“Dueling radio hosts” who fight over Christmas sounded like a lot of fun when I read the blurb for this story. Deke is determined to hate the holidays and everything about them, whereas Dudley loves the whole season so much he has all his favorite activities planned out from the day after Thanksgiving. And with their acerbic wit, the fight was sure to be epic.

Dudley embraces Christmas and every single possible related activity with a heart full of joy. Be it the lights on his house and in his garden, the thousands of cookies he bakes, the gift baskets he distributes, or the Christmas cards he sends. But best of all, he doesn’t forget those who have less than he does. He integrates collections for food banks in his activities, plans gifts for those in need, and he lovingly takes care of his aging grandfather. He even has a different pair of Christmas socks for each day in December. Dudley enters the “contest” to find out whether there are more Christmas lovers or haters full of optimism.

Deke is a Christmas hater. But he turns out to be a complete a**hle in the way he ruins everything for Dudley. I mean, it’s okay not to like the season, don’t get me wrong, but what he does is cruel. For someone who professes to admire Dudley, Deke is not behaving in any way respectful or even considerate. Yes, he comes through in the end, but… It left a bitter taste in my mouth.

While the setup sounds quite funny, and there are a few humorous moments, what bugged me was the tone of the story, how truly awful and mean Deke was, and the deep sadness Dudley (who had once been so full of joy) ended up feeling. Not Christmassy at all! Maybe that was the author’s intent? I don’t know, but it did not make me feel all warm and fuzzy. At least Dudley and Deke manage to work out their differences and there is a glimmer of hope for a real relationship at the end, but for me, it was almost too little too late.

If you like men with opposite opinions battling it out, if you don’t mind the “gloves coming off” in what they do, and if you’re looking for a humorous story with more than one sad moment and a last-second turn toward a happy ending, then you might like this novella.


NOTE: This book was provided by Dreamspinner Press for the purpose of a review. ( )