Review: A Christmas to Remember - Holiday Cheer at it's best!
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
This is a collection of Christmas shorts.  They are wonderful stories filled with holiday spirit and hope. Great for a quick read while waiting for those cookies to bake or sipping a cup of hot cocoa while sitting by the tree.At the end of each short, is an excerpt from another book by the author - enjoyed those too.  Added them to my "want to read" list!"Dream a Little Dream" by Jill Shalvis.  This is a short story that takes place in Ms. Shalvis' Lucky Harbor.  It's the story of Ian and Melissa - Ian's a firefighter madly in love with Melissa.  Melissa is afraid to give her heart so she pushes Ian away.  A life-threatening event has Melissa realizing what's missing in her life and she is determined to change things.  Ian has old hurts as well and it's so cute how Melissa works at helping Ian move past those hurts.  A really quick, fun read - perfect for the holiday season.  ✔✔✔✔  (The excerpt is from "Once in a Lifetime")"Every Year" by Kristen Ashley.  This was an enjoyable short.  It's the first Christmas together for Shy and Tabby.  Tabby's family loves Christmas but Shy and his brother don't have many happy holiday memories.  Watching Shy and his brother, Landon, celebrate with the Allen family was sweet, tender and emotional.  Shy and Tabby had a previous story by the author which I hadn't read.  Although I didn't need to read it, it did take me a bit to catch on to the different characters and I didn't quite get some references to other things mentioned.  After reading the excerpt at the end that is from Shy and Tabby's book, I look forward to learning more about them.  ✔✔✔✔  (The excerpt is from "Own the Wind")"Silent Night" by Hope Ramsay - Wow!  This was my type of story-- a down-on-her luck single mom and lonely lawyer - the Christmas spirit engulfing them both.  This story made me cry and smile and cry again - both good and bad cries. My heart broke for MaryAnne and Daniel was a real sweetie - even when he was a bit of a jerk, he felt bad. I was rooting for them the whole time.  It's an inspiring story of hope and miracles - making you believe in the kindness of people.  My only wish was it was longer!  ✔✔✔✔✔  (The excerpt is from "The Last Chance Knit & Stitch")"Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas" by Molly Cannon - Loved it!!  I loved Dinah - she was fun, happy and cheerful.  She works hard at making a go of her business and tries really hard to resist her client.  Lincoln was a typical work-a-holic.  I liked that he liked Christmas but not the commercialism of it - don't see that expressed often in stories, especially by the male lead.  It was fun to see the joy brought back to Lincoln through Dinah while she decorated and he reminisced.  Check it out! ✔✔✔✔(The excerpt is from "Flirting with Forever")"A Family for Christmas" by Marilyn Pappano -Another great Holiday story!  Jared has moved from NYC to a small town as the local pediatrician for a term of two years.  He's doing it more in defiance of his parents and the life they believe he should lead.  While there, he meets upbeat and cheerful Ilena.  She is a widow with a baby but despite the sad circumstances, she's always has a smile on her face.  Jared can't help but be taken by her.  She helps show him the good things of small town living.  He's torn because he misses the big city but is falling in love with Ilena and her son.  It's fun to see they love develop between them but will Jared be able to make the transition to such a simple way of life.✔✔✔✔  (The excerpt is from "A Man to Hold On To")