Mistletoe on the Mountain

Title: Mistletoe on the Mountain
Author: P.D. Singer
Publisher: Torquere Books
Genre: M/M Contemporary Romance.
Length: 14 pages
Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

A guest review by Jenre

THE BLURB

his is Jake’s first Christmas away from his family, and his first Christmas with Kurt. Jake’s shoestring budget doesn’t matter, because what Kurt wants most can’t be gift wrapped. He’d like to stand openly with Jake as partners before the world, but Jake hasn’t come that far out of the closet. Wapiti Creek is hung everywhere with mistletoe, taunting them both with opportunities not taken.

Jake is making a traditional Landon family dish for a Christmas pot-luck dinner with friends, but he’s short a key ingredient. Kurt manages to supply the missing ingredient for Jake’s recipe, but can Jake supply the missing ingredient for Kurt’s happiness?

THE REVIEW

This short follows on from the end of the excellent Snow on the Mountain and whilst you can probably read it as a stand-a-lone, the whole story makes more sense when read after that book.

The story picks up a few weeks after Snow on the Mountain. Kurt and Jake are now living through their HEA, but there’s still a shadow in their relationship. Jake isn’t out yet and doesn’t feel able to take that final step. This causes tension in the relationship as Kurt is out and having to go back into the closet for Jake, but Kurt is trying hard not to push Jake for his own reasons.

There were a couple of things I really liked about this Christmas short. Firstly it was just such a perfect add-on to the previous book in that it actually gave the reader something other than the obligatory sex scene (although that’s there too!). Instead, the story follows a continued progression in the relationship between the heroes. It’s taken from Jake’s first person point of view and I really sympathised with his feelings about coming out – which stemmed really from his natural timidness than a worry about being rejected. Kurt too had reasons for why he was trying not to make a big issue out of his hurt feelings over Jake wanting to keep their relationship low key.

The second thing I liked about the book is the way that the two men talk about their problems. Being in a relationship is pretty new to Jake, and he often finds himself embarrassed about talking about his feelings for Kurt and reluctance to publicly acknowledge their relationship. The slightly older and more experienced Kurt is able to draw Jake out so that they can sensibly discuss any problems. This, again, shows a progression in the relationship from the previous book, which came under threat when both men held things back from each other. In fact, most of this little short focuses on the heroes as they continue to strengthen their relationship, making it quite a quiet story, but also emotionally intense.

Overall, a terrific, well written, character based short and a must for those who have read the two previous Kurt and Jake books.

The Mountains Series