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MLRPress Holiday 2012 Release #2
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays
For the first time in years, Mac is going home for the holidays with his best friend Connor in tow, but he certainly doesn't expect the magic of Christmas to give him the love of a lifetime.
Fashion designer, Mackenzie Grayson, has no intention of going home for Christmas...until his sister calls and uses guilt to talk him into spending two weeks over the holidays at his family's home in California. With his best friend, Connor, in tow, Mac returns to California, a place he has mostly avoided after a bad breakup. Mac no longer does serious relationships, but maybe some time spent with Connor under the mistletoe will make this a more magical Christmas than either of them would have dreamed of.
Fashion designer, Mackenzie Grayson, has no intention of going home for Christmas...until his sister calls and uses guilt to talk him into spending two weeks over the holidays at his family's home in California. With his best friend, Connor, in tow, Mac returns to California, a place he has mostly avoided after a bad breakup. Mac no longer does serious relationships, but maybe some time spent with Connor under the mistletoe will make this a more magical Christmas than either of them would have dreamed of.
34 pages, ebook
First published December 5, 2012
About the author
Shawn Lane
133 books310 followersShawn Lane writes erotic gay romances and believes love and passion know no boundaries. Happily Ever After is for everyone.
In the past she has written heterosexual romances (see her backlist) but is now concentrating on gay romances.
Shawn lives in California and holds down a boring day job in a legal department of a giant corporation dreaming of the nights and weekends when she can create new stories.
Shawn loves to hear from readers, is happy to answer any questions, and has been known to send free books to fans just because.
In the past she has written heterosexual romances (see her backlist) but is now concentrating on gay romances.
Shawn lives in California and holds down a boring day job in a legal department of a giant corporation dreaming of the nights and weekends when she can create new stories.
Shawn loves to hear from readers, is happy to answer any questions, and has been known to send free books to fans just because.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 1, 2013
Posted at Shelf Inflicted
Shawn Lane is my go-to author when I’m looking for something sweet, sexy and uncomplicated. This story is the perfect holiday read.
Mackenzie Grayson missed Christmas with the family last year. This year, his sister wasn’t going to have it. She wants the whole family together, including Karl, her husband’s brother. Mac had a brief fling with him a couple of summers ago and worries things could be a little awkward when they meet again, even though both men were not looking for anything serious. After a bad breakup with a man he loved, Mac vowed not to get emotionally involved with anyone again.
Over dinner, Mac decides to spring the news of his holiday plans on his best friend, Connor. A couple of days before his departure, Mackenzie learns that Connor ‘s boyfriend broke up with him and he arranges a plane ticket so Connor can spend Christmas with him and his family.
Connor is absolutely adorable! His bouncy personality, curly hair and bright green eyes were a contrast to Mac’s seriousness. It is obvious that Mac loves him, even though their relationship has never moved beyond friendship.
I loved how Mac’s mother put Mac and Connor in the guest room with only one double bed and a sprig of mistletoe in the kitchen with that special wisdom mothers have. That combined with a bit of eggnog and Christmas spirit made Mackenzie realize that special someone was with him all along.
This is a very cute story that made me smile.
Shawn Lane is my go-to author when I’m looking for something sweet, sexy and uncomplicated. This story is the perfect holiday read.
Mackenzie Grayson missed Christmas with the family last year. This year, his sister wasn’t going to have it. She wants the whole family together, including Karl, her husband’s brother. Mac had a brief fling with him a couple of summers ago and worries things could be a little awkward when they meet again, even though both men were not looking for anything serious. After a bad breakup with a man he loved, Mac vowed not to get emotionally involved with anyone again.
Over dinner, Mac decides to spring the news of his holiday plans on his best friend, Connor. A couple of days before his departure, Mackenzie learns that Connor ‘s boyfriend broke up with him and he arranges a plane ticket so Connor can spend Christmas with him and his family.
Connor is absolutely adorable! His bouncy personality, curly hair and bright green eyes were a contrast to Mac’s seriousness. It is obvious that Mac loves him, even though their relationship has never moved beyond friendship.
I loved how Mac’s mother put Mac and Connor in the guest room with only one double bed and a sprig of mistletoe in the kitchen with that special wisdom mothers have. That combined with a bit of eggnog and Christmas spirit made Mackenzie realize that special someone was with him all along.
This is a very cute story that made me smile.
December 8, 2012
2.5
Cute little throwaway about best friends traveling from Hawaii to LA to spend Christmas with one of their families. Both pining for each other but afraid to disturb the status quo. Connor was super sweet.
Cute little throwaway about best friends traveling from Hawaii to LA to spend Christmas with one of their families. Both pining for each other but afraid to disturb the status quo. Connor was super sweet.
December 8, 2012
3.75 stars rounded up
I know that the story itself was not offering anything new. But I am a sucker for a bubbly hyper character. So I found myself smiling at Connor's adorableness (is that a word?) and went awwwwwwww-ing when I reached the end. Complete fluff but not sugary. Just the way I love it.
My only niggle was that the two boys were drinking before they finally did it. I am not one to support sex under influence plot, even if Mac did ask Connor whether he was sober enough to do it...
I know that the story itself was not offering anything new. But I am a sucker for a bubbly hyper character. So I found myself smiling at Connor's adorableness (is that a word?) and went awwwwwwww-ing when I reached the end. Complete fluff but not sugary. Just the way I love it.
My only niggle was that the two boys were drinking before they finally did it. I am not one to support sex under influence plot, even if Mac did ask Connor whether he was sober enough to do it...
December 5, 2012
This review can be found at The Armchair Reader.
3.5 stars
Mackenzie Grayson is a relationship phobic fashion designer. Going from one guy to another suits his needs just fine after a bad break up years prior. Moving to Hawaii also did the trick where he met Connor and they became fast friends. Now, Mac is being guilted into spending the holidays with his family in Los Angeles but when Connor breaks up with his boyfriend, Mac invites him to come along. While there, with the threat of an ex-one night stand and a little mistletoe, Mac finally realizes just how much Connor has come to mean to him.
This was a sweet story. I enjoyed the scenes between Connor and Mac. I adored Connor because he’s so flamboyant and exuberant. He’s extremely excited about spending the Christmas holiday with a family that goes above and beyond the Christmas spirit. His awe of everything Christmas related he came across was very fun. I liked Mac, although he seemed a bit obnoxious to me. Mac’s family were cute, though, because they were so grateful to finally have Mac home.
The story doesn’t go into much detail about anything. In fact, that was one of my problems. While we get to see the connection between Connor and Mac, we really don’t know much about them or their back stories. The bad break up Mac experienced isn’t talked about so it left me with questions over just how bad it was or who this mysterious ex-lover was. Because the story is so short, we only see the build up to Connor and Mac’s eventual intimacy and afterwards, that is pretty much it. I would have liked to see how these two incorporate their new relationship from friends to lovers into their lives.
As it was, this story was short and cute but lacked a necessary depth to allow me to love the characters. I still enjoyed the story because it gave me the warm and fuzzies and left me with a smile. It’s a great read for those looking for some Christmas spirit and a great pick me up.
3.5 stars
Mackenzie Grayson is a relationship phobic fashion designer. Going from one guy to another suits his needs just fine after a bad break up years prior. Moving to Hawaii also did the trick where he met Connor and they became fast friends. Now, Mac is being guilted into spending the holidays with his family in Los Angeles but when Connor breaks up with his boyfriend, Mac invites him to come along. While there, with the threat of an ex-one night stand and a little mistletoe, Mac finally realizes just how much Connor has come to mean to him.
This was a sweet story. I enjoyed the scenes between Connor and Mac. I adored Connor because he’s so flamboyant and exuberant. He’s extremely excited about spending the Christmas holiday with a family that goes above and beyond the Christmas spirit. His awe of everything Christmas related he came across was very fun. I liked Mac, although he seemed a bit obnoxious to me. Mac’s family were cute, though, because they were so grateful to finally have Mac home.
The story doesn’t go into much detail about anything. In fact, that was one of my problems. While we get to see the connection between Connor and Mac, we really don’t know much about them or their back stories. The bad break up Mac experienced isn’t talked about so it left me with questions over just how bad it was or who this mysterious ex-lover was. Because the story is so short, we only see the build up to Connor and Mac’s eventual intimacy and afterwards, that is pretty much it. I would have liked to see how these two incorporate their new relationship from friends to lovers into their lives.
As it was, this story was short and cute but lacked a necessary depth to allow me to love the characters. I still enjoyed the story because it gave me the warm and fuzzies and left me with a smile. It’s a great read for those looking for some Christmas spirit and a great pick me up.
December 30, 2019
Very lovely little Xmas story with some surprising emotional heft given how short it is. Mackenzie is a love and leave'em kind of guy. No relationships. Just get his rocks off and done. His mother guilts him into going home to LA for Christmas. His best friend, Connor, is devastated having just broken up with his boyfriend of one month. Though they are friends, there is a little something something between the two but Mackenzie knows that Connor is off limits. Mackenzie feels badly and takes Connor with him to Cali and who picks them up at the airport??- a former hookup of Mackenzie's. Like the way the author has given us enough of a back story on both characters to allow for some depth. Even the brief time we meet the secondary characters adds much to the story. Love the way Mac and Connor finally realize they belong to each other. Very sweet. Loved it!
December 16, 2012
Originally posted at Rarely Dusty Books
Genre & Keywords:
M/M Romance, Contemporary, Christmas, Friends to Lovers
~~~~~
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2 out of 3 flames
~~~~~
I like Shawn Lane's writing and the way she can bring an everyday situation and location to life with her pen. It's easy to picture the backdrops she creates, and those are often memorable too. Even more memorable than her characters or plots sometimes.
In There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays we get the story of two best friends, Mac and Connor, who live in Hawaii and are traveling to California to spend the Holidays with Mac's family. The plan is to stay there for two weeks with Mac's extended family. The two of them have been assigned to the guesthouse, which only has one bed.
Lane sets up the 'trap' for Mac and Connor carefully. We get a bit of Mac's backstory, about his past love affairs, his reluctance to have more than a fling with a guy, and the reason why he does avoid going home mostly. One of his ex-lovers is his brother in law's brother, who stays at his parents' house too for the holidays, and actually picks Mac and Connor up from the airport. For a short moment it's unclear if he and Mac will get back together perhaps, but very soon it turns out that he will be used as a reason to display some jealousy, between Mac and Connor.
Everything is told from Mac's point of view and we only see Connor through his eyes. It's obvious from the beginning that Mac finds Connor attractive, with how adorable and gorgeous he is, but they never slept together because Mac values him as a friend more. How Connor feels we don't know and stays a bit of a mystery too, although we learn later that he has feelings for Mac and has had them for a while. Maybe Connor would've become more three-dimensional when he'd gotten his own POV as well, now he stayed a bit too much of a flat character for me. Mac was easier to picture.
Mac's resolution, to keep Connor as a friend and nothing more, changes overnight, without it being very clear what made him change his mind this drastically really. It's a bit of mistletoe magic, a bit of jealousy and perhaps some eggnog (which wasn't even consumed by him but by Connor) that made him see the light I guess. Unfortunately I found it unlikely and rather predictable. And I still don't understand why Connor was drinking so much... But maybe that's just me because I'm not a fan of alcohol-induced first time sex.
Overall, this is a sweet friends-to-lovers Christmas story that is fast paced and maybe a bit too short to develop the depth I like in a love story like this. It's an easy read and will be best appreciated by readers who are not looking for originality but who like a quick fix of likable, hot guys finding love beyond their friendship.
~
Genre & Keywords:
M/M Romance, Contemporary, Christmas, Friends to Lovers
~~~~~
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Heat level: 2 out of 3 flames
~~~~~
I like Shawn Lane's writing and the way she can bring an everyday situation and location to life with her pen. It's easy to picture the backdrops she creates, and those are often memorable too. Even more memorable than her characters or plots sometimes.
In There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays we get the story of two best friends, Mac and Connor, who live in Hawaii and are traveling to California to spend the Holidays with Mac's family. The plan is to stay there for two weeks with Mac's extended family. The two of them have been assigned to the guesthouse, which only has one bed.
Lane sets up the 'trap' for Mac and Connor carefully. We get a bit of Mac's backstory, about his past love affairs, his reluctance to have more than a fling with a guy, and the reason why he does avoid going home mostly. One of his ex-lovers is his brother in law's brother, who stays at his parents' house too for the holidays, and actually picks Mac and Connor up from the airport. For a short moment it's unclear if he and Mac will get back together perhaps, but very soon it turns out that he will be used as a reason to display some jealousy, between Mac and Connor.
Everything is told from Mac's point of view and we only see Connor through his eyes. It's obvious from the beginning that Mac finds Connor attractive, with how adorable and gorgeous he is, but they never slept together because Mac values him as a friend more. How Connor feels we don't know and stays a bit of a mystery too, although we learn later that he has feelings for Mac and has had them for a while. Maybe Connor would've become more three-dimensional when he'd gotten his own POV as well, now he stayed a bit too much of a flat character for me. Mac was easier to picture.
Mac's resolution, to keep Connor as a friend and nothing more, changes overnight, without it being very clear what made him change his mind this drastically really. It's a bit of mistletoe magic, a bit of jealousy and perhaps some eggnog (which wasn't even consumed by him but by Connor) that made him see the light I guess. Unfortunately I found it unlikely and rather predictable. And I still don't understand why Connor was drinking so much... But maybe that's just me because I'm not a fan of alcohol-induced first time sex.
Overall, this is a sweet friends-to-lovers Christmas story that is fast paced and maybe a bit too short to develop the depth I like in a love story like this. It's an easy read and will be best appreciated by readers who are not looking for originality but who like a quick fix of likable, hot guys finding love beyond their friendship.
~
December 9, 2012
2.5 Stars
Mackenzie Grayson is a successful fashion designer. Originally from California, he relocated to Hawaii three years ago after his ex left him broken-hearted. Since then, Mac has had many f*ck buddies but does not do relationships. Connor is Mac's BFF. Although Mac is incredibly attracted to Connor, they have remained strictly platonic. Mac is returning home to spend the holidays with his family and brings Connor along. After a night of spiked egg nog, Christmas movies, and mistletoe, Mac and Connor end up in bed and - both come to realize - in love.
This was a sweet Christmas short about friends to lovers, although the MCs came as ready-made friends. It would have been nice to see Mac and Connor's friendship and subsequent relationship develop. I would also have liked to learn more about Mac's family. The book was too short and left much to be desired for the storyline. Mac and Connor were both likeable; I especially liked Connor's effervescent personality. One gripe: I'm not a fan of f*cking under the influence when there's so much riding on the line.
Bottom line: a too short but sorta sweet Christmas about best friends who become lovers.
Mackenzie Grayson is a successful fashion designer. Originally from California, he relocated to Hawaii three years ago after his ex left him broken-hearted. Since then, Mac has had many f*ck buddies but does not do relationships. Connor is Mac's BFF. Although Mac is incredibly attracted to Connor, they have remained strictly platonic. Mac is returning home to spend the holidays with his family and brings Connor along. After a night of spiked egg nog, Christmas movies, and mistletoe, Mac and Connor end up in bed and - both come to realize - in love.
This was a sweet Christmas short about friends to lovers, although the MCs came as ready-made friends. It would have been nice to see Mac and Connor's friendship and subsequent relationship develop. I would also have liked to learn more about Mac's family. The book was too short and left much to be desired for the storyline. Mac and Connor were both likeable; I especially liked Connor's effervescent personality. One gripe: I'm not a fan of f*cking under the influence when there's so much riding on the line.
Bottom line: a too short but sorta sweet Christmas about best friends who become lovers.
December 12, 2012
The story was nice. It had some passionate moments, but it came out as a little rushed in my opinion. We know that things happened between Mac and a member of his extended family, but that was never satisfactorily resolves for me. The family he came home to visit we never got the opportunity to know.
Still, it’s a sweet story and does have a happy ending. If you’re looking for a short read (the story is thirty-six pages) that will give you a smile you can start here.
Please see Mr. P's complete review December 14, 2012 at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....
Still, it’s a sweet story and does have a happy ending. If you’re looking for a short read (the story is thirty-six pages) that will give you a smile you can start here.
Please see Mr. P's complete review December 14, 2012 at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....
December 25, 2012
3.5 stars
It felt a bit rushed and a little like I was reading the story from the middle to end and not start to end. Nonetheless the story was enjoyable and had just the right amount of romance. I wished the story was longer so that there could have been more character development for Connor and more background on Mackenzie (I would have liked to know what his ex did to turn him off relationships and spiral into the world of random hookups).
It felt a bit rushed and a little like I was reading the story from the middle to end and not start to end. Nonetheless the story was enjoyable and had just the right amount of romance. I wished the story was longer so that there could have been more character development for Connor and more background on Mackenzie (I would have liked to know what his ex did to turn him off relationships and spiral into the world of random hookups).
December 7, 2012
This was a short friends to lover story for the holidays. MacKenzie is bullied by his sister into coming home for the holidays and he ends up bringing his best friend Connor. Mac doesn't do relationships and Connor just got dumped...so of course we know what's going to happen. Cute and short.
January 9, 2017
ok so when you read wihout the blurb you picture one way the story would go. Well this went better then i expected when Mackenzie sister tells him to come for an family holidays. He agrees and with unexpected vistor joins with him on a family holiday. And sparks fly
December 7, 2012
3.5 stars
December 31, 2012
I thought this was a cute, sweet story...what I expect in a Shawn Lane book.
Want to Read
January 6, 2013$2.99 on Nook
September 26, 2014
Short but sweet.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews