Genre: Holiday, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
LGBTQ+ Category: Gay
Reviewer: Maryann
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About The Book
Despite what his co-workers say Belling, Montana paramedic Dylan Hollie does not hate Christmas.
It’s just that as an ex-foster kid he learned early on that Christmas just didn’t have much relevance to his life. He’s seen no evidence since then that he’s wrong.
That said, if Santa ever delivered a six-foot plus wall of hot muscle under his tree he’d be willing to reconsider. He’s even sourced an available one locally in the taciturn Somerset North and his impossibly blue eyes.
So really, at this point the ball is in Santa’s court.
There’s just one problem. Well, just one to start with anyhow. The battered, dying man someone dumped from a height onto Dylan’s car outside the Just-as-High, Somerset’s bar. He gave Dylan an old, well-worn watch and begged him to keep it safe.
Now Christmas is relevant to Dylan’s life in the worst way. The Winter Court has loosed their Wolves on the world and Dylan is on the run with Somerset North. A man who seems to know a lot more about what is going on than a Montana bar owner with exceptional shoulders should.
It turns out that Santa is missing, presumed dead. And the key to the hotly disputed succession crisis is a foster kid who never celebrated the season.
The Review
In Belling, Montana, there’s something strange going on. Dylan and his friend Alice work together as a paramedic team. Once again, they find themselves at the Just-As-High bar, this time in the middle of a bachelor party brawl. Trying to give aid to the out-of-control groom, Dylan hits the floor when the man punches him in the nose. No one can seem to get the chaos under control, not even the bouncers, until the owner, Somerset North, arrives. Besides the bachelor party attendees, the Wolf Pack was involved too. Now most of the fighters have been taken to jail or the ER.
For Dylan, it couldn’t be more embarrassing, as the one thing Somerset notices is Dylan’s nose. Dylan finds himself attracted towards the strange Somerset, but why would such a big, burly, rough edges guy be interested in someone like him?
Then things get worse when he goes home and discovers he’s lost his Grandfathers watch. As he tries to think where it might be, the only logical place is at the Just-As-High bar. The watch means the world to Dylan. It was the only possession he always had. He went from foster homes to juvie and then to his Grandfather, the only one who ever really cared about him. When his Grandfather left, he made Dylan promise to always keep the watch. There was something about it that gave Dylan calm and comfort.
Even though it’s very late, Dylan heads out to the bar, in hopes that Somerset is still there. After trying just about everything to get in, Dylan is shocked when a man falls onto his car. Being a paramedic, Dylan springs into action. The man relays a strange message – apparently someone is missing. Dylan is surprised when the man presses the watch into his hand, and tells him to keep it safe.
Detective Lund questions Somerset about the unidentified man that crashed on top of the car. There’s something very strange going on between Lund and Somerset. After the interview, Dylan still has questions, and so he heads to the hospital to see the man with the alias “John Snow.” He’s hurt pretty badly. Dylan tries to get answers , but ends up face-to-face with Somerset, who says the man is his brother. When Somerset starts asking Dylan questions, he lies. But Somerset makes it very clear he knows Dylan is lying.
The connection that Somerset and Dylan make is definitely hot, and TA Moore doesn’t hold back the snark.
What has Dylan gotten himself into? What’s the mystery behind the watch? What does it have to do with Dylan? And what the heck happened to Santa?
Moore has written one of the weirdest and most convoluted Christmas stories that I have ever read. True North is the first book of the “Yule Lads” series. It’s filled with surprises, suspense, thrills, fast paced action, danger, gore and grit, but also has plenty of banter and humor, along with a very steamy bar scene. The author blends our modern day world with a war over who will be the next Santa.
“True North” is a crazy page turner, a roller coaster of a holiday ride, and one of the wildest stories I’ve read in a long time.
Book two, North Star, is planned for December 2024.
The Reviewer
Hi, I’m Maryann, I started life in New York, moved to New Hampshire and in 1965 uprooted again to Sacramento, California. Once I retired I moved to West Palm Beach, Florida in 2011 and just moved back to Sacramento in March of 2018. My son, his wife and step-daughter flew out to Florida and we road tripped back so they got to see sights they have never seen. New Orleans and the Grand Canyon were the highlights. Now I am back on the west coast again to stay! From a young age Ialways liked to read.
I remember going to the library and reading the “Doctor Dolittle” books by Hugh Lofting. Much later on became a big fan of the classics, Edgar Alan Poe, Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and as time went by Agatha Christie, Ray Bradbury and Stephen Kingand many other authors.
My first M/M shifter book I read was written by Jan Irving the “Uncommon Cowboys” series from 2012. She was the first author I ever contacted and sent an email to letting her know how much I liked this series. Sometime along the way I read “Zero to the Bone”by Jane Seville, I think just about everyone has read this book!
As it stands right now I’m really into mysteries, grit, gore and “triggers” don’t bother me. But if a blurb piques my interest I will read the book.
My kindle collection eclectic and over three thousand books and my Audible collection is slowly growing. I have both the kindle and audible apps on my ipod, ipads, and MAC. So there is never an excuse not to be listening or reading.
I joined Goodreads around 2012 and started posting reviews. One day a wonderful lady, Lisa Horan of The Novel Approach, sent me an email to see if I wanted to join her review group. Joining her site was such an eye opener. I got introduce to so many new authors that write for the LGBTQ genre. Needless to say, it was heart breaking when it ended.
But I found a really great site, QRI and it’s right here in Sacramento. Last year at QSAC I actually got to meet Scott Coatsworth, Amy Lane and Jeff Adams.