author: Joyee Flynn
publisher: Siren Publishing
genre: male/male erotica, BDSM
available in kindle and print formats at amazon (searched 'Who needs Christmas Joyee Flynn': here)
available in several ebook formats at the publisher, here
author's page for the series, here this has links to each book's info
A group of twelve elves who found each other after leaving the North Pole at different times has been living together for decades. They are comfortable with their new way of life away from the Christmas atmosphere they despise. The only things missing for these serious gamers are their human mates.
Yes, book 1 is called Screw Santa. Each Elf is gay. They didn't fit it well with the other elves at the North Pole and as being gay was frowned upon, they left. As we are introduced to the elves and their mates, we learn why they hate Christmas and it makes sense. They all have magic (duh!) but the strength varies according to age. Well, except for Shadow but you don't find that out until later. I'll let you find out the details on your own.
Screw Santa's elf is Horse. That's right, his name is Horse. All elves name themselves at the age of five when they are baptized in their magic. Each elf has a story about their name. Our first elf saw a magnificent creature and wanted his name to be the same. Unfortunately, the owners of the horse had named the animal Horse, so when asked, that's what they said.
Yeah, they got teased for their names as well.
There is definitely a "formula" to each book. We're introduced to the main character, he meets his mate, something goes wrong, everything works out, happy ever after. The books really up the sex between the two main characters and the "something goes wrong" is inventive.
For example, in one of the books, the human mate is a lawyer. He's decided to give his two weeks notice on Monday and come work for the elves. The Sunday night (actually Monday morning at 1 a.m.) before he can give notice, his boss sends him to bail out a new client. Tame right? Except the new client is the son of the local mob boss and a psychopath that likes to murder "pretty subs". He fixates on his new lawyer and catching him while everything else is going on becomes the "something goes wrong". And to make things worse, his old boss is a vampire and kidnaps him. See? Inventive.
As each can be read by itself you have to expect the repeating of information. Each mate gets the explanation of how the mating works and the mating ritual is repeated in most of the books. It's explained how the elves get by in the human world, the hobbies, their money, all with small changes between books.
The last chapter of the second book is all about Horse. His mate has found a way to help his get over why he hates Christmas. Because as one mate said it, "hate is an ugly emotion that I don’t want to have any room in your heart." This carries on through the rest of the books. The last book's elf, has a free story on the author's website.
These are not mainstream romance books. There is lots of sex between men, elements of BDSM, and toys like you wouldn't believe are used. The difference, for me, between erotica and porn is the story line. If you took each book and toned down the sex but left the story line alone, you'd still have a great book!
What about Christmas do the elves hate? One hates Santa himself, another Christmas music. Snowmen, mistletoe, Christmas trees, jingle bells, twinkle lights, and stockings are all on the list.
You know the kind of sugar cookie that you roll out and use cookie cutters? One the elves should have followed in his parent's footsteps but had trouble with the cookies. Too much flour, not enough flour, rolled too thin, not transferring to the cookie sheet right. Yeah, mine never come right either but no one ever made fun of me for it. The really sad thing is that most of the things the elves hate didn't start out that way but the parents and siblings helped prolong the discomfort then the community got involved and by the time the kid was 18 and could leave, there was a hatred so strong that true love was needed.
The books are HOT as well as fun. The author has turned our expectation of elves on it's ear. Also, they're all different from each other, just as you would expect in mainstream romance books. They're real people with quirks and insecurities just like us. They just have a little something extra.
Oh, witches, werecats, vampires, and werewolves make an appearance. Along with stupid people, bigotry and violence. Family, true love, and deep friendship are also part of the series.
copyright Book Dragon's Lair 2009-2015
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