Customer Reviews

A NASCAR Holiday

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"Ladies, Start Your Engines" by Kimberly Raye. Widower Will Calloway shocks his daughter Savannah when he fires her from Calloway Motor Sports, a major participant in the Nextel Cup competition. Will is worried that Savannah has not settled down though she is twenty-eight. Savannah tells Jameson team driver Mackenzie Briggs that he needs her to become the top racer in the Fort Worth area as she plans to prove to her father no one knows engines better than her. He agrees, but it is more than cars they will work on.

"Tis the Silly Season" by Roxanne St. Clair. Raleigh waitress Lisa Mahoney has no credit to buy a Mighty Motor Remote Control Stingray and a Mighty Flight Remote Control Viper as Christmas presents for her children. A woman tells NASCAR Busch Series Driver Clay Slater that she needs him only if he settles down. Clay explains to Lisa that he needs a family to prove to Kincaid Toys he is their perfect salesman. When Lisa loses her job due to a TKO, they make an agreement, but neither expected love would seal the deal.

"Unbreakable" by Debra Webb. In Huntsville Rocket City team owner Buck Buchanan warns star driver Russell "Rush" Jackson that his career will end if he fails to watch his image as a photo surfaced that impugns his honor and affirms to those that racing is not a sport. Buck also tells Rush he has arranged for New England Institute for Independent Experts to study racing to ascertain whether this is a sport or not. Dr. Maxine "Max" Gray is sent to investigate. However, while the researcher and the driver fall in love, someone continues to smear Rush for no apparent reason.

Contemporary readers will "Go for the Gold" when they ride with these delightful NASCAR romances.

Harriet Klausner

"Ladies, Start Your Engines" by Kimberly Raye

Days before Christmas Savannah is fired from her NASCAR job, by her father no less. But, she is going to use this opportunity to do what she was born to do, be a mechanic. She knows just the man to help her out, whom she can help in the deal but will Mackenzie Briggs let her? And can she keep her hands off him?

"Ladies, Start Your Engines" is a heartfelt tale about a woman who wants to finally live her own life and not the life someone else wants her to live. She finally breaks away and does what she has always wanted to and the consequences are not only revved up but, quite studley.

"'Tis the Silly Season" by Roxanne St. Claire

NASCAR racer Clay needs the unthinkable. He needs a family and he needs it yesterday or he might be out of the running for a much-desired sponsorship. So he launches a harebrained scheme to hire the waitress he just met that is full of spunk. He will give her and her kids the storybook Christmas she will never be able to pull off alone. But, is more than Christmas in the air? Is Cupid running around also?

"'Tis the Silly Season" is a fast paced story about love at first sight even if the main characters don't see it right off the bat. Ms. St. Claire points out that sometimes charades have some truth to them.

"Unbreakable" by Debra Webb

Rush needs help, and his sponsor agrees. For some reason there is a slanderous smear campaign going on featuring him with women he has never done things with. So one of the ways they are hoping to change this is to hire an independent consultant to prove that NASCAR drivers are serious athletes. Hoping that Dr. Max(ine) Gray can help show that Rush and his sport is not to be taken lightly. But, what will happen to Max and Rush's hearts, spending that much time together before Christmas?

"Unbreakable" tells the story about what a former child prodigy and a super hot NASCAR driver have in common? Ms. Webb shows that they are just people like the rest of us and you can't always choose who you will love.

I found these three stories centering around NASCAR and Christmas to be nicely packaged together. While all three stories and writers were different styles and settings they fit together well for this anthology, A NASCAR Holiday. You don't have to be a NASCAR fan to enjoy them, but if you are it will be a bit of a bonus. Take a chance and delve into the world of NASCAR with the spirit of Christmas, you won't be disappointed.

Tanya
Reviewed for Joyfully Reviewed

A NASCAR Holiday by Kimberly Raye, Roxanne St. Claire, and Debra Webb
HQN Anthology - Harlequin NASCAR Collection - December 2006

Ladies, Start Your Engines... by Kimberly Raye

Savannah was relieved when her father gave her the pink slip from Calloway Motors freeing her from the mundane jobs her father had thought more fitting a girl. This was her chance to prove to her father and brothers that she was an exceptional mechanic and deserved a place on one of the NASCAR race crews. Mackenzie Briggs was Vannah's ticket to success. Working closely every night on his car in prep for the New Year's Eve exhibition race, proved challenging for both Mac and Vannah. With every innocent touch, memories of that passionate one night fling years ago kept them both on edge.

Ms. Raye always delights with her fun characters. I found myself chuckling and grinning through much of this story and cheering whole heartedly when Vannah stood up to her over bearing father and brothers. I loved that Mac figured out Vannah's trick to staying sane while they worked together and the way he went about undermining her control. I hope Ms. Raye has an encore in upcoming NASCAR releases.

'Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire

Clay Slater needed a ride; a NASCAR ride; and the shot at being Thunder Racing's newest driver hinged on his home life. The sponsor of the team had strong feelings about family, something bachelor Clay had little time for. In comes Lisa, the feisty waitress who butts in on Clay's world and soon he finds himself proposing that she pretend to be his wife to impress the sponsor David Kincaide. Only when Lisa fills his home with Christmas warmth, and her kids wiggle their way under his skin, he realizes pretend isn't good enough.

Of course it was obvious that Clay and Lisa's pretend marriage would be found out but it was a lot of fun watching their love story unfold. Their chemistry sizzled. This was a pleasure to read.

Unbreakable by Debra Webb

Someone wants to tarnish NASCAR driver, Rush Jackson's reputation. The bad press looks bad on his team and threatens his career. Dr. Maxine Gray is conducting a study to prove or disprove that racecar driving is a sport and all the team participants if deemed athletes are as worthy as Olympians. So Rush finds himself participating in the study in the hopes that his reputation of good healthy living will be restored. Only the chemistry between Max and Rush if not kept under wraps may just lead to more bad press.

I've yet to be disappointed by any story told by Ms. Webb. This is a wonderful contribution to the NASCAR anthology and I'm very much looking forward to reading her Feb. contribution to the series.

Ladies, Start Your Engines... by Kimberly Raye: This is a very cute story about a car owner's daughter who fights back against her very dependent family's expectations that she work behind the scenes and act like a girly-girl by joining a rival team to do the hands-on mechanic work she loves (and is very talented at!). At times, I wanted to smack her father/brothers because their chauvanistic attitudes were so irritating - they had some gall to continue to ask her to do their promotional work after they had fired her! Although a very satisfying 100 pages, this would have made a great full length novel - I was left wanting to know more details about the New Year's Eve race, and there was lots of potential for the development of colorful secondary characters like Jaycee. This story shows that there is a place for women in promenent roles in this sport. And, the romance between Mac and Savannah sizzled off the pages, particularly during the Christmas Dance.

'Tis the Silly Season by Roxanne St. Claire: This magical story loosely reminded me of the very enjoyable Family Channel Christmas movie starring Roma Downey and Eric McCormick, where she and her daughter pose as his family to dispel his carefree bachelor image and convince a family-oriented man to enter into a buisness deal with him. In Roxanne St. Claire's NASCAR version of this storyline, kindhearted and hard-on-her-luck Lisa and her young sons find the Christmas spirit and the makings of true happiness as they work with NASCAR driver Clay to lure a toy company's sponsorship. I loved the kids in this story, and Lisa's loving/protective relationship with them! Clay was so very kind to them, and it was very heartwarming how his presence helped Lisa find healing from the tragic Christmas of her childhood. This story also gave an interesting glimpse into the delicacies of securing corporate sponsorship, something that the fan rarely considers beyond the colorful paint scheme and clever advertisements that sponsors add to the sport.

Unbreakable by Debra Webb: This story gives an interesting glimpse into the physical and mental demands placed upon a NASCAR racer. Dr Maxine Gray is all-business and very aloof in her observations of Rush Jackson. Her assignment is to prove that NASCAR drivers are serious athletes, comparable to Olympic Gold Metalists. Rush fears getting involved with a woman will interfer with his focus on the track, but his warm and hospitable mother is determined to bring him and the doctor together. Someone leaking lies to the tabloids in an attempt to tarnish Rush's image added some intrigue to the plot. From a NASCAR fan perspective, I enjoyed this story and its detailed information on the athletics and training involved in the sport. However, as a romance novel, this relationship wasn't very convincing or exciting at all.

I did enjoy this book. All three authors leave you wanting more about the characters. Felt the first story was a little rushed. The last story it was hard for the characters to connect. This is the opening to each of the author's new Nascar series. I'm not going to write a plot summary since Amazon has already did that. Thing I didn't like was that all the stories especially the first one was so short. I'm glad each author is going to be continuing the secondary characters' stories in full length books. This would be a great beach book or a great book to take to a race to read during pre-race.

Kimberly Raye opens up this anthology with "Ladies, Start Your Engines...." When Savannah Calloway is fired from her father's top NASCAR racing team because he wants her to start dating and thinking about marriage, Savannah turns to driver Mackenzie Briggs. Savannah wants to prove she's a top-notch mechanic and Mac is willing to try her suggestions out. Will Savannah and Mac allow love to flourish this Christmas?

"Ladies, Start Your Engines..." is a sweet tale in which the reader watches Savannah finally develop a backbone and go after what she wants rather than do what her family expects. This reviewer heartily cheered Savannah's actions on Christmas Day as it was frustrating to watch her family continue to expect so much out of her after she was fired. The only issue that kept me from fully enjoying this story involved the aspects of NASCAR racing itself and this could be from my own lack of understanding. With all of the rules and regulations of NASCAR, the ending seemed a bit odd as an outcome for a sport in which car set ups are so secretive, but again, this could be from my own lack of knowledge regarding the inner workings and politics of the sport.

"'Tis the Silly Season" by Roxanne St. Claire is a poignant story about finding family on Christmas. Clay Slater is a driver looking to get Kincaid Toys as his sponsor into the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup series. Lisa is a down and out waitress who hates Christmas but has two children she wants to make happy this year. Their bargain to fake a family to impress Kincaid Toys is touching and truly represents A NASCAR HOLIDAY.

Roxanne St. Claire's endearing tale will have the reader quickly reaching for the box of Kleenex. The sweet romance between Clay and Lisa is charming but their love towards Lisa's children, Keith and Nicky, truly makes this tale work. "'Tis the Silly Season" was this reviewer's favorite story in the anthology, which is surprising considering that I'm a huge fan of the other two authors in A NASCAR HOLIDAY.

In Debra Webb's "Unbreakable", Russell "Rush" Jackson agrees to participate in a study to prove that NASCAR drivers are true athletes. He doesn't expect Dr. Max Gray to be a woman, but his family quickly shows their Southern hospitality and welcomes her into their home at Christmas. Max is used to remaining distant from her subjects but Rush's charm is appealing. Will Max be "Unbreakable" or will she let down her barriers to find love with Rush?

Debra Webb is without a doubt one of the best authors in category romances. Her characters are always well developed and Ms. Webb's gift at creating romance in any situation is spectacular. "Unbreakable" is no exception as Debra Webb once again finds a way to make a seemingly unlovable character such as Max come to life and blossom into someone the reader can truly care about.

A NASCAR HOLIDAY is a sweet seasonal anthology that fans should enjoy. Debra Webb and Kimberly Raye always write a phenomenal story but this was the first experience this reviewer had with reading anything by Roxanne St. Claire. However, A NASCAR HOLIDAY will not be the last book read with Roxanne St. Claire as she proves herself to be a phenomenal author as well. A NASCAR HOLIDAY is definitely a great book to curl up in front of the fire with this Christmas.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES

Big NASCAR fan so I loved these stories. Can't wait for future NASCAR romances to come out.

Roxanne St. Claire author of Killer Curves, certainly knows racing and NASCAR. 'TIS THE SILLY SEASON featuring a sweet waitress and her boys and one hot race car driver will entertain every reader this Holiday season!

I didn't know what to expect with this NASCAR book as there has been all sorts of discussions about keeping the NASCAR family image and would this be another great St. Claire read? Well it is and more. It's about the joy and spirit of Christmas and the true meaning of love. Roxanne's two main characters Clay and Lisa are quite a team and the sparks fly between them immediately. Then throw in two adorable boys who have never celebrated Christmas, a family short of money, a race car driver who loves the challenge of speed and success and oooooh what a mix. All I can say is this author has once again provided her readers with one entertaining read.