Christmas Mischief by Mary Jo Putney

This book of 3 short historical romance stories by Mary Jo Putney is my first read by this author. Anthologies are hard for me to review and rate because I worry I’ll say too much, so in this case I won’t give away much about the storylines because they’re short enough that to do so would be to spoil the reads entirely.

The Christmas Cuckoo - 3/5 stars

A case of mistaken identity gives this holiday tale a humorous twist. This was a sweet story, but without much substance to it, then toward the end, things became more interesting. I had finally started caring about Jack and Meg, and then before I knew it, the story was over. I wish I’d had more time to spend with the Lambert family, to see how things would come together.


Sunshine for Christmas - 4/5 stars

According to the author, this story is related to a secondary character, Lord Randolf Lennox, who had lost his lady love because of a “single bit of foolishness when he was young.” He had appeared in the full length novel called The Rake (originally published as The Rake and the Reformer ), and Ms. Putney decided that he was deserving of a happily ever after, too.

The first story, The Christmas Cuckoo was my first read by this author and I had expected that this one would have the same feel, but I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of emotion in this story and I really enjoyed it! So much so, in fact, that I want to get my hands on The Rake!


The Christmas Tart – 3.5/5 stars

This was another sweet story about finding love and acceptance in the most unusual of circumstances. I enjoyed the Phillip’s and Nicole’s stories, and it was nice to see a happy hero, one who had been raised in a loving home and who appreciated family.


The Bottom Line - These three stories were fun to read. There was very little, if any, heat at all, but the romances made for sweet and enjoyable reading.

3.75/5 stars