MLR Press Presents: http://www.mlrbooks.com/ShowBook.php?book=MSHARVMN
Blurb
What’s a guy to do when the time to be with family is the time he dreads the most?
All Matt Green wants for Thanksgiving is to propose to his boyfriend in the most epic way he knows-in front of their families. There’s only one catch. His boyfriend, Reed Jordan, doesn’t do family gatherings. To be honest, Reed isn’t wild about Thanksgiving, but he won’t say why.
Matt’s willing to do anything in order to get Reed to talk, but will it make the holiday perfect or or ruin all of Matt’s plans? The Harvest Moon just might be the right omen to make everything all right.
Morgan’s Review
This is a short story, a sequel of sorts to Blue Moon. Blue Moon was about Halloween, this is about Thanksgiving. In both stories the MCs “hate” the holiday in question, and it is the goal of the other MC to get them over this hatred.
For Reed, Thanksgiving represents the “coming out”/ epic fail he had with his parents 10 years ago. He was declared “dead” by his family and disowned and has hated the holiday ever since.
Matt loves people and parties and has felt a bit stifled by the lack of holiday spirit. He wants to replace Reed’s bad experience with a good one – a marriage proposal – but is scared. So he enlists the help of friends and family and spends some time talking with Reed to talk him off the ledge.
Reed reluctantly agrees and the family comes over and turkey eating commences and what do you know? All’s well! Reed accepts the proposal and everyone is happy!
Except…There is a lingering spookiness when a strange man is spotted outside the window after dinner. Reed reports the man had been stalking him earlier with wild talk about “granting wishes” and Matt confesses he’d been approached as well. Their friends, Paul and “Tony” confess that they fear that man is actually a demon (which elicits zero reaction from Reed and Matt) who made a deal with Tristan (after they confess that “Tony” is really Tristan) that resulted in Tristan’s “death” and subsequent “rebirth”. Everyone agrees not to talk to the creepy guy and all’s well again.
**
This story was more forced than Blue Moon. There seemed to be no real “hurdle” and the angst felt very manufactured. There was much gratuitous sex and I didn’t enjoy this story as much, as it’s predecessor. However, I did appreciate the continuing thread and hope to see if it takes us somewhere with all the couples together somehow.
I give this a 2.5 of 5 hearts
