This was wonderful to read over the holidays, a refreshingly rooted in reality romance book for the holidays (as in no gimmicks or odd premise). Same goes for the LGBTQ+ representation, it was an overall fun read!

I have started a little tradition by reading holiday romances around the holidays to spark up some holiday cheer. This year, Felix Navidad was one of the highlights of my holiday book brigade.

Just a little flashback, Felix was the prankster in Village Fool that "helped" finally get Owen together with Toma.

Anywhoodles, I really enjoyed this book. The story was a little bittersweet with the side story of Danya and their antics but sweet nonetheless. I was a little nervous about the connection between Kevin and Haruto, but it ended up being a non-issue.

If you are in the mood for a sweet, semi-(happy)-emotional journey, surrounding a very talented nurse practitioner and a handsome bearded farmer, well, you are in luck.

It was sweet with a little bit of spice and some good laughs smattered in between all the feels. I really liked this one. It's in the top 3 of my holiday books for 2022!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

This is the second of the Little Village series I have read, having previously greatly enjoyed Handmade Holidays, the first in the series. While I think these stories work a bit better having read others in the series you could easily read this as a standalone, though I do now want to go back and read some of the ones I've missed.

The dual timeline aspect of the book initially wasn't quite working for me but by the end of the book I had actually enjoyed the flashback segments a lot more - Felix's interactions with Danya felt very authentic and moving; whereas the present day in the cabin felt too wrapped up and sudden at the end - I felt like the relationship hadn't quite developed and I wasn't really feeling the chemistry.

That being said I absolutely love how many different well rounded queer characters are in this series and will be continuing to read others, though so far Handmade Holidays remains my favourite. Particularly enjoy the running theme of the different families you can have and spending Christmas with others, unexpectedly or not - having just had a Christmas at a friends on short notice due to pandemic complications that felt particularly poignant to me this year!

'Nathan Burgoine does a great job creating a community in his books, and this is a great addition to that world. This story follows two timelines, one in the present with an almost Hallmark Christmas movie plot of the low leads sharing a car to try to make it to Toronto only to end up stuck in a romantic cabin. The other is Felix taking care of Danya. They both are compelling and appealing. It was a wonderful winter read.

This is a sweet romance with some heart. It is a great addition to the series.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

If you're looking for a short Christmassy read, look no further! The name of this book instantly captured my attention and I couldn't wait to dive in. Felix was such a likeable character and I mean, I cannot resist an "only one bed" trope.

I did read this as a stand-alone, however, I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the other Little Village stories. There are a lot of characters here, all with their own unique histories, and I do feel as though I was missing something by picking this one up before reading the others.

Nevertheless, I definitely recommend this one and will likely reread it each year when the snow first falls. Also, it takes place in Canada. That's an instant checkmark for me!

I'm not one for holiday books but this one seemed interesting enough that I took a chance and ended up really loving it!!
The writing was smooth, the characters were great and the twist towards the end just about killed me!
Highly recommended to people who love holiday books with a lot of gay cheer <3

In this festive queer romcom, we follow Felix attending his best friend's wedding, only to remind him how lonely he is. But attending solo is the perfect excuse to dance with handsome farmer Kevin, and plan his first vacation in Hawai'i. But life has other plans for Felix: the flight is cancelled, and he soon finds himself in a winter storm (and many questions) when he meets a stranded Kevin and the two drive together to Toronto. So Christmas is all about a little cabin... and Kevin. 😉

I can easily imagine this book being adapted into a christmas movie. I'm not sure if i would read this book during another season, but for now, it really got me into the chritmas spirit! ❄️

While I liked the idea of this story, the actual story fell short for me. I didn’t really enjoy the characters or their development as much as I wanted to. I felt as though the little time the characters were locked into a cabin the “romance” was forced or just not authentic. Overall I don’t think this writing is for me.

Forced proximity and being snowed in is one of my favorite tropes and this novella was absolutely adorable. The story goes back and forth from the present to the past and it was both sweet and sad. Both guys were just great and I loved how there was no angst and the romance just started slowly only to explode. Their chemistry was perfect! I really can't get enough of the books of this author!

Felix Navidad by Nathan Burgoine was exactly the book I was looking for. I read it in one day in between wrapping presents and being frozen inside with 0 degree weather. This is such a cute story and the cast of characters were amazing especially Danya.
This novella is part of a series but I haven’t read the others (yet) and it can be a stand alone book. Such cute happy merry vibes on this one.
I just reviewed Felix Navidad by 'Nathan Burgoine. #FelixNavidad #NetGalley. Thank you Net Galley for allowing me an advanced copy for this honest review.

This was a cute, fun Christmas novella that really helped set the mood for the season. I have struggled with the holiday-themed romances that I've read this year so far which has put a bit of a damper on my enjoyment of the category, but 'Felix Navidad' really helped bring me back around and prove that there can still be a little magic and sparkle to the season and the romances that take place within.

Felix Navidad was published on December 13, 2022. Thank you to Bold Strokes Books, Inc, NetGalley and the author for the digital Advanced Reader's Copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was an exquisite mlm holiday novella, and now I can't wait to go back and read all the other books in this series! If you like small town romances, queer-normative worlds, cozy low-to-no-conflict narratives, and can deal with a slice of grief along with it, this book is for you! It even rekindled my grinchy self's love of the holiday season this year!

This was a such a cute, sweet Christmas romance novella. I loved Felix’s professional relationship turned friendship with Danya. I loved how everything came together with Felix and Kevin and Danya’s role in it. I just wish this novella was a longer novel!

I think I need to read more by Nathan so I can learn about this April Fool’s prank!

Thank you so much for the advance copy of this wonderful novella!

This story was such a perfect little holiday/Christmas romance to read in the month of December. I'm a sucker for Hallmark type movies and this is the exact thing I would love to see in that format. It read so smoothly and the story had the perfect flow as it bounced back and forth from the year before to the current year.

Felix and his friends are very enjoyable characters. There is enough of each character shared for you to get a good feeling of his inner circle and we see Felix as a character really come to life as we learn more about him through the events of the novella. My only gripe is that I want MORE! This story comes full circle so it isn't lacking in any way but I would absolutely love so much more. Its well written and highly enjoyable. Absolutely recommend it!

This was a really sweet story of Felix and Kevin. Felix is the last of his rather large friend group to not have landed a boyfriend, but it seems that his luck may be changing as he attends the wedding of one of his friends and meets Kevin, a farmer getting ready to start a new chapter in his life.

The story takes place in two different timelines - each exploring Felix's life. At first it seemed somewhat distracting but I really liked how the earlier timeline informed a lot of the events in the present timeline, so by the time the reader comes across the old trope of the "one bed" for the characters to sleep in, you're rooting for the characters and know more of where they're coming from.

Even though this was my first story in this series, I didn't have any trouble following what was going on, and I enjoyed all the characters, particularly Danya. Burgoine's created an intriguing world here, a very queer space with characters from various backgrounds and ages supporting one another. And you can tell the author loves his characters with all of their quirks and foibles.

I'm looking forward to reading more of Burgoine as this is only my second story by him. Now I'm wondering how I managed to miss his work for so long....

This is such a lovely Christmas novella. Felix and Kevin are both great characters. Because it's told from Felix's POV, we know more about him than about Kevin, but that isn't an issue. This novella is pretty much drama-free but it's got enough substance. I loved the flashbacks despite them being a little sad.

Super cute and sweet holiday romance! Anything honoring queer joy is a win in my eyes. I really loved the intertwined timelines and how we got to see a bit of the past with the present. Read this book with a steaming cup of cocoa!

Told in third person from Felix in dual timelines one year apart, I really enjoyed this Christmas novella which is a combined road trip/close proximity romance. I loved Felix who works as an in-home care nurse and the former storyline really shows how genuinely compassionate and caring he is both professionally and personally. It focuses on the friendship he develops with a patient named Danya who runs a community garden. Danya was my favorite character, full of wisdom and humorous charm.

In the current storyline, Felix attends the wedding of a pair of friends from a previous book. I had read another book in this series, but other than a frequently referenced April Fool’s joke that I didn’t recall, I don’t feel it’s necessary to read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one. A gentleman at the wedding catches his eye and Felix is surprised to find that it’s one of the groom’s exes, later enjoying a dance that’s cut too short with him. Fortunately, Felix and Kevin end up stranded in a cabin during icy road conditions the next day. Due to family circumstances, Kevin’s at a crossroads in his life and I wish I been able to spend more time getting to know him. These two came together at the perfect point for both, almost like it was planned.😜

Enjoyable Christmas short, full of friendship, love and a bit of sadness that comes with real life. Recommended.

Thank you to Netgalley and Bold Stroke Books for a copy provided for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book, in exchange for this honest review.

I don’t have a lot to say, but in all fairness it wasn’t that long. I finished this in one sitting and found it really cute, but ultimately not very memorable. Did still help put me in the holiday spirit though.

This review will be up on my Instagram, @kratist0, sometime between now and mid January.

Short and sweet, “Felix Navidad” hits everything a short Christmas novella needs to hit. From the start this felt very “Hallmark” movie, which I appreciated. We don’t have a lot (or any) queer representation in them, so this was like a warm hug from Christmas memories past. Writing reviews for shorter books can be hard, because you don’t have as much time with the characters, but Felix and Kevin pack a punch in the short time we have with them. Their romance was teeth-hurting sweet and the ending was absolutely perfect. A very well done neovella which is very tricky to pull off.