Kris T. Bethke

meh, sweet enough but not great. also made a big old mistake in the epilogue that was really off putting considering how short this story is: a whole paragraph about how cody's father didn't like jason at first?! really?! in a 48 page story where you went out of your way to talk about how cody's parents died and how lonely he is for family and you just *forget* in the epilogue. what this tells me is that she decided to kill both parents off after the whole thing was written and she missed a paragraph. which is super lazy editing/writing.… (more)

A Timely Gift is the story of vet tech, Rory, and ex-concert pianist Deacon. It’s told in first person from Rory’s pov.

This is a pleasant, low-key, holiday short story about two men in their mid-thirties. Rory’s grandfather gifts him a pocket watch on the winter solstice, ‘to help Rory get his life together,’ so his grandfather tells him. Rory is skeptical, but odd things start to happen once he receives it. One is running into his old lover Deacon. Teenagers when they were dating, they went their separate ways until Deacon moved back to town. The plot goes on to show the men renewing their friendship, and how at times, the watch behaves oddly.

I liked the characters and Rory’s African Grey, Apollo, who learns a new sound, lol.

A light, fast read, A Timely Gift is a sweet story for the holidays. I give this book, 3 Stars.
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One in Vermilion is a stand-alone story starring Wyatt Janson, and Truitt ‘Tru’ Rackley. This is told from Wyatt’s first person pov.



When I picked up this book to read, I could have sworn I’d read it before, but I didn’t find a written review for it in my docs. Once I started reading, I realized I hadn’t read it because none of it was familiar. The blurb is pretty thorough with the basics of the plot. Basically, Wyatt has had a bad relationship experience and decides to move. He’s only been in town a shot while before he meets Tru. Tru has a more complicated background that is gradually revealed in the story as he starts to trust Wyatt more.

The book started heavy on the monologue from Wyatt’s pov and I wasn’t into it. I don’t like reading lots of monologue so I wasn’t able to get into the book until Wyatt and Tru started to interact more, which took some time. The build-up to them hanging out was slow because Tru had some sorrow he was carrying and the red hat was linked to that sorrow. He also had a mother that was making his life difficult.

Tru first appears like a strong, capable easy-going person. As Wyatt slowly learns about Tru’s background, it’s revealed that Tru is not only terribly sad, but unsure of himself. Wyatt at first seems like a pushy person and I didn’t care for him, but he shows that he can control his pushiness because he wants to learn more about Tru. That restraint encourages Tru to trust Wyatt, and they’re able to settle into a relationship based on honesty.

In the end, I liked this book even though it started out slow with too much monologue on Wyatt’s part. But once Wyatt and Tru start interacting the pace starts to pick up. Because the plot and pace improved as the story went on, I’m giving this 4 Stars. This is a quick, pleasant read to pass the time. It’s not deep or stressful, so it’s a good book to read after something that angsty or full of drama.




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