Monday, 21 November 2016

A Family For Christmas - Jay Northcote




Author: Jay Northcote

Cover Design: Garrett Leigh

Release: November 18

Length: 45,000 words


Blurb

Zac never had a family of his own, but Rudy has enough to share.

Shy, inexperienced Rudy has a crush on Zac from the moment his new colleague walks through the door. On an office night out before Christmas, Rudy finds the courage to make a move, and they form a tentative bond. When he discovers Zac will be alone at Christmas, he invites Zac to come home with him.

Zac prefers to keep people at arm’s length. Yet when Rudy offers him a family Christmas it’s impossible to resist. With no parents of his own, Zac is pleasantly surprised to be welcomed by Rudy’s. The only drawback is that everyone assumes they’re a couple. Unwilling to disappoint Rudy’s mum and make Christmas awkward, they decide not to deny it.

It’s not a chore for Zac to pose as Rudy’s boyfriend, but the pretence makes him want things that scare him—things like a real relationship with Rudy. Zac’s suffered enough rejection in his life already and is afraid to risk his heart. If he can get over his past rejection and let Rudy inside his armour, he might get more for Christmas than he ever imagined.



Review

A Family for Christmas was exactly what I needed in my life right now—a light, sweet, sexy and very romantic story which gave me all the good feels. Both Rudy and Zac sneaked their way into my heart for different but equally good reasons.

Rudy is just cute. He’s dreadfully shy and rather insecure when it comes to approaching Zac, who he has been attracted to ever since he started for the same company. The fact that it takes a liberal amount of alcohol for Rudy to make his approach leads to consequences that are as embarrassing as they are, ultimately, the reason the two men start to bond.

Zac has good reasons for being stand-offish. His life so far has shown him, time and again, that he’s not wanted and that people can’t be trusted so he doesn’t let them in and tells himself he’s comfortable on his own. Except that once he’s entered the loving madness that is Rudy’s family home, he can’t convince himself of that anymore.

I loved Rudy’s family. The way they just accept Zac in their midst and are happy to embrace his (presumed) relationship with Rudy was heartwarming. In fact, that is what I loved about all of this book; the easy acceptance of ‘issues’ that are so often the points of heartbreak in the books we read. There’s a trans secondary character in this book and it was wonderful how his transition gets mentioned but only in so far that it becomes clear that it isn’t something remarkable but rather totally accepted. – Can we look forward to a book about Erik maybe?

When I finished the book I had somewhat blurry eyes and a silly grin on my face—in short it was perfection. If, like me, you’re in dire need of love, smiles, Christmas cheer and lightness in these dark times, do yourself a huge favour and read A Family for Christmas.

Author Bio

Jay lives just outside Bristol in the West of England. He comes from a family of writers, but always used to believe that the gene for fiction writing had passed him by. He spent years only ever writing emails, articles, or website content.

One day, Jay decided to try and write a short story—just to see if he could—and found it rather addictive. He hasn’t stopped writing since.

Jay writes contemporary romance about men who fall in love with other men. He has five books published by Dreamspinner Press, and also self-publishes under the imprint Jaybird Press. Many of his books are now available as 
audiobooks.

Jay is transgender and was formerly known as she/her.






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