A very enjoyable Christmas anthology featuring the following three stories.
On the Secretary's Christmas List by Carole Mortimer (4 stars) – Romance beA very enjoyable Christmas anthology featuring the following three stories.
On the Secretary's Christmas List by Carole Mortimer (4 stars) – Romance between famous photographer Jackson and his assistant Bree. They’ve had a great working relationship for a year, but now Jackson is beginning to notice Bree as more than an assistant when he starts seeing other men showing an interest in her and his jealously kicks in. A really cute Christmas romance that also features cute puppy, Beau, who is a Christmas present to Jackson’s son.
The Soldier, the Puppy and Me by Myrna Mackenzie (5 stars) – Reluctant war hero Trey is back in his hometown as a favor to a relative to be the Grand Marshall in the town’s Christmas Festival. Next door neighbor Ella, who he has a shaky past with from their younger days, is in charge of the festival so there is no avoiding of the two meeting up again. Good thing that puppy Fizz (who Ella is fostering for Christmas) is around to get these two together. This was my favorite of the stories. Fizz stole the show with every scene he was in. The matchmaking pup was simply adorable and just too cute for words. A definite winner.
The Patter of Paws at Christmas by Nikki Logan (4 stars) – Romance between Gabe and Ingrid who both work at an Australian zoo and are currently monitoring African wild dogs. Although this story took place at Christmastime there was very little Christmas here. And the puppies in the story were rarely seen, since they were hidden for the most part in one of the dens that Gabe and Ingrid were monitoring. Despite that, this story still kept my interest for its uniqueness and I learned about something I was not familiar with before....more
Anthology with three stories that all revolve around the same destination wedding in Kauai, Hawaii.
Hawaiian Holiday by RaeAnne Thayne - Megan, the groAnthology with three stories that all revolve around the same destination wedding in Kauai, Hawaii.
Hawaiian Holiday by RaeAnne Thayne - Megan, the groom's ex-wife, heads to Kauai with her young twin daughters so the girls can participate in their father's wedding. She never expects to find love herself with the bride's handsome and charming brother, Shane. This was a cute and very enjoyable story with beautiful Hawaiian scenery throughout. Shane was a real dreamboat of a hero and Megan was pretty great herself. Megan and Shane had wonderful chemistry and I loved how kind and caring he was with her two daughters. The little girls were complete darlings and so endearing. Great story.
Hawaiian Reunion by Marie Ferrarella - Devlin is the groom's best friend and Best Man at his wedding. Devlin and his wife, Amy, are about to be divorced, but for appearances sake agree to act like a happy couple while at their friends' wedding. Devlin has no problem with this but Amy is having a hard time with this pretense. She thinks Devlin cheated on her (he didn't) and she doesn't trust or believe him when he says he is innocent. She is insanely jealous because he is handsome and gets a lot of attention from the ladies, even though he has told her that it is only her that he wants. Amy completely ruined this story for me with her endless sarcasm and snide remarks to Devlin. She acted immature and childish and was constantly being argumentative. She was also keeping her pregnancy a secret from him, intending to tell him about it after the divorce was final. The only way this story would have worked for me was if he divorced her and found someone more deserving of him. My least favorite story of the three.
Hawaiian Retreat by Leanne Banks - Gabi is the groom's half-sister and she's reluctantly taking time off from her job to come to his wedding. She loves her brother but she's also obsessed with her work. Lucky for her that hot and hunky surfing instructor, Finn, is making her downtime a lot easier. This was an enjoyable and fun read and I really liked both main characters. Finn moved to Hawaii to take care of his young nephew, Kai, when Kai's parents died in an accident. Not only was Finn gorgeous but I loved his dedication to raising Kai. Kai was a real cutie and I liked how he and Gabi bonded together so quickly. I liked seeing Gabi come to realize that there was more to life than work. The island scenery was lovely in this one and the story was engaging....more
Christmas anthology featuring five short Christmas stories, four of which I really liked. Jill Shalvis, Marilyn Pappano, Hope Ramsay, and Molly CannonChristmas anthology featuring five short Christmas stories, four of which I really liked. Jill Shalvis, Marilyn Pappano, Hope Ramsay, and Molly Cannon all had very enjoyable stories that got me in the Christmas mood and were nice, quick and easy reads.
The only story I didn't like was Kristen Ashley's. I couldn't get into it at all, didn't like any of the characters, and couldn't wait for it to end.
Overall, I thought this anthology was a fun and festive holiday read for the four stories I liked.
Individual story ratings:
Jill Shalvis - 5 stars Kristen Ashley - 1 star Hope Ramsay - 4 stars Molly Cannon - 4 stars Marilyn Pappano - 5 stars...more
