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Balls to the Wall #7.5
Winter Balls
What if the "old guy" who lives next door turns out to be a Prince Charming?
Cas Rhodes has told everyone he knows that his boyfriend Ronnie's taking him to the Winter Ball, the biggest gay community event in Southern California.
But Ronnie's a scumbag, and one right hook later, Cas gains a reputation as the Starbuck's Marauder - and loses his date.
When Ronnie shows up für more scumbaggery, it's Cas's "old guy" neighbor, Pops, who comes to the rescue.
Pretty fast, Cas learns to value people over stuff - and to look under the funny hat, uncut beard, and scruffy clothes.
Face it. Sometimes heroes wear baggy khakis.
WINTER BALLS is an age gap, don't-judge-a-hero-by-his-khakis, right-hook, MM romance - with lot of pansies.
Cas Rhodes has told everyone he knows that his boyfriend Ronnie's taking him to the Winter Ball, the biggest gay community event in Southern California.
But Ronnie's a scumbag, and one right hook later, Cas gains a reputation as the Starbuck's Marauder - and loses his date.
When Ronnie shows up für more scumbaggery, it's Cas's "old guy" neighbor, Pops, who comes to the rescue.
Pretty fast, Cas learns to value people over stuff - and to look under the funny hat, uncut beard, and scruffy clothes.
Face it. Sometimes heroes wear baggy khakis.
WINTER BALLS is an age gap, don't-judge-a-hero-by-his-khakis, right-hook, MM romance - with lot of pansies.
80 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2021
About the author
Tara Lain
97 books1,389 followersTara Lain believes in happy ever afters - and magic. Same thing. In fact, she says, she doesn't believe, she knows. Tara shares this passion in her stories that star her unique, charismatic heroes and adventurous heroines. Quarterbacks and cops, werewolves and witches, blue collar or billionaires, Tara's characters, readers say, love deeply, resolve seemingly insurmountable differences, and ultimately live their lives authentically. After many years living in southern California, Tara, her soulmate honey and her soulmate dog decided they wanted less cars and more trees, prompting a move to Ashland, Oregon where Tara's creating new stories and loving living in a small town with big culture. Likely a Gryffindor or maybe a Ravensclaw but possessed of Parseltongue, Tara loves animals of all kinds, diversity, open minds, coconut crunch ice cream from Zoeys, and her readers.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
July 3, 2021
Enjoyed this, Lain at the start describes the series as 'slightly over the top' and the story is, but also delightful. A bit of a Beauty and the Beast take. Cas is bright enthusiasm in a way that's endearing rather than annoying and with unexpected grit. Pops is, well he's the fantasy worth reading for. There's no great depth or drama but a nice little fairytale that makes for a fun light read and cheered me up.
January 14, 2022
This novella was part of the give-away that is now known as the "2021 Winter Wonderland Debacle" because someone was adding the novellas to goodreads, someone else deleted them, add, delete, add, delete, .... you get the drift, right?
Luckily I saved my last review, so here it is again (01/2022):
Cas is looking forward to the Winter Ball, a huge yearly event for the gay community, and waits for his boyfriend to invite him to it. Instead of an invitation he gets semi famous for socking the cheating scum back at a Starbucks. When his ex comes around for more trouble his enigmatic neighbor “Pops” helps him out.
Set in contemporary Los Angeles and told 1st person from Cas’ point of view this was a low-angst feel-good story that I enjoyed up to the somewhat hasty end.
I mean – who asks about a former dead lover when instigating s**? And the association of a blow job with a shop vac was mildly disturbing. So it was probably a good thing that this was as far as any intimate encounter description went – couple of sentences. Which is a plus in my book and enough for me to forgive the awkward s** talk.
Luckily I saved my last review, so here it is again (01/2022):
Cas is looking forward to the Winter Ball, a huge yearly event for the gay community, and waits for his boyfriend to invite him to it. Instead of an invitation he gets semi famous for socking the cheating scum back at a Starbucks. When his ex comes around for more trouble his enigmatic neighbor “Pops” helps him out.
Set in contemporary Los Angeles and told 1st person from Cas’ point of view this was a low-angst feel-good story that I enjoyed up to the somewhat hasty end.
I mean – who asks about a former dead lover when instigating s**? And the association of a blow job with a shop vac was mildly disturbing. So it was probably a good thing that this was as far as any intimate encounter description went – couple of sentences. Which is a plus in my book and enough for me to forgive the awkward s** talk.
December 28, 2023
MY KIND OF PERFECT MODERN-DAY FAIRYTALE
It took me a while to get over the hangover from this one. It was so freaking beautiful, it caught me totally by surprise, moved me deeply, and left me swept off my feet, that I just couldn't. I still haven't quite recovered, but I wanted to try my best to leave an honest review, at the very least.
Where to start? Ah, yes. The main characters. This is my 3rd Tara Lain (another freebie), and yet another sweeping win. (How does she manage to write characters that are so relatable to me?? It's kind of scary how easily I find myself connecting to her characters. Characters this good are definitely not a common feat in most stories I've dived into.) Cas is the bouncing ball of sunshine who is sweet and down to earth, with a seemingly superhero-level zest for life and boundless kindness. Pops is the mysterious neighbourhood eccentric who spends almost everyday just puttering about in his garden. The way they first meet and slowly fall in love (though I do believe it was love at first sight and they just didn't know it) is perhaps the best thing about this story; it's executed in such a careful, patient, yet exciting way in just the right pacing, that I found it very easy to become invested in their love story, that by the time things start to unravel and we find out the truth about both of them, it all just falls into place so perfectly! The way all the precious little nuances were sprinkled into the tale without overdoing it with narrative redundancies (as other amateuristic authors tend to do) was simply brilliant! As always, I want to rant endlessly about all the things I adored about this story—but I can't, or I'd give the story away, and that would ruin the fun for anyone who hasn't read it. All I have to say is: I love every little thing about this—EVERYTHING. I am a hardcore romantic after all, and this was definitely romantic and just enchanting all around! (Normally, I'd lament the closed-door sex, but the story is so good that I don't even mind, actually -LE GASP- yes, me the erotica enthusiast—shocking, I know, haha.) If you love feel-good MM romances with a cute plot and flawed but real and endearing characters, you won't want to miss this!
This is very reminiscent of a modern fairytale in the way that a Cinderella was found by his prince charming—only, worlds better than Cinderella with so much more heart!—because the prince found his "princess" not with a glass slipper, but was led to him by the brightness of his own pure heart which served as a beacon to him as well to finally emerge from the lonely prison he has sequestered himself to. Definitely a classic and dearly beloved MM romance in my book!
As mentioned, this is a permafree book which I got from Tara Lain's page (via her newsletter), and I can't believe it's free, to be honest. But it's so good that I need this book in my shelf, so I intend to procure a physical copy of this to add to my collection asap.
It took me a while to get over the hangover from this one. It was so freaking beautiful, it caught me totally by surprise, moved me deeply, and left me swept off my feet, that I just couldn't. I still haven't quite recovered, but I wanted to try my best to leave an honest review, at the very least.
Where to start? Ah, yes. The main characters. This is my 3rd Tara Lain (another freebie), and yet another sweeping win. (How does she manage to write characters that are so relatable to me?? It's kind of scary how easily I find myself connecting to her characters. Characters this good are definitely not a common feat in most stories I've dived into.) Cas is the bouncing ball of sunshine who is sweet and down to earth, with a seemingly superhero-level zest for life and boundless kindness. Pops is the mysterious neighbourhood eccentric who spends almost everyday just puttering about in his garden. The way they first meet and slowly fall in love (though I do believe it was love at first sight and they just didn't know it) is perhaps the best thing about this story; it's executed in such a careful, patient, yet exciting way in just the right pacing, that I found it very easy to become invested in their love story, that by the time things start to unravel and we find out the truth about both of them, it all just falls into place so perfectly! The way all the precious little nuances were sprinkled into the tale without overdoing it with narrative redundancies (as other amateuristic authors tend to do) was simply brilliant! As always, I want to rant endlessly about all the things I adored about this story—but I can't, or I'd give the story away, and that would ruin the fun for anyone who hasn't read it. All I have to say is: I love every little thing about this—EVERYTHING. I am a hardcore romantic after all, and this was definitely romantic and just enchanting all around! (Normally, I'd lament the closed-door sex, but the story is so good that I don't even mind, actually -LE GASP- yes, me the erotica enthusiast—shocking, I know, haha.) If you love feel-good MM romances with a cute plot and flawed but real and endearing characters, you won't want to miss this!
This is very reminiscent of a modern fairytale in the way that a Cinderella was found by his prince charming—only, worlds better than Cinderella with so much more heart!—because the prince found his "princess" not with a glass slipper, but was led to him by the brightness of his own pure heart which served as a beacon to him as well to finally emerge from the lonely prison he has sequestered himself to. Definitely a classic and dearly beloved MM romance in my book!
As mentioned, this is a permafree book which I got from Tara Lain's page (via her newsletter), and I can't believe it's free, to be honest. But it's so good that I need this book in my shelf, so I intend to procure a physical copy of this to add to my collection asap.
December 12, 2021
3.5/5
Charming Cinderfella-ish story.
This is review 3.0, big thank you to Google Cached pages. (I didn't think the newsletter story rule was enforced on Goodreads, but I've never gone back and checked and don't think I want to. I definitely don't want to know how many reviews I've lost.)
Tags: Location: Laguna Beach, California like all of the Balls series; MC Occupations: Cas is a waiter, Pops is a mysterious recluse by trade.
Charming Cinderfella-ish story.
This is review 3.0, big thank you to Google Cached pages. (I didn't think the newsletter story rule was enforced on Goodreads, but I've never gone back and checked and don't think I want to. I definitely don't want to know how many reviews I've lost.)
Tags: Location: Laguna Beach, California like all of the Balls series; MC Occupations: Cas is a waiter, Pops is a mysterious recluse by trade.
December 31, 2021
A wintery read!
What if the "old guy" who lives next door turns out to be a Prince Charming?
Aww, a lovely and beautiful read. Loved every second of this book.
Both of the main characters were amazing. Loved the gradual progression of their relationship in this novella.
Full of flowers, chemistry, Prince charming, winter balls and romance.
Perfect for readers of contemporary romances.
What if the "old guy" who lives next door turns out to be a Prince Charming?
Aww, a lovely and beautiful read. Loved every second of this book.
Both of the main characters were amazing. Loved the gradual progression of their relationship in this novella.
Full of flowers, chemistry, Prince charming, winter balls and romance.
Perfect for readers of contemporary romances.
August 27, 2022
Before I go into my puzzlement I have to say I LOVED this novella, this is the second time I've read it and it was still as cute and lovely as the first time. My puzzlement is that I HAD read it before, although never added to my Goodreads list for some odd reason I guess, and I know it was a while ago. Thing is it's marked as 2021, I'm sure I read this longer ago than that, maybe this is a re-write, I don't know but it was just as enjoyable.
January 3, 2023
Very much in keeping with the others in the series, though as a short story, we don’t get a lot of character background - just enough to set the story.
Cass lands on his feet with a rental, then in life too with his landlord - a bit of an ungly duckling turning into a swan.
Enjoyable escapism
Cass lands on his feet with a rental, then in life too with his landlord - a bit of an ungly duckling turning into a swan.
Enjoyable escapism
February 8, 2024
It was ok, nothing really memorable. Cas was likable enough. Not sure how old he was supposed to be, but I had the feeling he was older than his character led you to believe. Pops started out as an enigma and pretty much finished that was. I guess I was expecting a bit more out of the epilogue.
January 5, 2022
3.5 stars - This story was unexpectedly good. Don't expect anything deep or profound and you'll probably like it, at least I did ;)
January 19, 2022
This story is all about finding the things in life that really matter, and coming back to life after grieving.
February 1, 2022
A quick, fluffy read. Self-described as over the top.
February 20, 2022
Cute, sweet and romantic read.
July 9, 2022
(2,5 stars) Currently available on Prolific Works as a part of a Love Always Wins giveaway.
August 1, 2022
4.5⭐️
Short and adorable read.
Short and adorable read.
Read
November 13, 20243.5*
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews