Peppermint Bark

by Kim Fielding

It’s almost Christmas, and Trevor Lowell’s love life has gone to the dogs. What's more, his finances are strained, completion of his college degree feels interminable, and his favorite little kink is no longer making his tail wag. But when his boss—an unusual woman with some tricks up her sleeve—gives him a special gift, Trevor’s life changes in an instant. Enter Dewey teacher, animal rescuer, and cuddly hero. This touch of holiday magic may make Trevor a very lucky dog.

Genres: M M Romance

111 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 17, 2025

About the author

Kim Fielding lives in Oregon and travels as often as she can manage. A professor by day, at night she rushes into a phone booth to change into her author costume (which involves comfy clothes instead of Spandex and is, sadly, lacking a cape). Her superpowers include the ability to write nearly anywhere, often while simultaneously doling out assistance to her family. Her favorite word to describe herself is "eclectic" and she finally got that seventh tattoo.

Reviews

[Kim]

This is a Christmas story with a sprinkle of magic, set in contemporary Portland, Oregon. Both the story idea and the wonderful title were gifts from the amazing Joel Leslie, and I had a lot of fun with it.

Some of my influences included a fun shop a few blocks from my house, a bar that's even closer, and Portland's general aura of weirdness.

Two of the characters from Ash Believes the Impossible make an appearance in this story, but it's not truly a sequel and it works perfectly as a standalone.

[Ami · Rating 3 out of 5]

SPOILERS SPOILERS

I didn't really enjoy pup kink/play in my romance, so I was a bit thrown off when I started this book and it opened with Trevor in his pup get-ups. I was like, waiiiiit, do I want to continue?. But this is Kim Fielding, and I adore her writing. So I dismissed my uncomfortable feeling and carried on.

It turned out to be quite sweet story. Yes, Trevor had his kink, but as he explained, he wasn't really into it into it. He just wanted to be taken care of, like dog. Trevor had been along for quite long, being responsible for himself. So it was nice when he let someone else did it for him. This where the "magic" came in. In which Trevor had the experience of turning into a dog, and well, find his person.

So yes, pretty sweet! OH, and this one was related to Ash Believes the Impossible!! I find it cute when authors do that, without being intrusive about it 😄​. I mean you don't need to read that book at all, but for us readers who have, the appearance of the characters from that novella made it fun.

[Kaje Harper · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute, warm, magical holiday novella very lightly related to Ash Believes the Impossible - you don't have to have read Ash (another sweet novella) to enjoy this story. Trevor is a young man who's struggling a bit at the holidays, not broke but watching his pennies, alone because the puppy play handler he's been de-stressing with is going back to the older man's ex. Trevor's somewhat otherworldly boss sends him on an adventure, with a little magic, that leads him to someone new and kind, and wonderful. The puppy play aspect is warm, not intense, and this is a lovely little feel-good novella.

[Kobie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific, as always

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightful and simply joyous story. Trevor and Dewey are just perfect and I adored their romance. Now I apparently need to ready Ash and Clay’s story.