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Malmö, Sweden, 1996
Sofie Andersson is a dyslectic born under the star sign Aries, who drives the local buses for a living. Her hobbies include knitting terrible hats and intermittent lesbianism. This December she is on the point of moving into her first flat of her own, figuring out her place in the world, when an instant attraction to a handsome stranger leads her to question everything she’s taken for granted.
Sofie Andersson is a dyslectic born under the star sign Aries, who drives the local buses for a living. Her hobbies include knitting terrible hats and intermittent lesbianism. This December she is on the point of moving into her first flat of her own, figuring out her place in the world, when an instant attraction to a handsome stranger leads her to question everything she’s taken for granted.
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First published December 3, 2018
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About the author
Elna Holst
22 books49 followersOften quirky, always queer, Elna Holst is an unapologetic genre bender who writes anything from lesbian lust and love stories to the odd existentialist horror piece. Find her on Instagram (@elnaholstwrites) or Goodreads (yes, you're right here).
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
December 6, 2018
While on her bus route, 21-year-old Sofie Andersson sees a really handsome young man and finds herself inexplicably attracted to him. Later, her confusion still in full effect, she’s staring at herself in the mirror: “You’re totally gay.”
Set in Malmö, Sweden in 1996, this as a really sweet, humorous and slightly poignant story about a young woman on the brink of independence. She has a job, is just moving into her first place, a supportive friend, an insightful mother and a complicated relationship with her sister.
It’s quirky and short. I’m not sure that I’ve read anything set in Sweden for a long time so the setting was a nice change too. Enjoyable read.
Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.
Set in Malmö, Sweden in 1996, this as a really sweet, humorous and slightly poignant story about a young woman on the brink of independence. She has a job, is just moving into her first place, a supportive friend, an insightful mother and a complicated relationship with her sister.
It’s quirky and short. I’m not sure that I’ve read anything set in Sweden for a long time so the setting was a nice change too. Enjoyable read.
Book received from Netgalley and NineStar Press for an honest review.
December 18, 2020
Little X (book 2 in A Tinsel and Spruce Needles Romance) by Elna Holst is a sweet, angst free little romance story set in Sweden. It is 1996. Sofie Andersson is ready to spread her wings. She is 21, driving the bus around Malmö and about to move into her first apartment. She has one good friend, a great mom and an older sister so perfect she’s way out of her league. Then said sister introduces her to a handsome stranger at a party, the same handsome stranger she met on her bus a few days before and has occupied her mind ever since.
f/nb
Themes: Sweden 1996, driving the bus, leaving the nest, Christmas is coming, American exchange student, intersex, Mr Glittery-Glue, available on Scribd.
4 Stars
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update (2nd read):
I was a bit sloppy in my first review, Sofie (Fiffi) and Roz (Rosalind) were not introduced at the Lucia party but through older sis Mia who brings Roz along to help Sofi move house.
I understand the connections a bit better now I've read the book that comes before this one. This was a very cute and sweet story. Lovely connections between Sofie and her mom Gunilla, her sister Mia and best friend and fellow bus driver Emil.
f/nb
Themes: Sweden 1996, driving the bus, leaving the nest, Christmas is coming, American exchange student, intersex, Mr Glittery-Glue, available on Scribd.
4 Stars
--------------
update (2nd read):
I was a bit sloppy in my first review, Sofie (Fiffi) and Roz (Rosalind) were not introduced at the Lucia party but through older sis Mia who brings Roz along to help Sofi move house.
I understand the connections a bit better now I've read the book that comes before this one. This was a very cute and sweet story. Lovely connections between Sofie and her mom Gunilla, her sister Mia and best friend and fellow bus driver Emil.
December 20, 2020
Sweden 1996.
Sort of a spin-off from the short story Candlelight Kisses featuring a minor character from there, who is now a main character. We get a tiny update from Erika, too which was good.
Sofie aka Fiffi she's trying to figure out her place in the world, after her first crush didn't work out. She meets Roz an American Exchange student who is intersex and goes by they/them pronouns and is instantly smitten.
Her sister Mia is still a douchebag, though. lol.
Sort of a spin-off from the short story Candlelight Kisses featuring a minor character from there, who is now a main character. We get a tiny update from Erika, too which was good.
Sofie aka Fiffi she's trying to figure out her place in the world, after her first crush didn't work out. She meets Roz an American Exchange student who is intersex and goes by they/them pronouns and is instantly smitten.
Her sister Mia is still a douchebag, though. lol.
December 3, 2018
It was such a lovely story. This was a new to me author, but I’m certainly planning to read more of her work after how cute this was.
I liked the main characters a lot. I loved the little details between them. The moments they shared together were sweet. The plot is enjoyable. I liked the writing style, It was so easy to read. I also liked the fact that none of the main characters really fit the role society would expect from them and it didn’t seem to bother them. They live their lives happy and comfortable with who they were. It was fantastic to read something like that.
There isn’t angst in here, so readers who don’t like such things will be able to enjoy it. It had a very low heat level, which was fine for me since I prefer it sometimes. It is an instalove story which is not always my favorite, but it worked fine this time. I would love a little more Christmas feeling, but I was very pleased with it.
* I recieved an ARC form NetGalley in exchange of an honest Review
I liked the main characters a lot. I loved the little details between them. The moments they shared together were sweet. The plot is enjoyable. I liked the writing style, It was so easy to read. I also liked the fact that none of the main characters really fit the role society would expect from them and it didn’t seem to bother them. They live their lives happy and comfortable with who they were. It was fantastic to read something like that.
There isn’t angst in here, so readers who don’t like such things will be able to enjoy it. It had a very low heat level, which was fine for me since I prefer it sometimes. It is an instalove story which is not always my favorite, but it worked fine this time. I would love a little more Christmas feeling, but I was very pleased with it.
* I recieved an ARC form NetGalley in exchange of an honest Review
December 9, 2018
I say this with almost every short story/novella I read, but I want more! The character building was very nice, interesting personalities too and it made me want to read more about them ^^ (While it was no problem to read this as a standalone, I guess this means I will need to buy part one of the series too, since I bought this one without realising it was a part two and I do want more of it :D )
February 4, 2021
This is an adorable little novella set in Sweden. Writing short stories is an art by itself and Holst has done a brilliant turn with this Christmassy little work.
Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...
Read the full review @ https://bestlesficreviews.blogspot.co...
January 2, 2019
This book was provided for free by the publisher and Love Bytes in exchange for an honest review.
This review was first posted to Love Bytes: LGBTQ Book Reviews. It has been slightly edited here for content.
I really liked Candlelight Kisses, the first book in this little series about a group of queer rebels in 1990’s Sweden. It felt authentic and grounded in a very particular time and place. I can’t say I clicked with these characters as much as I did with the ones from the previous book, but it’s still a great holiday story with lots of detail and sweetness.
Fiffi, a bus driver who is still trying to get over the disastrous ending to her first crush, finds herself immediately drawn to a young American man on one of her routes. She panics a little, because up until then, she’s only been attracted to women. But she meets again Roz again and realizes they are not male but intersex and non-binary, and unfortunately, leaving the country in two weeks.
While Fiffi and her friends’ reactions to Roz’s intersexuality may be a little cringe-worthy to modern readers, I think it makes sense for the time period. The 90’s were a time for a shift in views on gay and lesbian people all over the world, but it was still a very different era, and Fiffi’s confusion feels relatable rather than judgmental. She thinks she knows exactly who she is, exactly what she likes, but when she feels a magnetic attraction to someone outside those neat little boxes, she has to just follow her heart.
I really like the queer holiday mood of the whole story. It’s all about finding your family during Christmas in unexpected places—be it another country or a crowded gay bar. It skips most of the angst LGBT people may feel during the holidays and goes right to the warm fuzzies.
I didn’t get to know the characters as well as I got to know Erika and Padma from the first book, but I still enjoyed their story. It’s a fast, unique holiday read.
This review was first posted to Love Bytes: LGBTQ Book Reviews. It has been slightly edited here for content.
I really liked Candlelight Kisses, the first book in this little series about a group of queer rebels in 1990’s Sweden. It felt authentic and grounded in a very particular time and place. I can’t say I clicked with these characters as much as I did with the ones from the previous book, but it’s still a great holiday story with lots of detail and sweetness.
Fiffi, a bus driver who is still trying to get over the disastrous ending to her first crush, finds herself immediately drawn to a young American man on one of her routes. She panics a little, because up until then, she’s only been attracted to women. But she meets again Roz again and realizes they are not male but intersex and non-binary, and unfortunately, leaving the country in two weeks.
While Fiffi and her friends’ reactions to Roz’s intersexuality may be a little cringe-worthy to modern readers, I think it makes sense for the time period. The 90’s were a time for a shift in views on gay and lesbian people all over the world, but it was still a very different era, and Fiffi’s confusion feels relatable rather than judgmental. She thinks she knows exactly who she is, exactly what she likes, but when she feels a magnetic attraction to someone outside those neat little boxes, she has to just follow her heart.
I really like the queer holiday mood of the whole story. It’s all about finding your family during Christmas in unexpected places—be it another country or a crowded gay bar. It skips most of the angst LGBT people may feel during the holidays and goes right to the warm fuzzies.
I didn’t get to know the characters as well as I got to know Erika and Padma from the first book, but I still enjoyed their story. It’s a fast, unique holiday read.
January 21, 2019
This was a cute queer romance. I've never read a book with a non-binary character and I really liked Roz as a character. The romance was sweet and I liked how there was a strong familial connection between Fiffi, her sister and her mum. The misgendering was dealt with really well and it was good to see the correction being instant. A cute, wintry romance.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 25, 2019
Little X is a short but nice story. Good characters and well written. I enjoyed the story and would read more from this author.
December 5, 2018
I picked up this story because it's from a LGBTQIA+ publisher that I love and because it's an f/nb romance. How often do you see that? It's a short story so I won't say much beyond the jacket copy.
The good:
- The author is LGBTQIA+, and I think this is the first romance I've read with an intersex protagonist.
- Roz is misgendered often, being addressed as he when they use they/them pronouns, but it's usually corrected quickly on the page.
- The story is set in Sweden in 1996, something I haven't seen before.
The not-so-good:
- The writing and plot are confusing. We're introduced to lots of people quickly and given the barest of connections between them - mother, best friend, older sister.
- Some past events are alluded to but glossed over. It turns out this is the second in a series but I didn't realize that until after I finished.
- Little attention is paid to the where. Conversations feel like they're floating, not anchored to a space. I started assuming location - the best friend is a fellow bus driver, so they must be at the depot, I guess. And so on.
- The conflict, which revolves around Roz having to go back to America at the end of the semester, is sloppily handled.
A quick read thanks to its length, and I love seeing a f/nb relationship on the page, but it could have been much better.
Thanks to Nine Star Press and NetGalley for providing a review copy.
The good:
- The author is LGBTQIA+, and I think this is the first romance I've read with an intersex protagonist.
- Roz is misgendered often, being addressed as he when they use they/them pronouns, but it's usually corrected quickly on the page.
- The story is set in Sweden in 1996, something I haven't seen before.
The not-so-good:
- The writing and plot are confusing. We're introduced to lots of people quickly and given the barest of connections between them - mother, best friend, older sister.
- Some past events are alluded to but glossed over. It turns out this is the second in a series but I didn't realize that until after I finished.
- Little attention is paid to the where. Conversations feel like they're floating, not anchored to a space. I started assuming location - the best friend is a fellow bus driver, so they must be at the depot, I guess. And so on.
- The conflict, which revolves around Roz having to go back to America at the end of the semester, is sloppily handled.
A quick read thanks to its length, and I love seeing a f/nb relationship on the page, but it could have been much better.
Thanks to Nine Star Press and NetGalley for providing a review copy.
December 11, 2020
Fifi Anderson, a young attractive bus driver, meets American social anthropology student Roz while picking them up at a bus stop. Smiles are exchanged and Fifi can’t get that attractive person out of her head. As fate would have it, Mia, Fifi’s older sister, knows Roz from University and brings them along to help Fifi move into her new flat. Roz is charming and funny but is due back in in New York in two weeks, which is incredibly unfortunate because these two goofballs deserve each other. Don’t worry, it’s Christmas, which means miracles are aplenty.
September 25, 2024
4 stars. Well, this was fun and quite lovely. The writing was great. I haven't read anything by Holst in a hot minute and I forgot that I had the rest of this series just sitting on my kindle. I'm glad that I finally got to this one because it was pretty great. Fiffi and Roz were really likable characters and I thought their romance was incredibly sweet. The way that Roz was kinda shy about their crush on Fiffi was cute. This definitely made me excited to finally finish this series.
February 8, 2020
I didn’t quite agree with the non-binary representation with this, but it was nice to see it presented. I didn’t find myself overly invested in the romance either.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews