I would like to thank the author and Ninestar Press for an advance copy of this novella in exchange for a fair and honest review

Publisher – Ninestar Press

Published – Out Now

Price – £3.36 Kindle eBook

A snowy story of healing, birds, and the magic of connection.

The Wall? Who gives a snowman’s kiss about when the wars ended, or who built the divide that goes all the way around the planet? Whatever!

All anyone cares about is Christmas, when one lucky person gets to date someone from the other side. Who will it be this year?

Eighteen-year-old Kite Ripples loves birds, animals, and gazing at stars. He’s a good brother to leader, Mal. Mostly. As teacher, it’s Kite’s responsibility to dispel the rumours about people on the other side being robots—just a myth, right? Deep down, he understands no human is better, or worse, than any other. And, if he dreams of meeting a guy like him—who wants to kiss—it doesn’t mean Kite’s a rebel. Not he!

Manu Feathers, also eighteen, lives on the other side. Gets into trouble. Likes boys. Breaks laws and wants more. Like everyone, he’s fixated on those over the divide—simultaneously scared and excited by rumours of too much sex. It’s a lot to get your head round.

Kite is selected to climb under the Wall, and it’s the best Christmas present ever. But nothing goes to plan. Instead of picking the perfect boy, all he notices is the guy on the end, acting out. Who’d choose a nuisance like him?

Can the highest Wall prevent first love? Can a kiss heal a baby bird?

As we hurtle to midwinter this month in the Northern hemisphere a few things come to my mind regularly. Stock taking the year - what’s gone right; what’s gone wrong and what do I want to do better at next year? It’s the season to recognise life starts again and perhaps a change is possible. Christmas stories often explore renewal in life or love - they give us hope. In Eule Greg’s far future Christmas Romance tale When the Glow Lights the Wood we get a warm and thoughtful tale delivering first love; hope and perhaps a better future.

Kite is a young teacher in his very nature focused community. Life is hard with their commitment to live as part of nature but this community prizes honesty; emotion and compassion. But by the group is the Wall where s different community evolved. There they prize hard community focus on delivering the future but holding in their emotions aware just like Kite’s people their ancestors fought and nearly destroyed the world. The two group each think the other’s is not the way to live but they have basic trade and every Christmas one person from each community gets to meet. Kite is introduced to the rebellious Manu a young man who shows complete disinterest in meeting Kite but Kite feels there is more to discover about him which may also shine a light on the future of their world.

I found this a hugely enjoyable warm and thoughtful tale of how no one can ever live by either head or heart alone; delivered alongside a very well told romance plotline. Grey tells the tale from Kite’s point of view and he is a very kind family and community focused person. Grey helps explain Kite’s people’s philosophy not via infodumps and history lessons but more subtly - nature; farming; community agreement and expressions of love are all prized. We like this people even though we also see they’re quite small scale and struggle when items break down. Over the Wall in Kite’s eyes are ‘the Robots’ so named for their refusal to show emotion; their inner lives often alone where education and productivity is prized and even children are viewed as a societal task not love. Interestingly we find Kite who has a mobility issue has a condition that would never have been accepted on the other side. We don’t get a great deal of backstory as to how these two formed but the tale is very much here thanks to novella length more the allegory of these two mindsets and how people often think you can’t live with both.

This allows us to get invested in the romance of the tale. Kite is mildly terrified of visiting this to his eyes alien culture and by coincidence chooses as his contact Manu who is rude, cruel and mocking and yet Kite’s better understanding of emotions realises he is not the issue but Manu’s society which asks for people to repress their emotion. Instead the two young men realise they have a lot in common and a tender love grows between them at each successive meeting. But typically Kite’s busting of this other community ends at Christmas and they will never see each other again.

What I enjoyed is neither community is in the right. While Kite’s is the more emotionally intelligent it fears technology and progress of any type and Kite finds the greatest reluctance on his own side and crucially with his brother Mal the group’s main leader. His commitment to his principles is shown to have cost him a lot personally and yet he refuses more change. This makes the final act’s vegetal argument that we should be prepared to take a risk for a better future very powerful. You can always try both.

If you seek a delightful story of love and hope this year I think this novella would be a great choice. I found it very enjoyable and creative with its ideas. Well worth a look!