Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Farm #1.5

Simple Gifts

Rate this book

A Love Means... Story

Eli never regrets leaving the Amish community to live with his lover, except maybe at Christmastime, when the pull of family is strongest. But even if Eli's family could accept his love for Geoff, he doesn't want them shunned by the community for his choices. So he's reconciled himself to a Christmas without them, until Geoff gives him a gift that changes the way Eli defines family.

24 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 1, 2009

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Andrew Grey

274 books2,008 followers

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
151 (26%)
4 stars
214 (38%)
3 stars
167 (29%)
2 stars
23 (4%)
1 star
5 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
Profile Image for Serena Yates.
Author 104 books770 followers
December 25, 2009
A wonderful, warm and happy short episode of Geoff and Eli's life, this description of their second Christmas together shows the value of 'true' family.

When Geoff notices that his Amish-raised lover gets lonely for his birth family just before Christmas, his gift becomes a family visit for Eli. The best gift, though, is when Eli returns and has learned that Geoff's family is now as much his as the family he came from.

The message about family being the people who are closest to you as much as the people who raised you is very relevant. It makes this an ideal Christmas story with a message of hope and love for all of us.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Valérie.
1,196 reviews1 follower
March 31, 2014
Un joli récit très tendre et romantique qui se situe environ dix-huit mois après l'arrivée d'Eli au ranch.

C'est Noël et nos deux amoureux préparent la fête, mais Eli est triste car il ne peut le passer avec sa famille qui ne sait pas qu'il est gay et qu'il vit avec un partenaire Geoff. Celui-ci va lui offrir le plus beau des cadeaux pour lui rendre son sourire et Eli comprendra enfin une chose très importante: la différence entre la famille qui l'a élevé et celle qui s'est créé.

C'est une petite nouvelle toute douce, très courte, pleine de bons sentiments comme c'est le faire Andrew Grey et puis c'est toujours un plaisir de retrouver les personnages que l'on a apprécié
Profile Image for Tj.
1,748 reviews20 followers
April 7, 2015
Ok.. it is an odd time to read a Christmas themed short story, but my library's waiting queues can take months. You have to read them whenever they become available.

Simple Gifts is a sweet little reminder of the gift unconditional love and the rewards of putting the needs of your significant other first. Eli and Geoff are my favorite Andrew Grey couple.

Also, here's plug for public libraries - A storehouse of books that gives you access for free - they are truly one of the best inventions ever!
Profile Image for Risa.
448 reviews4 followers
December 10, 2018
In dieser weihnachtlichen Kurzgeschichte von Andrew Grey gibt es ein Wiedersehen mit Geoff und Eli.

Zur Handlung. Während der Weihnachtsvorbereitungen wird Eli wehmütig, da er seine Amish-Familie vermisst. Doch schließlich hat sein Partner Geoff eine Idee, wie er den geliebten Mann wieder aufmuntern kann.

Diese kleine Zusatzstory zu Liebe gegen jede Regel hat mir gefallen. Es war schön, noch ein wenig mehr über die Anfangszeit von Geoff und Eli zu lesen.

Die Story erhält von mir 5 Sterne und eine Leseempfehlung.

Mein Dank geht an den Cursed Verlag für das erhaltene Rezensionsexemplar.
Profile Image for Altivo Overo.
Author 6 books19 followers
August 25, 2020
A simple Christmas story in which Eli and Geoff exchange gifts. But the gifts have more than superficial meaning. Helps to have read the major novels in Grey:s Farm series in order to easily understand context and subtleties.
Profile Image for Amparo TD.
1,371 reviews16 followers
February 4, 2018
Es un relato corto y tampoco es que se pase mucho. Solo que Eli se da cuenta de que Geoff y su familia son su verdadera familia, y no la de verdad
Profile Image for L-D.
1,478 reviews64 followers
January 24, 2012
2.5 stars

This is a decent short story about Eli and Geoff spending Christmas together. Eli misses his family and is torn between spending time with Geoff or spending christmas with his family. It's very short and there's not really much to it.
Profile Image for Melyna.
930 reviews15 followers
December 30, 2013
This is a gem of a story. Very short, quick read. I have not read the first book in the series but I did not feel lost at all. Such a lovely tale of love and family - whether by blood or our chosen family. Very sweet.
Profile Image for Alina.
708 reviews30 followers
October 15, 2013
Awwww! Very sweet story! I need to bump the Farm series up on my to-read shelf, because I really liked these guys!
Profile Image for Gabis Laberladen.
1,271 reviews
December 12, 2018
Darum geht's:

Eli vermisst seine Familie. Doch als schwuler Mann ist er in der Gemeinschaft der Amish nicht willkommen und möchte seine Familie mit dieser Tatsache auch in ihrer Gemeinschaft nicht in Schwierigkeiten bringen. Deshalb hält er sich fern. Sein Liebster Geoff versucht, das auszugleichen und trägt Eli auf Händen. Doch dass er nie gleichzeitig mit seiner Familie und mit Geoff zusammen Weihnachten feiern kann, nagt an ihm.

So fand ich's:

Eli und Geoff sind ein glückliches Paar, doch dass Eli große Teile seines Lebens vor seiner Amish-Familie verheimlichen muss, wirft einen Schatten auf sein Glück. Das bringt Geoff auf die Idee, seinem Liebsten ein ganz besonderes Weihnachtsgeschenk zu machen.

Eli und Geoff kennt man aus der "Farm"-Reihe, die ich nicht gelesen habe. Das ist aber auch nicht erforderlich, um diese schöne, gefühlvolle und romantische Kurzgeschichte genießen zu können. Im Gegenteil, sie macht nur Lust darauf, mehr Zeit mit Geoff und Eli zu verbringen und sich näher mit der Reihe zu befassen. Als weihnachtliche Einstimmung kann ich diese wunderschöne Kurzgeschichte absolut empfehlen.
Profile Image for Laura.
1,032 reviews5 followers
January 15, 2019
Eine zauberhafte kleine Weihnachtsgeschichte. Wieviel mehr Liebe bedeutet, als irgendwelche im Geld gekauften Dinge, zeigt der Autor auf eine sehr schöne Art <3
Profile Image for Karlo.
1,233 reviews
January 19, 2019
dies ist eine nette Kurzgeschichte noch einmal mit Geoff und Eli.
Profile Image for Sandy.
738 reviews20 followers
July 19, 2019
Sweet christmas story. But... the scene on the book cover was not there in the book though. ; ) I was curious to know what happen in the book cover scene. Lol.
Profile Image for Barb ~rede-2-read~.
3,812 reviews115 followers
December 17, 2012
When I bought this I didn't realize that it was a sequel Love Means... No Shame but it was a very pleasant surprise. This is the Christmas story of Geoff's gift to Eli @ 18 months after the first story. It serves as a very nice epilogue to this special couple. I loved the ending

Geoff's gift to Eli comes from his heart and serves as a reminder that sometimes the gift of ourselves is the best gift of all.
Profile Image for Brandilyn.
1,126 reviews50 followers
March 14, 2015
It is Geoff and Eli's second Christmas together. Eli misses his family and Geoff can't stand seeing that pain in his lover's eyes, so he decides to give Eli the gift of spending him Christmas day with his Amish family (who can not know he is Gay and to home he can not introduce Geoff).

It really was a sweet vignette.
Profile Image for Beacullen.
519 reviews7 followers
April 15, 2013
I definitely liked reading more about Eli and Geoff. I love those characters. This is a short sweet story of their Christmas and Geoff doing what he thinks will make Eli happiest at Christmas. Its sweet, nothing too scandalous, just a short and sweet story that I think gives a little hint of things to come.
Profile Image for J.J. Levesque.
Author 5 books8 followers
July 8, 2010
Short but sweet. I like Christmas stories, especially those involving characters I already like. It was nice to see Eli go home to visit his family, and then come home to Geoff. I like how he is so excited like a kid on Christmas, too. I couldn't help but be pulled into his enthusiasm.
Profile Image for Tam.
Author 21 books103 followers
December 26, 2009
3.5 and would likely have been rated higher if I had read the books that the characters come from, so it didn't affect me as much.
Profile Image for Karen.
129 reviews7 followers
March 5, 2010
The true meaning of family is explored in this short story of Geoff and Eli's second Christmas together.
Profile Image for Tj.
2,225 reviews68 followers
September 6, 2015
A sweet, short peek back into Eli and Geoff's life and how they are now. I really liked how they are still learning and growing into the relationship:)
Profile Image for Jerry.
676 reviews
July 2, 2012
Short, sweet, Christmas, family what else is there to say? Family for gay people is who you make your family. Sometimes it includes your blood relations and sometimes not.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews