About the Book
Eccentric, reclusive, socially awkward project designer Evan Myles doesn’t date. Paying for sex with professionals is so much more efficient and suits his needs well enough. But when he’s on assignment in rural Logan, Minnesota, for the Christmas Town project and a handsome stranger at the bar catches his attention, Evan decides it’s time to break his rule. It doesn’t matter that he’s never so much as flirted before. It can’t be that hard, can it?
Davidson Incorporated lead architect Terry Reid hasn’t been hit on so clumsily in his life. Terry’s the first to admit he’s a neurotic Prince Charming, and he’s kissed his share of frogs of both genders, but he’s never met anyone quite like Evan Myles. Evan calls Terry by the wrong name, mistakes Terry for a simple construction worker, and picks apart his work as an architect. Despite this rough start, Terry is lured by the brilliance of Evan’s ideas, his quirky personality, and once they’re alone in Evan’s cabin, the man’s mad skills in bed. Yet Terry knows it takes more than a single night of passion to make a relationship work, and after so many failures, he’s just not ready to try again.
Evan and Terry’s path is strewn with stones neither of them can dislodge. Fortunately, they’re not alone on the road to romance. They’re in Christmas Town, home to matchmakers, meddlers, and more “fairy godfathers” than they could possibly know what to do with.
Most importantly, in Logan, Minnesota, happy ever after is guaranteed.
The Finer Details
Narrative Arc: — select —
Publication Date: December 12, 2017
Publisher: Self-Published
Editor: Sasha Knight
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
Length: Novel, 207 e-book pages
POV: 3rd person, limited to two main characters
Tense: Past
Pairings: Male/Male
Identities: Gay, Bisexual
Genre(s): Contemporary, Holiday
Holiday: Christmas
Tropes and Tags: mistaken identity, office romance
Settings & Locales: Minnesota
Ending: HEA
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Advance Review Copy generously provided by the author.
Back Porch Thoughts
Review
If you’re a fan of the Minnesota Christmas series, then this spinoff is just the ticket. We’re back in Logan, Minnesota, y’all! And “Christmas Town” is almost ready for its debut. A familiar landscape and characters we know and love are the sparkly backdrop to Evan and Terry finding their way together.
Haven’t read the Minnesota Christmas books? Fret not my friends. This can certainly be read as a stand-alone. Just try not to get too bogged down with all the names of the townsfolk and relationships from previous books — and then go read those books because they’re a blast!
As super excited as I was to get back to the gang in Logan and get a new romance out of the trip, The Christmas Fling wasn’t exactly my favorite, but delightful all the same.
There’s a huge mistaken identity plot-line that takes up a good portion of the book. A cautionary tale, if ya will, to be careful if you find a cute shirt at Goodwill with an embroidered name that’s not yours.
Initially, this misunderstanding was a chuckle-worthy blast, and I couldn’t wait to see how Terry would get himself out of that pickle.
But the simple misunderstanding soon became The Big Secret that Terry waffled about coming clean on for a long, long time all while Evan was hell-bent on finding his lost fling.
I’ve got no quibbles as to why Evan didn’t figure things out sooner on his own — it’s all explained and makes sense. And I can kinda get why all the people around Evan who were in the know didn’t spill the beans. It all fell to Terry. And…come to find out, Terry has some issues of his own that also make sense and maybe should’ve been detectable sooner, but for me came just a tad too late in the story, and too much anticipatory tension knowing, knowing, knowing that it was all going to explode.
But LISTEN! This is an enormously fun read. If you think you’re gonna get a light-n-fluffy holiday tale to cozy up with next to the fire…well, this is not that. There’s angst, there’s drama, there’s off-the-charts kinky sexy times because Heidi Cullinan can bring the business. The community atmosphere of Logan is sublime, and the characters are people I’d like to call friends.
I’m thrilled to have taken another trip to Logan to meet a few new folks, and I can’t wait to see what’s next in the series.
About the Author
Heidi Cullinan has always enjoyed a good love story, provided it has a happy ending. Proud to be from the first Midwestern state with full marriage equality, Heidi is a vocal advocate for LGBT rights. She writes positive-outcome romances for LGBT characters struggling against insurmountable odds because she believes there’s no such thing as too much happy ever after. When Heidi isn't writing, she enjoys playing with new recipes, reading romance and manga, playing with her cats, and watching too much anime.
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