Little Dumber Boy by B.K. Stevens

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Little Dumber Boy
Author: B.K. Stevens

Author Site

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Publisher: Untreed Reads

Genre: Contemporary/Holiday/Mystery

Length: 8 pgs.

About The Book:  Will's aunt wants him to spend some time with his estranged son at Christmas. All Will wants is to knock off his girlfriend's husband and collect a share of the life insurance policy. Unfortunately, when you fail to take into account all the angles, the perfect crime can really ruin your holiday. 

The Review: The Little Drummer Boy is my all time favorite Christmas song, and when I was a kid, I never missed the chance to watch the program on TV. So imagine my delight to see this title. I thought perhaps it was about a poor deaf child and a Christmas miracle of some kind…NOT!

Little Dumber Boy should be an episode of Stupid Criminals or something. I read this, feeling kind of faint as I waited for the punch line and when it came I thought, "Maybe there is justice in this world after all!"

Not your normal puppies and candy kind of Christmas, Little Dumber Boy is still a sweet treat for your stocking.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Christmas In Killarney by S. Furlong-Bolliger

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Christmas In Killarney
Author: S. Furlong-Bolliger

Author Site: Unknown

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Publisher: Untreed Reads

Genre: Contemporary/Holiday/Mystery

Length: 8 pgs.

About The Book:  Maureen is facing the prospect of a depressing Christmas after her husband Bob loses his job and she's forced to clean hotel rooms. When Bob's former boss is murdered, she thinks there's a chance that the couple's luck has changed. Unfortunately, for Maureen, her luck just got a lot worse.

The Review: Twisted is the Christmas theme in this short story and it really made me laugh when I got to the end. Imagine scrubbing toilets to make ends meet when your husband loses his job, only to find out he's really not been the victim of unfair office politics at all.

In Christmas In Killarney, this is what happens to poor Maureen but what her husband has in store for her this Christmas isn't quite what she expects. The unexpected curve ball at the end will make you giggle in spite of yourself. Or maybe that's just me.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Another Fine Christmas by George Seaton

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Another Fine Christmas
Author: George Seaton

Author Site

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Publisher: Untreed Reads

Genre: Contemporary/Holiday

Length: 11 pgs.

About The Book: What do you do when your partner is gung-ho for Christmas and you don't want to take part in the festivities? For the narrator, an escape into his writing world would bring a welcome diversion from the music and mistletoe of the season. A very unusual encounter in his dreams, however, just might restore his love for the season and allow him to view it with an entirely new perspective.

The Review: Another Fine Christmas isn't so much a story as it is a retrospective glimpse into the author's mind. One partner, Dave, goes all out for Christmas with lights, ornaments, decorations, food and music, while the other, George, would be happier if Christmas came and went without him. While Dave is content to decorate and believe in the spirit of Christmas, George gets a kind of visit from the spirit of Christmas—a beer swilling, pot smoking Santa. And Mama Cass.

What I really found touching about this story is not so much the difference in the way each partner sees the holidays but how each partner sees one another. Especially George. Even though his holiday attitude runs more along the lines of "Bah-Humbug," he's really perfectly content in the happiness Dave's fuss over the holiday brings him.

And George listens to Leonard Cohen. Need I say more?

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Just For Christmas by George Seaton

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Just For Christmas
Author: George Seaton

Author Site

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Publisher: Untreed Reads

Genre: GLBT/Contemporary/Holiday

Length: 11 pgs.

About The Book: Christmas is a holiday with family at the heart of the season. In this short story from the author of Continuum,The Colorado Cow and Other Stories and Another Fine Christmas, Frank discovers that sometimes discovering who you are is the best present, and that often the family you choose can be stronger than the family into which you were born. 

The Review: Sometimes you pick up a book expecting one thing and get something else. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's a great thing. Just For Christmas is one of the great things.

Just For Christmas is a very touching coming of age/learning who you are and accepting yourself story told through the memories of one young man's Christmas Eve family gatherings throughout his life. Family isn't always about the people you are related to by blood—sometimes it's thicker than blood. This is one of those stories that will make you think, form a lump in your throat and it's definitely one you won't forget any time soon.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Naughty Or Nice? A Richard Dick Mystery by Wade J. McMahan

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Naughty Or Nice? A Richard Dick Mystery
Author: Wade J. McMahan

Author Site

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Publisher: Untreed Reads

Genre: Contemporary/Holiday

Length: 7 pgs.

About The Book: If you thought the holidays were stressful, rest assured you have it much easier than private investigator Richard Dick. In this outing in the worldwide bestselling series, Santa Claus enlists Dick's help to whittle down his naughty-or-nice list. A discovery of ambiguities in the life of one child may mean a stocking full of coal. Dick's got only one shot at making this kid's Christmas be merry, but his efforts are about to unveil a terrible, dark secret at the North Pole.

The Review: This is definitely not your usual Christmas tale. It's not even your usual Hanukah tale, but it sure does combine the two in a way that makes you almost believe what the author has concocted in this very unusual holiday story.

In about seven pages the author took me from laughing to crying and that's hard to do. Beginning off sounding like something from an old Bogart detective movie, Naughty Or Nice? made me shake my head, and then smile at the premise of this story. And as it continued, Rabbi Silverstein, (aka Santa due to a little name "branding"), is brought into the story for a meeting with a child named Lamarcus, who is going to be on the naughty list for burning down a medical clinic.

From that point on, I was a mess of emotion and tears.

This very well may be read right along with Rudolph and The Night Before Christmas, and during Hanukah! Don't miss being the first one to read it to your family on Christmas Eve.

Pagan Elements: N/A

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.

Number Theory by Noah Bogdonoff

                                              

THE PAGAN & THE PEN BOOK REVIEWS

Title: Number Theory
Author: Noah Bogdonoff

Author Site

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Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing

Genre: Fiction/Math

Other: M/M

Length: 4 pgs.
Reviewed by: Russ Allen

RATINGS FOR:

Cover: 1

Presentation: 2

Editing: 3

Story: 2

Writing Ability: 3

Overall Card Rating: 

                                 

About The Book: A short story about a boy who views himself and the world in mathematical terms.

The Review: This is a very unusual story about a boy who relates to everything in binary or mathematical terms, and his interaction with his parents, teachers, tutor, friends, classmates, and world. This includes a brief homosexual encounter with ninth-grader Matt, who kisses the boy leaving him with the feeling that he has kissed “x,” the unknown value that he hates but will come to love, which is full of possibilities that open a whole new and colorful, if not numeric dimension to his life.

While interesting in its use of symbols, I am not sure that there is a point to this story, and that it might have been told more effectively in a different way.

Pagan Elements: N/A.

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Disclaimer: Due to FTC regulations, any book reviewed on this site was sent for free by the author to The Pagan & The Pen. We are not paid to give reviews by Author or Publisher. Once review has been made, said books are deleted.