Barb the Zany Old Lady Review: Christmas Lane (Lighthouse Bay #1) by Amy Aislin

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

Age gap and slow burn are two of my favorite tropes. Add to that, snow and Christmas holidays and I couldn’t be happier. This lovely, sweet tale of the romance between Zach Greenfeld and his former elementary teacher, Holland Stone, is perfect in every way.

Zach is back in Lighthouse Bay after graduating with a degree that will allow him to be an event planner—a role that fits his highly organized habitual list-making life. While waiting for an interview that will get him out on his own, he’s helping his sister in the family-owned café and crushing on Holland Stone, the gorgeous older handyman who was once his third grade teacher.  So what if Holland is fifteen years older? He’s hot and that’s enough to start.

Holland has started his own business making custom doll houses, and in between doing handyman work for townsfolk he’s working on his float for the annual Christmas parade competition.  He hopes to draw attention to his skills but is surprised when his work on the float draws Zach to him instead.  Zach has accepted the temporary position of town event planner so he gets to spend a lot of time with Holland in the warehouse where the floats are being built.  And slowly, Holland begins to view Zach as more than a happy-go-lucky kid. 

I loved the very slow buildup of their attraction and all the events, activities, and character interactions that happened along the way.  Their chemistry was strong and their emotions high. Their sex was off page and that didn’t matter to me at all. There was so much more to enjoy on page that using my imagination for what may have happened in the bedroom was just fine.

There’s really nothing about this story I didn’t like and I think it would make an excellent gift to a best friend and/or fellow MM romance lover.

The cover art by Jay Aheer at Simply Define Art is a park bench covered in snow. The bench plays a major role in the story, and that plus the snow are the perfect symbols to choose for the cover. Read the story to find out why.

Sales Links:

Amazon: http://geni.us/XmasLane

iBooks: http://geni.us/XmasLaneApple

B&N: http://bit.ly/XmasLaneBN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/XmasLaneKobo

Book Details:

Kindle Edition, 1st edition
Expected publication: November 29th 2018
ASIN B07J5SZXMD
Edition Language English
Series Lighthouse Bay #1

Release Week Blitz for Christmas Lane (Lighthouse Bay #1) by Amy Aislin (excerpt and giveaway)

Christmas Lane by Amy Aislin

Series: Lighthouse Bay #1

Publisher: self-published

Release Date (Print & Ebook): November 29, 2018

Length (Print & Ebook): approx. 65,000 words

Genre: m/m contemporary romance

Tropes: May/December, small town

Cover design: Jay Aheer at Simply Defined Art

All buy links or pre-order links:

Amazon: http://geni.us/XmasLane

iBooks: http://geni.us/XmasLaneApple

B&N: http://bit.ly/XmasLaneBN

Kobo: http://bit.ly/XmasLaneKobo

Synopsis:

It’s recent college graduate Zach Greenfeld’s favorite time of the year and he’s just received a temporary gig planning Lighthouse Bay’s Christmas parade. Not only does it speak to his penchant for organization, it also puts him face to face on a daily basis with his unrequited crush—Holland Stone. But his new job starts off in disaster when the most important float—Santa’s sleigh—gets damaged. 

Holland needs to win the Lighthouse Bay Christmas parade float competition in order to grow his new dollhouse-making business. The prize is an article in a major city newspaper, and nothing beats free advertising. Except, eager to help the adorable parade organizer, he volunteers to help fix Santa’s sleigh, leaving no time to work on his own float, and putting his prize at risk.

Damaged floats, snowstorms, and a last-minute parade emergency force Zach and Holland closer than ever. All they need is a little bit of Christmas magic to help them realize they belong together. 

Release Blitz Excerpt :

“Where’d this come from?”

Zach sipped his tea. “I dunno.”

The lines around Holland’s eyes were more pronounced when he squinted. “You don’t know, huh?”

Shaking his head, Zach hid a smile behind his mug.

“Hmm.” Holland brought it up to his ear and shook the package gently. “Then I guess whoever left it won’t mind if I open it.”

“I’m sure they won’t.”

Grinning, Holland tore into the snowman wrapping paper. He kept sneaking peeks at Zach, smile on his face, eyes full of life and laughter. With the color in his cheeks and the way he barely paused for breath before lifting the lid on the box and pulling out the small tube nestled inside, he looked like the grown-up version of a three-year-old on Christmas morning.

“Wood glue?” Holland said, holding up the tube.

“Maybe someone thought it might come in handy. Since you build dollhouses and all.”

Holland hummed. “Thoughtful, yet functional.” He sat next to Zach again and squeezed Zach’s thigh. “Thank you. You don’t have to keep buying me gifts.”

“I know.” Zach threaded their fingers together. “But I like the look on your face when you unwrap them.”

Holland kissed the back of Zach’s hand and Zach’s heart jumped. “Ready to head out?”

Zach was putting on his scarf when he spotted it, a flat, slim package, roughly three inches by six, wrapped in paper with tiny snowflakes on it, sitting on his desk. “What’s this?”

Holland grinned at him as he shrugged into his coat. “I dunno.”

“Really? You don’t know?” Zach slipped a nail underneath the tape. “Think whoever left it will mind if I open it?”

“I think they’d want you to.”

Zach snorted a laugh and opened his gift, revealing a pocket day planner for next year. “A calendar?”

Standing on the other side of Zach’s desk, Holland bent over to get a better look at it, forehead furrowed. Yeah, he wasn’t fooling anyone with that innocently confused expression. “Someone must know you pretty well.”

“What makes you say that?”

Holland turned his head toward the wall, where Zach had three different calendars pinned. Then he rearranged a couple of items on Zach’s desk, uncovering two separate day planners. “And I bet you have a pocket-sized one in your pocket,” he said.

Busted.

About Amy Aislin:

Amy started writing on a rainy day in fourth grade when her class was forced to stay inside for recess. Tales of adventures with her classmates quickly morphed into tales of adventures with the characters in her head. Based in the suburbs of Toronto, Amy is a marketer/fundraiser at a large environmental non-profit in Toronto by day, and a writer by night. Book enthusiast, animal lover and (very) amateur photographer, her interests are many and varied, including travelling, astronomy, ecology, and baking. She binge watches too much anime, and loves musical theater, Julie Andrews, the Backstreet Boys, and her hometown of Oakville, Ontario. 

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Giveaway: Amy is giving away a Christmas Lane prize pack, including a signed paperback of Christmas Lane, a personalized Christmas tree ornament, vanilla-flavored loose leaf tea, and a character art print.

Code: a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Direct link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c8c1c6417/?