Advanced Review by Kristie: Glass Tidings, by Amy Jo Cousins

Glass Tidings, by Amy Jo Cousins
Part of the 2016 Holiday Charity Bundle
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Release Date: December 5, 2016

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Eddie Rodrigues doesn’t stay in one place long enough to get attached. The only time he broke that rule, things went south fast. Now he’s on the road again, with barely enough cash in his pocket to hop a bus south after his (sort-of-stolen) car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, Midwest, USA.

He’s fine. He’ll manage. Until he watches that girl get hit by a car and left to die.

Local shop owner Grayson Croft isn’t in the habit of doing people any favors. But even a recluse can’t avoid everyone in a town as small as Clear Lake. And when the cop who played Juliet to your Romeo in the high school play asks you to put up her key witness for the night, you say yes.

Now Gray’s got a grouchy glass artist stomping around his big, empty house, and it turns out that he . . . maybe . . . kind of . . . likes the company.

But Eddie Rodrigues never sticks around.

Unless a Christmas shop owner who hates the season can show an orphan what it means to have family for the holidays.

M/M Pairing
Gay Characters
Contemporary Romance
Person of Color/POC
Age Difference
Self Discovery
Holiday (Christmas)
Class Difference
Small Town
Artist

Holiday stories… I love them. Right now, with everything going on in the world, I seriously need them. I need books that give me hope, make me feel good, and have happy endings.

Glass Tidings did just that.

There are a lot of moments in the book when Eddie is having a really hard time with things, and Gray was not doing much better. It was hard to read at times because the sorrow they felt in their own lives bled from the pages to me. So, getting to the happiness I found in the end was hard fought.

There is a theme about memories and love throughout the book that really called to me. Eddie has spent his life letting go of things, not getting too attached, moving from place to place, person to person, all to protect himself. While Gray has done the opposite. Gray keeps things that were important to people he’s loved in life. He likes to keep them close. So when one of those things breaks because of Eddie’s actions, the way Gray deals with it, what he says, was everything.

“I like remembering my mom and dad or my grandma every time I use their things. But using them means that sometimes they’ll get broken. Or worn out. And that’s okay. That’s part of the risk you take when you keep something you love close to you.”

And yea, there are little gems like this throughout the book. Little lessons each of them share with each other. Gray, in his own way, teaching Eddie about love. And Eddie, who teaches Gray about letting some things go. But I really appreciated the message that while love is hard and risky, it’s also beautiful. Love creates memories that can never be taken away, and those memories can fill your heart.

So, I really liked this a lot. I needed this book. Glass Tidings is a great story to add to any holiday collection. While it was hard to read at times, the feelings I had of hope, love, and mushy squeals of delight when little bits of their armor would break make all the sad parts worth it.

Speaking of collections. Glass Tidings is part of the 2016 Holiday Charity Bundle at Riptide Publishing this year. Twenty percent of the proceeds of this title, and/or the collection will be donated to The Trevor Project.

Amy Jo Cousins writes contemporary romance and erotica about smart people finding their own best kind of smexy. She lives in Chicago with her son, where she tweets too much, sometimes runs really far, and waits for the Cubs to win the World Series again. Amy Jo is represented by Courtney Miller-Callihan of Handspun Literary Agency.

Find her online at http://amyjocousins.com/