Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780505523396
ISBN number: 0505523396
Label: Love Spell
Manufacturer: Love Spell
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 390
Printing Date: 1999-10
Publishing house: Love Spell
Sale Popularity Level: 1571004
Studio: Love Spell
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From the back cover:
Christmas is coming...and the streets are alive with the sounds of the season: "Silber Bells" and sleigh rides, jingle bells and carolers. Choruses of "Here Comes Santa Claus" float over the snow-covered landscape, bringing the joy of the holiday to rebelers as they deck the halls and string the lights "Up on the Housetop." And when the songs of the season touch four charmed couples, melody turns to romance and harmony turns to passion. For these "Merry Gentlemen" and their lovely ladies will learn that with the love they have found, not even a spring thaw will cool their desire or destroy their "Winter Wonderland".
And my review:
Well, the back cover description doesn't really tell the reader much about the stories in this collection, so I'll include a brief synopsis about each story, as well as my own personal thoughts:
The very first story in this anthology is Leigh Greenwood's HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS. Basically, a man who's father was basically a Scrooge for all his life suddenly becomes a philanthropist, giving away almost all of his possessions and playing Santa to the local kids. His son, (the hero of this romance) is concerned that his dad has lost it and rushes back home. There he meets a young lady (the heroine) who has helped his father to rediscover the true spirit of Christmas. But the hero is convinced that the heroine is just a con artist. But of course they end up falling in love.
I didn't have high hopes for this novella, since I have yet to like a single story written by Leigh Greenwood. This one was no exception. The characters felt flat, and I also felt that there was nothing drawing the hero and heroine together except lust (which was almost immediate--a real turn-off). The hero hates the heroine, yet starts practically picturing her naked on her back the second he meets her. Not very romantic. Two stars.
The subsequent story was Amanda Harte's SILVER BELLS. This is a story of reunited love. Many years ago, the heroine jilted the hero and married another man. Now her husband is dead, and she has happened to run into the hero, who has never stopped loving her and wants to pick up where the left off.
This story had so much promise, but failed to live up to it. I had a really hard time connecting with the characters. Also, the explanation as to why the heroine had thrown the hero over for another man (even though she was still madly in love with the hero at the time) was a long time coming. I was left wondering why she would jilt him in the very first place. And since she'd hurt him so badly (without a decent explanation forthcoming), I found it really hard to like her. Two stars.
The third installment in this anthology was Emma Craig's MERRY GENTLEMEN. Basically, the heroine has started a beautiful shop (that sells lots of Christmas stuff), but is having a hard time making a go of it because there's a movie set being constructed subsequent door, and the noise and mess is discouraging customers. The hero (the son of the man who's running the movie) tries to straighten things out with the heroine, and they eventually fall in love.
I'm afraid that this is another author who just doesn't do it for me. Her writing feels disjointed, and often downright confusing. There were a lot of times when I couldn't be sure who was speaking, or even how many characters there were in the room. Seriously, it was that difficult to follow. There was no real flow to the words. Reading romance shouldn't feel like homework. Also, the heroine came across as a spoiled, petulant child, and the hero not much better. I couldn't really like either one of them, so I found that I didn't really care whether they got together or not. Two stars.
The last novella was Linda O. Johnston's UP ON THE HOUSETOP. The widowed heroine wants to adopt a baby more than anything. The problem is that while the about-to-pop birth mother is more than happy to give the heroine her baby, the baby's uncle doesn't think that a child should be raised in a single-parent family. So in between the heroine trying to convince the hero that she'll be a good enough mother to make up for the lack of a father figure, the hero and heroine fall in love, thus creating a two-parent family for the baby.
This story was just okay. Nothing special. I found it a little hard to cheer for the heroine, since I really sided with the hero on this issue. No offense to people forced into single parenthood out there, but I think that actively choosing to deprive a child of a full-time father figure is wrong. I tried to get past this and move on, but the romance itself was also rather weak. Again, I didn't feel that there was any real attraction between the characters. Any attraction that existed was merely sexual; there was nothing else. And I need more for a satisfying read. Two stars.
Anthologies are always a hit-or-miss ... Read More
Rated by buyers 
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This was a great Christmas Anthology. All four authors presented a Christmas story that reminded me of the magic of Christmas, restoring our faith in words such as love, friendship and happiness. It would be hard to say which story was best but my favorites were Amanda Harte's Silver Bells and Emma Craig's "Merry Gentlemen". I bought the book when it was released but as is the plague of a bookaholic, I did not reach it on my "to be read" pile until March. What a breath of fresh air. I loved this book. It raised my spirits and reminded me how wonderful a holiday Christmas, the gifts being what people need the most-love and understanding. Try this book-it truly will bring a smile to your lips. Happy reading.
Rated by buyers 
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Don't bother - none of these stories ever grabs a reader's interest (and I'm generally an easy sell).
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