Someone Special by TC Blue

Title: Someone Special
Author: TC Blue
Length: 209 pdf pages
Publisher: Torquere Press

Blurb:

Gracen loves Christmas. It's his favorite time of the year. So much so that he works as a mall photographer for the season, taking pictures of children with Santa. There's something about seeing all those happy families that he finds satisfying, which may be slightly odd since he's so very alone, himself.

Working three jobs is never fun, but when Jesse takes a part time position as a greeter elf at Santa's Workshop in the mall, he meets Gracen and realizes that maybe job number three isn't that bad, after all. The handsome photographer appeals to him, even with all Jesse's family issues.

Two lonely men, one Santa's Workshop, elf costumes, curl-toed shoes and a camera. They aren't exactly a recipe for finding that someone special… except maybe they are.

Review:

This is a super sweet Christmas story that some people may find a bit sugary at the end. Gracen and Jesse meet at their mall jobs and Jesse bites the bullet and asks Gracen out. He doesn't really expect much, but is surprised by how much he likes Gracen and that he is a truly nice guy. It soon comes to light that Jesse's mother suffered from schizophrenia and snapped and killed his father, and now Jesse is just counting the days until he also comes down with the diseases, hence he works several jobs to allow his younger sister to attend university to become a lawyer.

Eventually, Gracen finds a way to break through Jesse's walls and perhaps find the a solution to his fears. My biggest issue was I was so frustrated with Jesse. He had access to google. For one thing there was little chance he would snap and go from perfectly normal to full blown schizophrenia. Also while it can be hereditary, it often manifests itself in the late teens I thought and he's now 25 with no  signs whatsoever. He's never seen a doctor about it, he completely kept his fears from his sister who had as much of a chance of coming down with it as he did. Should she not have been on the look-out for signs of schizophrenia? And not all schizophrenics flip out and kill people. Many live pretty normal lives. So I thought his whole reason for never getting close to anyone, including Gracen was kind of lame.

He worked as a bagger at an overnight grocery store making minimum wage, but turned down a better paying job with benefits at the mall because ... no clue. Did he think he was going to flip out and kill a customer? Just as much of a chance of doing that at a grocery store.  He would have medical coverage if he did get ill but he refused it. So I was very frustrated with Jesse who seemed unwilling to deal with his fears in any rational way at all and was basing his reactions on myth and fiction. I am also getting a bit frustrated with characters who refuse to take any help from anyone for any reason. I realize it's to show a strong independent streak and being mature and self-reliant, but when that kind of behaviour is actually harmful to your family or yourself? Then it's just dumb and no longer noble.

I liked Gracen and Jesse together when he wasn't coming up with half-baked ideas as to why they couldn't be together and Gracen's agent and best friend Alonzo was quite funny, especially once he met up with Jesse's snarky sister. The sex was hot and at times romantic, but I did get a bit frustrated with Jesse's behaviour and it got a bit sweet at the end, but that's something that I can live with more than some people. So when you need sweet and uplifting, it's a good Christmas story.

Oh and I have to say I'm in love with that big S on the cover.