I used to really enjoy Casey Cox's books but I think I have to admit defeat and add them to my do not read list.

If you took the parts of this story that related to an actual plot it would equate to about one chapter, maybe two at a push. The rest of the book was just constant sex scenes and it was honestly beyond boring.

I'm all for smut and sex scenes, but it has to be balanced with the actual plot! Otherwise just describe it as erotica and you know exactly what to expect I guess, because this was not romantic or comedic .24 s3 comments Dani (Daniiireads)1,357 223

- age gap
- best friend’s dad
- virgin

Brant gets sent to Christmas Falls to star in a queer holiday romcom in the hopes that it will clear up his image. The head of the production company is none other than his best friend’s dad Hig, who just so happens to be the man he’s had a massive crush on for years.

When a major blizzard throwing off the movie production for a few days, the pair end up alone for the first time in years and things heat up quickly between Brant and Hig once their mutual attractions are revealed.

Honestly, I’m kinda bummed this didn’t have much Christmas Falls action going on, but overall still enjoyed it. The spice was top notch, per usual with Casey, so no complaints there! 2023-arcs holiday-books queer-reads-202313 s Joseph1,406 41

Back to the duds for this series, I guess.

I tried reading some of Cox's Vet Shop Boys series and was very disappointed by how one dimensional the story was. Full of clichés and neatly wrapped up stories, Cox repeats that formula here with a promising age-gap, best friend's dad story that doesn't fulfill the promise such tropes can inspire.

Instead, we get a couple of super-horny adults acting teens, trying to get as much sex into a small time frame before they have to face their best friend/son. Once the two MCs get past the inevitable "should we, or shouldn't we?" phase, which is all of two pages if that, it's non-stop Nifty.org erotica. Which would be fine if it were on Nifty, but instead it's classified as a romance so it's only fair it delivers some lovey dovey romance along the way. It's seriously two guys who have wanted each other *sexually* for years living out their fantasies and only after getting the a-ok from the best friend/son do they move into expressing their romantic feelings for each other. By this time, we're close to being finished with the book (it's pretty short).

No character development, evil mom, dead mom, blah blah blah. Boring.romance7 s Cadiva3,681 370

Cute best friend's dad romance

I d a lot of this book, the two main characters in particular were really engaging and I loved their dynamic.

Unfortunately, there was a bit too much "heading off to have sex" or references to them having had sex and not enough of the on page relationship development I generally prefer.

We got told that they talked a lot, but we didn't get to see much of the conversations or the interactions outside of the sexy times that led to more feelings developing.

The age gap element never bothered me, they were both pretty sensible guys with solid heads on their shoulders and each had been harbouring crushey feelings for the other for a while.

We also don't really see anything of Christmas Falls, only in passing, with just a couple of throwaway lines about Griff and another resident, so it didn't feel as much a part of this little town as the other books in the series I've read.

But, it's funny at times, both men make decisions which fit the character we've seen on page and I d that there was zero drama with Hig's son Col when he found out.6 s Angel635 7

(3.5)
After reading some of the other Christmas Falls books I was really excited for this one. Despite the three star reading there were some things I did enjoy and d about the book. I d reading about how close Col and Brant are, how they not only maintained their friendships for decades, but how they see each other as family and share everything with one another.. well, almost everything. I also enjoyed how close Hig was with his son, (Col) it was so sweet reading about the bond those two share as well.

Hig and Brant's relationship just didn't sit well with me, and here's why. They started off hooking up with one another, then after a few days of hooking up they say they are boyfriends, just to 'break up' when Col arrives. I just never felt any romance coming from the pair, it was just loads of spicy scenes. While I do appreciate and respect that there are people who enjoy that; for me personally, I there to be scenes where they are building a connection, where they go on dates, and really gives a relationship feel. I just didn't get that with Hig and Brant.

I did enjoy the aspect of Brant filming a movie in Christmas Falls, I thought the scene with the goat was described very well. holiday-mm-books-i-own6 s Monica432 19

Another wonderful story from the Christmas Falls universe. I love the age gap trope and this book did deliver it and the fact that it was set at the festive season just added more goodness to it.
Brant is an actor. He's been an actor his whole life, his mother is a nightmare and he's always had a crush on his best friend's dad, Hig. He accepts to film a movie in Christmas Falls and his friend tells him to stay at his dad's making Brant and Hig to spend a lot of time together. Hig was a teenage dad so even though he's older than Brant, he's not an elder and... he's been feeling attracted to his son's best friend for a while.
I loved this book, it was fun and sweet and cozy. It was amazing how well Brant and Hig worked together. They had known each other forever so it was easy for them to spend time together. They knew each other perfectly and it just seemed natural for them to become something else.
The age gap made Hig reluctant to pursue a relationship with Brant, and also the fact that the actor lived in LA, but the fire between them was undeniable and eventually feelings got involved. They couldn't have stopped what happened in the end.
This was such a beautiful novel to read with nice, mature characters (even Brant was very down to Earth for his age) that communicated with each other. The romance was delightful, low angst and full of beautiful emotions. I also loved the beautiful friendship between Brant and Col, and how the latter took the news of his dad and his best friend being together.
I said, this was a very enjoyable and fantastic read and I can't wait to keep reading the next books in this series.age-gap best-friend-s-dad christmas ...more5 s amber.264 11

dnf @ 35%

this is so cringe my god4 s Cindi1,618 84

There are a few things about this book that bugged me.

Almost the entire book was Hig and Brant having sex, talking about sex, or thinking about sex. I'm all about sex scenes in the books I read, but you can have too much of a good thing. There were almost zero conversations about their relationship, Hig's son (and Brant's best friend) finding out, or really anything else.

Brant came across as so immature. I'm all about age gaps, but not when one of the characters acts more an immature teenager than a grown man. I get that he'd been sheltered his entire life but still. It was just too much.

Another thing that bugged me about this book is that there’s almost no Christmas Falls mentioned. Sure, they’re there, and the movie is being filmed in town, but where were the Christmasy parts that I’ve loved in the rest of the series? Very few locals are mentioned or even on page.

Overall, I d the book okay, but I didn't love it. That won't keep me from reading others by this author.

Full review - NSFW-ish - can be found at -

2023 christmas m-m ...more3 s Katey Guillot699 11

If I thought the last book felt disconnected…

Then this one wasn’t even part of the series.

Seriously, the only thing tying this book to the series was the fact that they’re supposedly in Christmas Falls. I say supposedly because it’s not they interact with the town or anyone from the town is involved, and they mention a couple of names in one scene and that’s the extent of it. Kind of a bummer when interconnected standalones aren’t connected and feel promo material instead of a contribution to the world that was built. The fun of them to me is missing when they lose the interconnected-ness.

The mechanics weren’t good, either, so there’s also that.

It’s not that I didn’t the characters, it’s just that it was almost entirely spicy bits. It gave *s m u t*, but it also gave *the most important stuff was in another book and this is just the off-page bits*. It was fun, I guess, it just wasn’t exactly the fluffy goodness I’ve come to expect since I started reading through this series.

Ugh. I don’t know. It just wasn’t the same vibe as the others, and while it was f i n e, it wasn’t for me. I’m sure everyone else will absolutely love it.

3.75/5. I won’t complain, because it could definitely be worse. This could be sitting in a pile with the others in the “failed series” category instead of the one-off outlier. I’m honestly just thankful that this is the first one that I haven’t been all-for. 2023-reads2 s Shelleylovestoread22 1 follower

??????????+

I’m sure Casey has somehow read my mind and pulled out all my most favourite tropes ever and put them into this book. We’ve got:
? best friend’s dad
? age gap
? snowed in
? first time
Add in heartwarming, funny, low-angst and super sexy, this book is well and truly in my top 5 reads for this year.

Brant has been majorly crushing on Hig for years. He even has a special toy called ‘The Big Hig’. Hig also has a crush on Brant but neither of them have ever done anything about it due to their own insecurities and the fear of upsetting or losing Col (Hig’s son and Brant’s best friend). Hig catches Brant playing with ‘The Big Hig’ one night and….lets just say they don’t stop playing after that. It’s not all sexual though. They truly have feelings for each other and enjoy being together.

And they communicate! They each have insecurities about themselves and being together but they talk about them. There’s no breakup here due to miscommunication.

The only thing that ends up kind of coming between them is the thought they can’t be together because of Col. But Col’s reaction to the two of them is wonderful and supportive and how a reaction should be.

I really, really, really wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. I had a smile on my face from the first page and it did not go away. I couldn’t put it down. I’ve read it, and the epilogue, twice now and it was just as funny and wonderful as the first time.

*thank you to Neon Rainbow ARC Reviews for letting me read this for my honest opinion.
1 Fernanda Parente596 83

This is so funny.
Brant is Hig’s son best friend and has been in love with Hig for years, but he never had the courage to confess his feelings for fear of ruining his friendship with his best friend Col.
A movie shoot during Christmas time in the small-town Christmas Fall and taking advantage of the fact that the 2 of them are alone, the magic happens between Hig and Brant.
Will Col accept that his best friend Brant and his father are a couple? Or does the magic of Christmas really stays in Christmas?

Such a funny Christmas story that I recommend 1 Molly Otto814 17

We are back in Christmas Falls to film a new holiday special in the ideal holiday town! Brant and Hig have always been in one anothers lives due to Col and their love, respect and support of each other is apparent from the prologue you have to read more to see how this all works out.
All I can really say is best friends dad trope done right!! These three dynamics are what true supportive relationships should be! Hig & Brant realize they are their own people and deserve to be happy and go for it! Col is the best friend anyone can ask for by being supportive of the two people who mean most to him!
And guess what, Col is kicking off Casey Cox new Vet Shop Boys spin-off series Vet Shop Boys Down Under and can not wait to see him find his forever person and hopefully get some cameos from Hig and Brant along the way!
Not gonna lie, this is my favorite by far of this combined universe. The dynamics were all so smooth and powerful that you fall for all of the main cast. What a way to go!1 Lisa Klein843 7

This was such a cute, no-angst holiday story. I love how easily Brant & Hig slipped into being together, and Col was great. It was great to see references to some of Casey's other series. You definitely don't need to read those series before this, but I highly recommend it. I'm excited for the rest of the Christmas Falls multi author series.age-gap best-friend-s-father bi-awakening-or-coming-out ...more1 Alyssa (hiatus)179

He lifts our joined hands and peppers my knuckles with tiny kisses. "That's what best friend's dads are for, right?"

2.5 ?? I didn't dis this book, but it was meh. Not good, not bad, just meh. One thing I d is the son's reaction to his best friend & dad's situationship: no unnecessary drama. Actually, the whole book is pretty drama-free, and everything's a little bit too easy. But I guess that's to be expected from a holiday story. Maybe I'm just the Grinch
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