Review: A Christmas to Remember
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 12 7, 2013
In the interest of full disclosure, I received an advance reader edition of this book from Forever (Grand Central Publishing) and Net Galley for the purpose of review.This was a anthology of short stories.  I liked some stories more than others but I would give the book 3 out of 5 stars overall."Dream a Little Dream" by Jill ShalvisI would rate this short story 4 out of 5 stars.  This was one of the better stories in the book.  It is part of the Lucky Harbor series but I enjoyed it without having read any of that series.  The story is about a Ian and Melissa.  Ian is a firefighter who has to rescue Melissa from a burning building.  He once dated Melissa and still loves her.  They come together in this story.  The story was well written and I actually cared about the characters.  I plan to read other works by this author."Every Year" by Kristen AshleyI would rate this story 2 out of 5 stars.  This was probably my least favorite story in the book.  This is part of a series which I have not read so that may account for some of the reasons I failed to connect with the characters.  The focus of the short story is Tabby and Shy.  They are spending Christmas with family.  There were quite a few characters for such a short story.  I found that I had a hard time getting feel for the characters and even had a hard time remembering who was who.  I did not connect with anybody in the story and the sex scene at the end of the story seemed pointless."Silent Night" by Hope RamsayI would rate this story 4 out of 5 stars.  I liked this story the best out of those included in the book.  Maryanne is desperate, out of money, and hopes to re-connect with long lost family with her baby.  She arrives at the home she believes her cousin lives at on foot after running out of gas only to find nobody home.  She seeks shelter in the barn with her baby, Joshua.  Daniel returns home to find them in the barn.  Maryanne is at the wrong farm but they decide to spend the evening together.  This was a nicely written story that I wished had went on a bit longer.  I plan to look into other works by this author."Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas" by Molly CannonI would rate this story 3 out of 5 stars.  It was an ok story. Dinah is hired to organize the home of Lincoln's parents which he is currently the only resident.  Basically they spend time together and fall for each other.  I just did not feel any connection to the characters."A Family for Christmas" by Marilyn PappanoI would also rate this story 3 out of 5 stars.  A doctor moves to a small town and falls for a local widow with a 6 month old child.  I just never got a feel for the romance that was supposed to be happening.  I actually thought there was more emotion anytime Juan, the husband who had died, was mentioned.I thought this book was OK overall.  Each of the stories were pretty short if you are looking for a quick read.  I am not a huge fan of short stories but occasionally I find one that is wonderful.  None of these really were that for me but I did get to read several new authors that I plan to check out in the future.