Evergreen

by Alix Bekins, Andrew Grey, Dawn Kimberly Johnson

When it comes to romance, ageless images are carried forever in your heart: A candle in the window burning bright. Warmth billowing from an old stone hearth. Snowflakes falling from the night sky under a full moon. Twinkle lights glinting in a lover’s eyes.

Romance during the winter holidays is evergreen, and these stories will get you in the mood for love. Your Christmas present to yourself!

Stories include:
Aunt Dee Dee’s Holiday Check by Joel Skelton
Betting on Snow by H. Lewis-Foster
Bianca’s Plan by B.G. Thomas
Bless Us Every One by Gina A. Rogers
A Charming Idea by Alex Mar
The Christmas Snoop by Jean Wolfe
The Colors of Pastor Saul by S.A. Garcia
Eight Days by Cardeno C.
A Gentleman's Agreement by J. Roman
The Ghost of Mistletoe Lock by Amy Rae Durreson
A Great Miracle Happened There by Kim Fielding
Inseparable by Chris Scully
Inspiration by Henrietta Clarke
Last Tree Standing by Julia Talbot
Lessons Learned, Wishes Earned by Cassandra Gold
Lord of Misrule by Alix Bekins
Lucky by Ana Bosch
Mending Noel by Charlie Cochet
Old Flames by Davi Rodriguez
On the Rocks by Ari McKay
Peace in the Valley by Jana Denardo
The Perils and Pleasures of a White Christmas by Emily Moreton/Erin Sheppard
The Roommate by Teegan Loy
Rudolph by Sam C. Leonhard
Safe Harbor by Laylah Hunter
Snowbound in Nowhere by Andrew Grey
Soups and Diners by Alex Whitehall
Traditions from the Heart by Bru Baker
Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane
Wish List by J.J. Cassidy
Yes, Darling by Dawn Kimberly Johnson

Genres: M M Romance

ebook

First published December 1, 2012

About the author

Alix lives in the coastal mountains of Northern California with her partner and their dog. She’s been writing for as long as she can remember in a variety of genres, including fiction, erotica, poetry, and nonfiction and has even managed to get some of it published from time to time.

Sexuality is the cornerstone of her life and work and always has been, through two degrees and several life plans. Her work and writing focus on the themes of self-discovery and coming out, with a healthy dose of kink on the side.

Alix is pretty sure she’s the only person in the world who wears a plastic Viking helmet as a thinking cap when she battles writer’s block. She always wins.

Contact info:
Email: alixbekins@gmail.com
Blog: https://alixbekins.wordpress.com

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars to the whole compilation.

I've read and reviewed all of these shorts individually, so I'm not going to do that here (yes, ALL 31 OF THEM). LOL

As you would suspect, there is a whole lot of fluffy and sweet in a holiday anthology, and Evergreen didn't disappoint! It was definitely worth the investment. It was so much fun to check my e-mail and get a new book every morning for a whole month, so... Merry Christmas, self! XD

There were some that ended up on my 'WTF Did I Just Read' shelf, for sure, because some of the stories were so flat-out bizarre that I had to give the author props for even coming up with such a crazy idea. LOL

There were some with MCs I hated, some with MCs I LOVED. Some that were just little snapshot scenes, some with fully developed story arcs. Some were sweet, some were spicy. Some were just 'meh.'

The best part was that I discovered some new authors whose work I WILL be pursuing further!

Anyway, I wanted to give a shout out for the ones that I personally felt were the real stand-outs to me, for various reasons (in order by favorites, linked to my reviews for them):

1) Mending Noel, by Charlie Cochet

2) Wish List, by J.J. Cassidy (Heard rumors we might see more of these MCs, which is AWESOME!)

3) Soups and Diners, by Alex Whitehall

4) Turkey in the Snow, by Amy Lane

5) Inseperable, by Chris Scully

6) On the Rocks, by Ari McKay

7) The Colors of Pastor Saul, by S.A. Garcia

[Nikyta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Average = 3.5 stars

Good Advent Calendar this year. While some stories were better than others, I thoroughly enjoyed most of them. All days, ratings and reviews are below:

Day 1 - Eight Days by Cardeno C. - 4 stars
Day 2 - Betting on Snow by H. Lewis-Foster - 3 stars
Day 3 - Inspiration by Henrietta Clarke - 4 stars
Day 4 - Mending Noel by Charlie Cochet - 5 stars
Day 5 - Lessons Learned, Wishes Earned by Cassandra Gold - 4 stars
Day 6 - The Colors of Pastor Saul by S.A. Garcia - 3 stars
Day 7 - Snowbound in Nowhere by Andrew Grey - 2 stars
Day 8 - Yes, Darling by Dawn Kimberly Johnson - 4 stars
Day 9 - Peace in the Valley by Jana Denardo - 3 stars
Day 10 - Inseparable by Chris Scully - 4 stars
Day 11 - Last Tree Standing by Julia Talbot - 3 stars
Day 12 - Lord of Misrule by Alix Bekins - 2 stars
Day 13 - Wish List by J.J. Cassidy - 3.5 stars
Day 14 - Safe Harbor by Laylah Hunter - 3 stars
Day 15 - Aunt Dee Dee's Holiday Check by Joel Skelton - 3.5 stars
Day 16 - Turkey in the Snow by Amy Lane - 4.5 stars
Day 17 - Old Flames by Davi Rodriguez - 3 stars
Day 18 - A Great Miracle Happened There by Kim Fielding - 4 stars
Day 19 - A Gentleman's Agreement by J. Roman - 3 stars
Day 20 - The Christmas Snoop by Jean Wolfe - 4 stars
Day 21 - Bless Us Every One by Gina A. Rogers - 4 stars
Day 22 - Bianca's Plan by B.G. Thomas - 2.5 stars
Day 23 - The Perils and Pleasures of a White Christmas by Emily Moreton - 2.5 stars
Day 24 - The Roommate by Teegan Loy - 3 stars
Day 25 - The Ghost of Mistletoe Lock by Amy Rae Durreson - 4 stars
Day 26 - Traditions from the Heart by Bru Baker - 3 stars
Day 27 - Soups and Diners by Alex Whitehall - 4 stars
Day 28 - On The Rocks by Ari McKay - 4 stars
Day 29 - Rudolph by Sam C. Leonhard - 4 stars
Day 30 - A Charming Idea by Alex Mar - 4 stars
Day 31 - Lucky by Ana Bosch - 4 stars

[Anke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bought it with one of those 30% discounts, although last years bundle was horrible. This year the stories are much better :)

ETA: Just finished the last story and it was another good one. With a few exceptions I really enjoyed reading this year's calendar.

[Kendra Patterson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ari McKay's On The Rocks (2 stars)

Mal and Aiden have been friends since college. Mal has secretly been in love with Aiden since then. Mal gives Aiden a special rock every year on his birthday and Christmas. This year during a Halloween party, where the attendees have to wear a mask until midnight, Mal and Aiden hook up and it ends poorly. This causes Aiden to do some soul searching and comes to a big decision.

This book is very short and didn't (IMO) work at getting a connection between Mal and Aiden. They barely felt like acquaintances to me and definitely not best friends. There were way too many run-on sentences in the book, the very first sentence written as a perfect example. The meeting at the Halloween party doesn't seem plausible; as two people who have been BF's for 12 years wouldn't recognize each others voices or mannerisms. The sex scene at the end dragged on and had way too much talking. I started skimming at 77% and was glad to get to 100%. I usually like the author's books but this was a miss for me.

[Cy Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just getting to review the collection as a whole. Overall, I'm giving it a 3. There were a few stories that were memorable while the others were just, meh. I'll be back to edit the review with my favs from the collection.

[Java Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5