Customer Reviews

Maybe This Christmas

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4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I made the mistake of buying this book and not checking the publication date of the stories. Both are from the 70's and could have used some updating. The Publisher Weekly review was right on about the stories.

From the back cover:

DARLING JENNY
Some Christmas vacation! An unexpected blizzard just stranded Jennifer Glenn in the heart of the mountains, and her boots aren't made for walking. But the Jeep's buried in a snowdrift and a lonely log cabin is the only shelter for miles around. Just her luck: there's only one bed. She's not about to share it with Logan Taylor, even though the handsome rancher swept her up in his arms and carried her over the threshold. He can just take the chair by the fire like a gentleman--if he is a gentleman--and he can just stop calling her darlin'. Or she'll never fall asleep...

STRANGE BEDFELLOW
Happy holidays were only a memory for Dina Chandler in the years after her husband's plane disappeared over the jungle. But the Christmas to come will be a celebration like no other...now that Blake has returned. His long ordeal has changed everything--except his passionate love for the woman who was once his wife. Winning her back will be the greatest challenge--and the greatest gift--of all.

And my review:

These two stores were marketed as having been "updated" for the 2003 release date, but from what I can tell, not much has been changed. There are references to cell phones, email and PC's, but that's about it. The attitudes of the characters are very dated, especially in the gender roles.

For example, in DARLING JENNY, the heroine comes to the big city to land her dream job. She's had years of studies to prepare, has dreamed of this for most of her life and worked so hard...and she's come to be...a secretary. With all the buildup, I would have expected that she was going to be a lab tech working on cancer research. Nope, her dreams are of typing and filing and making coffee. (Not to knock secretaries mind you, I was one myself, but don't make it sound like the heroine is out to change the world.)

And her "evil" boss, the man that she's running from? He wanted to have sex with her. The way it was hyped up about how cruel he was, I thought he must have called her into his office and raped her on his desk. Not dated her and expected to have consensual sex. Hey, I have no problem with a woman who doesn't sleep around (I admire women like that, usually), but her attitude just goes to show the book's age.

Once the hero showed up, he and heroine descended into petty bickering that lasted for most of the book, in between a few heated scenes to show progress in their relationship. And I couldn't stand the way the hero kept treating her like she was a stupid little girl. I'm sure many men did treat women this way in the 70s, but it's not exactly what most women today would find romantic.


STRANGE BEDFELLOW also showed its age. I didn't have a problem with the recycled plot (man comes back to claim his wife after being declared dead), but I did have a problem with the hero. He was supposed to be tortured, but instead came across as mean. I got as far as the first "love" scene. I put the word love in quotes because there was no tenderness or love that I could see. It was more of the hero saying "I had to be celibate for two years, you're my wife, I want sex, so lie on your back." Not romantic. Geez, buddy, give the woman at least a day or two to adjust to the fact that you're not dead. How about "I love you so much, Dina, I've missed you and want to make love to you"? Nope. Just "I'm horny, give me sex, now!" I know this was often par for the course, given sexual attitudes in the 70s, but it's little more than offensive to today's modern woman.

As a very happily married stay-at-home mom with a young son, I don't really consider myself a hard-core feminist, but even I found these stories irritating with their dated portrayal of women and over-arrogant men. Not recommended by this reader.

The book was really good, but when I got to page 151, it didn't
finish the story of My Darling Jenny, instead it jumped to page
177 and went on with the next story Strange Bedfellow. I thought this was weird. Is there pages missing or what?

I realize that the 2 stories were written in the 70's but that is no excuse for the terribly-written male characters. It almost seems like this author is a real man-hater or perhaps, that she's into being dominated & humiliated by men. Why else write so-called romance stories where the men treat the women SO badly & the women take it? I have a bit of the "old-fashioned gal" in me & would love to be with a strong, confident man but I would NEVER be with either of the men in the 2 stories in "Maybe This Christmas". I've enjoyed a few of Janet Dailey's books in the past but I'm glad I didn't actually have to pay for this one. It would have been a waste of my limited funds.

I picked this book up at the library just so I could get a taste of Janet Dailey - OMG, what a waste of my time! I didn't even bother reading the second story - Darling Jenny was more than enough! I skipped through so much of it because it literally hurt my head to read it. Just flat out awful and the storyline was just flat out stupid!

You'll find that a lot of books written a long time ago just don't translate well into today's world. 30 years ago, attitudes were different. Take Jenny for instance, in My Darling Jenny. She found it really hard to get a job WITH HER DEGREE, all because she was a young, attractive woman. I'm not going to say it would be any easier today with our economy, but surely they wouldn't laugh in your face. I only read the first story in this book actually, as I don't have the stomach to try the second one. But it was enough for me to decide to put it back on the shelf.

So let's take a thorough look at My Darling Jenny. Jenny is 22, just a year older than myself, and has all the maturity of a 16 year old. And the cause of all her troubles is because she is basically a prude. Hey now, don't get me wrong...she's got every right to wait until her wedding day, but Jenny here is just a tease. That's a harsh view, but I just don't have any love for her. She just really got into their kisses and the decides that no, you can't touch me at all! And oh my Lord, Logan..."I'll touch you any damn time I please!" WTF? Are you engaged to her? Are you dating her? Cause as far as I can tell, you don't even LIKE her...that sounds like the start of RAPE to me. And it's all because he just...loves her so bad. Yeah, I rolled my eyes too.

So anyway, Jenny runs away after Brad wants to have sex with her and she cries and says no. He basically tells her he was taking her out on dates and stuff just to get in her pants. Lovely. But someone had to 'screw' her up. She runs to see her sister in Wyoming and her plane is diverted cause of the weather. So she's in the airport and she notices this guy looking at her. Right away she's got him pegged as a womanizer who just wouldn't give a fig about anyone but himself. She's obviously so experienced. Turns out the guy is her sister's boss and our hero of the story.

From the moment they meet, they throw barbs at each other. I thought kids stopped flirting like this in the 5th grade. She doesn't even try to like him, cause remember, she's got him pegged already. Then we meet her sister, whom Jenny suspects is in love with Logan. In her head she's seeing lots of stuff between them. But turns out her sister who is supposed to be 27 is just as immature when it comes to her love interest. This Dirk guy. He's an artist and Sheila (the sister) wanted him to get a 'real' job so he'd have a steady paycheck. This is probably also dated, as today I don't think that would have been a really big issue. But he refuses and she tells him to go and she lives in misery that Logan understands and Jenny misinterprets.

Oh and at this point, Jenny is in love with Logan. SKIIRRRRRRT. Let's put the brakes on a second here. Jenny is in love with Logan? WHERE did this happen? Last page I was on, they were treating each other like crap. What, did show not tell not exist in the 70s? Instead of showing this love between Jenny and Logan, the author steps up on the NON-EXISTENT romance between Logan and Sheila. I mean, I was even starting to wonder!

Oh oh oh and the Brad guy shows back up at the hotel that Logan owns/Sheila manages. But no, he wasn't coming after Jenny. In truth he'd probably forgotten all about her. But as soon as he sees her, he's proclaiming love to her and stuff. And since Logan supposedly is in love with Jenny himself, this just pee-pees right in his cornflakes. He starts making up ridiculous rules so that Jenny can't see Brad and guess what? She never confronts him, though it makes her 'seethe with anger.' Whatever.

So now Dirk is in the group and Sheila seems to be talking to him again. Jenny sees Logan at a ring shop, buying an engagement ring that she things is for Sheila. At this point, I'm not sure it's for Jenny either. But the four go on this ski trip and Jenny get guilted into it cause Logan tells her he wants this to be perfect for Sheila. Cause he's going to propose to her? Or to Jenny? Or is Dirk and Logan going at it? At this point I just don't know anymore.

Sheila gets hurt though. Put a ski pole through her foot (ouch???) and broke her arm. So Logan dictates that her kids go stay with their grandparents and Sheila and Jenny come stay at his ranch. He even gets him mom to convince Jenny to come. Poor poor Jenny. She keeps busy by cleaning the house and cooking and stuff. Cause Logan doesn't pay much attention to her. (Remember, this is Jenny's POV). One night she gets up to go make herself some tea. Like in an actual tea kettle with a teabag and stuff. Logan shows up in the doorway "I thought you were asleep." and startles her, causing her to spill a little of the hot water on herself. He reacts instantly, chiding her like a small child. Jeez, I burn myself all the time in the kitchen...it happens.

So he rushes over to her (he's shirtless, she's in a 'short robe' is all we're told.) And he kisses her. She's all into the kiss too now. Then she realizes that hey, kissing is naughty and my virtue is slipping away, and tells him to stop. Surprise, surprise, he doesn't. He rips her robe and kisses her harder. She tears away, "I hate you, don't touch me" ladida and he declares that he has the right to touch her anytime, anywhere he pleases. He kisses her again I think and then tells her to get out.

The next morning she packs her suitcase and hops a ride to the airport to go back to Minneapolis. Well turns out the flight doesn't leave for like, 5 hours...so she's a sitting duck. I'd have hidden in the bathroom or something at least. So Logan appears and they have this heart to heart talk. He's loved her from the beginning, and she loves him so much she'd just die if he didn't love her. Dirk and Sheila are getting married and the ring Logan bought was for Jenny. They kiss and makeup, despite the fact that he was well on his way to raping her last night.

Gee, there were so many butterflies in my tummy at the romance of it all, I just couldn't sleep the rest of the night. No wait, that was nausea. Folks, do yourself a favor. Let such stories stay in the 70s. They don't belong in our times today.

This book purchase was a HUGE mistake! It is a 2-in-1 book, and the two stories are from 1973 and 1974. They are Neanderthal romances at best - the male leads are domineering, aggressive, inconsiderate, and completely unheroic. These are not romance stories by any stretch of the imagination, and the book itself is a bit like a wolf in sheep's clothing. The cover indicates that you might be in for a nice Christmas tale or two, but the cover was just a sales feature. The stories have nothing at all to do with Christmas and, in fact, do not even take place at Christmas-time. I think it was a horrible way to introduce readers to this author, especially if you have never read her stuff before (which I hadn't). Perhaps this author has improved her storytelling since the 70s, but based on this nonsense I wouldn't waste my time with her again. The stories were poorly written.