Brief Encounters

Title: Beware of Cupid Bearing Gifts
Author: Elizah J. Davis
Length: 3,200 words
Publisher: Less Than Three Press
Genre: m/m contemporary romance
Rating: B+

Blurb:
Nick was a mortal once, cursed by the gods for his vanity to be Cupid’s personal assistant. To make matters worse, Cupid assigns Nick the task of finding a Valentine’s match for Ethan, the man Nick loves. Now Nick must swallow his own misery as he watches the man he loves go to someone else.

Review:
This story is one of the Kiss Me Quick Valentine bundles from Less Than Three Press. It is set around Valentine’s Day but can really be read at any time of the year. It begins with the cautionary tale of Nikolas whose good looks and vanity lead to him making a mistake which will affect the rest of his time on Earth. We fast forward to find Nikolas, now Nick, who has fallen in love with mortal Ethan but who has the task of finding Ethan’s true love.

There was much to like about this sweet, humourous story. Firstly I really liked the lighthearted, amused tone to the story. The author managed to get the balance just right and blended humour with romance to give us a story which caught my attention, made me smile but still retained the ‘awww’ factor at the end.

It’s a story of personal growth for Nick who is selfish and vain at the start of the story. The cautionary tale at the beginning provides a fairy tale theme that carries into the present day. Then we see the result of Nick’s vanity, in the rather lonely and wistful man in the present day. His yearning for Ethan and the resigned way that he accepts he can never have him, showed us how much he had changed and matured. It made the end more delightful to see how Nick had changed.

Finally, I liked how Cupid is shown as a slightly sleazy business man, yet he still manages to get the job done. Nick’s view of Cupid shows some disdain but it doesn’t come across as vicious, more like the way someone conscientious would view an exacting and perhaps annoying boss:

“Sometime during the 1800′s, Cupid had decided that he sounded more sophisticated with a British accent, and Nick had thus far not been able to convince him otherwise. personally, Nick thought it made him seem smarmy.”

I liked how this view was turned slightly on its head by the end. In fact, the three characters in the book managed to be pretty well fleshed out for such a short story which was another positive for me.

Overall, I found this story to be utterly charming and would recommend if you have a spare 10 minutes or so and are looking for something romantic with an amusing tone.