Review: Winter Oranges by Marie Sexton


Note: This ARC was provided by Riptide Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

"And no matter what else happens, whether you go back to acting or not, you're going to keep on living. You're going to keep on aging. You're going to meet somebody else--somebody real--and fall in love and get married, and you'll grow old with that person and die, and I'll still be here. Except the best days will be gone. No matter how good they are now, no matter how grateful I am to have them, I'll never top this. I'll never get to have anything like this again--"


Believing it's time for him to walk away from a lackluster acting career and the rabid paparazzi looking to suck him dry of his name and reputation, Jason Walker decides to buy a home in Idaho. He's learning to embrace the solitude and enjoying being away from all things Hollywood, including the best friend whom he's been in love with for years but will never have anything more than a friendship with certain benefits. Then he begins to get the feeling of being watched and looking over, he notices a young man through a window. When he comes face to face with the stranger, it sparks the beginning of an unbelievable kinship.

He's only twenty years old, but he's been trapped in a snow globe for a century and a half, all thanks to his sister who wanted to protect him from joining the Confederate Army during the Civil War. He's watched the years pass by as the snow globe has passed from one new owner to another. No one has ever been able to see him before...not until Jason Walker noticed him. Two lonely people no longer feel alone, and soon, their feelings intensify into more. But the realities of their situation and the intrusion of the outside world are difficult to ignore, leaving Ben and Jason little time to contemplate how to hold on to what they have.

You know how there are authors who have quite a following and you find yourself adding all their books on your to-be-read list based on all the good reviews but wonder how the heck you're going to find the time to read all of them? That was the case with author Marie Sexton, who's been on my reading radar for a couple of years. Then, lo and behold, her upcoming release, Winter Oranges, was available for review on NetGalley and I took it as my opportunity to finally read something written by her. If her storytelling here is of the same quality in all her books, then I'm going to have block of a couple of weeks just for her work.

Winter Oranges was a beautifully told tale of a love that defies conventional logic but is as pure as the snow that surrounds both Jason Walker and Ben Ward, the two male main characters. There's a hint of magic when it comes to the idea of Ben having been placed in a snow globe by his protective sister, but what he and Jason experience together is very real for both of them. They're from two very different time periods but the middle ground that they find is one that's based on trust and friendship and leads them into the seemingly impossible becoming more than possible because of just how strong their feelings are.

The story develops at a leisurely pace, allowing the relationship between Jason and Ben to grow and evolve without needing to force or rush it. It's a story that makes you believe in the miracle of love and that you sometimes find it in the most unexpected of places and with the most improbable of people. Both Jason and Ben deserve to have not just a bit but a lifetime filled with love, happiness, and acceptance, so their paths crossing, even if it did take 150 years, almost feels like destiny. Winter Oranges is one of the best reads I've experienced in 2015 and is the perfect holiday love story to snuggle up with. Five-plus stars! ♥

Release Date: 30 November 2015

Date Read: 28 November 2015

Learn more about Marie Sexton.

Pre-order Winter Oranges on Riptide Publishing | Amazon | B&N.

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