Ella

by Sam C. Leonhard

Ella is fifty-five, unhappy, and one drink shy of becoming a Christmas suicide statistic. On a joyless Christmas Eve, Ella takes a walk and looks into a window and sees the present no one would ever think to give her, a present that will change her outlook on life.

Genres: M M Romance, Christmas, Holiday, Contemporary, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories

28 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2011

About the author

Sam C. Leonhard is a journalist by profession who lives in southern Germany. Writing has been part of her life since age twenty, but somehow it was never enough to report the latest news about small-town politics. She wrote short stories for friends and family until a few years back she discovered the world of fandom. The Petulant Poetess is where she feels at home; slash became an addiction as soon as she stumbled over the first story.

If not writing—which isn't half as often as she'd like—Sam takes care of her son, her dog, a few cats, the madness at work, and life in general. She likes to believe she’s got some humor left after years of dealing with people who usually don’t understand what she’s talking about when she says she’s writing fantasy and gay porn on top of it.

Reviews

[Bubbles Hunty Honest & Direct Opinions · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this story

first it is first person with the narrator being a 55 year old rich woman. seems to be super depressed and determined to depress the reader too. didn't work cause i couldn't have cared less about her or this book.

the mm comes in around 50% when she watches two guys (one is a guard on duty working for her expensive estate and other some random biker) have lame lame sex. then after around 80% the first dialogue is spoken when she is caught watching them. blah blah. The guard has a pregnant wife and MC says he is cheating on his wife he says she knows about his male lovers.

yeah the MC was boring. the sex stunk. no romance. no happiness. nothing at all what you would expect in a Christmas book

[Serena Yates · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is a very unusual story about finding love and acceptance where there was none before. The narrator is Ella, a middle-aged married woman whose husband openly cheats on her and whose children have already left home. Her loneliness is crushing and the unexpected acceptance she finds with a very unusual GLBTQ ‘family’ (more like a group) is the first positive thing that has happened to her in many years. Rather than uplifting, this is a story which gives the barest sliver of hope to those who are depressed. Ella will not go from where she is to perfect happiness based on one meeting, so the balance Sam Leonhard struck here is a realistic one.

If you like dark reads that border on the depressing before giving a glimpse of how it might get better, and can imagine going for an experimental read, you might like this story.

Please note: this is not m/m, and the link to GLBT is via voyeurism and hearsay only.





NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review on Queer Magazine Online

[Mandy*reads obsessively* · Rating 2 out of 5]

I guess the best thing I can say about this book, is that sometimes a small gesture can make a big difference in someone else's life.
Other than that, I didn't enjoy this story, it's sad, depressing and slightly convoluted and has nothing to do with Christmas.( except that it takes place on Christmas eve).
The first DSP story wasn't happy and fun or uplifting, at least for me,and this one is downright bah humbug!

[Sadonna · Rating 2 out of 5]

So this wasn't a bad story - I just wasn't expecting that this would be in this particular anthology. The POV was completely unexpected and unusual for this genre. Unfortunately I think it suffers in comparison since yesterday's story really hit it out of the ballpark!

[Jacqueline · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are looking for a nice holiday short to read in December look elsewhere. This book is horribly depressing and not something I would want to read during this joyous holiday season. I would not even classify it as a M/M book.

[Carole · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the second book in Dreamspinner Press's Advent Calendar series 2011. This was an interestingly depressing story that isn't romance and isn't m/m. DSP self-advertises as being publishers of m/m romance ... and this just isn't. I'm not so much surprised that DSP published it (it has a GLBT flavor in the ending), and DSP is willing to step into unusual interpretations of the genre, but I am surprised that they put it in their Advent series.

I rated it one star because (a) it is not m/m romance as advertised and (b) because it's depressing. It's well-written, actually, and cleanly edited. There's a glimmer of hope in the end. I just didn't want to read it.

Serena Yates refers to it as an experimental read in her excellent earlier review, and I see that. I'm rather impressed with the writing, and am impressed with Leonhard's vision. I would read another book by her. I just can't recommend this one.

[Melora · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting from a DSP holiday short. It's not even really an m/m story. I've seen more m/m in historical het romances. A very odd choice to include in this anthology. The writing was decent and were I to come across another book by this author I might be tempted to try it (after a very careful examination of the synopsis).

[Stacey Rhodes · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was incredibly depressing, I couldn't connect to any of the characters or their actions, and I'm just glad it was short, otherwise it might have been my first DNF. :(

[Gwengwel]

Read Bubbles review.

[Meggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow what a weird Christmas story. For my liking the atmosphere was to sad and depressing for a Christmas time.

[Sucajo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was unusual but I liked it.

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the first book I picked up from this year's Dreamspinner Advent Calendar. I'm not sure which day it was released. But I have recently read a book by Leonhard so I was excited to read this one. But, what a disappointment.

The writing is really great, same as the other book I've read, but the story itself is a real downer. Ella, a depressed 55 year old woman, who's story we get in the first half of this tale, ends up as a voyeur of some m/m action on Christmas eve. It is a first person narrative written from Ella's POV. So the first problem is the narrator, she is like a debbie downer so no matter what joy the two men are feeling it's all tainted with her perspective and on top of it, since she is peeping we are separated anyway. It just didn't fill me with any warm, fuzzy, holiday spirit, which at the end of the day is what I look for in these little releases.

[melek · Rating 3 out of 5]

NOT m/m just a midage women who does see her neighbor with his boyfriend like somehow spying on them.

[Marlobo ♥ epilogues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual and interesting

[Elizabeth H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different, not what I expected, but I liked it!