Grumble Monkey And The Department Store Elf (2013) - Plot & Excerpts
When I first read this, I didn't know if I liked it or not, because it didn't have a HEA or strong HFN. More of a tentative HFN that left me wondering what was going to happen to the MCs and how things would work in the future. Plus I am pretty sure Nick needs some serious therapy before he can be a stable member of a partnership.However, I read all the of the Dreamspinner Holiday Stories, and this is one of only a few I still remember clearly, and where I keep wondering about the characters. How will they mesh their lives? Will their holiday encounter really lead to a long-term relationship? I am even wondering about a character that was only mentioned and never actually appeared. I hope we can catch up with the characters in a future story, even if they are just minor characters, so we can see how their lives progressed. (And given the way characters crop up in other stories, I have faith this will happen some day.) Bittersweet. Nick's bitter and Kit's sweet.A study in extremes, these two characters charge in and clash--immediately. The caustic tongue Nick hides behind is vicious and his internal dialogue speaks of one who's self-hatred is oppressive. While it is so easy to be repelled by Nick and honestly, the author does a great job of repelling the reader as much as Nick would repel others from interacting with him, but if one perseveres then the painful truth becomes more obvious and sad. Excellent job of taking cliches and twisting it, but there is a great deal of anger and pain in this story.
What do You think about Grumble Monkey And The Department Store Elf (2013)?
Bittersweet yet HFN holiday read. Short, but got the hidden message across very well.
—Fro
3.5Would love to read more about these 2. See where the relationship goes from here.
—princessandra
