this visit that Jaq learns Matt needs to be at his son’s wedding on the day after thanksgiving – Black Friday – which is the launch date they’re struggling so hard to meet.

Jaq takes Matt to a Bernhardt store to get a wedding gift. They almost kiss in the bedding department, wanting to give in to their attraction, the restraint however doesn’t last long. They share a scorching kiss in the parking lot.

Working late one night, Matt finds Jaq in his office. He’s tense and needs some release (if you know what I mean). Matt takes charge, telling Jaq exactly what he wants, and how he wants it. Jaq happily obliges. It’s amazing – mind blowing – and opens up a lot of possibilities for them, maybe even relationship possibilities…

But when Jaq gets home that night, he unexpectedly finds Tanisha there, her heart broken by Angela. He does his best to sooth her. This complicates things between him and Matt, but Jaq’s mom assures him that deserves to have a life.

When he finally finds himself in Matt’s bed, he is not disappointed (again, mind blowing). He knows what he feels – but what does it mean and how would he and Matt work in the long run? It’s definitely not just casual, and they spend the rest of the weekend proving that to one another.

On Monday morning everything falls apart. Bernhardt has rejected the current design, but the nepotistic fool who’s playing office politics behind the scenes is not in the same league as Matt, who does not suffer fools lightly. Once that nonsense is shut down, he goes all the way to Norfolk where his son’s wedding prep has hit a snag. Once he has that under control, he tells his family that there is a new man in his life, so add another ‘plus one’ to the guest list.

The wedding/Thanksgiving weekend arrives, and Jaq manages to temporarily seduce Matt away from his work, adding some playtime to the hectic days ahead, days that Matt spends almost entirely on his phone and laptop. Having to go it alone at a wedding that he’s not even a part of has Jaq rethinking some things. On the morning of the big day they are finally able to talk about Matt’s lack of work/life balance, when Jaq gets a call. Tanisha has had an asthma attack that has landed her in the hospital.

Jaq packs to leave.

Matt gets dressed for his son’s wedding.

No matter how much they might want to be there for each other, family always comes first.

Tanisha is fine and assures her dad that he doesn’t need to drop everything for her like when she was a baby.

The wedding goes well, but when Angela sees her dad without Jaq by his side because of a “family emergency”, she puts two and two together, and soon father and daughter are headed back to DC to be with that other father/daughter pair that they are undoubtedly both in love with.

The week after the launch (which btw was very successful) Patti gives Jaq a much-deserved promotion. At the same time Matt has decided that he’s done with Bernhardt, to have given them so much, for so long, and have so little to show for it…. the choice is clear. With some help and encouragement from their friends and family, each of our heroes come to realize now that their children are grown, they might finally be able to start a new chapter.

Jaq takes Tanisha to the office Christmas party; which Patti has decorated in the finest of holiday style. She takes to the stage to thank her team when she is joined by surprise guest, Matt. When he and Jaq finally have a moment alone together, they dispense with the mea culpa’s (they were both wrong, they were both right) and go at it like men half their age. Seriously. It’s explosive heat when these two are together.

Everyone is supportive of them. Jaq and Matt are able to move forward as a couple, and as a newly integrated family.

Everything about Learned Behaviors was so deeply satisfying to me as a reader. The way Jayce Ellis created two men, complex characters who have such interesting compelling lives, how they navigate all that in their attempt at romance, all the while generating so much heat that the digital pages crackle and spark… such good stuff.

And combine all that with some delicious tropes – enemies to lovers, office romance, hot dads… it’s all just too damn irresistible.

I fell hard for Jaq and Matt, and feel pretty confident in saying that, out of everything I’ve read in 2020, these two are one of my favorite romantic couples.

And I haven’t really even had a chance to mention some of the amazing secondary characters that help them on their journey to happily ever after. Jaq’s mom is funny and amazing and wise. Matt’s ex-wife seems a little daunting at first, but she just wants what’s best for Matt (and that’s clearly Jaq), and there’s also Jaq’s group of single dad friends who help and support each other – I’m really looking forward to their stories too.

So, I really recommend this book. Jayce Ellis knows how to write a hell of a great romance and I hope that you’ll check it out. I wouldn’t necessarily categorize this as a Christmas story per se, but it does take place during the holiday season, so now is the perfect time to read Learned Behaviors.

This review originally appeared as part of the BigGayFictionPodcast.com.

The Secretary and the Ghost by Gillian St. Kevern

Like the beginning of any good gothic romance, young and innocent Phillip (who everyone calls Pip) makes the pilgrimage to foreboding Foxwood Court. To pay off the family debt, he’ll work as secretary for the handsome, but stern Lord Cross.

Putting Cross’ papers in order is a chore, but Pip is up to the task. The simmering tension between employer and employee comes to a boiling point when Cross passionately kisses Phillip… something the young man finds that he very much enjoys.

One day, in one of Foxwood’s many parlors, Pip comes across a portrait, to which he bears a striking resemblance. He carefully questions Surplis the butler and learns that the painting is of Joseph Leighton (Pip’s distant relative) who took his own life and is said to haunt the halls of Foxwood. Any sighting results in tragedy.

Late one evening there is a commotion in the study. His lordship has been attacked and members of the staff witnessed Pip as the culprit, but since he was upstairs talking with Surplis, it could only have been the ghost of Foxwood.

Cross explains to Pip that, after getting conked on the head, the intruder was most definitely NOT a ghost. In a quiet moment together, Cross doesn’t necessarily declare his undying devotion (that would be far too improper) but he lets it be known that he definitely returns Pip’s affection. He invites Phillip into his bed, and they share a passionate night together. But the next morning Cross has gone cold, insisting that it can never happen again, saying that, “the love of a Cross is always forbidden and inevitably fatal.”

Cross’ frustrating sense of duty as they pertain to his feelings for Pip, are something I’ll come back to in a minute.

Under false pretenses, an interloper arrives at Foxwood. It’s Phillip’s uncle Andrew, the scoundrel who plunged Pip’s family into financial ruin. Cross makes it clear that he has plans for uncle Andrew and if Phillip interferes with his wishes, then he will no longer have a place at Foxwood.

As Pip prepares to leave, he encounters the cold ghostly apparition of Joseph Leighton. But instead of a harbinger of doom, he believes the ghost is a sign. There must be a method to Cross’ madness, so Pip stays to keep an eye on scheming uncle Andrew. Once his plan is revealed, a meeting is set in the neglected orchard on the estate grounds. It seems Pip was right, the ghost of Joseph Leighton is indeed benevolent, saving Pip and handily doing away with evil uncle Andrew.

The good name of Phillip’s family is restored, leaving Pip and Cross to plan their future happiness together.

The Secretary and the Ghost has just about everything you could ever ask for in a gothic romance – there’s mystery, intrigue, a ghost, duplicitous relatives with nefarious motives, a gloomy manor house, filled with dark passages and things that go bump in the night. And most important of all, a brooding alpha male hero who is just as frustrating as he is swoon worthy. Cross runs hot and cold, leaving poor Phillip both confused and turned on, in equal measure.

At one point in the story, while sorting through his employers/lovers personal letters, Pip realizes that for someone with such a prickly demeanor, Cross corresponds with a wide variety of people on any number of subjects. It’s then that Phillip understands that Cross presents a certain image that belies his true nature.

I like to think of this as the “Darcy conundrum”. Just like Darcy in Pride & Prejudice, Cross is so duty bound and frustratingly proper, that he often comes off like an unrepentant asshole. In reality, he cares deeply about the people around him (Phillip included). Cross isn’t demonstrative, he lets his actions speak for him. Phillip eventually learns (along with the reader) that Cross has been working behind the scenes all along, to resolve Pip’s financial problems. He shows his love by taking care of people.

And speaking of love, I loved pretty much loved everything about The Secretary and the Ghost. It pays homage to the tropes of the gothic romances of the past, while giving things a modern, and very gay, twist. It’s romantic and sexy. It’s spooky, without being scary.

While I read it to coincide with Halloween, this story, and the rest of the series, can be enjoyed anytime of the year.

This review originally appeared as part of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast.