Looking for something new to read but not sure what to try? These reviews may be just what you're looking for. We have a review of our Promising Author Jack Frost's The Comfort of a Blanket.

Reviewer: Cia
Status: Complete
Word Count: 7,217

What can I say about Jack’s writing? A fake Canadian, lol, Jack has immersed himself many times over in the culture he adopted. That holds especially true in his anthology story, The Comfort of a Blanket. I consider this a historical coming of age story, one that is so wholly divorced from the reality of today’s society and yet one that can immediately be related to. Fear that who you are is not someone your family will accept or continue to love is something that young, gay men have been facing for a long time.

Set in Quebec in 1689, this story introduces us to Nicolas, our main character, as he wakes one chilly morning under a thick goose down quilt hand sewn and embroidered by one of the servants. Anyone who has ever needed comfort will, I think, understand the soothing sensation of a thick cover blanketing their body.

Unable to stay abed, Nicolas gets up and goes about his day. We meet him on a very important day, one that finds him learning many new things about who he is and what he really wants in life. The scene where he catches his friend with his drawers down, literally, is hilarious so make sure to keep an eye out for that part!

For the son of an important emissary to the ‘savages’ around them, schooled in religion and all that is expected of an aristocrat in the time, Nicolas is both remarkably naïve and yet sure of who he is and what he wants. There isn’t a lot of angst in this story, but there is a lot of drama unfolded in the course of the tale.

With the richly showcased setting of the French city in its early days, the exotic time period, and a plot quite different from what you’d expect, The Comfort of a Blanket was a great short read under 8k. Not as popular as Jack’s serial story Moving On, yet unfinished, this anthology was the first reading I had of Jack’s work when I first began reading on the site. Re-reading it today was a treat for me. I hope you enjoy it too!