Frosty former friends get a steamy second chance in this Christmas gay romance!Can true love warm his frozen heart?When Casey Stevens went away to college four years ago, he ghosted on his straight best friend, Joel Vreeland. He hoped time and distance would lessen the unrequited affection he felt, but all it did was make him miss Joel more. Home for the holidays, Casey hopes they might find a … hopes they might find a way to be friends again. But Joel’s frosty reception reminds Casey of just how hard he had to fight to be Joel’s friend in the first place. It’s going to take a Christmas miracle to get past that cool façade again.
Joel isn’t as straight as Casey believes, and his years of pining for Casey have left him hurting and alone, caring for his abusive father and struggling to get by. Unable to trust anyone except his rescue dog—and with no reason to believe Casey is interested in him for more than a holiday fling—Joel’s icy heart might shatter before it can thaw.
Can Casey and Joel’s love overcome mistrust, parental rejection, class differences, and four long years apart? Mr. Frosty Pants is a stand-alone, Christmas gay romance by Leta Blake featuring a virgin hero, childhood friends-to-lovers, second chance romance, and steamy mm first times.
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I loved this couple. Casey and Joel made me a believer that sometimes a little Christmas spirit is all you need to find happiness in life. And nobody deserves more happiness then Joel. My heart was hurting so much every time he was talking with his dad. As I was reading I could feel every emotion that both men were having. I loved that despite Joel being closed off to most of the people that knew him, he was still brave enough to open up to Casey. And I loved Casey and his determination to do everything to keep Joel by his side.
This story was a great read about two lost souls FINALLY finding each other.
***Review copy requested and reviewed on behalf of OMGReads Blog***
I have a backlog of Christmas Romances to enjoy, lucky me! So I started with Casey and Joel. We have a second chance romance that involves a grumpy shop owner and his best friend who comes home from college to address his persistent feelings for his high school best friend.
I’m going to say it I’m a sucker for a Grumpy main character (Joel), and he lived up to all my grumpy standards. Casey has done a lot of therapy, and I think that’s amazing, and I’m cheering him along with the whole story.
This book is chockfull of cute dogs, attacking Christmas trees, ice skating, tree decorating, and Christmas movies. Mr. Frosty Pant’s isn’t all fluff and comes with a trigger warning. This only adds to the layers of love and makes you appreciate the quiet joys of Christmas time.
This Audible was well read and the story was really nice. I loved how the 2 main characters who appear to be Snarky are actually shy and hurting. Beautiful story, an HEA.
I’m not a fan of Xmas stories but this one definitely grabbed me and didn’t let me know. Against my inclination, I ended up really liking the characters and stories. Joel presents himself as hard to like — I definitely felt that way at first about him– and then of course, I fell in love with him. Casey gets all my kudos for being who he is — persisting in getting what he wanted no matter the obstacles. I can’t be more inspired! Great story and characters! Perfect any time of the year. 🙂
I really enjoyed this book.
I absolutely love this book. A beautifully written second chance romance that I highly recommend.
It started strong, but I think I was expecting something different.
The One
Old friends finding back together and confessing their love for each other is sweet and raw. I loved this story because it had so much emotions. Joel isn’t out yet and I can understand why when I read about his childhood. Casey is stubborn so he won’t give up on Joel but can he convince him that he’s worthy of receiving love?
No unnecessary descriptions of surroundings
Lots of good dialogues
Great characters descriptions
Sweet and steamy love scenes that’s tastefully described.
The storyline is good and progresses nicely to a happy ending.
5 stars for this emotional mm romance
This was my first Leta Blake book and I’m pleased to say I enjoyed it. Even if some heavy angst bars our heroes’ way at times, there’s still nothing like second-chance romance at Christmas.
I loved this second chance romance! It had just enough pining and the right amount of heat to make Christmas warm and toasty!
Casey came home for Christmas to find that everything has changed, except for his crush on his straight friend Joel.
Casey Stevens left home for college almost four years ago in frustration after coming out to his parents. He has stayed away since then and has not bothered with any of his old friends. After breaking up with his on-again off-again lover, he decides to go home and finally face his parents and his old life.
When he gets back home, his parents have moved to a big ostentatious house. His best friend, Joel, has moved. Where they used to hang out has been demolished. Casey is feeling lost and alone. He looks up Joel and finds an angry man instead of a friend.
Joel feels betrayed that Casey just walked away from their friendship. He has been going through some rough times in the last few years. He also went through a lot to be friends with Casey – things that Casey knows nothing about.
It is Christmas time, so maybe the truth should come out. Joel has a few surprises for Casey and maybe they might get a miracle.
Leta Blake gives us a sweet holiday romance with Mr. Frosty Pants: A Gay Christmas Romance (Leta Blake Books, B07KB2BX82, 2018). For one I love this nickname for Joel. It makes me laugh every time I read it. I think Casey and Joel are a great holiday couple.
Blake takes the romance slow and steady. The humor is still making me smile as I type this as I think about “dating rules”. I might actually use this on my future dates. Overall, this holiday romance is just a feel good romance. I really do not have a lot of words because it does not need it. Do you want to feel good read for the holiday? Read Mr. Frosty Pants.
I’m not sure what I was thinking when I bought a Christmas book… As usual, Blake has created amazing characters and put them into a setting I definitely *want* to get into… but can’t. The fault is mine, not Blake’s. (I just don’t like Christmas books. Last time I bought an mpreg book of hers even though I know I hate mpreg…) She’s really an amazing author and I need to stop doing this to myself.
This childhood friends to lovers Christmas tale was so sweet. Joel never believed in a happily ever after for himself after Casey left town for college. However when Casey comes back for Christmas four years later, he shows the stubborn Joel that happiness is obtainable and is for everyone.
3.5 stars- Mr. Frosty Pants is an enjoyable holiday romance that features childhood friends who lost touch over the years when one left for college. This friends to lovers story was really well done in terms of capturing that binding connection between friends, even when separated by distance and circumstance.
I enjoyed the plot set-up of Casey returning to his childhood hometown for the holiday season and trying to reconnect with his former best friend. The story and characters were well developed and the romance blossomed naturally. There was good chemistry evident throughout the book- a requisite for any successful friends-to lovers romance- which ensured I never questioned Joel and Casey as a couple. I also liked the secondary characters and the roles they played in propelling the relationship…so much so that I found myself relieved this was the start of a series and hoping we stay with this group of friends in the future. And yet I found this one a little more difficult to settle into. Despite liking Casey and Joel on the surface, neither character really drew me in nor was I as invested in their story as I’d like. I also found the angst in this one a bit exhausting- a little like that tortuous young adult angst that can wear on you. While the aspects of the angst and conflicts that rose as a result made sense given the characters and storyline, it was repetitive and pulled some of the joy from the book and romance. In the end it felt a bit like a roller coaster- some joy, sweetness, and chemistry tempered with suffering and self-doubt.
Overall, Mr. Frosty Pants ended up being both a hit and miss with me. I liked many elements of this standalone novel, but it took a while to really hook me and I never really got many of those sustained holiday fuzzies I look for in this genre. This is definitely best suited for those readers who want some holiday warmth without giving up the angst.
*Reviewed for Alpha Book Club*