Customer Reviews

Silhouette Christmas Stories 1990

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

 

 

Anthology includes stories by Ann Major, Rita Rainville, Lidsay McKenna, and Kathleen Creighton. Here are the stories lines from the back of the book: (1)"Santa's Special Miracle" by Anne Major -- All widowed Noreen Black's son wanted for Christmas was a daddy, but even Santa couldn't bring the man she loved into their family. Grant Hale's comforting arms almost made Noreen forget why she'd run from him years ago. Yet when he discovered the child she'd kept secret, only a miracle would grant a little boy's wish ... (2)"Lights Out" by Rita Rainville -- Despite a grandfather named Kris K. Ringle, Carroll Stilwells' holiday's weren't starting out well. Grandpa's experiments with seasonal decoration kept putting out lights all over town, and their handsome new neighbor was complaining about the power failures. But despite his anger, Carroll kept wondering how he would look under her tree! (3)"Always and Forever" by Lindsay McKenna -- Fighter pilot Kyle Anderson waged a private war against desire for the one woman he could never have. Gale Taylor had sworn never to give her heart again ... until a twist of fate at Christmas sent her into Kyle's arms for always. (4)"The Mysterious Gift" by Kathleen Creighton -- Christmas looked bleak. Karen Todd was broke, with eight-year-old Andrew to support. Only nechanice -- and guardian angle -- Tony Angelo stood between her and total poverty. After all, no car, no job. Then Andrew asked Santa for a very special gift. Would Tony be an angel one more time?

From the back cover:

SANTA'S SPECIAL MIRACLE by Ann Major
All widowed Noreen Black's son wanted for Christmas was a daddy, but even Santa couldn't bring the man she loved into their family. Grant Hale's comforting arms almost made Noreen forget why she'd run from him years ago. Yet when he discovered the child she'd kept secret, only a miracle would grant a little boy's wish...

LIGHTS OUT! by Rita Rainville
Despite a grandfather named Kris K. Ringle, Carroll Sitwell's holidays weren't starting out well. Grandpa's experiments with seasonal decoration kept putting out lights all over town, and their handsome new neighbor was complaining about the power failures. But despite his anger, Carroll kept wondering how he would look under her tree!

ALWAYS AND FOREVER by Lindsay McKenna
Fighter pilot Kyle Anderson waged a private war against desire for the one woman he could never have. Gale Taylor had sworn never to give her heart again...until a twist of fate at Christmas time sent her into Kyle's arms for always.

THE MYSTERIOUS GIFT by Kathleen Creighton
Christmas looked bleak. Karen Todd was broke, with eight-year-old Andrew to support. Ony mechanic--and guardian angel--Tony Angelo stood between her the total poverty. After all, no car, no job. Then Andrew asked Santa for a very special gift. Would Tony be an angel one more time?

And my review:

While this is an older book, it just goes to show that not all romances age badly. The last two stories in this book were wonderfully good, and didn't feel aged at all. But I'll back up and review each story in order:

I didn't really expect much of Ann Major's SANTA'S SPECIAL MIRACLE. I find that this is an author who creates very unlikeable characters and often uses cliched, over-the-top situations to fuel her stories. This one almost blew the lid off the unlikeable characters expectation. The hero and heroine were both despicable! The hero is a man who makes a play for his brother's wife...and she reciprocates! Disgusting. Any man who will french-kiss his brother's wife ON HER WEDDING DAY deserves to be dumped into a barrel of pig swill. And any woman who will respond should be right in there with him. I'm supposed to cheer for these two? I felt like they deserved each other, and not in a good way. The fact that the heroine didn't really love her first husband does not make cheating okay. (Yes, the infidelity does go farther than just that kiss--I cheated and skimmed ahead.) I didn't get very far into this story, but that's not very suprising when you find yourself wanting to do physical harm to the two main characters. One star.

LIGHTS OUT! by Rita Rainville was an okay story, but not one I would bother reading again. The character of the heroine's grandfather was a bit overdone, in my opinion. Eccentric older people as characters are enjoyable, but they shouldn't be charicatures. That's what Kris K. Ringle felt like. He didn't come across as endearing...he just came across as ridiculous. And weird. And totally crazy. The writing was also rather awkward in places, and I never really felt like I knew or connected with the characters. Still, I did get all the way through this story, so I'll give it three stars.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER was my first try of author Lindsay McKenna, and I was very impressed. I just loved this story. It's semi-historical, in that it's set during the 70's. It's also a military romance. I was a little worried coming into this story, as I was afraid that the whole forbidden love the hero has for his best friend's wife would lead to cheating and other unforgiveable behaviour. Thankfully, that didn't happen. Both the hero and heroine were honorable thoughout this story (rare in romance these days). There was no cheating in this story.

I also really liked how their friendship was very strong, and that it developed into love. The author drew on her own experiences, and gave the reader a good inside view into military life, and portrayed how letters really are a lifeline for those in the armed forces (and for their families). Another added bonus to this story (at least in my opinion) was that it was totally clean (no lurid sex scenes). While the hero and heroine were physically attracted to each other, the romance was based on much more than that. I really felt like I knew why these two should be together.

My only complaint with this novella was that the author was really bad for head-hopping. The point-of-view would constantly ping-pong back and forth between the hero and heroine, which gets a bit annoying after a while. But if you can get past that, you'll find a very enjoyable story that holds up to rereading. Five stars.

THE MYSTERIOUS GIFT by Kathleen Creighton was another lovely character-driven story. This author drew together some wonderful elements for this story: an adorable young boy who's eight (but talks like he's 30); a gruff but loveable hero; a widowed heroine who is aching to love again, but afraid; and an old man named Mr. Clausen who may or may not be Santa Claus. Even though this story spanned only a week, the romance never felt rushed at all. The little boy was so cute, and felt like a real character, and not just a flat plot device. I really felt the heroine's pain and fears. The emotions were very realistic.

I also really liked that the author refrained from making the heroine's first marriage turn out to be inferior or unhappy. So many romance writers now have it that the first marriage will be pleasant, and the new relationship so much better because the lust is so overwhelming. That didn't happen here--thank goodness. While the hero and heroine were physically attracted to each other, it wasn't the sole thing drawing them together. I felt like I really knew why they should be together, and it was for more compelling reasons than that they just couldn't keep their hands off each other. This story was also clean, for the most part. Sex gets a VERY brief mention, but the author doesn't go into any detail. And it isn't a cheap, casual encounter, either. I highly recommend this story. Five stars.

Romance anthologies are always a mixed bag. Usually, you'll be lucky to find even one novella that's worth finishing, let alone rereading. In this collection, you're lucky enough to be able to find two! I recommend trying to get your hands on a copy of this book. The second half makes it worth owning. Also, see me list "Christmas romance books worth buying" for my other recommend picks of keepers and rereads.