Blurb:
Christmas is a time for giving – what do you do when no one gives a damn? For Zachary Weston Christmas means sleeping on a churchyard bench in the freezing snow with nothing better in his future. Thrown out of his home for being gay, he is left without money or, it seems, anywhere to go. Until a stranger shows him that some people do give a lot more than a damn.

Ben Hamilton is a rookie cop in his small home town. He finds a young throwaway, fresh from the city, sleeping on a bench in the churchyard on a snowy Christmas Eve. Can he be the one to give Zachary his own Christmas miracle?

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Review:

Zach dreams of a warm Christmas morning with presents and a roaring fire when he wakes up to a freezing church graveyard and a uniformed cop telling him to move along. Chilled to the bone, Zach can’t answer the cop’s questions fast enough. Concerned about the young man, Ben decides to take his protecting the innocent duties a bit further and brings Zach home for the night. That one night ends up being forever as Ben and Zach slowly fall in love while Ben’s family welcomes the throwaway and finally appreciates what Zach’s family couldn’t.

The Christmas Throwaway is a heart warming, lovely holiday story. Alternating between Ben and Zach’s perspective, the novella spans years as the two men fall in love and slowly come together. Zach grows and matures from a homeless teen into a grown man with a job, school, and responsibility. Some of the details are glossed over and there is a lot of magic hand waving. Not all the solutions and resolutions that come about are realistic and the story is above all a romance. Thus rose colored glasses are best used when reading so the inconsistencies, lapses, and impossibilities simply don’t matter.

When viewed as a romantic story that’s meant to be warm and charming, the narrative succeeds for the most part. The characters are decently developed with a lot of humor and natural charm that pull you in. The two have a hesitant, careful relationship that sparks from the beginning but only after time and care grows into something more. The later scenes of the two together show a patience and compatibility that bode well for a true happy ever after ending. The story does a nice job of showing how the two men grow, change, and ultimately find their feelings haven’t changed with time, but deepened.

The Christmas Throwaway is an endearing holiday tale that will delight romance fans. It’s light, easy and very quick to read without a lot of angst and drama. The few dramatic scenes, all revolving around Zach’s family are quickly and easily resolved without much issue so the novella is a breezy quick tale of romance and family. The chilly nights are contrasted with the warmth of family and friends, making this a satisfying story especially for the holidays. I think fans will be delighted with this story and easily recommend it.