Review: A nice set of holiday-themed stories!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 30, 2013
Dream a Little Dream (Lucky Harbor #8.5) by Jill Shalvis ~ 5 starsI loved, LOVED this story!!! Then again I'm a fan of Jill Shalvis and especially her Lucky Harbor books.Melissa is not one to commit and even though, or maybe especially because, she has developed some feelings for Ian she wants to keep her distance from him. Fate had other plans, unfortunately. After a rather dangerous turn of events Melissa admits she needs Ian in her life. Now the problem was in trying to convince him of getting together with her after she rejected him.Through funny moments, entertaining dialogue and inner musings, Jill Shalvis brought Ian and Melissa's connection to the page. They already had the basis of it, they just had to admit to what they were feeling and let it bloom. And bloom they did! Their chemistry jumped off the page and when they finally, FINALLY got together it was as wonderful as all the other events that took place throughout the story.Short, but sweet with all the elements I've come to expect of her stories, Dream a Little Dream was my favorite of the set of stories.Every Year (Chaos #2.5) by Kristen Ashley ~ 5 starsI enjoyed visiting Shy and Tabby and the Chaos family, including Shy's brother, Landon. It was good to see Shy and Tabby moving forward in their relationship, but I mostly enjoyed knowing more about Shy and Landon.As told in Own the Wind, Shy and Landon didn't have the greatest moments after their parents' murder. It was touching to see how deeply their hurt was, especially over the holidays. I was especially glad to see how they made the effort to let go of the past and enjoy the moment they shared with their new-found family.All in all, a great addition to the Chaos series with sweet, tender moments and of course some funny and lustful one's too!Silent Night by Hope Ramsay ~ 2 starsI had a hard time getting through this story. Maybe is was the insta-love concept, the setting or the characters, I can't put my finger on it. On the one hand it was sweet and 'holiday-ish' with its barn and the baby and Mary, which set the mood. But on the other there was the conflicting emotions of two characters that spent most of their time thinking for themselves and not communicating with each other. And if they did, it was implied which kind of turned me off the story because I had nothing to hold on to when I was looking to connect to them.Although the story was not for me, Silent Night was still a sweet story about a man and a woman finding a chance to start anew together.Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas by Molly Cannon ~ 3 starsThis was a fun story. I enjoyed the heroine's humor and watching Lincoln all flustered over his attraction to her and having his stuff organized. I wish I had seem them interact a bit more, but at least their chemistry was great. Although I didn't connect to them fully, their banter was entertaining and enough to keep me interested in the outcome of their story.All in all, a fun holiday read.A Family for Christmas by Marilyn Pappano ~ 4 starsThis was a nice story to read. I enjoyed learning Ilena's story and watching her open up to new possibilities with Jared, the new doctor in town. Their interactions were fun and entertaining and their connection although not completely explored, was developed enough for me to at least believe that they had a chance at something. I would have preferred to see them interact a bit more before emotions came into play, but other than that I wouldn't change anything about them coming together.All in all, a heartwarming story of new beginnings for two people who were not looking for a relationship.