The Remaking of Corbin Wale: An M/M Holiday Romance

This was quite a nice surprise. I randomly found this book browsing Amazon as it popped up in a “since you liked this other book” recommendation and it was on sale so I figured why not. This reminded me a lot of the manic pixi dream girl YA books I read as a teenager only with my favourite fan fiction tropes thrown in. Down on his luck business owner that can bake? Yes please. (Probably) Autistic artist virgin with a dreamy look in his eyes? Sign me up. Everything coated in magical realism? Just take my wallet. Parrish also has her characters actually talk to each other about ~feelings~ GASP while making them still seem pretty realistic for two adult men characters. Bonus that they're both pretty thirsty for each other. It basically has all the elements to make this a book I couldn't put down and one that I'll be thinking about for a while - especially about some of the bakes described. I really want that oatmeal toast with cinnamon sugar.
The only thing that bummed me out was this looks like a one-off instead of a series, as it was written in 2017 and nothing else has been mentioned from the author. I'd have loved to see Gareth and Orin's story.

Color me seduced, swayed, and surprised by [a:Roan Parrish 14070842 Roan Parrish https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1592486118p2/14070842.jpg]'s dreamy, story. Why surprised? Because I thought I was way over magical realism, whimsy, and faery tales, and here I am, utterly invested in the fate an almost elfin-like woodland creature. Okay. I exaggerate. But that is the vibe.Corbin Wale is a highly sensitive and artistic man, who from childhood was dealt shitty cards. He was raised by relatives who, though well intentioned, didn't give him the tools to live in the world, which in turn made him the favorite target of bullies, and left him isolated in a world of his own. Alex Barrow is a baker come home to regroup after a sojourn in NYC kitchens and the breakup of a relationship, which he doesn't really lament. He transforms his parents old cafe into a bakery and one of his first customers is Corbin. The spark is immediate, true, and I believed every word. Roan has a way with words, almost poetic, but not precious, that makes the story have a beat of its own, and [a:Chris Chambers 3059129 Chris Chambers https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] is a masterful interpreter of it. Go ahead, take a chance and enjoy this Hanukkah story, full of magic, or as we call it: LOVE. ps. Be prepared to be hungry.