Review: His Until Christmas (Con Riley’s Christmas Collection) by Con Riley

Rating: 4.5🌈

His Until Christmas is another of Con Riley’s Christmas Collection that involves a group of people from various stories and similar circles of friends. It’s fabulously seasonal, deeply rooted in the special Christmas traditions of the people of the stories and locations they love so dearly. Whether it’s any of the many well known attractions or off the beaten path finds in London or small well trodden pathways in places in Cornwall, Riley makes us see them through the eyes of the characters, as though we look at them with the same vision of knowledge, history, and abiding affection that’s carrying them to those places again and again. We see them in depth , the details sparkling with Christmas lights and lore, magical moments for us and them.

And as the characters, here it’s a torn PA, Jack, fleeing the changes at his office as his beloved boss , Rex , leaves for Cornwall. Rex is leaving London for Cornwall where his husband, grandfather, and new part of their business will expand. He’s been in other stories and is a remarkable man as is his grandfather.

Jack’s upending his life for many reasons, some of which will not be revealed until the end of the story. It’s an emotional, layered tale of grief, remembrance, and love in many respects. And how we deal with those things.

While it helps to have read the other books and know the background history of the foundation and the issues that’s talked about, a reader can pick up enough not to be confused here.

As someone who has read them, it will send me back to read them once more. I remember loving them so much. And I want to remember meeting Rex and his grandfather again.

But this wonderful romantic journey for Jack and Reece ( of the three Trelawney brothers) isn’t to be missed. It’s warmhearted, funny, poignant, and often moving.

And we get to see favorite characters once again at Christmas.

We also get a glimpse at who has the next Christmas story. I can’t wait.

His Until Christmas (Con Riley’s Christmas Collection) by Con Riley is a definite must and a holiday recommendation! Check out all the stories below.

Cover artist: Natasha Snow. Gorgeous cover.

Christmas Collection :

His Last Christmas in London

We Only Kiss at Christmas

His Until Christmas

A Loser By Christmas – Nov 14,2025

His Series:

His Horizon

His Compass

His Haven

Learning to Love:

Charles

Sol

Luke

Austin

Heppel Ever After

Second Chance School:

Second Song

Second Shot

Second Story

Shared-World Novels :

Finding Mr. Fabulous – Rex’s story

A Wedding in a Week

True Brit

Be My Best Man

Buy link:

His Until Christmas (Con Riley’s Christmas Collection)

Blurb

Welcome back to London for another snow-dusted and super-emotional holiday romance from Con Riley’s Christmas collection.

“What do you mean I’ll be someone else’s PA?” I slump, the bell on my Santa hat tinkling. “For how long?”

“Just until Christmas,” Rex promises. “Don’t worry, Jack. You’ll like him.”

Set in a shared world and gift-wrapped with sweet and steamy first times, His Until Christmas is a low-angst friends-to-lovers workplace romance set in London and Cornwall. Each book in this festive collection can stand alone, starting with the much-loved His Last Christmas in London.

Publisher: Figment Ink (November 20, 2024)
Publication date: November 20, 2024
Language: English
Print length: 190 pages

Review: Second Song: Second Chance School by Con Riley

Rating: 5🌈

“This book is set in a small, British independent school specialising in trauma-informed teaching.”

Second Song sees a return to beloved place and school from Riley’s heartwarming Learning to Love series, one of my absolute favorites of contemporary fiction. That’s the Glenn Harber School near Porthperrin, Cornwall.

As the quote indicates above, it’s a very special school, full of talented and passionate teachers and students who have their own heartfelt stories to share.

Into this amazing environment, Riley sets up the first in another series, Second Chance School, and the beginning book, Second Song, about Rowan Bryn, a hopeful music teacher, who’s traumatized past has caused him to lose his ability to sing in front of others. It’s also about Liam Sexton, ex forces Army Royal Engineers, injured by an explosion on tour that left him with a hearing disorder.

A school in need of temporary teaching help and a crumbling library in need of demolition brings both men to the Glenn Harber School, second chances to rebuild their lives, and gain a new love and community that will help them overcome their past trauma.

Some of my favorite characters are present here from the Learning to Love books. There’s the ever wonderful Charles Heppel-Eaves who always arrives surrounded by glitter and an aura of love, Dom Dymond and his child, Maisie, and Luke, naturally. And so many other standouts throughout this incredibly moving novel, like Teo, little brave Hadi, Noah and his lamb who started it all.

But it’s Rowan and Liam in their own tenuous brave journeys towards dealing with their past trauma and their own new relationship that captures our hearts and engages us totally in this story.

Riley writes with such sensitivity and compassion about the stages of grief and understanding that it takes for Rowan and Liam to go through in order to overcome their own fears and pain in order to be able to heal and support each other as they too deal with their trauma.

The men are real and what they have undergone feels raw and believable. So do all the events as they occur to get them through to a moving and loving ending.

I can’t help but hope we get more tales where Matt, Blake, Neck Brace and the rest of Liam’s Royal Engineers family get their own stories and HEA. If they too are located near Porthperrin and this school, then I’d be a happy reader indeed.

Second Song: Second Chance School by Con Riley is a highly recommended book, as is the connected series, Learning to Love. Put all on your must read list!

Second Chance School:

✓ Second Song #1

◦ Second Shot #2 – April 30,2025

Buy link

Second Song: Second Chance School

Blurb:

Second Song (Second Chance School #1)

Page-turning heat and hurt-comfort start on a Cornish cliffside and end at a school where not only students heal from past pain.

Do first times count if you forget them?

Rowan: I once lost a national singing contest. My consolation prize? A night I can’t remember and the tattoo on my bare bottom going viral. Six years later, I’m ready to rise like a phoenix from those shameful public ashes even if my singing days are over. Training as a music teacher is the second chance I need to prove I can be trusted to help children with their own trauma.

I can’t get distracted by falling for the wounded hero who saved me on my first day in Cornwall.

Liam: Blast damage forced me to leave the Army, and guilt keeps me running from those I hurt in the process. I don’t intend to fall for a pretty stranger trapped on a cliffside, but something about Rowan makes me crave more than our one heated night together, especially when he responds like I’m the first man to ever touch his heart or body.

If he wants a second chance here in Cornwall, I’ll stay and fight until he gets one.

Featuring a musician too bruised to sing and the soldier ready to battle for him, Second Song starts the Second Chance School series. Expect found family, a spectrum of diverse characters, and a HEA fit for angsty heroes.

This spin-off shared-world series aligns with the much-adored Learning to Love series. No prior knowledge is necessary to enjoy this standalone full-length novel.

• Publisher: Figment Ink (May 8, 2024)

• Publication date: May 8, 2024

• Language: English

• Print length: 314 pages

Artist: Natasha Snow

Review: We Only Kiss At Christmas (Con Riley’s Christmas Collection) by Con Riley

Rating: 5 🌈

Con Riley regularly makes me cry at Christmas. Actually at Riley’s Christmas Collection stories. This year’s new edition to the series was a great sodden Kleenex wads worth of heartwarming moments and absolutely stunning moments of love and family.

Riley’s shared universe, between London and Cornwall, never disappoints in bringing us closer together with the characters and investing us deeply into their lives and journey.

Flatmates Sebastian Street (that heartbreaking name) and his best friend, Patrick, are heading into the holidays, a season fraught with emotional minefields. Their flat is freezing, they have one roommate less to help with the bills, and a stressful scene is upon them.

That’s the moment we open up the story. Emotions are high, exams are coming, rent is due. And while we have met Seb and Pat before, the intimacy is new. The hopes and fears is real.

Seb especially is so raw in his prickly voice that I could feel him emerging off the page, all past pain, and anger and rage against those who have hurt him and others. And made him afraid to have hope. And Pat, so gentle and mindful and patient. Pat is as believable as Seb however opposite of him he is emotionally.

Riley has done such a beautiful job with not only the characters but their backgrounds, weaving in the various interpersonal dynamics to the storyline unfolding throughout to become a richer emotional tapestry for all involved. From Seb to Patrick to Patrick’s family to Jack, a young man who has his own journey ahead, and the readers, who have been heavily invested into this story from the beginning.

This is what I think of when I look forward to my Christmas stories. It encapsulates all that good will, warmth, and love that stays with you after the book is over.

And it’s the reason I’m highly recommending not just this but all of Con Riley’s Christmas Collection. Enjoy!

Outstanding cover art .

Con Riley’s Christmas Collection:

✓ His Last Christmas In London #1

✓ We Only Kiss At Christmas #2

◦ His Until Christmas- Nov 12, 2024

Buy Link:

We Only Kiss at Christmas (Con Riley’s Christmas Collection)

Blurb:

Prepare for another snow-dusted, super-romantic and heart-clenching holiday gay romance from Con Riley.

All Sebastian Street wants for Christmas is justice. Oh, and some privacy to kiss his flatmate.

Heat shouldn’t sizzle between best friends like it does between me and Patrick. He’s my flatmate, not my boyfriend, a gym-bro powered by peace, love, and understanding. In comparison, I’m a yappy terrier fuelled by rage and sugary baked goods.

Expect a third flatmate to understand our opposites-attract dynamic?

No.

This could be our last December together. Our first alone in this flat.

I can’t share it. Or Patrick.

Not when we only kiss at Christmas.

Perfect for fans of friends to lovers and found families, visit London and Cornwall in We Only Kiss at Christmas, or double your festive enjoyment with His Last Christmas in London, the first standalone romance in this shared-world series.

Review: A Wedding in A Week by Con Riley

Rating: 4.5🌈

A Wedding in A Week by Con Riley is expanded from the author’s short story, Keeping Him in Cornwall, that appeared last year in the charity anthology, Heart2Heart #6. It’s also part of Riley’s Cornwall universe, which connects it to one of my favorite books of this author’s, Charles, a fact I didn’t discover until I read a note at the end.

All that aside, A Wedding in A Week is such a lovely romantic story. We get to wallow in all that beautiful Cornish countryside, steeped in the traditions of the family and villages, with that sparkling dark sea beyond the cliffs. Overlay that with a complicated fabric of two men’s common history, pained backgrounds of losses and heavy burdens, and hidden love so Riley’s story is full of remarkable layers.

It starts with Stef recuperating from a potentially devastating accident as well as still in mourning over the loss of his father three years earlier, and the heaviest of knowledges, that of his younger brother’s inherited the then heart condition that killed the father. That brother, Lukas, sends back Mark, a man who stayed with the family while growing up, to help during recovery.

That reunion between Mark and Stef is one of quiet emotional homecoming’s. I loved the many elements Riley used to bring the men romantically back together after a hurtful split. The loving memories of them with Lukas, Mark’s best friend. The pasties moment that included his mother in his kitchen. And always there’s the inspirational landscape of Kara-Tir , the farm that’s the heart of Stef, his family and this book.

So many little details, so many lovely moments that all combine into a beautiful contemporary romance.

I’m absolutely recommending A Wedding in A Week by Con Riley and if you haven’t already read them, now’s the time to dive into the others in this universe!

Cornwall universe:

Learning to Love :

✓ Charles ❤️

◦ Sol

◦ Luke

◦ Austin

◦ Heppel Ever After

Cornish Shared World Standalones

✓ Finding Mr. Fabulous

✓ A Wedding in a Week

Christmas Collection

◦ His Last Christmas in London

◦ We Only Kiss at Christmas

Buy Link:

Amazon

Description:

A second chance with his brother’s best friend also comes with a deadline.

Three years after inheriting his family farm, an accident forces Stefan Luxton to rethink his future. Turning his farm into a five-star wedding venue is one goal. Another is to reconnect with Marc, who Stefan loved but let slip away to the city.

Now Marc’s back, trying for a job that might keep him in Cornwall long term, and Stefan’s determined to help him. There’s just one problem — he only has seven days to do it.

Review: Heppel Ever After (Learning to Love #5) by Con Riley

Rating: 5🌈

Charles and Hugo.

I should leave it at that but once more Con Riley has written a deeply emotional multi layered story that’s only supposed to be about a couple’s journey to get married.

With this author and couple, it’s never that superficial. Honestly, Charles and Hugo might not even have gotten married and the readers would have been surprisingly ok with that.

The reason why is because it’s always going to be about the relationship , the men, and the meandering nature of the path they take together towards any goal they’ve set for themselves.

Marriage? It’s been postponed several times already because of other issues, things we find out about here in this story as it gets discussed between Charles and Hugo. Yes, open communication is a great element here. It’s an aspect of the story that becomes key to understanding people and their motivations, important aspects of their lives.

We go through some surprisingly complex issues and topics. Death, grief, and coping. Or the lack of.

Riley threads the use of history, wildlife, wars, and the current victimization of refugees in a raw and brutal manner into a story of about love and compassion.

It ends on such a wonderful note of hope, laughter, and love that makes me want to bind all the Charles stories into one single piece so I’ll have them forever in place for continuing rereading.

I’m highly recommending this and all the Charles books and shorts. There are several out there, including free holiday ones that are among my favorites.

Learning to Love series:

✓ Charles #1

◦ Sol #2

◦ Luke #3

◦ Austin #4

✓ Heppel Ever After #5

Book 5 of 5: Learning to Love

Description:

Because every epic romance deserves an epic happy ending…

All Charles Heppel wants is a wedding. It’s not much to ask now that he’s set his playboy days aside for his almost-ordained fiancé. He can’t wait for a lovely, lazy beach honeymoon with His Holy Hotness to continue Hugo’s education in the bedroom.

Surely this third wedding date will be the charm and won’t get cancelled, will it? After all, Hugo’s followed his calling almost to the end of his path to ordination. Nothing should keep him from gaining his own parish with Charles as his husband.

Hugo’s calling thinks differently, demanding he leaves for the remote island of Kara-Enys without Charles.

That news should be shattering, but if Charles Heppel has one thing going for him, it’s that he’s relentlessly optimistic. And romantic. Most islands have beaches, don’t they? He’ll join Hugo to have the honeymoon first on their own version of Love Island. They can get married later!

All he needs to do is find him…

♥ This conclusion to the Learning to Love series features a host of heartfelt cameos, an embarrassment of romance, and in no way should be used as a guide to the ordination process, which likely involves much less kissing. ♥

(A content advisory can be viewed on the copyright page.)

Review: Charles: Learning to Love #1 by Con Riley

Rating: 5🌈

I backed into Charles by way of several of Con Riley’s free holiday stories. Each offered glimpses into this now established couple’s lives and most intimate moments.

The first revolves around a foster child that had been returned to them numerous times. It’s a beautiful story about a imperfectly perfect baby and a couple who loves deeply. Yes I was sniffing. It was the most current one in their lives.

The next backtracked and again it spoke with great emotion and quiet depth to their strengths , endurance, and love with an eye towards their beginnings to know they would never be separated from each other. Such a remarkable journey for a short tale.

By then, I was enthralled. And absolutely shocked at myself. Because I had to go back to find out how Charles and Hugo had found one another but also how Riley was able, in two such memorable stories, create a couple that included a vicar (and by extension a religious aspect) that would make me feel like reading the book.

That’s normally not something I would do.

Charles exceeded all my expectations, and overcame all my doubts that it wouldn’t live up to those glimpses of the future Charles and Hugo yet to come. I’m so thrilled that I have found this.

It’s not often I come across a book that contains both characters and a storyline that settles deep within your heart and mind. One that thought provoking but also makes you laugh . One who’s multilayered storylines continues with its complexity to pull all sorts of thoughts and emotions out of you as the story moves forward and the couple reveals more of themselves twining into the relationship.

Each location, especially the boarding school of Glynn Harber, a brilliantly described and created foundation for most of this story, jumps off the page with its own history and energy. We get to know and love the staff and especially the children who are so real it hurts when their personalities and issues are at the forefront for Charles and Hugo to navigate.

The element of religion was the one I was most skeptical of. I’m not a religious person. But here the author with her two person perspective gives voice to those of us who aren’t believers. That would be Charles. Wonderful, dyslexic Charles. And yea, dyslexia plays a huge part in Charles’ history. The person who is the most religious is Hugo. Hugo aka His Holy Hotness, is not quite a vicar, although if you’ve read those stories, you know he does achieve it in the future. The journey for Hugo , and Charles (no, Charles stays a non believer in the most charitable and charming way) is written in a moving and thoughtful manner. I understood it and I was overjoyed for Hugo. His faith is fundamental to his character and you believe in him for it.

The two of them together have to be one of the most beautiful and unique couples I read about in contemporary romance. As well as one of my favorite.

I’m highly recommending this. The following stories. And yes, track down those free holiday shorts. One was on Riley’s newsletter. It’s a must read.

Learning to Love series:

✓ Charles #1

◦ Sol #2

◦ Luke #3

◦ Austin #4

✓ Heppel Ever After #5

Charles: Learning to Love

Description:

Opposites attract in this low-angst romance filled with British snark and humour.

Life should be a breeze for a playboy like Charles Heppel. As the third son of an earl, he lives for the moment, partying and playing. Settling down isn’t for him. Not when London is full of beautiful men who he hasn’t one-and-done yet.

To escape his family’s nagging, Charles applies for a temp job that matches his playful skill set. A role in a Cornish classroom could be his until the summer, if Charles meets two conditions: he must move in with the headmaster’s best friend, and teach him to be happy.

Living with Hugo should be awkward. Charles is a free spirit, but Hugo’s a man of faith, with morals. A man who almost took holy orders before disaster changed his direction. Only far from being a chore, Charles finds that making Hugo happy soon becomes his passion.

Together, they share physical and emotional first times. Ones that change Charles, touching his soul. He wants Hugo for longer than they have left, but learning to love with his heart, not just his body, will take a leap of faith from Charles — in himself as well as Hugo.

New from Con Riley, Charles: Learning to Love is the first novel in a series based at Glynn Harber, a very special boarding school set in England’s glorious Cornwall.

♥ This shared-world series starts with Charles and Hugo, but each book follows a different couple in their own standalone novel, with a fulfilling happily ever after. Want to hear more from Charles? He stole the show in His Haven. ♥

Charles plays a huge part in Keir’s romantic journey in His Haven: A His Contemporary MM Romance Novelby Con Riley.

Review: His Last Christmas in London by Con Riley

Rating: 4.5 🌈

Con Riley has quickly become a go to author for me for contemporary romance. Riley’s characters and movingly detailed plots manage to capture my attention as well as my imagination. I end up loving the couples, their stories, and the cast around them.

His Last Christmas in London is a perfect example. After a bitter experience with a mentor who took credit for his work and then refused him references when he wanted out, Ian Fisher, photographer, is forced to face reality and a move back home to Cornwall. In a short period, Riley gives us a intimate glimpse into a man who is hurting, full of self doubt, and questioning his own abilities.

It takes his friends, and one last chance, a job for a well known food critic, for everything to change course, albeit slowly.

Guy Parsons, food critic, widower, man of amazing depths, if you can get the chance to see beyond his walls. Guy is another amazing character and one I could easily spend another book with. The two of them , together, exploring London, is magical.

I truly wasn’t ready to let them or their romance go. I wanted to tag along aside as they wandered through Cornwall, or perhaps France. It honestly didn’t matter. They charmed me.

I suspect they will you too.

It’s why I’m definitely recommending His Last Christmas in London by Con Riley. It’s a holiday read to take to heart!

Goodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com › showHis Last Christmas in London by Con Riley

Description:

Falling for his final client won’t make leaving London easy…

Ian ~ A talented, young photographer desperate to stay in London.

Guy ~ An older, fierce food critic, determined to keep him in his city.

Ian shouldn’t be attracted to a scathing food critic like Guy Parsons, not after the last time he fell for someone older, arrogant, and gorgeous. He knows better than to let dramatic good looks sway him since his last heartbreak. Besides, he’s accepted a new job at the far end of the country and won’t be staying in London.

Having one month left doesn’t seem enough now Ian’s fallen in love with the city. Working as Guy’s photographer for December might help him afford to stay for longer, even if he hates Guy’s brand of restaurant reviewing. When Guy turns out to be worlds away from the last man Ian fell for, shared meals soon result in shared secrets and feelings.

More than attraction sparks between them as Christmas approaches. Intimate moments lead to intense passion, but is being well matched in the bedroom enough to stop the clock counting down to Ian leaving London, and Guy, for good?

♥ Steamy, snarky, and sweet, His Last Christmas in London is an utterly British, low-angst, age-gap, workplace gay romance set in London and Cornwall. ♥

Celebrate the holidays with a lovely long novella full of heartfelt hurt/comfort and second chances from Con Riley, author of the much adored Charles: Learning to Love.

———-

Unless it’s noted, all books reviewed have been purchased by the reviewer

A Stella Review : Saving Sean (Seattle Stories #2) by Con Riley

RATING 4,5 out of 5 stars

No more running from love…

Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.

Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running from him. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.

Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?

After Ben, the first installment in the Settle Stories series by Con Riley is one of my all time favorite books in the mm genre, I have no clue how many times I read it. Still I don’t know why I never went ahead and continued with the series, so the release of the second edition was the perfect chance to finally having Saving Sean on my kindle.

I was surprised, I never read a story like this one, I have to say it took me almost the whole book to fully understand Sean, his daddy, and Peter too. I had a hard time with Sean, him being so unwelcoming and close off and stubborn, sometimes I thought he was selfish, others that he was taking advantage of Peter, I truly couldn’t see him being ready to seriously be with Peter. Then I started to feel who Sean really was, he flourished in front of my eyes and it was pretty clear how gone he was for the other young man. I remembered the Peter I met in After Ben and he is still the same, but for the reasons I said earlier, the way he wanted to save and help Sean, unnerved me, he fell so quickly I was a little taken back.

The novel was engaging, maybe just a tiny little slow in some moments but there were some adventures to solve, a lovely ending, plus there were a lot of the characters from the first title in the series nad it was a joy to see them again, to know them better and from another POV. I can’t wait for the next book, Aiden’s Luck. I feel to recommend the whole series, you wont be disappointed.

The cover art by Natasha Snow is gorgeous, I love it!

SALE LINKS Amazon

BOOK DETAILS

Kindle Edition, 2nd edition

Published January 3rd 2020 by Figment Ink (first published September 24th 2012)

ASIN B0821QPLRZ

Edition Language English

Review Tour and Giveaway for Saving Sean (Seattle Stories #2) by Con Riley

Buy Links: Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link – Exclusive to Amazon and Available to Borrow With Kindle Unlimited

Cover Design: Natasha Snow

Seattle Stories

Book #1 – After Ben – Amazon US | Amazon UK | Universal Link

Blurb

No more running from love…

Nearly a year after being rejected for another man, Seattle paramedic Peter Morse is still pining, so when the one that got away asks him for a favor, he agrees. His mission: track down Sean Reid, the runaway brother of a mutual friend. Peter isn’t thrilled about it—until he finds Sean injured by the side of the road.

Everything about Sean stirs Peter’s protective instincts—saving people is what he lives for—but he never anticipated falling for someone so hell-bent on running from him. On top of his physical wounds, Sean struggles with grief and guilt, and the mess his estranged father left when he died threatens to overwhelm him.

Saving Sean means Peter must let go of his pride and turn to friends and family. Asking for help is a bitter pill for Peter to swallow, but if he can’t, how can he expect Sean to accept his help—and his love—in turn?

CON RILEY lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time instead. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that make them live and breathe. When not people-watching or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don’t disturb her—she’s probably thinking up new plots.

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