Review: Jingle Spell by Chris Ethan


Note: This ARC was provided by the author via Signal Boost Promotions in exchange for an honest review.

Jingle Spell is a Christmas novella written by Chris Ethan, and it's my first read by the author. This story has twenty-five-year-old Davey who's just come from a breakup and isn't really feeling the Christmas spirit. Working in retail during the Christmas rush isn't exactly making him all warm and fuzzy either. Maybe it's time for him to simply throw in the towel when it comes to men. How many times does he need to be chucked to the side for whomever his current beau considers far more worthy than him? Then he meets Avery, and the twenty-eight-year-old bartender is nothing like he thought he would be. The man makes it clear that he wants to get to know Davey--that he isn't just a random hook-up--but with both of them seemingly on the rebound, will their jingle spell be broken?

I've been on somewhat of a holiday novella reading kick as of late, and in the process, I've also come across new authors I'd never had the opportunity to read from before, as is the case with Chris Ethan's Jingle Spell. Davey's a guy who doesn't necessarily hate the holidays but he's not feeling inspired by it either, not with finding himself with yet another relationship that's abruptly ended. He was an okay main character, although I didn't feel much of a connection with him, nor did I feel a connection between him and Avery. I know Avery mentioned that he had taken note of Davey when he was in the store shopping, but I didn't get a feel for that moment, so it was more of a being told what happened rather than experiencing it alongside both guys, and it tended to happen throughout.

This isn't necessarily a terrible read. It was actually okay, but that's the thing. There wasn't much that made it stand out from the plethora of holiday reads out there. It lacked that connection between Avery and Davey, and them being as deeply emotionally invested in a fledgling relationship smacked of insta-love (even as Avery confesses that he still loves his ex...ouch!). There's also some abruptness when switching from one chapter to another, but there is promise in the author's writing, as there is when it comes to Avery and Davey's love story. Maybe we could see how far they've come later on in their relationship, especially considering that they've got issues when it comes to trust, no thanks to all their former partners. I'm giving Jingle Spell three out of five stars. ♥

Date Read: 30 November 2017

Learn more about Chris Ethan.

Purchase Jingle Spell on Amazon.

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