Review: A Christmas to Remember – Jill Shalvis et al.

*I received a free copy of A Christmas to Remember from Grand Central Publishing via Netgalley. This has in no way influenced my voluntary review, which is honest and unbiased *

A Christmas to Remember by Hope Ramsay, Jill Shalvis, Kristen Ashley, Marilyn Pappano, Molly Cannon
Published by Grand Central Publishing on 3 December 2013
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Pages: 224
Format: eARC
Source: Netgalley
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Curl up with this heartwarming Christmas collection!

Jill Shalvis, Dream a Little Dream: Melissa has kept every man at a safe distance-especially firefighter Ian, a sexy friend with sexy benefits. But Ian secretly longs for more. Luckily, 'tis the season for giving love a chance . . .

Kristen Ashley, Every Year: Holidays don't come easy for Shy and his brother, Landon. But with the magic of Christmas, along with a little help from Tabby and her family, the Cage brothers are about to get the gift of a lifetime . . .

Hope Ramsay, Silent Night: Down on her luck and evicted from her apartment, single mother Maryanne hopes to start over in Last Chance. When the snow begins to fall, it looks like her baby might literally spend Christmas Eve in a manger. And Maryanne might celebrate the holiday with a handsome stranger.

Molly Cannon, Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas: Lincoln is a bachelor who's set in his ways-until a professional organizer dressed up as Mrs. Claus changes his life, one tip at a time. . .

Marilyn Pappano, A Family for Christmas: War widow Ilena doesn't mind spending Christmas alone. But when a new doctor blows into town with the winter wind, will she get her secret Christmas wish?

A Christmas to Remember has five sweet stories about finding love during the Christmas holiday, some really touched my heart.

My A Christmas to Remember review:

In Jill Shalvis’ Dream a Little Dream, I was swept off my feet! Melissa and Ian already knew each other at the beginning of the story, they had even been friends with benefits for a while, until Ian wanted more. Their history, made their interactions believable, the connection was already there. One of the things I enjoyed the most was the Ian had to save Melissa, and later on, she saved him right back! And their tenderness and chemistry made my heart beat with a steady beat throughout the story that made a very good first impression for A Christmas to Remember. ★★★★★

Every Year is part of Kristen Ashley’s Chaos series, and even if I’ve only read one book in that series, I loved this short-story! The Christmas spirit, the tough guys and their lovely ladies, the love for family – it was all there. I got into the Christmas spirit myself, and now I want to make a spread of gifts on the floor for my family, just like Tabby, Tay, Shy and the others did for Tabby’s brothers! There is time for family, hotness, and tender love in Every Year, and it certainly made it a Christmas to remember for Tabby and Shy. ★★★★★

Silent Night was very different from the first two stories, both because the two main characters Maryanne and Daniel had never met before, and the story only happened over the span of about 12 hours. This made their feelings for each other very difficult to believe, and I thought the dialogs were stilted and not very well done. While I could get that they were both feeling lonely and bereft, I still did not manage to buy their strong feelings for each other at the end of the story. ★★☆☆☆

Have Yourself a Messy Little Christmas was very humorous, and the characters who seemed to be complete opposites at the beginning of the story ended up being a lot more alike than I could have guessed. I loved the anticipation and the rising heat between them, as well as the way they both enjoyed Christmas and family in different ways. I only spent a few pages with Dinah and Lincoln, but I got to know them pretty well anyway. Well written, funny and a little hot, this short-story made me want to read more by Molly Cannon. ★★★★☆

The last story in A Christmas to Remember, A Family for Christmas was well done, too. It had a sadder undertone than the other stories, but because the characters were positive, and trying to make a better life for themselves, it worked well for me anyway. Ilena being a widow with a six-month old baby didn’t scare Jared at all, though, even if he wasn’t sure he wanted to stay in rural Oklahoma as their paediatrician for the rest of his life. Tender, tentative and very sweet, Marilyn Pappano was able to get me to understand her characters quite well with few pages, but a good story.★★★★☆

My overall rating for this Christmas anthology is four stars. If you want some Christmas romance but don’t really have time for a full novel, A Christmas to Remember is the perfect compromise!

 

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