Monday, December 10, 2018

Under the Felt Mistletoe by Nell Iris Release Blitz


The most wonderful time of the year is about to get even better.

On a cold, rainy December morning, Finn’s beloved Grampa, his best friend and rock, makes a friend outside their home who he invites in for coffee. The last thing Finn expects is Nelson, a man with a painful past, who is beautiful and generous and turns Finn’s knees into jelly.

What starts out as a chance to get out of the rain, soon becomes more as Nelson helps Finn get ready for the Christmas market. They bond over coffee and fabric and Mariah Carey. Can handmade Christmas ornaments and an understanding heart give Nelson the love he’s been denied?

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Sunday arrives with clear skies and no rain, but instead, the temperature has dropped overnight and hovers in the low thirties. I arm myself with a thermos of coffee and dress accordingly: long johns under my orange bellbottom corduroy pants, a long-sleeved t-shirt and a turtleneck layered under my windbreaker, a fluffy scarf wound around my neck and a beanie that makes my hair look ridiculous. It flattens everything under the hat, but at the ribbed cuff, my curls explode in every direction with a vengeance.

A lot of people attend the first market of the season and despite the cold pluming my breath in front of me, everyone is in high spirits and full of holiday cheer. My neighbor to the right, Mrs. Winterbottom – yes, that’s her real name – is dressed as Mrs. Santa and sells magnificent hand-crafted fir wreaths. On my left, Mr. and Mrs. Carruthers sell gold-brushed chocolate pralines that are too pretty to eat and taste even better.

Every vendor plays holiday music, greets the shoppers with a jolly ho-ho-ho, and a comment on the weather. The shoppers, in turn, have deep pockets and are eager to acquire the merchandise. People love my ornaments, and my stuff flies off the table. I will be cleaned out completely before the market closes if this continues. I need to spend more time sewing so I can bring lots more next week.

After a couple hours, huge powdery snowflakes start sailing leisurely from the sky, adding to the holiday feeling. The only downer on this fabulous day is that I ran out of coffee early. Mrs. Winterbottom forgot hers at home, and I shared mine with her. I wouldn’t let my worst enemy go without coffee if I could do something about it.

But in a lull between customers, a savior arrives.

Nelson. Carrying two paper cups in mittened hands.

Warmth flashes in my chest at the sight of him; his shy smile and brown eyes that are warm enough to thaw the thin layer of ice from the pond in the middle of the park where the market is held.

“Hi,” he says, sounding out of breath. “I know you like coffee, but I thought maybe hot chocolate would be nice in this cold?” He holds out of the cups and if we weren’t separated by the table I would show my gratitude by hugging the stuffing out of the man. New acquaintance or not.

“My hero!” I accept the offering, tear off the lid, and inhale. The sweet, slightly bitter aroma makes my mouth water. I take a small sip, but it isn’t too hot to drink so I have some more. I hum in happiness and smile at him. “This is awesome. Thank you so much.”

Nelson’s gaze is glued to my mouth with eyelids heavy and lips parted. “You’ve got...” He sets down his cup and pulls off his red and white mittens, then he leans forward and swipes the pad of his thumb along my upper lip.

I draw a stuttering breath.

“You had chocolate on your lip,” he rasps, his voice so deliciously rumbly I feel it all the way in my bones. “There. All gone.” He does a final sweep before withdrawing.

I can’t help it; my hand flies to my mouth and I finger my lip as though I’m trying to stop the lingering warmth from evaporating.

“Thank you.” My voice is hoarse. Our eyes lock as he picks up the mittens and put them back on. My breathing grows shallow and the Christmas music cacophony and loud buzz of the market-goers fade into the background. All I see is him. All I hear is his breathing.

“Finn. I...”




Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela☆☆☆☆☆
Nell Iris has quickly become one of my favorite novella authors. She has a knack for writing stories that focus on a moment in time in her characters’ lives and presenting in such a way that when I finish, I’m satisfied with the story I read, but would happily read more should a sequel be written. Under the Felt Mistletoe was no exception as readers get to see how Finn and Nelson meet and how Finn quickly realizes that his heart could be in trouble because Nelson not only looks like his dream man, but his interactions with Finn’s Grampa are nothing short of perfect. With a helping hand from Mother Nature, Finn spends hours with Nelson and realizes that his first impression of the man of his dreams is pretty spot on and he pounces on every chance he can to spend time with the man. So while Finn might be harboring a crush, he starts out by building a friendship – which he hopes can one day become more.

Even though we only see four days of their time together, I enjoyed watching Finn and Nelson get to know each other over the course of a few weeks. Because they spend hours together and actually talk to one another, sharing painful secrets and humorous stories from their pasts, as well as their hopes for the future, it’s easy to believe in their connection and the friendship they forge. Nelson’s willingness to drop everything to come to Finn’s rescue was, I think, a more pivotal scene than it first appears because it not only demonstrates that Nelson cares about Finn, but it also shows how safe and secure Nelson makes Finn feel. Those feelings of safety and security are reciprocated when Nelson finally shares his “coming out” story with Finn. And I must say that I enjoyed how the author lightened the mood of that chapter with Grampa orchestrating Finn and Nelson’s first kiss.

Because this is a novelette, we don’t get to see the boys fall in love. Fortunately, the epilogue provides highlights of some of the things that occurred over the past year and how their relationship has progressed via Finn’s recollections. Plus, we get to directly witness them take the next step in their relationship. I really loved how Grampa kept stealing the show. The old matchmaker was sweet as could be and loved his grandson unconditionally and that love was returned completely… even if Grampa embarrassed Finn more than once. I’m still snickering over Grampa’s machinations and how it led to the perfect, smile-inducing ending – which is probably why I reread Under the Felt Mistletoe the very next day.




NELL IRIS is a romantic at heart who believes everyone deserves a happy ending. She’s a bona fide bookworm (learned to read long before she started school), wouldn’t dream of going anywhere without something to read (not even the ladies’ room), loves music (and singing along but, let’s face it, she’s no Celine Dion), and is a real Star Trek nerd (“Make it so”). She loves words, poetry, wine, and Sudoku, and absolutely adores elephants!

Nell believes passionately in equality for all regardless of race, gender, or sexuality, and wants to make the world a better, less hateful, place.

Nell is a forty-something bisexual Swedish woman, married to the love of her life, and a proud mama of a grown daughter. She left the Scandinavian cold and darkness for warmer and sunnier Malaysia a few years ago, and now spends her days writing, surfing the Internet, enjoying the heat, and eating good food. One day she decided to chase her lifelong dream of being a writer, sat down in front of her laptop, and wrote a story about two men falling in love.

Nell Iris writes gay romance, prefers sweet over angst, and wants to write diverse and different characters.

Connect with Nell

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Under the Felt Mistletoe by Nell Iris to read and review for this tour.

1 comment:

  1. Wow, this review seriously made me choke up. Thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you! ❤️

    ReplyDelete

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