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 eighth 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]

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]

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]

Terrific, as always

[Christy]

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.

[Harrison Hicks]

This was an odd little book to read, definitely not one I would have expected from Kim Fielding. But I gave it a try anyway and was pleasantly surprised by it.


It's not exactly a spoiler that the book starts off dealing with a young man, Trevor, with a penchant for pup play, even if he's not heavily into it. The surprises lie in where the plot goes from there after he bemoans the state of his life to his boss, a mysterious woman named Martha T. Martha arranges a gift for Trevor that allows him to relax from his pressures and get a new perspective on life. And in so doing he meets Dewey Goode in a rather unusual way. However odd the introduction, the two find themselves drawn to one another and start a relationship.


It's a really cute book, with some interesting and novel touches of magic that help move the plot along, including some cameo appearances from "Ash Believes the Impossible". Once again, Fielding has devised a deceptively simple story about two lost people finding connection in unusual circumstances. I almost wish that puppy play hadn't been touched upon in the story since it is somewhat polarizing for a number of people, but it really isn't the focus of the story per se, especially in the sexual connotations of it, and may turn off some readers from giving the story a chance.


I ended up giving the book 3.5 stars, as I felt that the story suffered a little bit from its brevity, but rounded up for imagination. It's an interesting setting that Fielding's playing around with here, this magical and mythical Portland that can encompass faeries, werewolves, sprites and aliens. I may need to return to Portland some day in an attempt to ferret out these magical beings that I missed before. In the meantime, I suppose I'll have to read Fielding's stories as a field guide to Portland's even more unusual beings. And everyone needs a Martha T. in their life, in my humble opinion.