Mall Santas aren’t supposed to be hotHunter Adams is hopelessly adrift after college. He’s still a virgin, can’t find a real job, and has no clue what to do with his life. In desperation, he returns to his humiliating old job as an elf at the Santa’s Village in his hometown’s dying mall. The Santa on the job is an unexpectedly sexy lumberjack, twice Hunter’s size and age. He makes Hunter feel … age. He makes Hunter feel very naughty—too bad he’s grumpy and intimidating.
Years after the tragic death of his partner, Nick Spini has his beagle and long, hard days on his Christmas tree farm. That’s plenty. But he can’t refuse a loyal friend’s plea for help and finds himself filling in as Santa at the local mall. Despite Nick’s attempt to stay aloof, the beautiful, anxious young man playing elf brings out his long-dormant daddy instincts.
When a surprise blizzard traps them alone in Nick’s isolated forest home, their attraction burns even brighter. Will they surrender to the sizzling connection between them and find the release and comfort they crave?
Santa Daddy is a holiday gay romance from Keira Andrews featuring an age gap, steamy m/m first times, daddy role-playing and light spanking, Christmas romance feels, and of course a happy ending.
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I loved this holiday release by Keira Andrews! She always delivers a fantastic romantic read, and this is no different.
I admit I’m not a fan of the Daddy/boy dynamic. I’ve tried other books with that setup, and they just didn’t work for me. But Keira sold me on it. By creating complex characters who demonstrated so clearly why this sort of relationship worked for them, I found myself engaged — because it was their love story that mattered, not their particular kink.
Despite the hottest Santa/elf scene set in a mall that I’ll ever read, I came away from this book feeling the same warm fuzzies I get from the sweetest romance. As usual, Keira takes you on an emotional journey, and I admire her skill in being able to do so even in a novella-length romance.
I really enjoyed this novella. It had a wonderful Christmas feel to it but at the same time had a nice story with a little angst and a lot of steam to keep things interesting. The characters were very likable. I loved their stories and how they developed throughout the story. I especially loved how well written and developed each of them were and how it wasn’t all about the lust between them but each changed and grew by finding each other. Very well done.
3.5*
I’m not a big fan of the daddy kink trope, but I think I’d pretty much read anything if it’s based around Christmas!
Talk about opposites, I’m not sure you could find 2 more different characters than Hunter and Nick. But the grumpy lumberjack and the naive little elf somehow worked. Since this was a short read, the daddy kink didn’t play a big part in the story, although it felt right for these two.
A quick, sweet and sexy read.
Cute, fluffy Christmas read with a grumpy daddy and a sweet boy!
With a setting of snow and Christmas trees, Santa and elf…. this is a wonderful Christmas read!
I always enjoy Keira’s books and this little Christmas book was fun and an enjoyable read.
A surly Santa, a jittery elf, and a whole lot of yearning brings together an unlikely pair of men who need a bit of holiday magic (and a snow storm) to open their eyes and hearts to someone who neither expected to fall for. Hunter Adams has no clue what to do with his life now that he’s graduated university so he dons some tights and jingly shoes for one last time as Santa’s elf at a failing mall. There he meets the hottest Santa he’s ever seen and even the gruff, judgmental man can’t keep him from his fascination. Nick Spini is only putting on the velvet suit to get his desperate friend off his back. If it’s for the good of children in need then that’s fine too, but if he could have his way he’d be home alone with his dog and his trees, perfectly content in his bitterness. But denied desires race to the fore when Hunter unknowingly acts like he really needs a Daddy. A snowstorm gives them the chance to act on their attraction, but will that be enough to give them lasting fulfillment?
Hunter is adorably scattered. His heart is in the right place and I love his relationship with his mother. There’s a lot that he thinks he should do but no idea what he wants to do. I didn’t mind that he was a virgin here and I was impressed by his willingness to stand up for himself despite his vulnerability and insecurities. He really was the best match for Nick and I enjoyed watching him grow and become more balanced as the story progressed. By finding what he needed in Nick, not just through his exploration of their kink dynamic, he could calm his mind and see clearly what he enjoys and wants for his future.
Nick, on the other hand, is brusque and crusty and took me a little longer to love. Even after learning about why he was so bad-tempered and rude I thought there were so many chances for him to check himself. When he finally opened up to Hunter and, through Hunter, the rest of the community, I could see how good of a man he really was inside.
This was a cute story that had a lot of steam and I liked it all. Getting to know both men and seeing how they changed and grew to become better men by the end as well as more settled was an absolute pleasure. I even liked the interjected thoughts from Eric’s perspective that helped Nick to come to terms with all that stretched him beyond his comfort zone. It was snarky, tempting, and quite amusing at times. With a couple of solid side characters to add depth and breadth to the story I was completely sold.
Nick and Hunter
This is a cute and steamy Christmas novella. It’s a may/December (age gap) romance with an anxious virgin and a grinchy hermit. Oh and a nice dose of kink for your holiday season! For a short story, it was well developed and complete. Oftentimes with novellas, I feel like pieces are missing or things are rushed. Not so with this story. I throughly enjoyed it. It’s a must read for your holiday reading list!