Santa Baby

3.5 // Review may be spoilerish of the book and somewhat the series. The rating reflects what the author was going for vs. my enjoyment of it.This was/is super hard to rate. I think I see what Heidi is aiming at with this and in fact the whole series but this one in particular just didn't quite gel for me. Clearly this is an “issues” book and those are fine except when they feel like it. More problematic is the fact that it seems like at least three books in one and none of them wins. Within this series the author is really trying to embrace the spectrum of queer identified folks starting with the original Three Bears: Marcus, Arthur and Paul, masc, dom and sub and their respective future significant others. We have Frankie and Kyle, both femmie but quite different and then we have Gabriel the nerdy librarian on the outside but all kink on the inside. In fact the Arthur & Gabriel story was the one that worked best for me, the one that had me truly believing in their love story and being the most subversive couple they were also the strongest. So it makes sense that Heidi would hang or tag this story on them rather than create whole new characters, because really how many gay men can there be in tiny Logan? LOLThe story is summed up in the blurb and it picks up directly where [b:Winter Wonderland 25537817 Winter Wonderland (Minnesota Christmas, #3) Heidi Cullinan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1431619912s/25537817.jpg 45328363] left off and spans a whole year to the following Christmas ending in a quadruple wedding that will have you checking your teeth for new cavities but I won't knock that as it is ostensibly a Christmas story except that boy is this heavy at times for a Christmas story.The book means to cover A) abuse in all it's forms particularly when it happens to people we wouldn't think of as victims/survivors i.e. big burly masc men, even if they happen to be gay, B) polyamory in its diverse manifestations, C) kinks and the difference between them, consent & abuse. There is a lot of talk in this book and more talk which is laudable but perhaps a little exhausting in a Christmas Romance. I know. I'm mean. All of these issues don't quite add up to one good romance. Many people have had an issue with the Dale becoming part of a sort of triad with Arthur & Gabriel. They feel it's a betrayal of their HEA and that their subsequent delaying or canceling of foster parenting is somehow wrong. I had no issue with any of this as the unacknowledged truth at the end of romances is that people change, life goals change and that's not a bad thing. We know many of these post college couples won't stay together in the long run but we love the ideal.Gabriel & Arthur are way past their teenage years, they're grown men in their late 30's and approaching 40. It makes perfect sense for them to change their minds and pursue new dreams. Better to not be foster parents than bad ones. So my problem was not with the story but with the fact that I didn't quite believe the romance.The adding on of the Dale story line to Arthur & Gabriel felt more like a way of presenting a different form of sexuality (sometimes in bullet point form) than a true romance. The Ronny story, Dale's coming to terms with being a survivor, counseling, the whole town's acceptance of the LGBTQ community and on top of that a primer on development of rural areas thru art centers, the farm to table movement etc. was just tipping the scales too much. All of these issues are real but a romance book is something like a paper boat: beautiful & fragile and you can't overload it with too much story that doesn't flow organically. And here's another thing: it's really just a romance between Dale & Gabriel. Gabriel, who's milk shake by the way brings all the boys to the playground. That romance seems to burst out of nothing but a few looks between the two which kind of makes you question Gabriel's otherwise stated loyalty and love for Arthur. But who am I to say. It just seemed very insta-love to me. Oddly the one that is not a traditional romance or a romance at all, the relationship between Arthur & Dale is the most solid and believable of all the ones presented here. Partly this is because Arthur for me is a rock star and he even made me overcome my aversion of using BDSM as therapy, which he did do a bit of with Dale but also set him up for actual therapy. Arthur's relationship with Dale is one of a Dom for his sub and it is bursting with tangible affection and though not my kink by interstellar miles still the one I most believed and enjoyed.I would've preferred the series end with book 3 which was already a little shaky for me but this book is like vegetables for me: not my favorite but good nutrition. I just don't necessarily want it in my romance reads. Now I have to go find some dirty, possibly non-con fun. ;-)