Too much drama for less than 100pages... i did not get time to get to know the characters before so much happend. urgh.

Can’t decide to give this Christmasy second-chance gay romance novella a two star or three...

***eProof given by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review/reaction***

This is a short, sweet, Christmasy second-chance romance novella with a HEA. And I liked it. After reading Midnight Sun, which was a tad on the heavy side, this was the lovely antidote for that.

Though I found it sweet and a fast read (I could have read this in one day if I found the time), there is a lot of drama thrown in. Recent parental death, Parent in remission due to recent battle with leukemia, ghosting behaviour, break-up due to cheating, failing business (to name a few)... A lot of drama was thrown into a novella, which takes place over a course of four days over the Christmas period (and some of the stuff characters do on Christmas Day seemed very out of place). All this could have been easily a novel with the romance, characters and some of the drama (some, not all) drawn out and fleshed out, but due to the fact this is a 90/100 page novella, everything is pinballed and skimmed over.

This includes the main characters's Big Reconcile Moment at the end of the novella. It was a "Fade to Black" sex scene, which felt like a missed opportunity and felt rushed. I wanted to see Justin and Elliot get together, so not seeing the payoff was frustrating.

I did like this and, like I said, I could have easily read it in one day with a mug of hot chocolate, but this novella needed one or two less drama-issues and a little more focus on the romance/heat for me.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

While this book had a LOT of elements that should have made the book a fabulous read, it just felt like it was lacking something major. I kept waiting for things to get more interesting.

This is a second-chance-at-love novella, set at Christmas time.

Justin is feeling like a failure. The family business he's tried to keep afloat for so long, foregoing his own dreams and ambitions, is not doing well, and he can't bear to face his parents as Christmas approaches, especially his father who has cancer. When an unexpected guest shows up at his mother's invitation, hope flares for a moment as Justin is reunited with Elliott, his former best friend and first love who ghosted him.

Justin experiences moments of bitterness, as I would have expected, but he tries very hard to put a smile on his face and enjoy his family's Christmas traditions. Confronted with Elliott, he's at once angry with his meddling mother and wary, but also thrown headfirst into reminiscing about what might have been.

The unresolved issues between Justin and Elliott obviously come to the forefront sooner rather than later, and I thought the author did a nice job exploring these emotions organically. The 2nd chance romance is perhaps a little bit rushed, considering the time frame, and the one intimate scene fading to black seemed like a missed opportunity to further explore the changing emotions between the two MCs.

The book ends with a nice HFN. Overall, an enjoyable novella, perfect for curling up by the fire with a hot cup of cocoa nearby.

While I really liked the premise of the story and the characters, Adler's writing style just did not mesh well with me. There was a lot of telling of things that could have easily been shown and I'm not a fan of the "let's allude to a past event that I'm not going to reveal until fifty percent in the story" trope, especially when it's alluded to every single page with the same two sentences saying how it's painful and a bad memory. Just doesn't go over well with me.
Still, I loved the connection between Justin and Elliot and would not be opposed to reading more about their lives.

My first reaction when I finished Irises in the Snow was "Short, sweet holiday read..." and that pretty much sums it up. A lot happened in this short read, almost too much considering the length of the story. That doesn't mean that I didn't like Elliot and Justin's second chance story, it just means that I wish there was more. *sigh*

If you're looking for a quick read, packed full of emotion coming from all directions, Irises in the Snow will definitely fill the bill.

This is my second read by Isabelle Adler. The first was A Touch of Magic, the first in her Fae-Touched series, which I really hope she continues. I've also just picked up (and almost finished) The Wolf and the Sparrow, so stay tuned.

This was a good read but I didn't love it. I didn't feel like there was a connection at first between the mc's. It was a cute holiday read.

Wow. That was a *lot* of drama for one story.

- Recent parent deaths.
- Lukemia.
- Breakup due to cheating.
- A loud, judgemental family member.
- Failing business.
- Loss of self-worth and pride.
- Loss of childhood dreams and ambitions.
- Long distance separation.
- Ghosting behavior.
- Loss of first love.

So yeah, like I said... a LOT.

The story was "fine", but with my attention divided between so many plot points, the feels got a bit muddled for me.

I would've rather the story picked 3, maybe 4, items from the drama list and stuck with those, while pulling more deeply on my heart strings.

Also, while I don't normally require steam in my books, I felt that the single fade-to-black scene here was a missed opportunity to sell me more fully on the depth of the connection between Justin and Elliot.

3 *kitchen-sink* stars.

This was a short, sweet holiday m/m novella. It was a quick read that was enjoyable. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.

Elliot and Justin were great characters, I enjoyed seeing them get a second chance. This was a perfect story for the holiday season, all in all a short enjoyable read.

#IrisesintheSnow #NetGalley

The little bit of backstory made the novella understandable. Second chance romance was perfect.

I loved the connection that Elliot and Justin had. I wish I had a bit more of their story once they were back together. The ending felt a little rushed.

Perfect for the holidays! Justin and Elliot were absolutely adorable and I loved watching their feelings toward one another unfold,

This was a lovely and quick read. I'm a total sicker for holiday stores and this one absolutely did not disappoint! I loved the first love aspect. All in all, a fantastic read for a cozy night!

Une petite nouvelle de Noël douce-amère qui m'a charmée par sa couverture et son titre et dont la signification ne m'a pas déçue. "Irises in the snow" est une romance douce-amère, j'ai apprécié le fait que l'auteur ne tombe pas dans un récit niais ou trop cucul la pralinette comme c'est parfois le cas pour ce genre d'histoire.

Je ne veux pas trop en dire sur l'intrigue pour ne pas gâcher la découverte, il s'agit d'une histoire de seconde chance entre Justin et son premier amour, Elliot.
En peu de pages, Isabelle Adler est parvenue à créer une histoire toute en simplicité et touchante, avec ce soupçon de magie de Noël qui fait tellement de bien au moral !
J'ai quand même un petit reproche à faire...en effet, il m'a manqué des passages sur le passé qu'ont partagé les deux hommes, alors au lycée. J'aurais tellement aimé assister à leurs premiers émois, à certains moments forts de leur histoire d'amour ; cela aurait certainement donné plus de profondeur au récit. C'est un peu dommage...

Il n'empêche que voilà la saison des lectures de Noël parfaitement inaugurée!

this short holiday novel is a second chance story that suffers a bit in the short format but proves enjoyable in spite of that. justin's life is falling apart right in time for christmas. when he shows up at his parents' house and encounters his ex-best friend, elliot, also known as the guy who broke his heart. it's weird because at times in the story it seems like they were clearly together, but at other times it seems like it was something they shared on the down-low, but i'm not sure why? because they were both out to their families.

anyway, they broke up for #reasons. and then lost touch for #reasons. mainly because elliot ghosted justin. and now that they've run into each other he seems like he might want to change things, but justin is really the one to keep reaching out. and that's where the story suffers, because elliot's reasons and motivations are not entirely clear. and the obstacles feel so contrived. but it's still sweet when the characters find their way to each other.

irises in the snow is still an enjoyable read, just don't look too deeply.

**irises in the snow will publish on november 4, 2019. i received an advance reader copy courtesy of netgalley/ninestar press in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the story, but it was missing the spark to really keep me interested. I felt like meeting Elliot as a reader, I should have already known their story. Like I was missing the beginning somehow. It threw me off the whole story.

This second chance Christmas romance had enough angst to suit me, but I wanted a little more story to go with it.

Justin and Elliot were childhood friends and high school boyfriends, but their fortunes diverged after Elliot went off to California for art school and Justin stayed in their hometown to run the family business after his father’s cancer diagnosis. When Elliot returns to sell his family home, Justin is embarrassed to see him again, because Elliot is successful, and Justin is anything but. They discover that they still have feelings for each other, but how can they have a future when their lives are so different?

Well, given that this book is a romance, they do figure it out, of course. Justin fully engaged my sympathies, because he’s had a tough time of it, and I wanted him to get his HEA with Elliot. I would have liked it if there was a little more development of the story, however. I think Elliot could have used a little more fleshing out as a character. The author also spends a lot of time setting up their situation, but Justin and Elliot figure out a solution to their separation fairly quickly at the end. The conclusion of the book seemed a little abrupt to me.

Readers who like stories with lots of heat might be disappointed with this one. Other than some kissing, not much happens. It’s fade to black in terms of sex scenes.

If you are looking for a quick read and like second chance romances, though, you might want to give it a try.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Irises in the Snow was my first book by Isabelle Adler and I really liked it. It was a lovely and emotional Christmas love story.

Irises in the snow is a swoonworthy m/m christmas romance novella that you should not miss out on!

This book was expertly done, I often find novellas and short stories to be underwhelming and underdeveloped but this was really well fleshed out, but addicting at the same time. In the short time we know our characters, we get a real glimpse into their personalities, struggles and dreams. I felt very connected to the main character Justin, as well as Elliot. I loved the subplot of art, it added another layer that I appreciated.

The holiday setting was so fun! It made me get into such a christmasy mood, as it is set in a couple of days leading up to Christmas and then afterwards. Despite this, the book is not an entirely feel good, happy go lucky romance. Justin's father is recovering from cancer and Justin is trying to hold up the struggling family business by himself while letting go of his dreams.

My favourite part of this novella though was of course the romance. It was developed meticulously and not rushed at all. The sexual content of this book is non-explicit, but even the descriptions of small moments like hands touching had my heart racing!

I would love to see more from these characters, and I will definitely check out some of Isabelle Adler's upcoming or past releases!

This novella is a lovely beginning to the season of Holiday stories. Isabelle Adler is a great writer and this story… short as it feels… is lovely. Justin’s life began to fall apart the moment his partner left for the city and the life they had planned together. Justin stayed behind because his father was ill and rather than following his dream to be an artist, he suddenly needed to run a hardware store.

Heartbreaker, Elliot is invited to family dinner by Justin’s Mom and that brings them together for the first time in years. Why? Well, Elliot kind of disappeared off the face of the earth. Even when his parents passed away Elliot didn’t answer Justin’s messages… no matter how he reached out… Elliot didn’t respond. So, Justine tried his best to put it behind him and move on.

When the two men find themselves thrown back together once more… the unsaid and undone things between them rise up again. First love is a difficult one to get past… especially when your feelings haven’t changed.