The writing was ok, but the story didn’t hit my holiday sweet spot. It was mostly mixed signals, misread cues, and some rough sex. (I never like anyone being called ‘bitch’ during sex.) I didn’t really get to like Riley much so I didn’t enjoy the long bits of his internal monologue. But at the same time, I didn’t like that the city life & job he wanted was basically dismissed as a less valid choice than Stan’s back-to-the-land life. Well it’s no secret I adore this author’s work and it just meshes with me in all the right ways, and this story was no different. Yes, I’m reviewing a Christmas story in February, but while the Christmas market is the impetus to get them back together, it’s not a “Christmassy” story.I liked that Riley is self-aware of his failings and even that he’s still in love with Stan five years later, and yet he chooses to just ignore it most of the time and pretend it’s not an issue. I did find him to be a bit flighty and perhaps he was pretty selfish when you hear about what happened to precipitate the break, but it has been five years, he’s older and hopefully wiser moving forward.I thought the whole sub-story with the gull was hilarious. I actually had pigeons build a nest on my balcony once. Annoying. I felt for Riley. Just lots of things to like about this story. His relationship with his female friend and coworker was nice. She was caring without falling into the dreaded “interfering female friend” category. His interactions with his stuffy boss and the staff Christmas party (I have to say that would NEVER happen where I work, thank god LOL), were all very real but with that little extra edge that makes fiction more fun to read than real life.So don’t stay away from this one if you are thinking “I’m over Christmas stories” because the main thrust of the story (ha! thrust) is not Christmas. If anything, I would have liked to see a bit more between when they agree to try again and the epilogue, but it was what I needed as I’ve had some so-so reads lately and it was the pick-me-up I was looking for.
