Once in a Lifetime by Cassie Decker – Warmest Wishes

All his life, astrophysicist Peter has dreamed of seeing the comet that last appeared on his birthday—and won’t be seen for another thirty-eight years. Since it could be his only chance, he travels to New Zealand. But his dream might be quashed after all when his rental car breaks down on the way to the observatory. He doesn’t even have a place to stay.

Fortunately a New Zealand native with a heart of gold offers assistance. But is kindness the only thing drawing the two men together?

Rangi can’t leave Peter stranded so close to Christmas, and his family has plenty of room—and love—to share. While Rangi is attracted to Peter, he’s seen too many of his friends get their hearts broken by tourists. Will they manage to see the comet on its decades-long journey across the sky… and take advantage of a rare opportunity that might never come again?

Advent Calendar Day 18

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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I absolutely adored Once in a Lifetime. There was just something so approachable and down-to-earth about both Peter and Rangi and their ‘everything happens for a reason’ attitude that made their story such a delight to read. Although the novelette is written as one continuous story (i.e., no chapters), Decker’s opening paragraph serves as a prologue of sorts that makes it easy to see why this trip is so important to Peter. Obviously, when Peter’s rental car broke down, I couldn’t help but feel bad for him. That it also paved the way for Rangi was a nice touch, but it was Rangi’s continued acts of kindness that had me falling for the young man. Well, that and Rangi’s apparent love for his family and his willingness to do all that he could to help provide for them.

Even though their interaction began as a transaction between a man in desperate need of a ride and a ride-share driver, Rangi quickly proved to be a genuinely nice guy whose desire to help out a weary traveler who couldn’t seem to catch a break ended up being a boon for both him and Peter. While both men acknowledge to themselves an attraction for the other, it is not until Rangi performs a hongi with Peter that the men experience a connection. Understandably, Rangi is hesitant to start anything with Peter, knowing that Peter will only be in New Zealand for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, Rangi finds it hard to resist Peter and his worry over a broken heart is soon eclipsed by his worry that he’ll regret not taking a risk. As much as I enjoyed watching Rangi come to terms with his struggle, it was seeing Peter get to experience being part of a family again and getting to enjoy both the simple pleasures life has to offer as well as the spectacular miracles of the cosmos that made this story such a delight. Just by being themselves, Rangi and his family gave Peter a gift he’d never expected to have again and possibly reset his course in life. At least, I prefer to think that the end of this story is only the beginning for Peter and Rangi.

Cassie Decker started writing love stories once she read her first romance novel in high school and instantly fell in love with falling in love. She believes everyone deserves a happily ever after, whether the men in her stories rope cattle in the rodeo, live in a tropical paradise, or are just trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world.

When she’s not writing romance, she’s reading it. And if there’s time between that, you can find Cassie getting her geek on with cosplay costumes, comic-cons, and video game binges. Besides being a total nerd, she likes to knit naughty rainbow key-chain charms for her friends, home-brew her own beer, and practice her ukulele. Cassie also loves playing in the Colorado Wilderness with her husband and her corgi pup, Murphy, when she’s not busy obsessing over the fictional men plotting their steamy love stories in her head, that is.

Connect with Cassie

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Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Warmest Wishes: Once in a Lifetime by Cassie Decker to read and review.

An Unexpected Sanctuary by Cassie Decker – Stocking Stuffers

An aggressive super-flu pandemic wipes out a majority of the population over the course of one Christmas holiday—and brings Tobin and Kyle together. For almost a year, they’ve been trekking across the country from Colorado toward a sanctuary in upstate New York. Kyle’s survival skills have kept them alive, and Tobin wants to repay the man he loves with a very special gift of his own making. He sneaks off in search of the last few pieces… only to get himself and Kyle kidnapped by a desperate stranger. With their journey to New York on hold—possibly indefinitely—they’ll need to accept that home isn’t always defined by a place as much as the person you’re with.

Day 16
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Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆
I’m ashamed to say that I put off reading this story until I absolutely had to. This was a shame because I actually quite enjoyed An Unexpected Sanctuary. Now why did I wait? Honestly, I had a difficult time reconciling a post-apocalyptic story with a holiday romance. Yet Decker pulled it off wonderfully.

The story is told from Kyle’s perspective and it’s apparent that there’s a bit of hero worship on his part for Tobin. That’s not to say that his feelings for Tobin aren’t real, but rather that he sees an imbalance in their relationship, believing himself to be the weaker partner, unable to contribute in a meaningful and measurable way to their relationship. Like most nerdy geeks in romances, he sees his lack of physical strength and his failures as outweighing his intelligence and successes. Because of this, he takes a major risk when he ventures out on his own at night to acquire the last few pieces he needs to finish the gift he’s been making for Tobin. Unfortunately, this decision makes it easier for him and Tobin to be captured… and this is where I worried that the story would take the dark turn that is typical of post-apocalyptic stories. Thankfully, their kidnapper’s motives were not nefarious and (without revealing any spoilers) Kyle and Tobin find their unexpected sanctuary.

I think the main reason I enjoyed this story so much was that when the moment was right, Tobin had no problem telling Kyle why he mattered – why it was Kyle who gave Tobin a reason to keep going every day. I liked that the traits that Kyle saw as his weaknesses were the very things that Tobin saw as Kyle’s strengths. It made for a very touching scene. I thoroughly enjoyed An Unexpected Sanctuary and finished the story with a smile on my face.

CASSIE DECKER has been a writer most of her life, but only started writing love stories once she read her first romance novel in high school and fell in love with falling in love. After graduating college and entering the corporate workforce, she realized sharing those stories with her friends and coworkers wasn’t as scary as she thought it would be. She found rather quickly how much they enjoyed her steamy yet sweet tales of love and passion when they kept asking for more.

When she’s not writing, Cassie enjoys getting her geek on by making cosplay costumes, going to comic-cons, and drawing fan art of her favorite characters. Besides being a total nerd, she likes to knit, read, binge-watch the shows on her streaming list, and practice her ukulele if she can find the time. Cassie also loves playing in the Colorado Rockies with her husband and her corgi pup, Murphy, when she’s not busy obsessing over the fictional men plotting their love stories in her head.

Connect with Cassie

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Tumblr  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Stocking Stuffers: An Unexpected Sanctuary by Cassie Decker to read and review.