The Magician's Angel

This is a good Christmas romance and I'm glad I read it, although I didn't enjoy it quite as much as I usually enjoy this author's work. The angel's role in this story is much subtler than in [b:Summerfield's Angel 41718433 Summerfield's Angel (The Christmas Angel, #2) Kim Fielding https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1541504561s/41718433.jpg 65075360]; this book doesn't really seem like fantasy. But this one is also about a pair of men who are an unlikely couple, this time for personal reasons, rather than due to social class. Christopher is a Vaudeville magician who has spent his whole life on the road, while Edward is a small-town accountant for whom the theater only brings back sad memories. I liked them both a lot and it was easy to see why they were drawn to each other. There's only a light touch of the “fated love” idea I was expecting from this series, but their romance works really well without it. Christopher is very charming and charismatic, and I like the way the author describes his stage presence. He's as openly gay as it was possible to be in 1910, which is pretty great; there are background lgbt+ characters as well. His inner struggle is also intriguing in this story, as he wrestles with his doubts about whether he's on the right path in life. But while Christopher's growth over the course of the story was believable to me, something was slightly lacking with Edward. I can't really pinpoint the moment when he felt at home in the theater again, but it was stated in the end that he did. But maybe I just missed it. Either way, I can overlook it, because I did believe in their feelings for each other. The happy ending that they find together is very satisfying and seems fairly realistic to me for the time and place. There is a light theme of chosen family, which this author always writes so well, and it fits right in with the theater setting.This was a cool idea for a holiday series, and I'd love to see more multi-author collections of this kind in m/m romance.