Review: Shelf-Made Man – Kim Fielding

Genre: Fantasy, Holiday, Romance

LGBTQ+ Category: Gay

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About The Book

Tobias Lykke is big, awkward, and accustomed to spending his holidays alone. This year, however, his godmother—who may or may not be an Italian countess—gives him an elf doll originally entrusted to her by her second husband, who might or might not have been a wizard.

An evening of THC snickerdoodles and an offhand wish later, Tobias finds himself faced with a living, breathing elf—and a royal elf at that—with an exceptionally traumatic past. Bloodthirsty trolls are on a mission to recapture Prince Alfie, and the search for answers leads Tobias to unexpected discoveries about himself… and deep feelings for Alfie. Now, they just need to live long enough to make sense of it all.

The Review

Just in time for the holidays, here comes a cozy gay romance between an elf and a man—or is he? Sorry, no spoilers!

Tobias Lykke is a bit of a loner, but also an all-around good guy. He lives in Portland, works from home as a programmer, and has the occasional short-lived fling, but he’s generally happiest when he doesn’t have to deal with other people. Still, he’s not getting any younger, and wishes he wasn’t always alone.

He goes to visit his eccentric elderly aunt in San Francisco just before the holidays. She receives him warmly, and tells him she has a gift for him. Her house is a bit of a throwback in time, as is the Countess—Aunt Virginia—herself. While she’s not actually his aunt. She and his mother were close, and she has looked out for him ever since his mother’s death.

She gives him a small shoebox and tells him not to open it until he gets home. She also offers him some advice: “December is a good time to be daring. Try something new.” Little does she know just how seriously he will end up taking her suggestion.

When he gets home, he opens the box to find a porcelain elf doll, decked out in green and red, complete with a damaged thigh. Thinking little of it, he shrugs and puts the elf on his bookshelf, next to his sci-fi collection. A couple nights later, high on edibles and feeling sorry for himself, he wishes the elf were real.

You can probably see where this is going.

The next morning, he finds a full-sized man in his apartment with a severe wound on one leg, who starts shouting at him something about trolls. Tobias—against his better instincts—decides to help the stranger. He manages to get a name out of him—Alfred, or Alfie to his friends—and cleans and dresses his wound. Soon enough, he realizes the elf doll is gone, and that his visitor has a strange tale of his own to tell.

As Tobias and Alfie get to know one another, they set off on a quest to discover what can be done to get Alfie back home to his own land, and how to prevent the evil Snorkel (don’t ask – it will make sense in the story) from getting his hand on the wounded elf again.

A road trip back to San Francisco leads to growing affection between the two men, even if their road to happiness is never smooth, as well as some warm-as-mulled-cider found family. And secrets will be revealed that change everything and threaten to destroy the budding relationship between Alfie and Tobias.

As fluffy as a bag full of garland, Shelf-Made Man is a welcome escape from all the darkness we’re surrounded by. This holiday MM tale is exactly what it appears to be, and just what you want out of a winter romance. Sweet and fun, a little dark at times, but never too dark. Shelf-Made Man hits all the right notes to make it an instant queer holiday classic.

The Reviewer

Scott is the founder of Queer Sci Fi, and a fantasy and sci fi writer in his own right, with more than 30 published short stories, novellas and novels to his credit, including two trilogies.