Book 879: Mr. Jingle Bells (Home of the Holidays #3) – Leta Blake

Three books later, I’ve finally gotten around to the ARC that I requested because it was an opposites attract fake boyfriend story—of course I was going to request it.*

This is the story of Walker, boring frat boy business man whose mom tried to set him up with Casey from Mr. Frosty Pants, and Ashton, glamorous social media rockstar whose sister tried to set him up with Joel from Mr. Frosty Pants. Since that book ended, Casey and Joel have married and Casey, Ashton and Walker have started a marketing company.

The book, like any great MM Holiday Romance, starts off with a super awkward situation where Walker and Ashton draw each other’s names for Secret Santa, and it just goes gets more and more adorable from there.

This book is definitely closer to Mr. Frosty Pants than Mr. Naughty List. It doesn’t have as much kink, there are definitely toys introduced (more about that later), but that’s less of a kink than an aid, but it is full of So. Much. Angst. However, it wasn’t as heavy or self-imposed as Frosty. Walker and Ashton both hold their fair share of emotional baggage and have either overcome it (Walker) or are still trying to figure it out (Ashton).

There were so many sweet moments in the book that I definitely want to check out more of Blake’s works. I think she can do justice to a non-holiday romance so I’m looking forward to that at some point. I do hope, however, that what has become her tell doesn’t appear in every book. Like most MM Romance authors once you read a few of their books you start to see recurring things and when it comes to Blake for these three books it’s an overwhelming emotion that causes you to cry during sex.

Walker obeyed so well, keeping his mouth going hard against Ashton’s hole even as Ashton began to gasp and sob. He jerked with some kind of harsh, breaking hurt that had nothing to do with how good it felt to be touched and wanted and everything to do with finally having what he’d been denied for too long: a man who cared for him, a man who took care of him, a man who didn’t stop when Ashton grew frenzied but just held on tighter and worked him through it, higher, and higher, and higher. (Chapter 14)

Now, I’m not sure if Blake is watching the wrong porn or if she just thinks men are this emotionally stunted and it’s the only way to get the emotion out, but she’s three-for-three in her books with at least one person crying during a very intimate scene. Who knows, thankfully it didn’t pull me out of the scene (it did more this time because I realized it was the third in a row), but it doesn’t jar you like some other bad word choices.

The sex scenes were well written and drawn out tantalizingly. Too often authors draw them out and they just drag on, but none of Blake’s did. If I have a complaint about one thing it’s that even though she had a strictly bottom character and a verse character she did introduce toys into the situation, but that one sex scene was the most glossed over and fade to curtain. I’m not sure if she got overwhelmed, thought it wasn’t a good thing to include, or was running out of space, but she definitely didn’t do that one justice! I also think it would’ve done a lot more to play with their roles and if it would’ve been written from Walker’s perspective Blake could’ve explored his definitions of masculinity even further than she did in passing throughout the novel.

You could see the crisis of the novel coming miles away and the resolution of it was as expected. I wish Walker would’ve grown just a little faster and pre-empted the big reveal because Ashton really deserved a low-angst romance. The ending was great, and I loved spending a bit more time with Joel and Casey.

Recommendation: I enjoyed this one and definitely felt that Blake grew between the three novels in this series. It felt less forced than the first but wasn’t as whimsical as the second, It also fell somewhere between the two on heat and humor. The big drawback is how long it was, it was REALLY long and probably could’ve been streamlined significantly.

*I received a copy of Mr. Jingle Bells via Gay Romance Reviews in return for my honest opinion. No goods or money were exchanged.

Opening Line: “Walker Ronson stared at the tiny slip of paper he’d pulled from the office’s candy bowl.”

Closing Line: “He was never letting go.” (Whited out to avoid spoilers,

highlight to read.)

Additional Quotes from Mr. Jingle Bells
“Sipping his own coffee and watching Ashton chew on his bacon slice, Walker felt a wave of satisfaction sweet him. Who gave a damn if he was being weird or heteronormative or whatever else. He felt like a man taking care of his beautiful business partner, giving him good food, and a soft bed, and seeing him all sleep rumpled and gorgeous. Making friends with him. For business.
Fuck it. He needed a therapist because he had no idea what any of that meant. It sounded like nonsense even to him.” (Chapter 4)

“Walker glanced up at him, eyes glowing warmly. ‘No, of course you’re not.’ He said it so tenderly that Ashton felt the words like a touch. ‘I would never ask you to.’ Walker turned his attention back to his phone. ‘Now, let’s see. There’s something called Cullen skink—a fish chowder of some sort—and black pudding, though that’s made with blood and oatmeal?'” (Chapter 7)

“How had he ever let Ashton’s fashion choices bother him? He’d been an asshole. And afraid of what it meant to love a man like Ashton.” (Chapter 21)