Dust of Snow by Indra Vaughn
M/M Contemporary Romance
Released: December 9, 2014
Self Published
Reviewed by Mandi
For some reason, when this review request came my way, the blurb really caught my attention:
‘T is the season. Greg’s nights are silent and his bells don’t jingle. This time last year his boyfriend broke up with him, and he’s determined to get through these holidays with only minor bruising. So what if he lives with a cat and his best friend is his mother? Peace and quiet: that’s life how he likes it. Nothing is going to blindside him this year, no sir. Especially not a rogue secret Santa.
Maybe it was “his bells don’t jingle,” that drew me in. Whatever it was, I’m so glad I tried this one. I was not familiar with this author, but I’m definitely going to keep her on my radar. Greg is about a year out of a relationship, and feeling lonely and not over his feelings for his ex yet..
I’d never begged for anyone not to leave me in my life. But as I watched the snow fall through the window, I felt like I was right back where I’d been when David left me last winter just before Christmas.
I sighed, my stomach churning. How long would it take before I’d get over it?
Not having a lot of friends, he has dinner with his mom once a week and well…that is about it. He is the personal assistant for the big boss at his office and performs his job really well. I have to admit – at first I thought his boss was going to be the other hero. He was described in detail and Greg was definitely attracted to him, and we get hints his boss is attracted to him too. But his boss is not the hero. And let me say quick that I kind of wish his boss had not played so much of a role in the first half of the book. It took away from the romance with the right guy and it just didn’t fit in the story well.
But getting that out of the way, we meet hero number two – Ashley Montgomery. Ashley also works at the same company as Greg and there is much blushing and bashfulness on his end. These two live near each other and with all the snow and Ashley’s car problems, Greg starts to drive Ashley to work and they start spending time together. After a while, a romance builds between them. It’s really sweet and I’m glad the author took her time in letting their romance develop. We learn that Greg’s previous boyfriend emotionally abused him. Sucked all of his self-esteem out of him and left him with zero confidence in the relationship department. Before a romance begins with Ashley, Greg starts to find random, anonymous gifts on his desk. A coffee one morning, a certificate for a massage the next morning. Instead of finding this romantic, Greg thinks someone is playing a practical joke on him. His self-esteem is too low to think anyone would want to do something nice for him.
But really, why on earth would someone be sending me thoughtful gifts? It didn’t make any sense. An elaborate joke was the most likely scenario. Did people here think I was pathetic and lonely? With my ties and my cuff links and lack of social life? Possibly. No, actually, more like probably. I couldn’t really blame them, although it made my chest feel hollow.
I like characters like this. Greg’s doubts about himself and his sweet nature were so endearing. He didn’t pity himself – he just had trouble finding himself again. The author did a nice job with him.
Ashley starts to give Greg confidence. They laugh together, they hang out and they start to love each other. Ashley has his own family drama, and the author gives us a peek into his family home, just enough to keep me engaged and not too much that it overtakes the story. I really like how the issues his family has were portrayed. While I honestly thought Ashley was a creepy stalker to start the book (sorry author!) he turns out to be a great guy. Greg and Ashley had great chemistry together.
Rating: B
I remember seeing this one come through. I was intrigued by the blurb too! Now I really wanna read it!