Review: received a free ARC but still bought it
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 3, 2013
This one is hard to rate for me because some were great and some were good. I wanted this book for Kristen Ashley's contribution and in fact I have pre-ordered this book and will still buy it even though I was given an ARC copy. But I must say a nice bonus for me was to get introduced to some authors that I had never read and some that I had never heard of. I have found some new authors that I will be reading books from in the future. Overall this was a nice compilation book with fun Christmas stories that left me happy and ready for the Christmas season.Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Ian and Melissa were involved but called it quits each with regrets and both wishing they were still together. When Ian is called out for a fire he is shocked and terrified when he hears it is Melissa's apartment building. After Ian rescues Melissa they both find themselves reflecting on the decision to stop being together, while the Christmas season is hard for Ian after the loss of his sister Ian comes to realize that Melissa may be the only one who can help him move on from the loss of his sister and finally find happiness. This was a really nice short story that I wish was longer because I liked Ian and Melissa so much. I loved that they had a past together so that it wasn't an insta love. This was a all around great story.Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Ahh how I love Kristen Ashley she is my very favorite author so when I saw this I knew I had to read it. In this short story we visit the Allen family at Christmas. Tack, Tyra, Shy, Tabby, Rush, Landon, Ryder and Cutter are all together for the Holiday. Tabby is so excited to be with her family for Christmas but she also knows that the memory of Shy and Landon's family makes this season hard on them. But with the love of the Allen family both brothers finally find happiness at Christmas. This was a great read it was great to see Shy and Tabby as well as Tack and Tyra(of course) but I loved seeing Cutter and Ryder, and then getting anything Rush and Landon makes me both happy and excited for each of their books.Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Maryanne is a single mother down on her luck with no other place to turn than her cousin's farm that she hasn't been to since she was a girl. When Maryanne runs out of gas she accidentally walks to the wrong home. Daniel only came home to sell his family home, he never intended to find Maryanne and her son Joshua. When Daniel offers Maryanne a place to stay they never would have thought they would have found everything they needed in the other. This was a sweet story about two hurt people who find love in each other, I only wish that we would have gotten more time past in the story so that their love could have felt more solid and not rushed. But overall this was a sweet story of three people who find a family in each other.Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln can't believe his eyes or his ears when he opens the door and finds Dinah sent to him by his mother to organize his house and to get it ready for Christmas. Lincoln wants nothing to do with it but after speaking to his mother agrees. The more time Lincoln and Dinah spend together the more Linc finds that he not only doesn't mind the changes Dinah has made but that he also starts to fall in love with Dinah. This was a funny fun story, that just left me happy and a smile on my face. Molly Cannon did a great job getting me connected to the characters and invested in their lives and a happy outcome for them both.Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: Jared decided to go against family tradition and be a rural family author instead of a high priced specialist physician. He planned to fulfill his two year contract and then return home to New York he never thought he would meet anyone like Ilena especially not in her elf costume. Ilena loves Christmas and plans on having a great first Christmas with her son. When she see's Jared she is instantly attracted to him and after time together decides it is time to move past the death of her husband. As Jared and Ilena spend more time together Ilena finds herself falling in love and Jared finds himself not only in love with Ilena but with her young son John as well. But soon Jared will have to decide if he is ready to put roots in the small town and promise forever to both Ilena and John. I really liked this one I loved Ilena and Jared. Even though the story was short I never felt like I was missing anything but i would have liked a full length story just because it was so good. This was a great story that ended to quickly.Another great bonus this this book that each author has posted a snippet after their short story of either a book that they have already written or a book that will be coming out. I completely enjoyed this book some more other but all of them were worth the read. This is a great Compilation of Christmas stories.*Thank you Netgalley and Hachette Book Group/Forever Yours for this ARC copy.