True North: Yule Lads #1 by TA Moore

Never a fan of the holidays, this Christmas Dylan is dropped straight into a Christmas story full of succession intrigue, danger, and of course a little magic. Somerset picks up his once abandoned mantle of fae bodyguard to protect Dylan, but survival is not guaranteed so stealing some mistletoe kisses from Dylan is on his wishlist. True North is a crazy adventure when one possible Santa goes missing and Christmas is in jeopardy.

From the blurb:

Despite what his co-workers say Belling, Montana paramedic Dylan Hollie does not hate Christmas.

It’s just that as an ex-foster kid he learned early on that Christmas just didn’t have much relevance to his life. He’s seen no evidence since then that he’s wrong.

That said, if Santa ever delivered a six-foot plus wall of hot muscle under his tree he’d be willing to reconsider. He’s even sourced an available one locally in the taciturn Somerset North and his impossibly blue eyes.

So really, at this point the ball is in Santa’s court.

There’s just one problem. Well, just one to start with anyhow. The battered, dying man someone dumped from a height onto Dylan’s car outside the Just-as-High, Somerset’s bar. He gave Dylan an old, well-worn watch and begged him to keep it safe.

Now Christmas is relevant to Dylan’s life in the worst way. The Winter Court has loosed their Wolves on the world and Dylan is on the run with Somerset North. A man who seems to know a lot more about what is going on than a Montana bar owner with exceptional shoulders should.

It turns out that Santa is missing, presumed dead. And the key to the hotly disputed succession crisis is a foster kid who never celebrated the season.

SNik's Review:

First in series (Yule lads). Paranormal urban fantasy. Dual POV. 

Orphaned at a young age and only left with his grandfather’s watch, Dylan keeps the watch close, no matter where his paramedics' duties or downtime takes him. 

Caught up in a bar fight and later rescuing a severely injured man that crushes his car, Dylan isn’t sure if he’s not the one suffering from a head injury when everyone starts asking him where Santa is. 

Suddenly he’s on the run with Somerset, the surly but sexy bar owner, and dealing with fae stories and magic. For a man that isn’t a fan of Christmas, he’s now knee deep in holiday lore. 

True North is full of action and a unique world build with all sorts of interesting main and secondary characters which was super entertaining. I wish there had been a little more background for both Dylan and Somerset. We get glimpses as the story evolves, but I wish they had shared more with each other (and me!) about their pasts. 

I really enjoy TA Moore’s writing and characters, and I always wish her books were longer as I am always entertained. 

Absolutely looking forward to more of this series.

Rating: 4.25 Stars

True North is available to buy in Kindle edition.