Customer Reviews

Silhouette Christmas Stories, 1987: Bluebird Winter/ Henry the Ninth/ Season of Miracles/ The Humbug Man

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2 star:		(1)
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From the back cover:

BLUEBIRD WINTER by Linda Howard
Kathleen Fields had to reach the clinic, but a Christmas blizzard left her stranded without hope for her life--or her unborn baby's. Then Derek Taliferro arrived with his doctor's skill, his caring heart. Together, they brought Kathleen's child into the world and discovered love, the greatest gift of all.

HENRY THE NINTH by Dixie Browning
Being fixed up with her landlady's brother was not Mary Pepper's idea of a good time. But when a horrible cold and a horrendous work schedule obliterated Christmas, Henry whisked her off for a late celebration on Hatteras Island, where they found themselves creating some rather unusual new traditions of their own...

SEASON OF MIRACLES by Ginna Gray
The town spinster, tenderhearted Kathryn Talmidge had long adored Daniel Westwood in silence. The gruff widower finally proposed--but soley to give his kids a new mom for Christmas! Though motherhood and sharing Dan's life were all Kath had ever dreamed of, now she prayed for the miracle of his love...

THE HUMBUG MAN by Diana Palmer
Montana rancher Tate Hollister had to be the grouchiest, grumpiest humbug man widow Maggie Jeffries had ever met. But, as the holiday season progresssed, Maggie discovered that Tate wasn't completely immune to the Christmas spirit--his loving embrace on a cold winter's night could prove to be the gift of a lifetime...

And my review:

BLUEBIRD WINTER is a story that has been reissued in Silhouette's "Delivered by Christmas" collection. I've already reviewed it on that products page, but I'll repeat it here: I didn't like this story. I know not everyone feels the same way I do, but I don't like graphic descriptions of childbirth. I'm quite squeamish, and that's just not the kind of thing I look for in a romance novel. Children being born - fine. Talking about blood, etc - no. I tried to get past that, but the story didn't capture me. One star.

HENRY THE NINTH was another story that I didn't bother to finish. There was nothing glaring wrong or awful about it, it just wasn't very engrossing. The author liked to head-hop a lot, which was rather annoying. Also, this was a story that was almost all prose and very little dialogue. It felt a little rambling at times. Two stars.

SEASON OF MIRACLES was the only story worth reading in this collection. It was an okay way to spend an hour, but nothing knew is covered here. The marriage of convenience that becomes love, the wife secretly in love with her husband (a man she's pined after since she was sixteen), an unexpected pregnancy, an adorable little boy who longs for a mother, a sullen teenager who wants nothing to do with a new mother, etc, etc. Nothing all that memorable or outstanding. Fine for a one-time read, but not a story you would bother to re-read. Three stars.

THE HUMBUG MAN was, unforunately, another letdown. I've yet to be able to finish a single story by this author. The hero was very annoying, and I could not see what the heroine ever saw in him. I also felt that there was no real attraction between the characters apart from sex. That just isn't enough for a satisfying romance. And the heroine had the weirdest habit of saying comments that made no sense, or just came out of nowhere. Instead of coming across as delightfully eccentric (which is probably what the author was aiming for), the heroine just came across as strange. If I met her in real life, I'd probably start backing away slowly. Plus, the whole thing about her being a widow with a son, yet knowing almost nothing about sex is a tired, and over-done theme. Why is it that a heroine can never enjoy sex, even with her late husband, until the hero gets his hands on her? Sigh. Two stars.

There are far better Christmas romance anthologies out there. In fact, other collections released by Silhouette have had at least one story that was worth keeping. See my list "Christmas romance books worth buying" for a list of my favorites. As for this installment from Silhouette, I would recommend that you save your money.