Unexpected Gifts

by Bronwyn Green

Short Story A pity party normally doesn’t include gifts. Of course, it usually doesn’t include company…or sex, either. Feeling sorry for herself, Cassie Williams plays sick to skip out of her family’s Christmas Eve gathering. She loves her family, but on the heels of a divorce and her ex’s new engagement, an evening of togetherness is the last thing she wants. Long-time friend, Sam MacLane has been in love with Cassie for years, and he isn’t about to let her have her pity party. There’s a blizzard on the way, and Sam shows up on her doorstep—bearing gifts...

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Short Stories, Christmas, Erotica, Holiday, Friends To Lovers

54 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 19, 2011

About the author

Bronwyn Green is an award-winning author, blogger, and compulsive crafter. She lives in Michigan with her husband, two children and three somewhat psychotic cats. When not frantically writing, she can be found binge-watching Netflix while working on her latest craft project.

Reviews

[Anna Marie]

Since it's only something like eighteen pages long, I feel kind of guilty using it in my GoodReads challenge. But hey... if it catches me up, I guess.

Backstory implied. Guy at her door. Declaration of love. Sex. Sleep. Sex. Presents. Declaration of love. The end.

Really? If you just read this review, you got the whole book... in about the time it would take to download and read it, too! GO, you! :)

[Deborah]

Disappointing read.

I love Christmas romances and I have loads sitting on my kindle just waiting to be read so I thought I'd read this one while everyone else is still in bed since it's only 28 pages.
With so few pages there's obviously not going to be a lot of buildup or background. Cassie has had a massive crush on Sam for fifteen years and now and on Christmas Eve he's on her doorstep covered in snow when all she wants is to be left alone, her marriage has crumbled and her ex is engaged again, she deserves to be left alone to feel sorry for herself and wallow in self-pity if she wants but Sam's here with food from her mother and presents.
It turns out not only does she really like Sam but Sam's finally realised just how much he likes her and he's not missing out now she's single.
So why only 2*?
Firstly it's a very short book so it wouldn't get more than 3* anyway but I wasn't keen on the writing, I can understand that Cassie's confidence has taken a knock but I got a little sick of how many times she dismissed Sam's feelings for her:
“And I’m still the guy that’s wanted you for years.”
Her heart clutched as his words registered, but she shook off the sensation. “Whatever,” she muttered. He wasn’t serious. He was never serious.
".....you don't need to joke about the rest of it."
He’d been placating her. Trying to make her feel better. Pity was the last thing she needed.
"I. Don’t. Need. Your. Pity.”
Ok you get the idea I could go on and on because there's way too much for such a short book but if I do by the time I finish the review will be longer than the book.
This is a hot Christmas read, there's a short introduction of characters and a brief summary at the end but it's mainly sex which is fine but I have to admit I was surprised by the use of the 'c' word it just didn't seem to fit in such a short and ultimately sweet albeit hot romance.
He slipped his hand beneath her a** and lifted her until her legs were around his waist and the hard bulge of his c**k was notched against her cu**

[Jillian]

This book is just a short story at only 28 pages so I really wasn't expecting much. It was really cute and sweet though. The characters have known each other since they were kids and he is he brother's best friend and pretty much a member of the family. They had crushes on each other for years and finally on Christmas Eve, something happens.

[Selene]

2.5 stars

This is a short and sweet holiday read with likable characters. Issues between the main characters were resolved in record time and concluded with a great HEA.

[Doreen]

A little sexier than I've read in a while, but for a short story, the characters were quite likable.

And no, I do NOT feel guilty about using this for my Goodreads reading challenge. It's a book and books are written to be read :)

[Lara]

I liked it, so 3 stars, but a very weak 3 stars.

It's only 28 pages. So not much time for character development. There's pretty much implied backstory, leading to the holiday hook-up between the leads. And that's really what this is - just a steamy short story about the hook-up. Like one scene in a larger story? This could definitely have been developed into a full holiday novella (or even novel), but as this is what it is... well, that's what I'll comment on.

Yes, Cassie (h) is having a pity party. Recent ugly divorce with ex now engaged. But for the number of times Sam (H) is telling her that he's interested, she's irritatingly stubborn. He had some really sweet comments, and she's just blowing him off. Really, how much pity was she expecting from him, how far was she was thinking he'd take his sympathy?? Especially for old family friends, would you really start confessing deep-seated feelings just to make them feel better? Probably not, right? With old family connections, you wouldn't want to create the drama - there's other ways to cheer them up. And yet, Cassie keeps blowing him off...

So, yeah. It's free and fast. An enjoyable distraction. Neither character was horrible, but I did want to smack Cassie when Sam was trying to be sweet. And as it's just a short story, there's really not time for anything else, so take it for what it is.

[Lexie]

Not bad, but not more then a sugar cookie in depth. I'm a sucker for these kind of Romances, but I wanted less telling of why she fell in love with him.

I'm still not entirely sure why he fell for her or why it took him so long to see and why he felt jumping straight into it only 5 months after the disaster of her marriage ended was a good idea.

Then again it's a short story that did warm some of the cockles of my small dark heart. It was nice for a change to see the guy have to wrestle with his feelings for so long.

[Jess]

This was cute but way shorter than I expected it to be. I feel like there could have been a lot more here and as a full novel or even a longer novella everything could have been more fleshed out. I thought the writing was pretty good, though there were a few phrases used that I thought were odd. I really liked the overall concept for the love story but I just thought there could have been a lot more.

[Mina]

Right what the doctor ordered

Such a cute and cosy read!
Loved that for such a short little thing it brought out all the big guns: likeable characters, the right kind of chemistry and a whole lot of spice.
Is it a bit rushed and cliché and would I have loved a longer version? Sure!
But this was a perfect quickie read.

[Ash]

Short and sweet

This author is a new discovery for me, and I'm inhaling them at this point! This novella was a bit different from the other 3 I've read, but it didn't disappoint me. It was short and sweet and full of emotion.

[Alyxandrya Prynce]

This was my first book by this author. I'm always nervous when reading a book by an author I haven't read before, but I'm really glad I read this book! Yes, it is short but it is completely adorable and hot! I may have teared up... Maybe. :-)

[Josh Walker]

Unexpected.

Short but sweet. Unexpected language but appropriate. Wish everyone could be loved this way. Love snow days that close out the world.

[Delean K.]

SoSo

Not much of a storyline. Needs more depth. It might be a decent beginning for a novel, but not a novel by itself.

[elaine arnot]

Give this a miss

Very poor literary quality. I should have expected this as it was an Amazon freebie. If you enjoy sexual explicitness you may find it titillating.

[Booklover Judy Lynn]

A short book with a sweet friends to lovers story line. This is my first read by Bronwyn Green and I can't wait to read more of her writing.

[Carol Sandford]

Waaaaay too short, but hot damn!!

I wish this had been a lot longer, with more about their past. I loved the characters, the sex was pretty damned hot too! Just toooooooo short!!

[robin]

SHORT book

More like one chapter, but not too bad outside of that. Definitely short and sweet. Good enough as long as you get it free.

[Cat]

Worse piece of crap ever! Waste of time I’ll never get back.

[Amie Beverley]

For a short read this wasn't bad.

[Leigh Robinson]

So happy it was free. It only took an hour to read.

[Viola]

it's quick. it's good. I liked the story. it's a perfect read for a short commute. I didn't mind the raciness of the book. only a small twinge of guilt using it on my reading challenge.

[Aiyana]

This was okay, everything was squished into an extremely short story. It felt like it was moving way to fast.

[Kaylana]

2 stars, eh.
This book was a very short read, I'm not sure it should really count as a book haha. Without spoiling the story; think of it like the sex dream you have about the boy you've known since teens, but on Christmas Eve. The smut part is okay but man some of the words and sentences used to describe the spicy stuff were just not for me and was a bit cringy, gave me a chuckle. Not sure I would recommend this one unless you got it for free like I did and want to kill 15mins. Not really noteworthy.

[Davida Ann]

A truly enjoyable read.

Perfect story of second chances, should've done this in the first place. A truly enjoyable read. I couldn't put it down.

[Nicole Potter]

Sweet

Was a short it sweet love story . Worth the read . Love is always great to read about .

[Carole Rae]

I love Sam and Cass! I think they are my favorite couple of the year. I wish this was not a short story, I want more backstory and I want to see what happens next.

Okay…let me back-up.

Cass just got a divorce and is all alone this Christmas, so Sam decides to pay her a visit to make sure she is okay. Now, Sam is her brother’s longtime childhood friend. Cass has always loved him and Sam has always loved her. However, they were never together for many different reasons, but sometimes Christmas miracles exist. They realize this is their last shot since they are both single and there is a horrid blizzard going on and Sam can’t leave. They give in and you know the rest.

I liked this story a lot even though it was kinda creepy! Sam is like a carbon copy of an old crush of mine. 0_0 Also, this is set in Michigan (which is the state I live in)! WEIRD! All weird, but still a fun read even though it reminded me of said person. But of course I liked him xD

I liked Cass even though it was annoying how she thought Sam was just pitying her. Girl...there are levels of pity out there and him making out with you and visiting you during a blizzard is not pity at all! If he wanted to pity you he would've sent some flowers saying, "Sorry your ex was a big butt. Better luck next time." SMH. But I get it...if my crush suddenly was all over me randomly I would've been not believing it either. I liked her overall though.

Overall, this was a cute short story about two people who have finally found each other after years of denying their love for each other. The characters were fun. A cute romance set during xmas time. In the end, I'll stamp this with 4 stars.

[Jenifer]

I bought this book because I liked the description but didn't notice it was only 28 pages until I went to read it. You can't call it a book or a novella, it's really just a short story. You pretty much know what you're going to get...don't act like you don't!

I saw it as a scene of a story that has great potential to be a full length novel or even just a novella. The history of the two and their families is set up well enough that you can feel a connection between the two. The part that was unclear was the 'now' of the story. The whole opening was confusing as to who was talking and why.
I didn't find it too steamy so at least that wasn't very drawn out. I'm not sure why some of the reviews make it sound like it was all sex - it was pretty brief.
This does seem like a scene plucked from the middle of a story. You can see the back story that can be delved into more and there is plenty of potential for the rest of the story to play out. This could definitely be turned into a full length story.

[A.M.]

Cassie is sulking. Yeah, it’s Christmas eve, a blizzard is expected, she’s avoiding family, her ex husband of three months is engaged, and the boy next-door shows up to tell her he’s always had a crush on her. Cassie has had a crush on Sam MacLane forever, too. After a quick kiss, she’s not ready for this and suggests he leaves, but his truck slides into a snowdrift.
So… he’s staying.
***
The first half was an audiobook read by Tatiana Sokolov, a specialist in erotica narration.
Huh. Who knew?
http://www.tatianasokolov.com/
They have the best sex Cassie has had in ages but she’s already worrying about the morning and how they will move on with their lives, past this ‘awkwardness’.
Whispers… silly girl.
Squee… he gives her books for her Christmas present, and not just any books he’s tried to match the editions she had of her childhood faves that were lost in a house fire. Oh boy, he’s a keeper.
A cute, sexy Christmas short.
Makes up for not even have my decorations out, eh?
4 stars

[K.J. Chapman]

I downloaded this book for free from Amazon Kindle at Christmas 2015 and hadn't managed to squeeze it onto my reading list. This is a short story; a read in an hour type. I have to admit that I thought it would be a light hearted, sweet, Christmas romance, and I was right about the romance, but it is an erotic romance. I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

There was little time for character development in this 28 page short, but we did learn the history of the main character Cassie and her childhood friend Sam before they got down to business, but the business happens quickly and doesn't let up. If you're into erotic romances and want a free book that only takes an hour to read, then this is your book.

The prose was well written, and the narrative was sweet, but steamy to boot. A quick, saucy read.

[Elizabeth Bennet]

I rated this as a short story so even though it is a four star rating remember it isn't as detailed as a full length. What made this book such a good book was while there was one love scene the rest of the book convinced this reader that the couple really loved each other. They have been friends for 15 years after Sam MacLane moved in next door to Cassie Williams. Cassie falls in love with Sam but like most knuckle heads he doesn't figure his true feelings until she's moved on. The biggest complaint is that it ended too soon. Christmas is a back drop for the story and makes you feel warm and cozy. Enjoy!