Audiobook Review: His for the Holidays Anthology by Various Authors

Spicing Up the Season

Hope brightens a bleak Edinburgh December. A man gets a second chance with his high-school crush. A decade-long game of cat and mouse comes to a passionate conclusion. And Santa Claus drives a red muscle car. Heat up your holidays with this collection of four festive tales from some of the top talent in the male/male genre.

The anthology includes: "Mistletoe at Midnight" by L. B. Gregg, "Nine Lights over Edinburgh" by Harper Fox, "I Heard Him Exclaim" by Z. A. Maxfield, and "Icecapade" by Josh Lanyon.

Narrators: Alec McKellen, Max Tatch, Jack LeFleur, Max Bellmore
Listening Length: 13 hours and 17 minutes

Mistletoe at Midnight by LB Gregg  4♥s

This was cute, sexy and just fun. All of the things that LB Gregg does best made this quite an entertaining little holiday read. 

Owen and Caleb get a second chance after being apart since high school. They end up reuniting when Owen is spending the holiday with his family. Because of the whole fam being there, crazy shenanigans ensue. 

The side-characters were memorable and fun, the dialogue was funny and the romance was sweet. It really was just a nice, feel-good, holiday read.

Nine Lights Over Edinburgh by Harper Fox  3♥s

Sometimes I just don't get Harper Fox. This is one of those times. 

Her way of writing can be confusing for me, so I didn't really grasp what was happening until at least 25%. And then once I was in, I didn't really buy the romance. I'm sorry, but the rescue mission to save your abducted daughter is not the time to fall in love. It just isn't. I don't care if he realizes that it's weird, I don't care if love happens at unexpected times, it was weird to me.

I did enjoy the characters and the plot, but just not with a love story at the same time.

I Heard Him Exclaim by ZA Maxfield  3.5♥s

Well, this was just darn cute. I admit, the beginning was weird. C'mon, they meet at a gas station, then when Chandler's car breaks down he just goes with Steve. Just gets in the car. WITH HIS NIECE! So he's a nice guy and has Santa eyes... who the fuck cares? STRANGER DANGER! 

Anyway, once I was past the weirdness of their meeting I really enjoyed Steve and Chandler's romance. I love the way Steve took care of Chandler and gave him confidence. They were loving and sweet and had off-the-charts chemistry.  

Icecapade by Josh Lanyon   4♥s

This is my favorite story of the bunch. I love the premise, with a diamond thief and FBI agent there's bound to be some fun banter. And there was.

I'm pretty sure I say this after every Lanyon book, but I wish there was a little bit more post-HEA bliss time. Just a little bit would have sufficed, I would have felt like they really were going to be together. They way it ended felt more HFN-ish to me and, of course, I would prefer something a little more solid.

This was a great anthology, filled with great stories and read by great narrators. Definitely recommended for holiday reading, and if you're an audiobook listener, grab the audio version.

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Review: Winter Knights by Harper Fox

Historian Gavin Lowden is in Northumberland on Christmas Eve for two reasons: to find evidence of a romantic bond between Arthur and Lancelot, and to finally tell his partner Piers that he loves him. Piers has promised to come clean with his conservative family and join Gavin for their first holiday as a couple, but at the last minute, he bails. Devastated, Gavin heads out onto the moors alone, just as snow begins to fall…


Gavin stumbles into an underground chamber, where strange happenings cause him to question what is real and what is fantasy. He’s found by two mysterious men, who offer him a bed for the night–and awaken him to nuances of erotic pleasure he didn’t know existed. Pleasure he hopes to be able to share with Piers.


When Piers learns that Gavin has gone missing, he is desperate to find him. He knows now breaking up was a terrible mistake, and he’s ready to take the next step in their relationship—if it’s not already too late.

It's winter time, so throw some coal on the fire, pour yourself a warming glass of mulled wine and curl up with a good book - I've got a great recommendation for you. Winter Knights by Harper Fox features snow, Arthurian legends and, of course, romance. What more do you need on a dark December night?

I loved the setting of this story, deep in the English countryside - I may be a little biased but it is one of my favourite places to be! Harper Lee obviously loves the area the book was set and it was so easy to imagine it, the snowy hills and cut off villages. The small mountain rescue shack and the underground cave. Perfect.

I also absolutely adored the Arthurian legend incorporated into this story, Gavin was so believable as the scholar determined to prove his own theory about Arthur and Lancelot. It didn't feel at all contrived, again I would say the author researched her subject well - and while Gavin's theories cannot necessarily be proven they totally worked within the context of the story.

Piers is a great and believable character, we first see him through Gavin's eyes - as the great love of his life and them the person who breaks his heart. As the story progresses though we see that it isn't black and white, Gavin isn't the only injured party, it does, as they say, take two to tango!

Artie and Lance the rescue guys - take one broken hearted historian and throw in two hot mountain rescuers and you have yourself some hot lovin'. I loved Artie and Lance and their story, though to be honest (close your ears unicorns) I could have lived without the sex - hot or not - because I wanted more about them and the mystery that surrounded them.

It's really my only complaint, instead of being a novella this story had all the makings and the wonderful writing of being a longer story. It was great as it was but I wasn't ready to stop reading, I could definitely have lived with the mystery deepening and the legends being expanded on, but it could just be me being greedy. Well it is the season of over-indulgence. ;)