Last Tree Standing

by Julia Talbot

A story from the Dreamspinner Press 2012 Advent Calendar collection Evergreen.

When Foster finds out the man he’s competing with for the last Christmas tree on the lot is actually buying the tree for the pediatric cancer ward, he lets the guy win. But his competitor, Levi, has a sudden yearning for Foster to be his own Christmas present, and their friends and family help make their Christmas dreams come true.

Genres: M M Romance, Holiday, Contemporary, Christmas, Gay, Short Stories, Romance

26 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2012

About the author

Julia Talbot lives in the great Southwest, where there is hot and cold running rodeo, cowboys, and everything from meat and potatoes to the best Tex-Mex. A full time author, Julia is a hybrid author, and has been published by many presses as well as self publishing. She believes that everyone deserves a happy ending, so she writes about love without limits, where boys love boys, girls love girls, and boys and girls get together to get wild, especially when her crazy paranormal characters are involved. Julia also writes as Minerva Howe. Find Julia at @juliatalbot on Twitter, or at www.juliatalbot.com

Reviews

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and sweet. Bonus: the sex was hot!

[Mandy*reads obsessively* · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5*
This is a cute short, emphasis on short!!
Foster has to brave the cold on Christmas Eve to try and get a tree for his roomies daughter's unexpected visit.
The last tree has already been sold, but Foster and Levi strike a bargain.
Foster helps Levi set his tree up at the hospital he works at and Levi will let Foster have his tree at home.
Of course at home it's more than the tree that gets exchanged!
The blurb makes it sound a bit 'more' than it is, there really isn't any 'family and friends' in this story that do anything to move this couple along and it ends with a HFN, but more of a promise of sex than anything else, which is too bad, I think I would have liked more of these two!

[Heller · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Charming slice of life here. Very HFN but I liked the characters and concept. Lovely quick little Christmas story.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt like the timeline of this story was pretty unbelievable, but then I really thought about it - two hot, lonely gay men in small-town Colorado on Christmas Eve, both hunting down a Christmas tree for small children. IS it impossible that they were getting it on within a few hours of meeting?

No, actually. I find that pretty believable. XD

I do sometimes get annoyed when authors write characters with an accent, but as this was a short, it wasn't bad. Had this been a full-length novel, that would probably have been a turn-off.

An entertaining, sexy little short featuring:

-One Texan oncologist
-Legs
-Rainbow tinsel
-Chile peppers
-An unfulfilled Starbucks order
-Metaphorical butter
-No trips to WalMart
-Christmas scrubs

Question: has anyone outside of the month of Movember or the borders of India (or my father) worn a mustache in the last 25 years?

[Serena Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and short, this is a very cute Christmas story. Foster may not need a tree for himself, but he wants to help out his roommate, who has her daughter come back unexpectedly early from a visit with her dad, and now needs a tree. He even braves the freezing Colorado winter for her, but the last tree he can find has already been bought. The desperation and determination to do whatever is needed to get that tree was palpable. The stranger's "trump card" of needing the tree for a pediatric ward is something Foster cannot argue with.


Please find my full review of the second edition on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[Ro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short story of Foster, who has to get a Christmas tree last minute for his roommates daughter, and Levi, the oncologist getting a tree for the pediatric cancer ward. Blurb is a little bit misleading because friends and family don’t really help make dreams come true. One sends Foster out to get a tree, the other invites them for dinner.

While this may be the wrong thing to say about an erotica book, I felt there was too much sex for such a short story! What?! I expected a little more of the holiday part, which we do get in the beginning and the end, but the whole middle of the story is their sex scene. Sexy though it may be, the story was so short that things seemed rushed.

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

It's sweet, but nothing new offered and too much sex.

[Susan65 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story about two men both competing for the last tree on the lot, on Christmas Eve...and why yes, they do compromise, in the most delightful way ever.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet; quick and dirty. Nice little short about finding a Christmas tree but Santa has other plans for Foster :-)

[Ferrero Warner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nurse Scrubs are worn for several reasons, including: They are sanitary and relatively simple to maintain. They are easily recognised in any situation; they appear professional; and they protect the skin from harmful substances and bacteria. They keep patients from becoming infected.
Christmas Scrubs are also required for occupational therapists in some rehabilitation centres and hospitals. If scrubs are not required, then you will typically wear a polo shirt with either dark coloured pants or scrub pants. Pharmacists can also wear scrubs, according to research, but it ultimately depends on where they work and also their personal preferences. Scrubs are much more common among hospital pharmacists than among retail chain pharmacists. Depending on the job, pharmacists may also wear lab coats.

[Serena Yates · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and short, this is a very cute Christmas story. Foster may not need a tree for himself, but he wants to help out his roommate, who has her daughter come back unexpectedly early from a visit with her dad, and now needs a tree. He even braves the freezing Colorado winter for her, but the last tree he can find has already been bought. The desperation and determination to do whatever is needed to get that tree was palpable. The stranger's "trump card" of needing the tree for a pediatric ward is something Foster cannot argue with.


Please find my full review on Rainbow Book Reviews.

[A. Sanchez · Rating 2 out of 5]

God, this was short! So short, I got nothing from the MCs except they hooked up and a tree was involved. No problem with the actual writing, but it was the length of one of my mother's text messages!

[wayward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story idea. Who doesn't want a sexy doctor. And save Christmas for the kids. Spoiler alerts. A little on the PWP side of TMI.

[Nikyta · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very cute, sweet story. It started off interesting with Foster needing to find a tree for his roommate's daughter on Christmas eve. Unfortunately, the last tree was just bought by a doctor for the hospital but he strikes a deal with the Doc to help decorate in exchange for the Doc's personal tree. Both get more than they bargained for when they realize they're batting for the same team.

I liked this story. It started off very promising however I lost my enjoyment a bit when it had what seemed like a long sex scene in the middle. The story is so short that it had less plot than sex and I rarely enjoy those. Still, the ending was very sweet which helped my overall enjoyment of the story. Curious what these boys would do next, if only this story had been longer...

[Sadonna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I felt this story of Foster, a single gay guy who lives with a woman who has a child that she is unexpectedly going to be hosting for Christmas, and Levi, the wickedly hot oncologist that he talks out of his Christmas tree had a lot of wasted potential.

I guess is the was the strange favor exchange that kinda put me off a little. I would have liked some character development I guess instead of sort of a speed race to the sex. Maybe in twice the number of pages I would have been more comfortable with the guys. It just didn't work too well for me in the current form. Guess I needed more.

[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very short little scene from the lives of two men. Foster needs an emergency Christmas tree on Christmas eve and finds that the last one has been claimed by Levi who is getting it for the children's cancer ward.
These two work out a great compromise where all the children get a tree and these two get each other as presents. This isn't a happily ever after, the guys just met, after all, but it is a very happy story.

[Sucajo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Levi and Foster meet when they are both desperately looking for a tree on Christmas Eve. After some bargaining for the one remaining tree, the men end up at Levi's apartment and sparks fly. It was hard to get any real idea of the MCs because this was a short story but they both seemed very sweet - they were both prepared to go out on Christmas Eve to find a tree for someone else. A nice, light Christmas read.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes it's just nice to read a short happy feel good story and Julia Talbot usually does it for me and has not let me down with this story. What more could I want Christmas time, kids, 2 hot men (one of which is a doctor and I do like me a hot doctor, lol). Yeah this was just a nice short feel good story that left me smiling, never a bad thing.

[Raevyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those stories that needed to be longer. It was sweet and had a good plot-line, but I just wanted more from it. The characters are great and I would love to see more of them. Foster needs a tree, Levi buys the last one... from there is a whirlwind of things happening, but I never felt like I could grasp onto the story.

[Katy Beth Mckee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foster and Levi both end up trying to get the last tree but Levi has the better need and then they work out a deal. Over the course of the evening something draws them together and they go off like rockets together.

[Becky Condit · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

The story is sexy and hot. A very short read, but a nice story nonetheless.

Please see Mr. P's complete review on Dec. 13 at http://mrsconditreadsbooks.com/index....

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute, sweet story.

[Meggie · Rating 1 out of 5]

This shorty is to undeveloped and everything happens to abrupt. I really didn't like this one!

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

And the Insta-love continues. Well, in such short reads, I guess it has to. This one was nice though. Two men want the same tree, compromise, have sex and spend xmas together. Awwww.

[Candice · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Ramsi · Rating 3 out of 5]

2,5 stars.
Sadly way to short

[Dutchgirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read, funny, sweet, Christmas, hot dokter.
I liked it.

[Morgana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25 stars

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5