Ami's Hoard

3.5 stars

To be honest, when I first read the blurb, I thought it was going to be a novella length story. You know, the idea of having a Secret Santa and the discovery of who was responsible for the presents. I was quite surprised when I received the file and it was over 200 pages on my Kindle calculation (it was actually 57k words!). Why would the discovery of a Secret Santa need over 50k?!

Well, I guess because the story was more than just the blurb ....

To me, this is a personal journey of Greg – complete name: Gregory Peck (yes, it is!) – who starts the story as a young guy lacking confidence about his own appeal and to that extent, his own self-worth. Oh, Greg knows that he is a good P.A. for his French boss, but aside from that, he doesn’t think that he is worth the presents coming from his Secret Santa. He is confused why someone would him attractive.

I blamed his manipulative bastard of an ex...

Greg’s ex definitely clipped his wings; Greg doesn’t really socialize outside his office. Even if his colleagues liked him, Greg thinks that the presents mean someone is making fun of him, and he doesn’t like it. That’s how he sees himself. He protects himself in his own safe shell. It was quite endearing to read, because I so wanted him to find his strength again.

The romance is a bit of a tease in the beginning. There are two people that seem to have attention towards Greg. I had a good time figuring out who was Greg’s secret admirer. Although, at one point I was so worried that this would be a love triangle of sorts! But it didn’t really happened, pheww!!

Unfortunately, I thought that after Greg discovered the real identity of the admirer, the romance became, well, a bit too sappy for my taste. There were some smutty moments, and for me, it was like focusing on sex rather than the romance. This is my personal hang-up, of course, I’ve never been a fan of sex scenes over romance … so I’m sure it might not be the same issue with other people.

There is a plot involving the ex who is giving Greg all kinds of problems which serves as the drama in this story. Urgh, the ex deserves some hard punches!! He’s a total jerk!! And another sweet plot about Greg’s mother who finds a new love ... in a woman’s arms. Yep, Greg’s mom realizes that she’s currently a lesbian *smile*.

This is the first Indra Vaughn’s story for me. I think the writing is good. Greg is a character that definitely wins my heart. If you’re in a mood for MM Christmas romance – and hey December is just around the corner! – I think this can be an option for you.