Review: A Christmas To Remember is a fantastic group of stories
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 12 6, 2013
This year has been full of Christmas/Holiday anthologies and I can't get enough of them.  I love that no matter how busy I am during this time of year, I can sit down and read a short story by some of my favorite authors and still have time to do everything else.  A Christmas To Remember is a fantastic group of stories featuring two of my favorite authors and introducing me to three new ones.  I urge you to remember to take time out for yourself this season; it will make everyone else happy if you are happy!Dream A Little Dream by Jill Shalvis  5 starsI swear being able to spend a little time in Lucky Harbor during the holiday season made me one happy gal!  Dream A Little Dream is a lovers reunited story and they do so in spectacular fashion.  Ian O'Mallery and Melissa Mann's relationship imploded when Ian wanted more than Melissa was ready for but when he answers a fire call to her building, he can think of little more than getting her out alive, while waiting for rescue all she can think of is the relationship mistakes she made with him.  Given a second chance, Melissa doesn't plan on letting it go to waste.I really loved the fact that even though these two had been over for awhile, neither one has quite moved on. While Melissa is trying to get over her trust issues and figure out a way to let Ian know she wants more from him, Ian is dealing with guilt over his sister's death and being almost too late to save Melissa.  Thankfully, she is determined to get things right this time and has help doing it.There was something magical about this story and although it takes place in Lucky Harbor, we really didn't spend any time with the other residents but that was okay because these two didn't need interference, the just needed time to rediscover and heal.  Dream A LIttle Dream gives you everything you expect from a Jill Shalvis story; a hunky hero, a spunky heroine, humor, and sexy full all wrapped up in a tiny Christmas package.  You know what they say right?  Good things some in small packages!Every Year by Kristen Ashley  5 starsI've read all the books in Kristen Ashley's Rock Chick series but have yet to venture into her other series but after reading Every Year, I'll be checking out the Chaos Series soon.  Yes the characters in this Christmas novella are from that series and despite the fact that I hadn't read it, I didn't feel cheated or lost.  In fact Kristen paints such vivid scenes with her words that I felt right at home in the midst of this big old family celebration.  While this book is mostly about Tabby and Parker "Shy", it's more about the blended family they've become and the way that being a part of something so wonderful can help heal past hurts.  In just a few chapters I fell in love with this crazy family and I can't wait to begin this series from the start.Tabby and Shy have been together for about six months and are celebrating their first Christmas with her dad, her step-mom, her brother, her two much younger step-brothers, and her boyfriend's brother, Landon.  There is no doubt this outspoken and crazy family shares a lot of love and as Christmas evening progresses into Christmas day we get to see the wonder of the season and the healing powers of love.  Oh yeah and we get some red hot Christmas lovin' too and this author knows how to write that well!I could go on and on but I don't want to ruin the story so I'll just say buy this anthology, read this author and fall in love just the way I did.  Christmas is a season of love and hope and this book gives us plenty of both!Silent Night by Hope Ramsay 4 starsChristmas has long been considered the time for miracles and in Silent Night by Hope Ramsay we see two people who begin to believe in them.  A single mother down on her luck while trying to reach a distant relative mistakenly lands in the barn of a man whose life has changed drastically over the last year.  They find comfort in being together on Christmas Eve while unburdening their past and wishing for something neither one is sure the other wants.I really felt for both Maryanne and Daniel.  Life had thrown them both quite a few curveballs and they were both tired and just needed someone to care.  When they wind up together, they find that they enjoy each other's company and the comfort of having someone who will just listen.I enjoyed this story but I kind of felt cheated by the end.  It was abrupt and left me asking a whole lot of questions.  However, I still found it to be uplifting and entertaining.Have Yourself A Messy Little Christmas by Molly Cannon  4.5 starsWhen I started reading this book I thought I'd read this author before but after doing some research I found she's a new to me author but I absolutely love her style.  I love the way this story just jumped out and grabbed me and I thoroughly enjoyed the two main characters despite wanting to strangle the hero a couple of times.  While not a typical holiday story, I found Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas to be a fun and enjoyable treat.Lincoln gets a gift from his mother he can't return, in the form of a professional organizer named Dinah.  With his parents returning to his childhood home for the holidays, Linc's mother wants the house organized, clean, and decorated when she gets there.  Dinah just comes in like a whirlwind and won't take no for an answer.  I love how she broke down every one of Lincoln's reservations one by one and the way he began to realize how much he enjoyed her company.  There was some heavy duty attraction between them and when they give in it's pretty hot but then reality sets in leaving them both confused and upset.It was hard not to like this story and my only complaint, I would have liked more time with these characters.  This is an author who impressed me with her novella so I will be checking out her other offerings soon.A Family for Christmas  by Marilyn Pappano 4.0 starsI enjoyed this fish out of water story by Marilyn Pappano.  A successful New York doctor decides to thumb his nose at his high powered and doctor filled family to open a practice in rural Oklahoma.  Getting involved with a community service project, he meets and pursues a widow and her young son.  Yet, he still feels unsettled and can't help but wonder if moving was the right thing to do.  The one thing Jared thing he does know is right is the way he feels for Ilena and John.These are two very different people with two very different upbringings yet they both seem to bring out the best in each other.  Despite Ilena's tragic past, I love that she was open to feeling again and to letting someone get close.  Jared was a little harder to read but I think that has to do a lot with the way he was raised.  Ilena and John seemed to bring out a softer, gentler side of him.To be honest their relationship moved at a very rapid pace considering Ilena's past and the fact that Jared really hadn't dealt with the issues with his family.  I enjoyed these characters and the way they related to each other thus I was somewhat disappointed in the rushed ending.  That being said, A Family For Christmas was still an enjoyable story and fit in nicely with the other books in this anthology.Review copy provided for an honest review.