Rainbows in Sea Glass by Kim Katil – Homemade for the Holidays

Kyle has loved James, his best friend’s older brother, for as long as he can remember. Unfortunately James is a player, and Kyle has no desire to be his latest conquest. When James suddenly turns the full weight of his charm on him, Kyle flees to Cape May Point to collect sea glass and Cape May diamonds to make a St. Nicholas Day present for his aunt.

James has always taken Kyle’s presence for granted and he’s shocked to find how integral Kyle is to his life and future happiness. Braving his family’s well-meaning attempts to help and a sudden winter storm, James heads to the shore to convince Kyle that the most precious thing they’ll find on the beach is each other.

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2019 Advent Calendar collection Homemade for the Holidays.

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Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆
M/M Friends to lovers romance

Kyle, Maria, and James have known each other since they were kids. It was James who kept Maria and Kyle out of trouble and made sure nobody bullied them while in high school. Maria and Kyle have stayed very close friends, but lately, Maria has noticed Kyle start to pull away from her and her family. Not really sure why, she tells him that no matter what, she's dragging him out.

After James and Kyle share a heated dance, Kyle really isn't sure what to make of it. James has always been a player and Kyle knows that his heart couldn't take any rejection from the one man that he's had a crush on always. Plus, Kyle isn't willing to risk losing the family that he's been part of for so long.

Honestly, while this is a cute story, I didn't really get the chemistry between Kyle and James. Molly and Stan had more chemistry in their short part of the story than the main couple had throughout. While this had great potential to be a cute holiday read, it just didn't really work for me.

Kim Katil patrols the Universe with her dignity of dragons during the Harvest Moon. The rest of the time, Kim lives in the mythical and contentious territory known as Central Jersey. Originally from South Jersey, she is still unsure if Central Jersey is a real place or a Fae construct. Her movement from the lower to middle band of the state was interrupted by time spent living in Ireland, Boston, Uzbekistan, Maryland, Trinidad, and Florida. So far, she has only been asked to leave one country. She currently shares a house with two other adults, three teens, two dogs, and four snakes.

While Kim would love to have a writing cave, she is content to make due with an imaginary yurt that she brings with her for use in airports, on planes and trains, and in hotels. Work-related travel is an unfortunate side effect of the day job but allows her to meet new and interesting people along the way. She has been known to have dinner with random strangers in airports and at street fairs. This level of “peopling” has caused shock and horror in her writers’ group.

A happily ever after is a necessity. Kim loves to give her characters a fun adventure to get them there and a plethora of family and friends to help them along the way.

Connect with Kim

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Homemade for the Holidays: Rainbows in Sea Glass by Kim Katil to read and review.

Season to Shimmer by Kim Katil – Warmest Wishes

One morning close to the holidays, Nolan wakes up to two surprises: a distress call from his younger brother and a beautiful man in his bed. Nolan, an art gallery owner, has always been discreet about his sexuality, but when his baby brother plans to come out at the annual family gala, Nolan wants to have his back—and that means showing up with a man of his own on his arm. Nolan knows just the man for the job.

Skylar, who owns a karate studio in St. Augustine, can’t get his one-night stand out of his mind. When he runs into Nolan at his gallery he is more than happy to volunteer his services as arm candy. Out-and-proud himself with his striking blue/green hair, Skylar is all in. Their adventure means a fancy salon, family drama, lots of sex, a ninja hippo, and palm trees lit up in a very suggestive way. By the end of it, what started as a hookup might become much more.

Advent Calendar Day 22

Buy Links

Amazon US  ~  Amazon UK  ~  Amazon Au  ~  Amazon Ca
Dreamspinner Press

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Avid Reader – ☆☆☆☆☆
4.5 stars
M/M Romance
Triggers: Click HERE to see Avid Reader’s review on Goodreads for trigger warnings.

This has been my favorite holiday story of the advent stories that I read this year. It has a lot of development for being so short and I loved the family feeling you got from reading it.

Nolan has known he's been gay for a while. However, with a step-dad that is not tolerant at all, he toed the line so that he could still hang out with his younger brothers. When one of his younger brothers comes to him for help, Nolan is not going to say no.

Skylar is the owner of a business and while he met Nolan as a hookup, he knows that there could be more. When Nolan comes to Skylar with a proposition, Skylar is not going to say no. He has the support of his family and knows that can make all of the difference.

Seeing these two together, you can feel their attraction and how much they care about each other. I also really enjoyed Nolan's character. He was strong without being a bully and everything you'd ever want in a brother.


Sarah – ☆☆☆
This short story is a whirlwind romance with a whole lot of family drama. After a chance second meeting, Nolan asks Skylar, a recent one-night stand, to accompany him to a fancy family party. Queue family drama about an evil homophobic stepfather and Nolan’s gay baby brother. This story is light on romance. Skylar and Nolan move at lightspeed from hookup to insta-love to coupled up bliss. Family conflict takes centre stage and there are some very cute moments between the three brothers and their dates. I don’t know if this book is part of a series or if I’m just missing something, but I still don’t understand the references to a basketball team. All in all, this more about the three brothers than Skylar and Nolan. The homophobic stepfather storyline is a little bit tired and predictable but the brothers and their friends are fabulous.


Angie – ☆☆☆
This was another super-short story, which makes it good for a lunchtime read. I wasn't so crazy about this book. I felt like I got to know more about the secondary characters than I did Nolan and Skylar. There was drama and insta-love. I couldn't connect with either of the main characters but the book was still worth a lunch hour read.


Ruthie – ☆☆☆☆
I really enjoyed this story and this was mainly because it would have been very easy to make Skylar someone more needy. Instead, he owns his own business, is obviously not short of money, and so, is an equal to Nolan. It is important in that when he is asked by Nolan to attend the family event, Skylar can fit in perfectly with the plan and be completely comfortable when things get difficult.

They were perfect for each other, no matter how short the story. Lovely Christmas romance.

Kim Katil patrols the Universe with her dignity of dragons during the Harvest Moon. The rest of the time, Kim lives in the mythical and contentious territory known as Central Jersey. Originally from South Jersey, she is still unsure if Central Jersey is a real place or a Fae construct. Her movement from the lower to middle band of the state was interrupted by time spent living in Ireland, Boston, Uzbekistan, Maryland, Trinidad, and Florida. So far, she has only been asked to leave one country. She currently shares a house with two other adults, three teens, two dogs, and four snakes.

While Kim would love to have a writing cave, she is content to make due with an imaginary yurt that she brings with her for use in airports, on planes and trains, and in hotels. Work-related travel is an unfortunate side effect of the day job but allows her to meet new and interesting people along the way. She has been known to have dinner with random strangers in airports and at street fairs. This level of “peopling” has caused shock and horror in her writers’ group.

A happily ever after is a necessity. Kim loves to give her characters a fun adventure to get them there and a plethora of family and friends to help them along the way.

Connect with Kim

Facebook  ~  Twitter  ~  Instagram  ~  Blog  ~  Goodreads

Reviewers on the Wicked Reads Review Team were provided a free copy of Warmest Wishes: Season to Shimmer by Kim Katil to read and review.