Today, my recommendation is the first Kwanzaa book I ever read, and on the first day of Kwanzaa, too. You could almost think I’d planned this 😉 (I have. Oh gawd, you have no idea how much planning this thing took!)
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Coworkers and cubicle mates, Ishmael “Ish” Cutter and Adan Flores might come from different backgrounds but they have a good number of things in common. The biggest one? They each have a secret crush on the other. This holiday season they are both single for the first time in thirteen months. No boyfriends or clingy ex issues – maybe it’s time for Adan to make his move? He formulates the perfect plan and invites Ish over for his family’s Kwanzaa feast…but will he have the courage to make the first move or will this holiday season be one to forget?
Like the title says, this is a Kwanzaa book, but this eclectic family really celebrate every kind of wintery holiday. And the family is a huge part of why I loved this book: they are wild and crazy and unconventional and loud. The kind of family I absolutely adore reading about but that would give me a headache if I had to hang out with them for longer than five minutes. The characters are quirky and funny and there’s nothing more I love than quirky characters in my books.
The romance is a super cute friends-to-lovers story, the beginnings of a relationship between two men who’ve had a secret crush on each other for the entire time they’ve known each other. It’s a new adult story and pretty short (36 pages) so you can sneak away to an empty corner of the house to read this when you need time away from the post-holiday craziness. Or if you celebrate Kwanzaa like Adan and his family, this little story would be perfect start to the day.
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He tuned out the rest of his mother’s speech while he and Ish played a tame version of footsie underneath the table. They pressed their legs together, neither moving, while stealing shy glances in between his mother’s words.
Quote from Kiss me at Kwanzaa
Nell Iris 