Our December by Diane Adams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is the second book I’ve read by Diane Adams and her writing style satisfies that itch for light and romantic stories with solid happy endings. Some of the writing is jumbled and the POV jumps around a bit but the backbone of the story and characters are enough for anyone looking for an easy popcorn read. These may not be the most memorable stories but a quick, interesting read is enough sometimes and I’m curious to see where the author goes with this series.
Book One reads like a standalone novel. We’re introduced to a couple, Alex and Jared, as they’re celebrating 14 years together. From there the story flashbacks to their first meeting and shows various memories of how the two men met, the conflict inherent in the age difference and how eventually that is resolved. There is quite a bit left out, in fact more left out then actually included, but still the emotion and basic plot is there. Easily enough emotion to please romance fans and a couple you can connect with.
The story is mostly character driven as the couple meet when Alex is just 15 and Jared is 20. 5 years is a huge age difference considering how young and impressionable Alex is and Jared refuses to get sexually or romantically involved with the teenager. This could have been a sticky element considering the age difference and the age of consent. Not to mention I’m not sure how you show romance when the two can’t even hold hands but the story does a nice job of convincing readers that these two could fall in love without ever touching and handles the age difference with sensitivity. There is a touch of unreality given Jared’s restraint but a believable reason is given later on that should help any skeptics.
Alex and Jared are interesting characters but the story is simply too short to be fully fleshed out. There is a wealth of information only hinted at – such as Jared’s relationship when he was 15, Jared’s relationship to his parents and mother specifically, Alex’s relationship to his parents and his mother, the years between Alex’s 16th and 30th birthday – and the story would have had much more impact if it was expanded to include these and other topics. Instead with focusing on certain flashbacks the readers gets an idea about the two men and their love for each other but it still remains more of an idea than a shown concept.
As a light, fun read Our December is an engaging and satisfying story. It may not be the most memorable one and may leave you wanting more but like Chinese food, you’ll be back for the second installment. At least I will be.
three am 
Is it just me or are those two guys on every novel cover lately? Or maybe this cover is so stuck in my head that I just THINK I see it everywhere? I’m afraid black shirt dude will forever be one of ZAM’s boys and I’ll have trouble associating him with someone else. Sigh. I hate when that happens.
Now that I’m done rambling over the cover, if you hadn’t said there were more of these it might have kind of turned me off because I could get that sense of “can I have some more please” (imagine me as a wafish 9 year old street urchin). But since you said this seems to be book one, I can deal with a lot of set-up and some left-out info in the belief that it will be filled in for me down the road. I’ll have to check it out.
I know. I totally associate them with ZAM so its disconcerting to see them used everywhere. Yet that happens all the time so I ignored it here.
I wouldnt have rated this one so high if it didn’t have a sequel. I truly hate that tactic of “here’s a little.” I don’t think the story meant to do it but left out MASSIVE amounts. This is a huge problem I have with novellas/short stories but that’s another post. Anyway this is a really cute read on its own and there’s a sequel. So enjoy!