First off I love the charity that the proceeds of this book go to.

This book was sweet, steamy and angsty. Its a book about second chances.

Kyle Wakefield & Nathan Carnes were once young lovers, then a massive miscommunication caused hurt and hatred causing these two to become enemies. Then finally some close encounters, steamy moments and heartfelt open communication caused these two to talk and finally heal their past hurts and open up their hearts.

Sweet second chance story.

4.5 - 5...

This is one of those stories where if they had just talked... but they didn't so...

I love second chance stories and Came Upon a Midnight Clear was most definitely no exception. True, things would have been different for both of them and their budding relationship if they had talked and not assumed. Sometimes time - even time away - makes all the difference and Kyle and Nathan had plenty of it. Kyle may have instigated the not so 'chance' reconnection between them, but he had no idea how things would turn out. They both had their own preconceived ideas about what happened to them and their relationship years ago, but neither one of them knew the whole story.

By the time Kyle and Nathan found each other again, they were totally different people. Older, wiser, more cautious and just a little bit broken. Their story was heartbreaking and beautiful and even though I was left wanting more, it wasn't because the story was lacking. The supporting characters (which I wouldn't mind getting to know a little better BTW) made the story even better. Kyle and Nathan's HEA didn't come easy, but it was worth all the twists, turns and bumps along the way.

This was just the right amount of holiday spirit for me, meaning it takes place during Christmas but doesn't rely on the "miracle of Christmas" trope to sustain the relationship. Came Upon a Midnight Clear is essentially a story about second chances and maybe one of redemption on Nate's part.

Nate and Kyle went to boarding school together and fell in love. They made plans. They were going to buck tradition. They were going to be together despite their socioeconomic disparity. But life had other plans.

Nine years later and a three year stint in prison for Nate they find themselves on the set of Fast Money as stuntman and producer and the passion reignites between them with very little tinder required. There is a lot of water under their bridge, a lot of miscommunication and non-communication that may be problematic for some, but I understood their desire for each other. Both believe their is an egg timer ticking down to yet another separation and this time it will likely be for good, so grab what you can while you can, right?

Their physical connection and chemistry bursts off the page and in many ways they communicate through sex: sometimes angry, sometimes tender, sometimes kinky and oftentimes intimate; it's clear they both struggle putting their wants and needs into words. Except during sex when all bets are off. Dirty talk, public sex, rimming, a little D/s and neither holds anything back. But once they do begin to dissect the past and what exactly happened things begin to improve. Along the way there was some marked relationship development beyond the bedroom that convinced me of their ability to endure whatever life throws at them in future.

If you're in the mood for some erotic, second chance romance give Came Upon a Midnight Clear a try. I'll be on the lookout for more from this author in the future.



A review copy was provided by the publisher.

I have a love/hate relationship with a lot of the tropes this story is based around. Teenagers, one rich while the other is from the wrong side of the tracks, are driven apart by the nefarious parents of the one who won't come out of the closet. They meet years later as equals, thrown together in a work situation and are given a second chance to rekindle their love and come out on top. This story could have been mired in a ton of cliches.

Fortunately, the depth of Nate and Kyle's personalities kept that from happening. From the moment of their reunion, they strike sparks off each other. The sex scenes are hot and plentiful, but there's plenty happening outside the bedroom to draw these two together. The cast of secondary characters are fleshed well enough that they don't feel like cardboard cuts in the background, and the plot of up-and-coming producer and stuntman both struggling to makes for themselves kept the story interesting. Definitely worth the read, and the ending was hard fought and satisfying.

A sucker for second chance romances I decided to give this a read. I didn't even get a few chapters in before I stopped. Everything about the relationship between Kyle and Nate felt rushed and flat. Although I didn't enjoy the book, I wouldn't be mad for spending a few bucks as it's part of Riptide's 2017 Charity Bundle benefiting the Russian LGBT Network.

I really enjoyed reading this book, and there were times when I wanted to shout at my kindle for the characters to just have a conversation and deal with the feelings already. But in a good way. A cute little Christmas romance that I've never had before.

I received ARC of this book in exchange for honest review.
This book... kinda dissapointed me. It's not a bad book, just very different book from what I expected based on the summary. Roughly 60% of the book is smut. Main heroes have sex in various different positions and enviroments. (I almost felt like it was doing a checklist of these) They basically jump each other as soon as they meet, despite not seeing each other for several years. To me, it almost felt like the main reason they are together is the sex, I really didn't see much of a connection on other levels like interests, etc.
The rest is a typical "misunderstanding/inability to communicate/coming out of closet" storyline I have read too many times.
So, is it a bad book? Not neccesarily. If what you are looking for is smexy times and the usual storyline, you will probably enjoy this. But if you are looking for interesting plot and character development, this book will not deliver.

Came Upon a Midnight Clear from the Katie Porter writing team (two best friends Lorelei Brown and Carrie Lofty) appears to be their first foray into M/M romance, originally published by Samhain in 2012 and lightly edited for this Riptide Publishing reprint, published in Riptide's 2017 Charity Bundle, benefiting the Russian LGBT Network.

Kyle and Nathan were boyhood lovers at the boarding school they attended - Nate the scholarship charity case and Kyle the rich golden boy. They had plans for a life together after graduation, but Kyle ended up going to Yale, while Nate went to prison. Ten years later, Kyle's production company hires Nate's stunt company Second Chances to work on a film in London over the holidays. They've never been able to forget, nor forgive, one another and their reunion is filled with loads of sexual tension and lots and lots of anger. Despite baiting each other and "revisiting the old hurts, the old fears" sexually their chemistry is nuclear. “That’s one place where we never had any problems. The sex.”

Over the shoot, Nate and Kyle initially spend too much time fucking and fighting, but "The buzzing undercurrent of desire was always there, but he was beginning to seek more of their renewed camaraderie and fun." Finally, there's a answer to why Nate went to prison, a final misunderstanding and reconciliation, and an epilogue that is all kinds of perfect. 4.5 stars for Came Upon a Midnight Clear.

Second Chance romance at it's finest! Katie Porter is a new to me author but I love both a second chance story as well as a good Christmas tale.

Kyle and Nate knew each other when. They met in high school and fell in love. But the two couldn't be more different. Kyle comes from money, Nate has none. Nate has no problem with anyone knowing he is gay, and Kyle is firmly in the closet. When these two have their lives ahead of them, one bad decision faces them apart for 9 years.

9 years later, Nate has his own stunt company and Kyle has a production company. Kyle seeks out Nate's team for his most recent film...unbeknownst to Nate. When these two reunite, sparks of hate, annoyance, attraction and love fly off of them like crazy. These two....are so perfect for each other, yet Kyle is so far up his own ass over it, it's a wonder that these two ever even get a chance to just BE!

I don't think I took a breath in reading this book. My god, this story was wonderful......absolutely wonderful.
I loved everything about this one. The writing, the character's, the story. Absolutely all of it.

Since I absolutely love second chance romances this one sounded right up my alley. And I really did enjoy the story itself. The movie backdrop and London around Christmas time really set an interesting mood and the characters back story causes a lot of intense tension. 

So I really liked the premises and the characters were likeable and interesting for the most part as well. Unfortunately the book focuses too much on sex (angry sex to be precise) to make room for much else. It wastes so much potential on too many too detailed sex scenes that try to have an emotional impact but sadly just don't after the first few scenes. 
The dialogue is a bit too choppy and disjointed as well. 
Bummer because this book really had a lot of potential.

A second chance romance? Yes, sounds good to me, I’d probably really enjoy it.

Yeah, that’s not what happened.

Personally to me, the fun of second chance romances, especially after a significant amount of time apart, is watching the two characters reconnect and fall in love again. What does this book do? Well, we’re 8% in, they see each other for the first time in nine years, and they have sex out of nowhere.

There’s a lot of bitterness between them since Kyle is mostly closeted while Nate wanted to be out. The history between them is pretty vague but they’re pretty much childhood sweethearts who broke up as a result of Kyle being closeted. One issue I drew with the portrayal was that Nate talked on about how he was mad about being closeted and was honestly a huge asshole about it. He made Kyle feel guilty for not being open about being gay. I understand why he would be frustrated but if the situation upsets you this much, don’t go into a relationship with him again. As of current time, a huge reason why Kyle was still in the closet was because he was afraid it would hinder his career. This is a genuine concern but it really wasn’t at all discussed to its fullest.

If this wasn’t an arc I would’ve DNF’d it. Why? Well their first sex scene is very sporadic. And what do they use as lube? Well after suggesting lotion (no!) and Vaseline (no!) they use gel lip balm (NO!). In my opinion, how sex is handled in romance books is always a good indicator of the quality in the book and this first scene proved the book to be terrible. They also constantly had sex, it was really overdone.

A lot of things also made no sense. For example, sometime after they’ve had sex multiple times, Nate makes a comment about not wanting to be Kyle’s ‘dirty little secret’ and Kyle tells him he won’t be because he doesn’t want him. But then they continue to have more and more sex throughout the book. This makes no sense on both of their parts. If Kyle didn’t want him why did he sleep with him? And if Nate is this against being forced back into the closet to be with him, why is he sleeping with him? And I should note, they have sex a lot. And throughout a lot of the book Nate has this anger and bitterness about not wanting to go back into the closet for Kyle yet he still sleeps with him? Hell, they would have sex after they just had a fight. It was really frustrating to read about.

The book also has the whole, “I never stopped loving you”. And you know what, fine. I like that kind of thing. But there’s a way to write it and this wasn’t it. It’s a book where the only good thing I can say about it is that this cover is an improvement from the previous.