Brief Encounters

Title: A Gift of Mistletoe
Author: Alex Whitehall
Length: 32 pages
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Genre: m/m  historical
Rating: B

Blurb:
After heading home from university for Christmas, Harry takes a gamble and confesses his feelings to Theodore Dorry, his brother’s tutor. Magically, Theodore feels the same way, but both know the relationship doesn’t have much hope of surviving the ramifications of society’s judgments. However, for those with the courage to try, sometimes Christmas can grant miracles.

Review:
There’s nothing I like more than a Christmas set historical romance and this one by new author Alex Whitehall was a great addition to that genre, especially because it got brownie points from me for the use of snow and a sleigh in a Christmas historical .

The story begins as our hero Harry is waiting at the train station for a train home from university. He got caught up at the library and missed the train he should have caught and now the next train is late. To while away the time Harry tries to compose a letter to his ex-tutor, Mr Dorry, who now tutors his brother, telling him of his affections. Later, Mr Dorry (or Theodore) finds the note and the pair confess their feelings for each other.

This is mainly a story of new beginnings and they are difficult ones at that. It was nice to see a historical which showed both the blossoming of young love and desire and how those feelings had to be repressed out of caution and fear of reprisals. I thought the author had got the balance right here with both themes so that the realities didn’t make the story too sugary, and the sweetness of the relationship didn’t make the story without hope. The story ends with only the most tentative of HFNs, but I think that fit well with the time period that the book was set in.

I also liked that the book was firmly grounded in the time period, especially to do with the social hierarchy between the family and Theodore. There are no ‘modern’ ideas about the servants sharing meals with the family and even though most of the servants are gone for the Christmas period, Theodore is still excluded from some events. It made the time that Harry and Theodore spend together more poignant and special to see that their feelings transcend the social barriers.

If I have any complaints about the book it’s that we don’t get to find much about Theodore, not even his age. I know that he’s older than Harry and a little more experienced, plus we find out why he has to tutor for a living, but other than that we only see him through Harry’s eyes and I get the impression that Harry doesn’t really know that much about Theodore either. The story is written in the present tense, which I know may not appeal to all readers, but I quickly got used to the narrative style and stopped noticing after a while.

Overall, this was a very romantic historical story but one which didn’t shy away from the risks that gay relationships held during the Victorian period. It’s a very chaste story too as was right for the fact that Harry is new to his feelings and unsure of how to act on them. The writing is good with some lovely scenes, in particular where the men go looking for the perfect Christmas tree. This may be the first story by this author but it’s a creditable one and I shall be looking out for further stories from Alex in the future.