Review: Heartwarming Holiday Romances
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 11 6, 2013
Rating - 4 Stars: I really enjoyed all of the stories included in Christmas Romance and hope to read something else from each of the authors in the near future.What I'd Want to Know Before Reading:-No sex (not even fade to black)-As far as I found, none of the books are part of a series (Jennifer Conner - Central Bark at Christmas is the first book in the Dog Tales series, however)-"Clean" romances (I hate this term but I know some people only read these. There was a tiny bit of swearing but nothing more than a low PG-13 movie.)-No religious overtonesSource: I received this book for free from one of the authors in exchange of an honest review.My Thoughts:Danica Winters - Christmas WishesIt's been a while since I've read about "older" characters. Lee, our heroine, is old enough to have had a 20 year old son. I couldn't connect with her on many of the levels that define her since I'm much younger and just haven't had her life experiences. That said, I thought Winters did a wonderful job writing emotion into such a short story; it made Lee someone I could relate to.I like the sexy damaged daddy cowboy angle for our hero but I was really stuck on his name, Albert. I often enjoy 'vintage' names for women in books, they can be quirky and unique, but Albert isn't much more than an old man name for me. It sounds silly but I had trouble involving myself in Lee and Albert's romantic relationship. Penny, Albert's daughter, was beyond adorable and I had no trouble with their family relationship. Albert was almost an adorable daddy as Penny was a child.I really enjoyed how wishes tied the story together. Adorable, adorable, adorable. I would have loved to see more of Lee, Albert and Penny but the moment in time Winters wrote about worked perfectly as a short story. It was a very short moment though, just long enough to see Lee and Albert get the start of second chances.-Older characters-Very internalized story (relationships, family and loss (death of a son))-Solo point of view (Lee)Jennifer Conner - Central Bark at ChristmasI always want more when it comes to short stories, greedy reader that I am. I'm glad Conner gave a brief look at what had happened to Tennyson in regards to her hurt. It's one thing to say that she's been cheated on by her boyfriend and someone she considered a friend, and it's another to witness her hurt. Seeing the event helped me become emotionally involved in Tennyson's story more deeply.Par could have been a hideous troll but with his heart of... fur I would have loved him just the same. I don't know what it is about animal people! As soon as I read about someone concerned with an animal's well-being I just want to hug them. Par and Tennyson bond over their dogs at the dog park and work together to find the owner of a Duke who was left there. I loved both characters and I really enjoyed their Christmas tale.I was pleasantly surprised with how well two points of view worked for Central Bark at Christmas. At first I thought that it was going to diminish how effective the story was since it gives less time with each character but I liked seeing into both Tennyson and Par's minds a lot. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending of the story though! Mobley gets hit by a car (sorry for the spoiler but for those of you like me, it's extremely relevant and not something to be left out of mentioning) and whenever something like that happens in films and books I'm devastated by it. Tennyson and Par's happy ending felt sort of rushed and unreal after that happened. I would have preferred a more fleshed out animal hospital scene and for it to end after we knew Mobley was okay and they had a 'moment'.-Boyfriend cheats on her with a high school friend-Indian hero-Dual points of view-Dog gets hit by carSharon Kleve - Halo's WishAs a fan of cozy mysteries I was really excited with Halo's Wish's 'mystery' plot being the catalyst for bring our hero and heroine together. Being animal related made it even better. Halo is undercover at a security firm as a secretary looking for evidence that their kidnapping dogs after a dog show cancelled the contract with them. Rich meets Halo after her boss, the suspect, hits his car. I didn't take to Rich as quickly as I took to Halo which was weird since he's a hunky, sweet veterinarian. He came on way too strong for me, uncomfortable strong not confident strong (he kisses her neck after their first very brief meeting for example).I'm really glad Halo's Wish made a few relatively large time jumps for a short story. I don't think Kleve's story could have been told as effectively without them and it added to the story rather than hindered it. It also really helped with my view of Rich, which I'm so happy about since I did want to adore him. I also enjoyed that the story was told from both of their points of view as well. Time jumps, multiple points of view and a story outside of the romance... it worked well!I feel like this short story sacrificed character development with having so much actual plot happening, especially after the previous two stories which were extremely character driven. I wouldn't give up the story line for more character information though which probably would have been necessary as a short story in an anthology. I enjoyed Halo and Rich as is and the story was a wonderful surprise.I love how Halo's Wish ended with big action and a super sweet scene between Halo and Rich. I was a little afraid that there would an unrealistic relationship jump for them since his house is basically her dream home and way of life but it ended perfectly in all aspects.-Dual points of view-Plot beyond the romanceCasey Dawes - Christmas HopeClara and Sam were quite the pair! Clara is adventurous, outgoing, impulsive... She was really interesting to read about especially considering how contrasting Sam was, sort of ominous, secluded etc. Clara sees a woman interviewing a gloomy Sam about his artisan cheese business on TV and decides on a whim to meet him. Sam wants nothing to do with her or her proposal to help his business. Opposites attract, I guess! I really enjoyed their interactions and seeing them together.I'm not a stickler for grammar or spelling, frankly my own isn't that great, but Clara was misspelled several times which was a little off putting (Carla I found five times). I really enjoyed Dawes writing, it's beautiful. I wish the misspellings had been caught because they were distracting, especially when within the same few paragraphs.I'm not one for angst, actually I hate angst but I absolutely loved the tension and Sam's darkness and emotional damage in Christmas Hope. It was partially the length of the story keeping the angst short and... sweet but I also think Dawes wrote it in such a palatable way that I wouldn't have minded even in a full length novel. I felt so terrible for Sam and hated to see him lash out at Clara but it only made the ending that much more heartwarming. Ugh, the ending! So perfect and I loved the epilogue too.-Husband leaves her for his secretary-Death of a younger sister-Dual points of view