Wishing You a Blessed and Joy Filled Christmas!

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Upon a Winter's Night - A MacKinnon's Rangers Christmas Novella by Pamela Clare

Reunite with the MacKinnon brothers and their wives for Christmas - and a tale of love, new life, and redemption.

The war between Britain and the French is finally at an end, and the MacKinnons are looking forward to celebrating their first peacetime Christmas in five long years. While Iain and Annie have discovered that the pleasures of marriage grow deeper with time, Morgan and Amalie find themselves at bitter odds. Meanwhile, Connor and Sarah have a newborn son to cherish.

The family's preparations for the holidays are interrupted when Iain learns that Britain has not paid the Rangers for the summer's victorious campaigns. Unwilling to let men who fought under the MacKinnon name suffer deprivation at Christmastime, Iain, Morgan, and Connor leave the warmth of their frontier home for Albany. There, they find their happy Christmas, and even their freedom, at risk at the hands of a ruthless British officer who holds a grudge against them.

With the men gone, Annie, Amalie, and Sarah do their best to prepare for the festivities despite differing traditions, a raging bull - and the gnawing fear that their husbands won't make it home in time for Yule.

Events begin the day after the epilogue of Defiant ends. The story includes Joseph, Killy - and revelations about the fate of Lord William Wentworth

*****

A perfect holiday story!

Upon A Winter’s Night is everything a Christmas novella should be! It’s romantic, passionate, witty, and inspires us to believe that at Christmastide, even the seemingly unredeemable can be redeemed! It is, truly, a perfect holiday story!

          

Deck the Halls With Love by Lorraine Heath

Lorraine Heath is one of my favorite historical romance authors so I’m not sure why I haven’t yet read the Lost Lords of Pembrook series. Well, after this delightful holiday novella, I assure you, I’m going to remedy that right away!

Christmas is a time for miracles … and second chances at love.

In her dazzling first Season, Lady Meredith Hargreaves gave her heart to Alistair Wakefield, the Marquess of Chetwyn, only to have it shattered when he proposed to another. And now that he's free to pursue her? It matters little, because she's on her way to the altar, heartbreak be damned.

Chetwyn once set aside his dreams in favor of duty and honor. But as Christmas approaches, he is determined to put his own desires first and lure Lady Meredith back into his arms, where she's always belonged.

First he steals a dance; then he steals a kiss. But when they find themselves alone in an abandoned castle during a snowstorm, reignited passion consumes them both. And Chetwyn will have one last chance to steal back Meredith's heart, once and for all.

This is such a wonderful story! It has all the things I hope for in my holiday reading; romance, passion, humor, redemption… and most important of all, that special kind of magic found only at Christmas.

I’m so looking forward to reading this series, start to finish!

Many thanks to Avon Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book for review. It’s a lovely story and I enjoyed every minute of it!

A Kiss For Midwinter by Courtney MIlan

Miss Lydia Charingford is always cheerful, and never more so than at Christmas time. But no matter how hard she smiles, she can't forget the youthful mistake that could have ruined her reputation. Even though the worst of her indiscretion was kept secret, one other person knows the truth of those dark days: the sarcastic Doctor Jonas Grantham. She wants nothing to do with him...or the butterflies that take flight in her stomach every time he looks her way.

Jonas Grantham has a secret, too: He's been in love with Lydia for more than a year. This winter, he's determined to conquer her dislike and win her for his own. It all starts with a wager and a kiss...

***** 

A Kiss for Midwinter is Miss Lydia Charingford's story, a sometimes sweet, sometimes heartbreaking novella from the Brothers Sinister series.

Well, I guess honesty is the best policy, right? I have to admit then that I wasn't a fan of Lydia's when we met her in The Duchess War, but I also have to admit that she won me over, totally, in this story. Her heartbreaking tale is... well... heartbreaking, and so her treatment of Minnie in The Duchess War was, in my opinion, forgivable. Part of her problem is that she's a woman who believes she has no chance for a happy life - especially when Jonas Grantham, the most annoying man she's ever met, decides that it's time for him to take a wife, and Lydia is the one he wants.

Now, he just has to convince her to have him!

Honestly, I laughed and cried and came away loving both Jonas and Lydia, not just for who they are, but also for who they are not. Both tortured souls striving to live with their "demons" and to do the right thing, always. Apart they were splendid people, but together - they are perfect!

The bottom line: This is, as are all Courtney Milan's stories, a delightful, witty, heartfelt, romantic and sexy tale, and works very well as a standalone. If you're looking for a short holiday story sure to leave you with a smile on your face, then look no further. A Kiss For Midwinter is a story I'll be reading again and again, and I'm sure you will, too.

My thanks to Ms. Milan for providing me with a copy of this novella! It was such a wonderful holiday treat!

Five Golden Rings - A Christmas Anthology

Five Golden Rings is a collection of short love stories made all the more special for their Chistmastime magic. I enjoyed these sweet, sexy, romantic tales, each a delightful read.

Mistletoe Magic by Sophie Barnes: What better way for Connor Talbot, Earl of Redfirn, to spend the holidays than convincing Leonora Compton that the only match she needs to make is with him!

***This is my first taste of Sophie Barnes’ writing and I enjoyed it. It was sweet, steamy, funny… a charming holiday tale!

His Perfect Gift by Karen Erickson: The Duke of Ashton has had three years to plan for his perfect Christmas present—the Lady Eleanor Fitzsimmons as his wife. Now, all he has to do is convince the reluctant lady …

***Oh, this was such a fun story! Again, Karen Erickson is a new-to-me author and I enjoyed her writing. Sexy, romantic… truly entertaining!

War of the Magi by Rena Gregory: Phin Baldwin does not believe in Christmas magic … until the clever and beautiful Ginny Overton gets it into her head to show him how wonderful it can be when wishes come true.

***This story has a decidedly Christmas feel to it and I loved it! A turn of the century, old west story that left me with a smile on my face and a contended sigh in my heart! Rena Gregory is an author whose writing I can’t wait to read more of!

Her Christmas Knight by Sandra Jones: Just returned from the Crusades, marriage is the last thing on Sir Caerwyn's mind. But will he be able to resist Lady Nia, the thief of his boyhood heart, when she tempts him yet again?

***I absolutely adore medieval era stories and this one was such a great read. Short, entertaining, and sexy, Sandra Jones knows how to tell a story!

Tempting Mr. Weatherstone by Vivienne Lorret: Responsible Ethan Weatherstone is determined to save Penelope Rutledge—and her reputation—from her silly scheme, but can he save himself from the temptation of her lips?

***I loved this one! What a sweet "friends to lovers" tale. Emotional, charming, sexy... another great addition to this anthology, and I can add Vivienne Lorret to my list of new-to-me authors to read in the New Year!

The bottom line: Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year and so I devote a good deal of my reading time during December to Christmas themed books. I often find anthologies will have at least one story that doesn't work for me, but this delightful Christmas collection of five stories was a joy to read, start to finish! Each and every story, in some way, touched me and brought to my heart that magical feeling of Christmas.

My thanks to Avon Books for providing me with a copy of this wonderful collection for review. It was such a pleasure!

Under The Mistletoe by Jill Shalvis

 

 Just one more kiss….

There's no place like home for the holidays. And the Lucky Harbor Bed & Breakfast is bursting with festive lights and good cheer. But for Mia, Christmas is turning out to be anything other than merry and bright. Her recent break-up with her boyfriend Nick has made her return bittersweet. But then a surprise arrives, when Nick follows her to town bearing gifts-and asking for forgiveness.

Nick grew up without a family of his own so he's overwhelmed by the love that Mia receives from all her relatives, gathered together to celebrate the season. Under their watchful eyes, Nick finds earning back her trust the hardest thing he's ever had to do. If he succeeds, he will receive the greatest gift of all, Mia's love for a lifetime.

*****

Romantic, sexy, sweet… Under the Mistletoe is a Christmas novella from the Lucky Harbor series and, like everything Jill Shalvis writes, is a very charming story. And, it's the perfect way to kick off my holiday reading!

I truly enjoyed this book, but I wish it had been longer. It takes place five years in the future and Mia – Tara and Ford’s daughter from The Sweetest Thing – has been away at college, growing up and falling in love. It would have been nice to have a deeper glimpse into this part of her life, but all-in-all, it’s a great story. It’s a happy for now tale with the promise of a beautiful happily ever after down the road, and because Mia and Nick are young and just starting their lives and careers, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This novella took no more than an hour to read, so if you're looking for a Jill Shalvis fix, or needing something quick to read for a Christmas themed challenge, then this is a great book to choose!

My thanks to netgalley.com and Forever, an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, for giving me a copy of this story for review. It was such a pleasure!

Small Town Christmas, an Anthology

I absolutely love reading holiday themed stories, especially during the Christmas holidays because they just seem to make the season that much more magical. These three stories are not deep or thought provoking, nor are they at all very steamy, but they are definitely sweet and very romantic.

Kissing Santa Claus by Jill Shalvis

NASCAR driver Logan Perrish returns to Lucky Harbor, Washington, with love in his heart and a ring in his pocket. But can Sandy Jansen forget the past and give him a second chance? Or will Logan be spending another Christmas alone?

It was such a sweet treat, returning to Lucky Harbor for another Christmas celebration. It seems like love is always in the air during the holidays there, and this time it’s Logan’s turn to find his happily ever after. 3.5 stars

I'll Be Home for Christmas by Hope Ramsay

After ignoring the advice of Miz Miriam Randall, local matchmaker, Annie Roberts expects another hum drum holiday in Last Chance, South Carolina. But when a stray cat arrives in the arms of Army sergeant Matt Jasper, a calico named Holly just may be the best matchmaker of all.

This was a very sweet story about finding love where and when you least expect it. The writing wasn’t perfect, but the story had me a tad teary eyed in places. It's one of those stories that are just so magical at Christmas. 3 stars

Little Town of Bramble by Katie Lane

All Ethan Miller wants for Christmas is to celebrate in Bramble, Texas, with family and friends. But when his childhood neighbor, Samantha Henderson, comes home for the holiday, Ethan realizes that the girl-next-door could be the girl of his dreams.

Okay, this was one of the cutest, sweetest, funniest short stories I’ve read in a long time! The town's "live nativity scene" had me giggling and laughing out loud to the point that my kids demanded to know what I was reading! 4 stars

The bottom line - If you’re looking for some fun, feel good stories to help ring in the holidays, and you enjoy sweet, uncomplicated stories that you don’t have to hide from your Great Aunt Gertie who has a heart condition, or your mother-in-law who … well… anyway… you really should consider giving this trilogy a read!

Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of this ebook through netgalley.com

Christmas in Lucky Harbor by Jill Shalvis

Christmas in Lucky Harbor is actually the first two books in the Lucky Harbor series; Simply Irresistible and The Sweetest Thing, and if you've ever thought about visiting Jill Shalvis' Lucky Harbor, now's the time because you can get two great stories for the price of one! And honestly, I loved them so much that I read both stories in less than two days, and yet I'm finding it nearly impossible to review them now because there is just so much to tell, so many funny quotes, so many sigh-worthy moments... I just can't decide where to start or what to share, so I'll just keep it simple.

1. Simply Irresistible is the first book in the Lucky Harbor series and such a great story. I'm sitting here with this silly grin on my face because it's been a long time since I've read a book, any book, that had me smiling, giggling, sighing and fanning myself as much as this one did. Simply put, Simply Irresistible is a wonderful, funny, sexy, romantic, feel good story! I went to sleep thinking about this book and woke up thinking about it. The hero, Jax, is the kind of man that you really could find in Anytown, USA, and the heroine, Maddie, is a real woman. The kind with curves, flaws and insecurities... someone we can all relate to. 5 stars!

2. The Sweetest Thing is the second book in the Lucky Harbor series, and once again I was left with a silly grin on my face, unable to stop thinking about Ford and Tara, and the other crazy friends and family who made this story so fun! And let me just tell you, this is one incredibly romantic and sexy story that had me fanning myself, laughing out loud and sighing often. With honest, believable characters that I couldn't help but care about and cheer for, it’s a tale of first love, lost love, and love renewed – and a story you definitely do not want to miss!  5 stars!

If you’ve ever read some of my reviews you know I’m not joking when I say that I could go on and on, paragraph upon paragraph, listing all reasons you need to read this book, but I’ll just cut to the chase: Do yourself a favor and just go buy the book, because the sooner you do, the sooner you’ll discover for yourself the amazing people and the magic that is to be found during Christmas in Lucky Harbor.

My thanks to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy of this ebook through netgalley.com

A Vampire for Christmas, an Anthology

There’s nothing like curling up with a great romance during the holidays, and when those romances come from an anthology, I’m even more excited because the stories are short, varied and almost always have that magical happily ever after. And another plus is that they often give me a chance to get to know authors whose work I might not have never tried, otherwise. However, one of the problems inherent with anthologies is that the authors have to perform a balancing act when contributing to them, especially when their contribution comes from a world they’ve already created through a series. They have to give those of us who are unfamiliar with their series enough information to keep us from feeling lost while at the same time not filling too much of their limited and very valuable page time with unnecessary information. One of the stories in this collection suffered from ‘too much information’ and another suffered from ‘not enough,’ but all-in-all, I enjoyed this collection and have discovered authors whose work I’ll be watching for.

So here we go, my thoughts on each individual story.

1. “Enchanted by Blood” by Laurie London – This novella is part of the Sweetblood series and I can tell that Ms. London has created a unique, exciting world, but even though I enjoyed this ‘second chance at love’ tale, I think I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had been following the series before reading this book. As I said above, it’s a tough balancing act for an author, and in this case I felt like I was getting way too much background information laid out for me rather than being able to watch it unfold naturally. Maybe had the plot been about something other than the politics of their world, more time could have been devoted to the characters themselves which should always be the driving force of any romance book, regardless of the length.

And speaking of the characters; from what little I saw of them, I really liked Trace, but Charlotte didn’t do a lot for me, which I think could have been remedied if more time had been spent on character and relationship development. The sex definitely sizzled, but their romance didn’t give me the warm fuzzies I like, especially in my holiday reads.

All that said, I’m definitely interested in reading more of this series because I really enjoyed Ms. London’s easy, comfortable style of writing and something tells me that I’d quickly get hooked on the world of Sweetblood! - 3 stars

2. "Monsters Don't Do Christmas" by Michele Hauf – I had very high hopes for this story because it started so out strong and I was sure it would hold, but then it just fizzled. There was so much potential for a great tale, but I found myself doing a lot of skimming and I was never able to become all that invested in either Daniel or Olivia, which in turn made it hard to stay interested in the story. I wish I had learned more about Daniel being changed and the world he gave up. I get being bitter and all, but I could have totally invested in him if I had felt, and not just been told about, his anger.

What I did like about it was the way Christmas commercialism was played down, and how Daniel, who believed himself to be a monster, didn’t let the darkness rule him. It was exactly the kind of Christmas story I would normally love, but something about the delivery just didn’t grab me. – 2.5 stars

3. “When Herald Angels Sing” by Caridad Pineiro – I really enjoyed this story. It was such a sweet, romantic, sexy tale about learning from your past mistakes, admitting you were wrong, and being willing to sacrifice anything and everything for those you love. As Damien and Angelina learned, “believe in the power of love and all of Heaven will be yours.” 4 stars

4. “All I Want for Christmas” by Alexis Morgan - Now see, very rarely is it that a novella can earn 5 stars because to do so the author has to be very careful to strike the perfect balance of world building and character development, while making it all emotionally compelling. And let’s be honest, that’s hard enough to do in a full length novel, let alone a short one. But this story had it all. The plot was interesting, yet didn’t require a lot of page time to set up, which made more character and relationship development possible, and in the end, allowed me to become totally invested in Eagan and Della, as well as the secondary characters, Tenn, Lupe, Harry, Daniel... I'd love to know more about them all! – 5 stars

The bottom line - While I enjoyed all of the stories, or at least parts of them, the last two carried the anthology and I'll definitely be reading more by these authors.

This ebook was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of HQN Books.

Holiday Hideout, An Anthology

Once upon a time, a middle-aged couple named Ken and Jillian Vickers rented a cozy cottage overlooking Lake Tahoe in hopes that a weekend away would revitalize their marriage. The plan worked so well that they bought the cottage. But it was far too small to accommodate their children and grandchildren, so on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s, it sat empty.

Ken suggested renting it out for those holidays, which made financial sense to Jillian. But after several seasons, an unusual pattern emerged. Renters routinely left notes expressing their joy at either rekindling an old love or finding a new one during their stay at the cabin.

The consistent theme of the notes fascinated Ken and Jillian, both sociology professors at the University of Nevada in Reno. Perhaps the little cabin had a special effect on couples. If so, Ken and Jillian vowed to collect enough evidence to uncover its secret.…

What a fun setting for all three of the stories in this anthology. This is exactly the kind of light, magical, exciting Christmas reading I look forward to.

The Thanksgiving Fix by Vicki Lewis Thompson – 4.5 stars -

Finding Mr. Right is the furthest thing from Beth Davis's mind when the Reno professor takes Thanksgiving break at a colleague's Lake Tahoe cabin. Until Coinneach McFarland arrives to fix a suspicious leak. It looks like somebody's playing matchmaker for two people sworn to stay single. But as things heat up, Beth is astonished to find she has discovered her soul mate just as she'd given up looking.

I really enjoyed this “finding love for the first time” story. It was funny, sweet, and very hot. Mac, with his easy going, laid back attitude, and Beth, a strong, independent woman, were awesome characters. Watching as they each started questioning their self imposed ban on committed relationships was funny and heartwarming! But could they compromise, with themselves and each other, to give love a chance? You'll have to read it for yourself and find out!

The Christmas Set-Up by Jill Shalvis – 4 stars

Competing architects Zoe and Jason have two weeks to come up with the design to win a coveted new project. But when a snowstorm strands them together at a secluded cabin, Zoe sees her chance to show Jason how she really feels. With romance blooming under the mistletoe, can she get the gorgeous Scrooge into the true Christmas spirit?

While reading this story I was reminded of this passage from Corinthians: Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
This was a very sweet, very sexy “love was right in front of me all along” story. Funny, heartwarming, passionate… even as I’m sitting here writing this review I’m smiling. I wonder if this story is related to any others by this author? Anyone know?

The New Year's Deal by Julie Kenner – 3.5 stars

Five years ago, Cleo Daire and Josh Goodson said goodbye and went their separate ways. But first they made a promise to reunite. Now the ex-lovers are spending New Year's Eve in a romantic cabin, where passion takes them by surprise and long-wished-for dreams can sometimes come true.

I enjoyed this “second chance” romance, but had a hard time getting into it. I couldn’t understand how they could so easily say goodbye in the first place. But once they found themselves together, in a magical cabin during a magical time of year, they couldn’t deny what was still between them.

The bottom line – Holiday Hideout is a wonderful, romantic, sexy trio of stories to warm up the holidays, and to remind us that with a little hope, a little patience and a lot of faith, anything - even falling in love - is possible!

This ebook was provided by netgalley.com in behalf of Harlequin.