Dreamspinner presents: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=5745
Blurb
Cal Thompson is going a little mad over the Christmas holiday, stuck in a tiny house with fourteen members of his immediate family. There’s no privacy and no boyfriend to help him cope—because Philip is still a secret, though not for long. Cal’s family knows he’s bisexual, but they’ve always assumed Cal would marry a woman and be fruitful and multiply. Just as he’s ready to set the record straight, his parents tell the family they’re selling the family house and tip this introvert’s world on edge.
Philip Sherman arrives at Cal’s family home to find his lover mourning the loss of his home, paralyzed by the abrupt and unexpected announcement that trumped his own. Though Philip takes the setback in stride, they won’t be able to avoid the calling of their hearts for long: Cal needs to reveal the truth of his relationship with Philip to his family, and Philip has a question he’s desperate to have answered.
A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2013 Advent Calendar package “Heartwarming”.
Morgan’s Review
Book:
Cal is going home for Christmas. He’s part of a huge family and though his parents are very liberal, he worries about coming out to them, but this is the year he plans to finally come clean. He’s invited his “roommate” (his boyfriend) to share the holiday as well.
Philip is the perfect boyfriend. Supportive. Loving. Understanding. Loyal. He wants to be part of Cal’s family, yet he doesn’t pressure him into telling them, but he’s hopeful.
Most of this short Christmas story is about Cal facing his family and their surprise announcement that his parents are selling his childhood home. He has to face what “home” really means and determine just who he is and what “family” means to him. He has to finally grow up.
Philip is nothing but supportive, and when he shows up he’s embraced with open arms. He’s shown the crazy life Cal had, being one of seven children, and falls in love with the madness.
When push comes to shove, it turns out Cal needn’t have worried, the family accepted his announcement with grace and Philip rewards Cal’s courage with an important question of his own.
**
Though this had romantic elements, it wasn’t your typical romance. Cal and Philip are a solid couple and there really isn’t any issue there. Mostly, Cal just needs to face the final hurdle and claim his adult-self, free from his family, free from his childhood home, and embrace who he is, as a man and as an artist.
I really enjoyed this story. It was almost a “coming of age” in that, at 26, Cal still needed to cut the apron strings of parental expectations. Though he had lived on his own for years, he still pictured himself as the boy who lived in the house where he grew up.
When he learned that childhood home was going to be sold, he had to face the fact that he was no longer that child. He needed to make the leap and “confess” his sexuality and face the fact that the art he wanted to do wasn’t the typical portraiture his family thought, but instead more body forms and creative, less “reliable”. He wants to travel the world with Philip and take photos. This does not lend itself well to becoming a father.
His biggest hang-up was that he worried his mother would bemoan the loss of grandkids, because though adoption, surrogacy, etc. is an option, he and Philip really didn’t want kids. This is ridiculous, given that he has 6 other siblings, some of who already have kids, to provide the needed grandchildren.
In the end, it was touching and sweet. Sort of a melancholy look at growing up and letting go, but hopeful and exciting, too.
I give the book 4 of 5 hearts, I really liked it.
Audio:
Paul Morey, a favorite in this genre, did another really nice job with the narration. My only problem was Philip. He was supposed to be British, but the accent was definitely more Scottish or vaguely Irish. It’s a small thing, but it sort of bugged me.
The rest of the voices were nice, nothing too dramatic or exciting, but easy to understand and it was easy to lose yourself in the story.
I give the narration a 3.5 of 5 hearts.
Overall, I’ll round it back up to 4 of 5 hearts because it really was a nice listening experience and I enjoyed the story.
