Sometimes the best thing you can get for Christmas is knowing what you really want.
Rusty Baker is a blond, rich, entitled football player in a high school full of them—just the type of oblivious jock all the bullied kids hate. And he might have stayed that way, except he develops a friendship with out-and-proud Oliver Campbell from the wrong side of the tracks. Rusty thinks the friendship is just pity—Oliver is very bright, and Rusty is very not—but then Oliver kisses him goodbye when Rusty leaves for college, and Rusty is forced to rethink everything he knows about himself.
But even Rusty’s newfound awareness can’t help him survive a semester at Berkeley. He returns home for Thanksgiving break clinging to the one thing he knows to be true: Oliver Campbell is the best thing that’s ever happened to him.
Rusty’s parents disagree, and Rusty finds himself homeless for the holidays. Oliver may not have much money, but he’s got something Rusty has never known: true family. With their help and Oliver’s love, Rusty comes to realize that he may have failed college, but he’ll pass real life with flying rainbow colors. – Blurb via Goodreads
Seriously, this is like one of the best Christmas stories I’ve read this year and probably my third favorite from Amy Lane after Clear Water and Candy Man. I adore Oliver but Rusty just totally stole my heart here and I could totally marry him (and willingly be called a man-stealing bitch) if he’d come to life and I’ll be their (him and Ollie) neighbor. I just loved the good feeling that it brought me this Christmas day while everyone around me were freaking about the traffic, the one million people in a single mall and kids screaming in every five-mile radius! Thank gawd for the invention of kindle and ear plugs!!!
I smiled, teared-up a little and I grinned so wide because Rusty’s just one fantastic book character and I wished that there’s actually someone like him in the world. He’s just imperfectly perfect! A beautiful human being with a more beautiful heart and just a total teddy bear! Cuddly, adorbs and just too lovely! A very highly recommended read for everyone! ‘Such perfection!
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Published December 9th 2013 by Riptide Publishing (first published December 7th 2013)
About The Author
Amy Lane dodges an EDJ, mothers four children, and writes the occasional book. She, her brood, and her beloved mate, Mack, live in a crumbling mortgage in Citrus Heights, California, which is riddled with spiders, cats, and more than its share of fancy and weirdness. Feel free to visit her at http://www.greenshill.com orwww.writerslane.blogspot.com, where she will ride the buzz of receiving your e-mail until her head swells and she can no longer leave the house.
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