What to Read

#TBT Book Recs: Minnesota Christmas

My original plan for this week’s #ThrowBackThursday post was all about being snowed in. Last year around this time, my small town in North Carolina felt the devastating effects of a whopping 5 inches of snow, which, as you can imagine, lead to the Great Bread and Milk Panic of 2018. We in the south catch a lot of grief for our inability to manage snowfall, and being snowed in is a reality we deal with, maybe once a year. To our credit, teasing people tend to forget, we deal with more treacherous ice than pretty snow, and our state budget revolves around hurricanes, not so much snow. Needless to say, as I write this, it is currently 65 degrees and grossly humid for mid-December. I was unable to find a book to fit that particular weather scenario, so here we are, dreaming of a white Christmas, Minnesota style!

If you are a fan of LGBTQ books, winter-themed M/M romance, in particular, Heidi Cullinan’s Minnesota Christmas series will not disappoint! Set in the small, snowy, and very Christmas-y town of Logan, Minnesota, the series kicks off with Let it Snow.

Let it Snow has a bit of a Goldilocks and the Three Bears feel to it, but with a potentially kinky flair. I say “potentially” because when city slicker stylist Frankie Blackburn gets lost in the Northwoods of Logan, he ends up snowed in with three lumberjacks, two of whom, would love to have him star in their own sort of smoking hot reindeer games. Cranky, grumpy papa bear, Marcus Gardner is not one for sharing, and even though Frankie isn’t his typical type, Marcus certainly isn’t inviting any of cabin mates to join in on this getting to know you naked process!

Not only does Frankie find what he wasn’t looking for in Marcus when his GPS led him astray, but he also finds a home in a place he would’ve never dreamed possible. Marcus is grumpy for a reason. Guys like Frankie have left a ton of baggage piled up around his now nearly frozen heart, so the journey to the great Marcus thaw is fun to read. The chemistry is palpable, and the sex is ridiculously hot in all the best ways.

Sleigh Ride is book two, and I absolutely adore the reader note attached to this book: Warning: Contains a feisty librarian, a boorish bear, small town politics, deer sausage, and a boy who wants a doll. This book gives us Arthur and Gabriel, in what could be described as an opposites attract trope. The heated, in more ways than one, disagreements and exchanges between our two main characters could also place this firmly in the enemies to lovers category; either way, you can not go wrong!

Winter Wonderland gives us Paul and Kyle’s story. Paul’s background is especially interesting and chock full of landmines. He’s from an ultra-conservative family that’s as loud on the outside as they are judgmental on the inside. It’s not a great look for them, and it has caused Paul a ton of grief over the years.

Kyle is the “Peter Pan” about town, and he’s sick and tired of wearing that label. He might be young and effeminate in appearance, but he’s 100% the boss in bed. He’s been superficially in love with Paul for pretty much ever, the real star of the book show is watching Kyle peel back the layers and fall in love with the real man Paul has kept hidden for so long. This book contains “erotic snow art, toppy twinks, and super-sweet holiday moments” in other words, you had me at hello.

Santa Baby revisits our couple from Sleigh Ride, Arthur, and Gabriel. Now enjoying committed and loving relationship, they decide to invite someone into it for a little Christmas Eve sexy fun. Enter Twin Cities developer, Dale Davidson. He’s in Logan to pitch a project turning Logan into a real, live Christmas Town, not fall for the couple that invites him into a hot one-night threesome. Santa Baby turns that one night fling into a polyamorous relationship full of heart, emotion, tenderness, and love…and let’s face it, smoking hot sex. When Dale is threatened by an abusive past, Arthur and Gabriel have to figure out a way to save him and seal the deal of fully bringing a new partner into their loving relationship and home. Arthur and Gabriel found a person they didn’t know they needed, and now that they have him, they can’t live without him. Le sigh.

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Donna Soluri

Donna Soluri started in the book world as Scandalicious; now, this almost empty nester is going her own way. A lover of cupcakes, champagne, old-school rap, and Harry Styles she likes to read books with characters closer to her age still romancing and kissing and causing trouble.