Review: Holiday Magic, Love and a Sweet Treat
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 20, 2013
This is a delightful trio of holiday themed short stories. Each of the stories features aptly named characters such as Rose Marie Cupido who stars in "The Gypsy Valentine".  Rose and her two best friends face a conundrum. A year ago they ran into a gypsy who foretold wonderful fortunes for them all. Everything the gypsy predicted for Rose has co, and her estranged father is back in her life. The only thing left is to find her true love before Feb. 14 Valentine's Day.  And therein lies the rub.  The gypsy not only linked the fortunes of the three friends but added a caveat.  If any one of the friends did not find her true love by the fast approaching deadline, all the good fortune that had come their way would be lost. When Maximillian Russo reappears, a long lost boyfriend who had the chutzpah to stand her up for the high school Prom, Rose is certain that he is the one. But Rose faces more issues than looming deadlines. This is a complex and clever romantic story that combines a little magic, a soupcon of heat and lots of Valentine love."Irish Kiss" appropriately begins on St. Patricks Day in the South side of Chicago. Ronan Kelly a southside cop isn't happy to be working a double shift on is his favorite day to be celebrating. Cathy O'Toole, the woman Ronan lusts after, at the moment is anchored on the hate side of her love-hate relationship with Ronan.  St. Patrick's Day gets worse if possible when Ronan's cousin Tommy is killed in very strange circumstances involving of all things a leprechaun.  This is a clever tale that combines Irish curses and blessings with a heaping of blarney. Ronan and Cathy work together to solve the mystery of Tommy's death, and in the process see if they can't push that dial on their love/hate relationship a lot more to the love side.Rudy Christopher Reindeer is in trouble. Living all his life in the town of North Pole Maine, where inhabitants have names like Carol Winters who runs the Yule Tide Bar and Jenny Bells who lives on Donnor street, Rudy knows a thing or two about Christmas.  He also knows a curse when he sees one.  And the one he sees is his bright red nose in the mirror. Anyone who lives in the Christmas Capital of the World knows that a red nose means you're on Santa's Naughty List. And Rudy has a good idea of how he got there.  Behind the scenes he has been buying up property in North Pole Maine and is on the verge of a big deal that will turn the Christmas Capital of the World into a Smart Mart. This delightful whimsical story ends as one would expect but being that it's Christmas, the author has added one additional gift.  Tacked on at the end is a sweet surprise: A terrific recipe for Anise Cookies that looks as tasty as anything in Rudy's grandfather's bakery.  A fitting end to  "Romancing Rudy Reindeer."