Grumble Monkey and the Department Store Elf

3.75 for the story. The audio is maybe 2.00, if I'm being generous, but the less said about it the better.Sorry. I had to go get a drink to cut a bit of this treacle pudding. I like pudding but I'm partial to a bit of tart, however this being Christmas I'll be nice. It's not a chore. Not really.If you read the blurb (I didn't) you pretty much get the gist of the story, except Kit's whole elfdom is not really all that. He was working as a seasonal elf/Santa helper and left for home straight off work which is why, when he meets Nick, he's still wearing his elf garb. He's not wearing it for long. As for Nick you'll guess pretty immediately what his plans are when he crosses paths with Kit. Keaton “Kit/Kitten” Jeffries is 22 and seems to have sprung from some idyllic pollyanna family (think Kenneth from “30 Rock”), apparently they don't even have cell phones?!?! his speech is peppered by “gee-gosh”, “poopie”, and “golly” but he's not a pushover, he's cool under pressure and a very talented artist. Oh and did I mention he's also a V-card carrier? Nick St. George, yep that's his name, is 32, owns an art gallery and IMO is a bit of a whinny baby. He did have some BAD things happen to him vis-à-vis his parents, and I do feel for him, but it would seem to me he also had some good fortune along the way, both financial and with people in his life, so maybe he's just having a moment of crisis? Let's hope so. Both MCs are having a fairly emotional day. Like in all Holiday novellas everything happens pretty quickly, in this case like a day, which is a bit much for the life changing events that transpire, but what do I know about the human heart? I did like that the ending is more of a hopeful HFN, which is believable in relation to the time span of the story, and the message of acceptance, particularly of oneself, never goes amiss. As for the sexy parts there really aren't any, aside from kissing, despite the MCs being naked in a bed at one point. Everything happens off page. I didn't mind. I would recommend this as an uplifting & positive Holiday read but I would absolutely caution AGAINST the the audio edition. The narrator is [a:Donald Tursman 13763061 Donald Tursman https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png], new to me, and I don't know that I'd try him again on the strength of this outing. He does the story no favors. On the technical side it seemed to have been recorded in a bathroom or someone's closet. On an unrelated note: I'm not a fan of the cover. It makes this seem more like a romp and it's not really, particularly not for Nick.