August 1939. Roger Miller and Jack O’Brien have been close since childhood. By the time they realize there’s more between them than friendship, Jack is leaving their sleepy Iowa town for college. But they console themselves knowing he’ll be home for Christmas. Right?
It is Christmas before they see each other again, but that Christmas comes six years and a world war later. Aged, beaten, and shaken by combat, they’re not the boys they were back then, but their feelings for each other are stronger than ever.
Neither know the words to say everything they’ve carried since that peacetime summer kiss, though. Even as they stand in the same room, there’s a thousand miles between them.
But maybe that’s some distance the little angel in Roger’s rucksack can cross.
This 24,000 word novella is part of the multi-author Christmas Angel series, and can be read as a standalone.
The Christmas Angel Series
In 1750, a master woodcarver poured all his unrequited love, passion, and longing into his masterpiece—a gorgeous Christmas angel for his beloved’s tree. When the man he loved tossed the angel away without a second thought, a miracle happened. The angel was found by another who brought the woodcarver True Love.
Since then, the angel has been passed down, sold, lost and found, but its magic remains. Read the romances inspired by (and perhaps nudged along by) the Christmas angel through the years. Whether it’s 1700s England (Eli Easton’s Christmas Angel), the 1880’s New York (Kim Fielding’s Summerfield’s Angel), the turn-of-the-century (Jordan L. Hawk’s Magician’s Angel), World War II (L.A. Witt’s Christmas Homecoming), Vietnam-era (N.R. Walker’s Soldier’s Wish), the 1990’s (Anyta Sunday’s Shrewd Angel), or 2018 (RJ Scott’s Christmas Prince), the Christmas angel has a way of landing on the trees of lonely men who need its blessing for a very Merry Christmas and forever HEA.
Amazon
Christmas Angel – Eli Easton – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Summerfield’s Angel – Kim Fielding – Amazon US | Amazon UK
The Magician’s Angel – Jordan L. Hawk – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Christmas Homecoming – L.A. Witt – Amazon US | Amazon UK
A Soldier’s Wish – N.R. Walker – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Shrewd Angel – Anyta Sunday – Amazon US | Amazon UK
Christmas Prince – RJ Scott- Amazon US | Amazon UK
This one might’ve been my favorite so far in these little short stories with the magical angel.
Best friends, Jack and Roger are about to go their separate ways, one to college and one in the army. They aren’t sure where life will take them, but they promise to stay in touch. One last hurrah at the swimming hole the day before Jack is set to leave, brings a whole new light to their friendship…. They kiss…. They kiss and then realize that their feelings for each other are much deeper than friendship, and how much time they’ve lost because they didn’t realize it sooner.
My heart broke for these two… I ugly cried at two in the morning from the unfairness of it all. After being drafted and both men sent to war, they lost touch, for six years, until one is on leave and the other is honorably discharged from shell shock and they meet again in their hometown.
It’s awkward at first, because they don’t know where to go from there. They both used each other as a way to stay sane during the war, thinking of each other and dreaming of being able to be together again one day. I couldn’t even imagine what it was like for men and women back then, unable to be who they are or be with who they love. Having to hide or keep such a secret. How incredibly sad.
You can feel how much these two love each other. How each of them despaired at the thought of losing the other one to the war or because their families were hounding them to get married. They had to walk away from each other when they were just kids, and now that they’re back together, they face the same struggles…. Luckily, while on leave another time, Roger was window shopping at a junk shop and found a Christmas angel. You know what that means….
So, with a little bit of that angel’s magic and a love that even time couldn’t dull… they admitted their feelings to each other and vowed that nothing was going to separate them again. If anyone deserved a HEA, it was these two… I cried and then cried and then cried a little more. Some of it sad, but by the end, it was all happy.
What an awesome story. I can’t wait to see who the angel picks next!
5 pieces of eye candy
Dec 2 – Amy’s MM Romance Reviews, Dec 4 – Cupcakes & Bookshelves, Xtreme Delusions, Dec 6 – Mainely Stories, Dec 8 – Sexy Erotic Xciting, Open Skye, Megan’s Media Melange, The Secret Ko, Rainbow Book Reviews, Dec 10 – Mirrigold, Lelyana’s Reviews, Dec 12 – Making It Happen, Two Chicks Obsessed, Dec 14 – Momma Says: To Read Or Not To Read, Scattered Thoughts & Rogue Words, Lillian Francis, Wicked Reads, Dec 17 – Bonkers About Books, Bayou Book Junkie, Dec 19 – Book Corner Reviews, Dec 21 – MM Good Book Reviews
L.A. Witt is an abnormal M/M romance writer who has finally been released from the purgatorial corn maze of Omaha, Nebraska, and now spends her time on the southwestern coast of Spain. In between wondering how she didn’t lose her mind in Omaha, she explores the country with her husband, several clairvoyant hamsters, and an ever-growing herd of rabid plot bunnies. She also has substantially more time on her hands these days, as she has recruited a small army of mercenaries to search South America for her nemesis, romance author Lauren Gallagher, but don’t tell Lauren. And definitely don’t tell Lori A. Witt or Ann Gallagher. Neither of those twits can keep their mouths shut…
Website: http://www.gallagherwitt.com
E-mail: gallagherwitt@gmail.com
Twitter: @GallagherWitt
Blog: http://gallagherwitt.blogspot.com
