Until Shaw appears in front of him. The drab little elf from Archives isn’t anything like Rom’s other partners. Oh, he’s cute, but he doesn’t knows it. Even more amazing, he seems immune to Rom’s flirting. It’s almost like he doesn’t want Rom. Wait, no. When Rom does proposition him, Shaw turns him down flat.
Amazing!
Even more amazing, Rom is hooked. He can’t get Shaw out of his mind. He even goes to the Library to pursue him. But Shaw -- and Shaw’s mother -- can’t figure out what Rom would want with him.
Well, Rom’s not entirely sure either but he knows he wants to find out. Can he convince Shaw?
Comment: I'm not reading this series in the right order but to be honest I'm mostly interested in her m/m stories. This was a nice, simple and easy novella, without much happening and very quickly solved as well. The central focus is on Rom, an elf that all the others look up to considering his almost rock star status among the Santa's reindeers.
The novella basically tells us about the unlikely but slowly developing romance between Rom, someone very popular, and Shaw, a shy archivist who barely cares about the popular elves. This obviously changes when he needs to ask questions for a census and later needs to be around the popular elves for a special project. The romance is sweet and and slow burn, not very graphic, unlike some other series by the author. It's mostly sweet and I liked it but in some aspects, the conflicts proposed barely reached any meaningful situation; the main conflict is easily solved. For such a small page count of course not much could really happen but overall, it could have been better. Still, it allowed for some easy back hours.
Grade: 6/10
* * *
Dear Reader,
Yes, our town is way off the beaten path, but strange, wonderful miracles happen a lot around here.
I've owned the Cut 'n' Curl beauty shop for years, and I've seen folks come for a visit, then stay for a lifetime. Take Jane-that pretty firecracker of a girl who just arrived in town. I would swear she's running from something. She came with only five dollars in her pocket but she's worked real hard to make a fresh start. She's turned my son Clay's life upside down without even realizing it.
And thank goodness for that! Ever since Clay left his country western band, he's played everything too safe. He needs to take a chance on Jane. Besides, the more he tries to keep his distance, the more he'll realize that he and Jane are singing the same tune.
But I should quit ramblin' and go check on Millie's permanent wave. Next time you're in Last Chance, be sure to swing by. We've got hot rollers, free coffee, and the best gossip in town.
See you real soon,
Ruby Rhodes
Comment: This is the first installment in this Last Chance series by author Hope Ramsey, the first book her I tried. I can't remember why I decided to read this, but it was in the TBR pile...well, at the end of things, I wasn't much impressed with it. I think the plot was too cheesy and not focused enough on the main characters. I usually don't mind different POVs and a big cast but in this case, it was not easy to focus on what should matter the most.
The romance between the protagonists, Clay and Jane wasn't very romantic not well structured, in my opinion. I can see why they are in love when we don't see enough emotional development in them to match the actions and the plot's changes. It just felt so...weak. Then there are other characters who crowd the story but are so underdeveloped that it all just looks random and meaningless.
Some readers mention the Christian content but honestly that I could easily ignore because it certainly didn't seem consistent to what was happening and the main characters' decisions.
All in all, good details but not enough structure nor content to make me want to read more.
Grade: 4/10
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