A Winter Romance

A Nymph Solstice Romance #1

by Gigi Rivers

An MM fantasy winter holiday novella.

A city boy is lost in the mountains. A nymph rescues him and brings him to his cave. There’s only one bed!

Aryn should never have left the city. If he hadn't left, he wouldn’t have gotten lost in the mountains, thrown by his horse, and left stumbling through the snow trying not to freeze to death. All seems lost, when suddenly an attractive half-nymph appears before him.

Sero came to the forest to seek some much needed peace and quiet. But his plans are ruined when he comes across Aryn. Now, Sero is stuck caring for this foolish man who clearly does not belong in these mountains. He brings Aryn to his cave. But there is only one bed.

When a cold snowy night turns steamy hot, Sero decides that perhaps the man isn’t so bad. Sero invites Aryn back with him to his village so they can spend the solstice festivities together. But is there a chance for something more than just a fleeting winter romance?

Genres: Fantasy, M M Romance, Romance, Paranormal, Holiday, Novella, LGBT

128 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 10, 2022

About the author

Gigi spent her childhood daydreaming and living inside the imaginary worlds in her mind. As an author, she now shares these worlds with her readers.

Born and raised in Australia, she now resides in Berlin, Germany. She is mixed race, being half-Filipino and part Welsh. She is a traveller, potter, gym enthusiast, nature and animal lover, an avid consumer of stories, and now, a writer.

Gigi writes mm fantasy romance. Her debut series is A Naiad Romance.

Reviews

[Drusilla · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a nice little story. Light and without a lot of fuss. It's a shame it's so short, I could imagine if it had been a bit more elaborate I would have liked it better. The characters were a bit too raw for me. Aryn and Sero both have so many prejudices and that didn't exactly make them sympathetic to me. I think I would have grown fonder of them if I had been able to delve deeper into the characters.
Nevertheless, the story still managed to put a smile on my face and I even shed a few tiny tears, so it was pretty enjoyable.

Sero’s smile widened. Apparently, the way to make him smile was to compliment the food. Aryn continued to chew. He wanted to lick those dimples, press his tongue into them. He wondered if Sero tasted like the loaf he’d baked. ❄️😊❄️

[Ellie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Ah, I do so enjoy forced proximity and the only one bed trope. I could have done with it being a bit more drawn out but I liked it nonetheless. I also enjoyed the baking together, the sharing of traditions, and the solstice gift that Aryn makes as an apology. The epilogue was great, I chuckled.

This was all very cosy until Aryn and Sero had a misunderstanding and then I really felt for Sero. It didn't last for long but I found the communication failure to be surprisingly gutting. It did resolve a bit too quickly for my liking though.

This novel wasn't perfect but I liked it well enough and I'll definitely consider reading on in this universe.

[Vanessa GLP · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty OK 🤷🏽‍♀️

[Ana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a novella, and I wish it would have MORE pages.
The setting is beautiful, the characters are well developed, there is winter magic, and the opposites attract trope is perfect.
❄️🧝🏻‍♂️❄️🧝🏻‍♂️❄️🧝🏻‍♂️❄️🧝🏻‍♂️❄️🧝🏻‍♂️❄️🧝🏻‍♂️
There is insta lust/love, and the sex kinda goes from cero to supernova - but there is also a lot more to this story: family and what expectations and stipulations they're putting on you and how love can change and complete you ❤️

[Hanna W · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

*ARC Review*

This was my first book from the author and let me tell you guys this won’t be my last.
This story was light and adorable and just what I needed.
I really really loved each character but together they were even better.
I especially adored Aryn and could not understand how his family would treat him that badly because he was just sooo cute. And Sero was just perfect for him. My heart🥹

The story is rather short but the author still managed to convey all the feelings.
I honestly had a smile on my face almost the entire time reading the book because it was either funny or cute.
This book was very good written, easy to read and overall very enjoyable. I really loved it.
Wish me luck I may get to read the others as an ARC because I can’t wait 😍

[I received an digital arc and this is my honest opinion]

[~David~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was super cute and fluffy with great holiday vibes. The spice happened very quickly but the romance itself was much slower and had more depth than I was expecting. Especially from a book under 200 pages.

I just know I'm going to end up reading everything by Gigi Rivers.

[Joyfully Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Joyfully Jay review.

3.75 stars

A Winter Romance is a shorter read set around the winter solstice in the mountains, where it’s common to see nymphs living together with humans. The scenery is vivid as Aryn is lost is more than one way. He never feels like he is enough for his family and he sets out to prove to them he’s worthy. We do not see Aryn’s family on page, but as Aryn tells the story, he will never be what they want and even his recent heartbreak at the hands of a man only interested in the family name does not elicit any empathy from his family.

I liked the feel of the village and the excitement and warmth of family set around the Solstice. A Winter Romance is the first book in the Nymph Solstice Romance series and I look forward to spending more time in the village as nymphs and humans find love in the heart of winter.

Read Michelle's review in its entirety here.

[patrícia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from Gay Romance Reviews, and this is my honest review

It’s a nice cozy read for the winter chilly nights! The story is simple, no big surprises, but adorable and fated! Aryn is the youngest son trying to prove himself to his parentes, on his way to complete a task he assumed he gets lost in the snow and loses his horse and possessions. Cold and lost he is saved by Sero an half-oread. Sero takes him to his cave where surprisingly there’s only one bed and it evolves from there. They fall in love super fast and super hard and after some hot and thoughtful nights they decide to star in Sero’s village, because he realises that living in the town and working for his parentes aproval isn’t making him happy!

They are perfect together and the sexy times are very spicy and with some fantasies being fulfilled!

[Demetra Roussakis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read from this author and really enjoyed it. A sweet novella of Aryn and Sero. Sero saves Aryn from freezing in the forest when he gets lost. Sero takes him back to his village where Sero gets Aryn to help him make baked goods. Great chemistry between them, little angst and a happy ever after. Looking forward to reading A Winter Admirer.

I received a copy of this book for my review.

[Jacquie Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a Gigi Rivers novella so I had to pick it up.
Sometimes there are just authors who's style you just vibe with and Rivers is one of those for me so far.
I really enjoyed the Naiads series so this holiday related nymph series was sure to be good.
Plenty of worldbuilding and description woven with a simple, but enjoyable plot and some steam.
I liked that the characters were opposites to begin with until Aryn could relax and have some fun.
I'm looking forward to the rest of this series

[K-Me · Rating 5 out of 5]

City boy meets mountain nymph! The perfect novella for all the wintery feels! Aryn is all kinds of adorable and finds the perfect fantasy lover in Sero who rescues him. These guys are both instantly lovable and the chemistry created between them is a joy to read! We get lots of baking and a heathy dash of steam! Such a pleasant read that had me laughing, smiling and feeling happy!

[Janet Hunt · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Winter Romance is the first novella in A Nymph Solstice Romance. Aryn gets lost in the mountains and Sero rescues him. For a short story, the world building was nice. Nice chemistry and really likeable characters. Overall, a fantastic novella that left me smiling. Well written with fast pacing that kept me flipping the pages.

[Angi · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG this was everything I wanted. It was super wholesome with so much love, some great spicy scenes and lots of lovely characters. Especially for being so short this was fantastic.
I am definitely going to continue this series and I will check out the other series by the author as well.

[Fay MMBookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Winter Romance is book one of A Nymph Solstice Romance Series)
A great start as poor Aryn is lost in the mountains looking for Castle Evermore in the middle of winter. He is on a trip to show his family's perfumes to the royal family in the castle, but he doesn't make it there. Aryn is one of 7 children and was treated horribly by his parents for not being good enough.
Sero rescues him, nearly frozen, taking him to his cave to warm up.
Written beautifully with both povs, and includes descriptive actions as the characters find they are attracted to each other.
Both Aryn and Sero had baggage of past lovers they were getting over.
A beautiful winter solstice storytelling that made me want to experience it for myself especially seeing the beatles in a scene and the yummy foods they described. Hot sexy fantasy scenes between them as things heat up.
A Winters Romance story is written over approximately two weeks of the holidays. A great ending with the feeling of a distance coming between them, but they find their way.

[SophiaH · Rating 4 out of 5]

***3.5 for shorts***

Aryn and Sero are very sweet together. I loved that moments between them, like the beautiful one in the wood before they went to Sero's hometown or the one where Sero was left behind by his family while they took a non-suspecting Aryn to collect branches. Sure I would have loved to get deeper insights, like Aryn's POV while he was out with Sero's family, or maybe see him struggling to bake or a show down with Aryn's family, but that is the price you pay when reading novellas. Still, I've read books twice as long without the amount of moments seen in this book here. Were I couldn't fathom why the main couple was actually a couple. Not so in this one. Even though some of the getting to know and falling in love happens off page as the book spans over a time period of about 3 weeks or so you still get the feeling of them growing closer and comfortable with one another.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received review copies for all three of these winter novellas from Gay Romance Reviews (all opinions are my own.)

These books have a naive sort of simplicity that I could see might not work for everyone, but I found them enchanting. They have a sort of 'Hallmark movie meets cozy fantasy'. If you want some cottage core sweater weather vibes, these are right up your street.

[... · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super simplistic storyline, but kind of adorable. I'm here for the no angst* fluff and will be happily moving in to the next in series! 😊

*OK, there was actually a hot second of angst that I guess sufficed as the big story conflict? But it was a) not big at all and could be seen coming a mile away, and b) was over in the blink of an eye and I'm not even mad about it. My kindle can always use more feel-good stories 🥰

[Jenny (Nyxie) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tags: Rescued by a stranger, snowed in together, misfit in a big family, fantasy, holiday story (Solstice)

This was a sweet, uncomplicated, low angst holiday story. While it didn't blow me away, it was exactly the right vibe for what I'm looking for in a book right now. I would recommend!

[Kaylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

I struggled a lot with Aryn. It was also off to an extremely rocky start with the below quote from him. Just because you're unable to function around nature doesn't mean it should have to suffer...
Trees should be in parks. Tended and manicured and kept in tight order, not allowed to grow wild like this. Someone should tear these trees down, put something useful here, and bring a bit of orderliness to these mountains.

And then the next quote. How ignorant can you possibly be? I don't care how spoiled you were/are, how can you seriously not know this distinction (being fluent in a language)? Maybe I'm being unfair...
"Mmmm. This is good," Aryn moaned. "You're a really good baker."
"Well, making stews isn't baking."
"It isn't?"
"No. Bread, loaves, cakes--that's baking. Stew isn't baking. It's cooking," Sero said, shocked that Aryn didn't know something so basic.
[...]
"In my family, we had servants who cooked. We never learned ourselves."

Aryn did go through some shit. His family and any acquaintances/friends/lovers all seemed like shit. Which made it harder to understand exactly where he was coming from most this book. But totally fair, that he strived - no matter what - for his family's, especially his parent's, approval.
"I'm sorry he made you feel that way." Sero kissed Aryn on the forehead. "You're not abnormal or sick or perverted. And it's fine if he didn't want to do it, but he should never have made you feel like you were wrong because you wanted to."

Thank goodness Sero's siblings weren't more involved. They were annoying for the bits they were present, but I have an admittedly low tolerance for children. I get it, though. I do. They were a big part of Sero's life, and we were meeting his family. At his house, his village. Everything he loves. It would have been wrong to leave them out. So fine. And thank you for making it short.

Suggesting Sero move with him to his hometown, Bordertown, made absolutely no sense on Aryn's part. But that he was obsessed with proving himself and knowing nothing else. Sero confided in him his mother's illness when she met and lived with his father there and that she literally couldn't live there. Sero's half-nymph so he was never sure but was afraid of even visiting. However, at least Aryn realizes the error of his ways rather quickly.

Aryn does grow a quite a bit throughout this story (probably too quick for how short it's supposed to be) and that's great. He really didn't annoy me nearly as much towards the end and I was glad they were able to talk and get through things without any huge drama happening and/or miscommunication continuing.

Didn't mean for this review to be such a rant about Aryn essentially... The world shows some promise here and I liked the different nymphs and how they fit in. I also liked quite a few of the other characters. It was a quick read so I might pick up the next.

I did drop the rating down (was at a 3 star). Couldn't justify otherwise after seeing my screenshots and remembering how annoyed I was with Aryn and things in general... >>

-

Rating may change. If so, it'll go down to 2 stars. (Is hovering at 2.5 atm.)

[Flick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really do love this author’s books and this was no exception

I have a particular love for winter holiday novellas (doesn’t matter the celebration, there’s just something wonderful about the winter holiday period). There’s always such a magical feeling to them and Aryn and Sero showed that. These two were as different as could be but I loved how at the end of the day it didn’t matter because they loved each other enough to make it work. Poor Aryn, I felt so awful for him. He’d had such a hard time growing up and had been treated so poorly (yet more evidence that growing up in an affluent family with money and privilege does not equal growing up happy). You could see how engrained it was for him to seek his parents’ approval even when he knew that wouldn’t make him or others happy. I was really glad that he was able to find a place he felt he fit and a family he could feel loved in. This was a very sweet and heartwarming story that’s perfect for reading with a nice blanket and a cup of something warming.

[Nina Diab · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was such a sweet romance. Great world building and wonderful characters. My heart hurt for Aryn- not being valued or appreciated by this family, especially after trying so hard to make them proud. While traveling through the snow on horseback trying to deliver one of his family's exclusive perfumes to the royal family, the horse spooks and leaves him behind with nothing and alone. Half-nymph, half-human Sero sees Aryn's predicament and how ill dressed he was for a snowstorm and offered to shelter him in his cave. Sero needed to get away from his village for a while to forget his broken heart. I loved that he enjoyed baking. I also loved seeing them fall in love and meet Sero's family and go to his home. My only regret is Aryn not speaking in person to his family and speaking up for himself. But I was very satisfied with the ending. A wonderful beginning to a new series! 5 stars.

[Katriana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting short story that takes place during the Winter Solstice. It's about Aryn who doesn't have any experience traveling outside of Border town. When he meets Sero he realizes all of the things he's missed out on and just how truly awful his family is to him.

I enjoyed the dynamic between these two characters, it was a more fast paced read but still well written. Even though it's a shorter story the detail is still great and the characters all belong. I'm glad Aryn finally acknowledged just how much he didn't belong in Bordertown and just how awful his family was to him. I really thought that Sero's character was just adorable, I love when baking is apart of a book and that was his profession.

Overall a really good read, and one I recommend! I'm on to the next book in this series now!

*I received an early copy of this book and this is my honest review*

[Juniper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aryn and Sero’s story is a heartwarming take on a holiday novella– the fantasy elements are beautifully developed and the world building is deftly done– a vivid background for their story– but it’s these two who are really the center of the story, and beautifully so. There’s so much sweetness and heart and a touch of heat between these two people who seemingly couldn’t be more different, until a bit of forced proximity (only one bed is kinda sorta the best ever trope, and I will not be taking questions on this) some holiday spirit, and tons of chemistry, both physical & emotional, all conspire to bring them together. All in all, a really enjoyable read.

*I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Sharon L · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book made me hungry 🍞!!!

This is book 1 in a new series, A Nymph Solstice Romance, by Gigi Rivers. This book, written by a new to me author, was a quick sweet read.

For being such a short story the character and world building was so thorough. I don't know how the author was able to pack so much detail into this winter novella. Now I'm going to have to check out other books by this author, I'm impressed.

This has all the best troupes; lost in winter snowstorm, rescued by hottie, forced proximity, opposites attract, sweet sexy times.

I can't wait to read the next book in the series, A Winter Admirer.

[Latecia Jennings · Rating 4 out of 5]

**First Time Reader**

I love paranormal romances and this particular one pulled at me...and that cover...LOL. Aryn was a tragic but brave character...it was fate that put Sero on his path...he saved him from dying in the cold and an awful family life...brought him joy and happiness. Both needed each other and it was shown wonderfully in this novella. I really loved that they were able to communicate and talk through their troubles and truths. That epilogue was great and we get to see Aryn living his best life. This was nice holiday/winter solstice romance in a delightful world that I would love to revisit again.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.

[Janice Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and reading about the different types of nymphs in this universe. I loved the interactions between the MC’s and Sero’s family, especially Mila, his mother. The MC’s had a good dynamic and their opposite personalities attracted, which was interesting to experience. You could see the attraction is very mutual and I loved the dual POV so you could tell how they were both falling for each other and that it was more than just physical. This was a very low angst, high steam, lovely romance and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I received an ARC of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Angela Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gigi Rivers is one of my go-tos when it comes to MM romance. She writes characters with weaknesses and hurts who learn and grow along the way. And this series is a perfect show of how she does this. In this book you have sweet Aryn who is very much a black sheep to his family. He isn’t good at their business and longs for their approval. He ends up meeting Sero who is healing from a heartbreak when he once again threw himself into a relationship that wasn’t really reciprocated in the same way. These two help each other heal as they come to realize that happiness and home is where the other is at. So beautiful and touching.

[Maddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a sweet read!
Is it just me or does the author have a thing about nature-connected, different skin color paranormal creatures? Can't say I am objecting! I had never heard about such species, so it was a nice discovery for me. Going almost naked in the snow made me shudder though. I am more like the other MC, avoiding cold and snow whenever possible :D
The story is beyond sweet, has a bit of drama and a pretty high heat level. I am a fan of historical angle, but not true historical fiction, so this worked for me. A pretty great start to a new series :)

[Rach Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5*

I actually really liked the initial premise of this.

Sero is a great character - I would’ve liked to see more of his Oread qualities, but otherwise he was a great MC.

The jury is still out on Aryn for me - he comes across as very immature and self absorbed - although he does try to redeem himself, he didn’t completely win me over as a character.

And I would’ve liked to see a bit more of Aryn‘s background play out on page - it was left a bit unsolved for me.

But points for the HEA, all the solstice traditions and the great side characters of Sero’s family!

[Flavia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rápido, leve, muito fofo que bom que tirei um tempinho para ler esse livro. O casal principal é adorável, o humano tem pais horríveis e ainda assim quer agradá-los. Demora para ele mudar isso dentro dele, gostei que a autora conseguiu mostrar isso. O outro menino é um fofo, super esforçado, achei uma graça a mãe dele falando q ele saiu pra curar um coração partido e voltou 3 dias depois com outro cara.