A sweet m/m romance in the cold and snowy Maplewood, a secluded village in Vermont, where everyone knows everyone and secrets have a short life. Declan is stuck in a rut and decides to travel to his family cabin in search of some inspiration for his new mystery book. He is also looking for some much-needed time of quiet, away from the big city. The beginning was a bit slow for me, but once the story started, I was into it. The cozy mystery kept me on the edge while I was waiting for the romance element to kick in. I found this book to be very atmospheric. I could almost feel how good the pancakes with maple syrup tasted or how cozy Declan's cabin must have felt. I would recommend it to anyone who was looking for an enjoyable Christmas-themed mystery with a spark of romance.
Arc kindly provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a charming read! I liked the idea of a struggling mystery writer getting sucked into a mystery, and I thought this was well written. I liked the will they or won’t they aspect of Declan & Curtis’ relationship. The mystery was a good one - I never guessed who the killer was until it was revealed. I found this easy to read & thought that all the characters were interesting - it would be great to read another story with the same characters.

I've been really loving the queer murder mystery genre and this one was just really great. While I didn't guess the murderer, as usual, I had fun having theories. I practically had suspicions about every single inhabitant of the small town, everyone expect for Declan, of course, and the super cute commissioner Curtis. Curtis was just really cute! I loved how the cards were all out almost immediately, no miscommunication. There wasn't time for that when there was a killer on the loose and threats directed at Declan and his safety.

Read it in one go, I couldn't put it down. It was well written, it was intriguing and compelling, and I enjoyed every second of it. Even the couple seconds when my heart was suffering a bit. Luckily there wasn't much drama in this murder mystery Christmas book!