e-Audio, 10:52:27
Narrated by: Aden Hakimi & Feodor Chin
Release Date: December 5, 2023
Published by: Simon & Schuster Audio
Read from: December 20-22, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: Libro FM (I received a copy of this audiobook from Libro FM and the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Racism (overarching concerns), Death of parent (takes place before the events of the book), Alcoholism (no relapse), Transphobia (mentions of legislation), Car accident (past event not described in detail)
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Holidaze, 2SLGBTQ+, Realistic Fiction, AdultA trans man returns to his Florida hometown for Christmas after his career goes up in flames, only to cross paths with his high school ex in this charming rom-com about family and second chances.
Eli Ward hasn’t been back to his suffocating hometown of New Port Stephen, Florida, in ages. Post-transition and sober, he’s a completely different person from the one who left years ago. But when a scandal threatens his career as a TV writer and comedian, he has no choice but to return home for the holidays. He can only hope he’ll survive his boisterous, loving, but often misguided family and hide the fact that his dream of comedy success has become a nightmare.
Just when he thinks this trip couldn’t get any worse, Eli bumps into his high school ex, Nick Wu, who’s somehow hotter than ever. Divorced and in his forties, Nick’s world revolves around his father, his daughter, and his job. But even a busy life can’t keep him from being intrigued by the reappearance of Eli.
Against the backdrop of one weird Floridian Christmas, the two must decide whether to leave the past in the past…or move on together.
*MY THOUGHTS*
I had no idea what this was about, but I saw that there was a flamingo on the cover wearing a Santa hat, and I knew I needed to get my hands on it. Like I said in my other post, I think me reading books set in the south during the Christmas season is like my catnip. I LOVED seeing a non-white Christmas, because the cover of this is more what the ones in my area look like.
SO because of the cover I knew going in that this was going to be good. And sure enough it was. It may be a Christmas book, but it’s not a typical Christmas book. It’s set in the south and the weather is more hot than cold. And for some reason I just love that. It’s not usual that we see a book that has Christmas vibes while they can go swimming lol Kind of weird when that’s what you live every year lol This made it so much more fun for me.
The romance in this was so cute. I loved that it’s a second chance romance, but also a whole new romance. There is Eli who’s a trans man and his ex Nick. They cross paths in a liquor store, and realize they know each other. I can’t lie, I thought this was pretty cute. Their little meet cute while the store is closing and the little girl?! So cute! As for the new romance, it’s with the same person, but Eli is his full, real self for this time. And like Idk, it was just something about seeing that come together, watching them find out things about themselves. It was comfortable because they knew each other, but it was also cute to see the two of them finding each other and being uncomfortable.
I didn’t care for the third act break up. It seemed unnecessary. Like it was because of something so dumb and didn’t have to be in it. And it was at like 80% too. It was miscommunication, but it was like more than that. The best way to explain it is, Eli just stopped. They finally let something happen, and then Eli just stopped. Stopped responding to him, stopped listening to him, and everything. I could see the anger and resentment with his parents, but he carried that over to Nick and I didn’t think that was fair. And Nick was that type of a push over the entire book. I felt bad for him because he was a dork and really trying to learn all the things to make Eli comfortable and trying to show him that he loved him. I just didn’t think that it was the right time for them to even try anything. Eli was still trying to find himself and forgive the others around him, and because of that it made the way he interacted with Nick all weird. Nick was hella chill and a nice complement to Eli too tho. I think it was just his nature. Even finding all these things out, he was so chill lol There’s even a place in the book where someone says how are you so chill about this lol Like his world turned upside down and he was just like “Ok cool.” Definitely the embodiment of acts of service.
Now with all the good things I wanted to say about this book, there was one thing that I didn’t like….. And that is one of the narrators. They were so freaking monotone. It was tough to listen to. Even when they were happy or during smexy times, just everything sounded the same. It got so bad at one point that I had to check to make sure that this wasn’t like one of those audiobooks with the synthesized voices. The only character who had excitement in their voice besides Eli was Nick’s kid, and I was glad she was there to help make the audio a bit more tolerable.
This non-Christmasey story was so much fun! I hope y’all pick this up! And if you hurry you still have time, this ends on New Years Day! You still have time to read this during the season!
Overall, I give this
