Hot Wishes and Cold Kisses (Home for the Holidays) by D.K. Sutton

#mmromance #christmasromance 

So in this one we have Zach, a fella who lives for work and is that horrible boss we have all had - at one time or another and Oliver, someone who has had a crush on Zach since he was very young. This is considered a second chance romance because Oliver kissed Zach on his 16th birthday and since Zach was 18, rejected him.

Slight spoilers ahead

Zach gets called home because his sister is in a coma. His brother had died from a blow to the head so this was horrible for him and his family. Zach has not been close to his family since the death and basically tortures the people who work under him.

Oliver, or Ollie or Liv, depending on who is talking, is the best friend of Zach's sister. These two have known each other basically all their lives. After being rejected by Zach, Oliver decides to go to a college far away and make a life there. Then he finds out that being a kindergarten teacher and gay is just ripe for homophobic attacks. He decided not to fight for the job and comes back home and pretends he is not gay. Susie, the best friend, decides to tell everyone they are engaged.

These two of course bond and fall in love during the two weeks that Susie is in the coma. Some drama happens and then there is a hallmark movie ending.

Now about the actual writing. One can tell this is a arc because there back end of the book basically is not done. I would really love to read about Jamaal, but alas, that literally is a line of text. Also, this was written really stiffly. Meaning, while I understand the sex scene and what happened, the true text of it made it sound like it was not at all long enough to be counted as sex.

I would have loved more backstory on Oliver. To be honest, we know more about Zach than Oliver. The book waits until the very end to mention that Oliver was kicked out of his house at 15 because he was gay. Then in the epilogue it was mentioned that they were going to meet them for Christmas dinner. Really? With no talking or even a thought about the whole being homophobes thing?

I truly do not believe that just because you are related to someone that you have to hide or hate who you are to get mom and pop to love you. Screw that. On top of all the scenes of Ollie not allowing Zach to touch him as he was not out the parents thing was just too much.