Nothing is merrier than a holiday romance and this book brings readers four new enchanting tales of love, including Kat Martin's "Christmas Angel, " Elaine Coffman's "Under the Mistletoe, " Katherine Sutcliffe's "Home for Christmas, " and Lisa Jackson's "A Baby for Christmas." .
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
One Story was Well Worth the Time!,
By
This review is from: 'Tis The Season (Christmas Anthology): Under the Mistletoe/A Baby for Christmas/Christmas Angel/Home for Christmas (Paperback)
Generally, I enjoy holiday anthologies. At their best, they provide seasonal fun that's a joy to read. Unfortunately, only one story from TIS THE SEASON was enjoyable.
Book 1 - Elaine Coffman: "Under the Mistletoe." Rating: 5 stars. Grade: A Mini Synopsis: Because it was expected of her, Holly Winter always, always did everything right. With the exception of one small thing -- marriage! She had gotten it wrong three times! What was the expression? Three times and you're out. Holly Noel Carpenter Alexander Nichols Winter was a single woman and the mother of seven -- seven little girls. Holly sized up her new next-door neighbor immediately . . . the man was a nerd . . . the man was a psychiatrist! Dr. Stanley Levine was forty and very single. He had never, ever been married and he liked it that way. In fact, Stanley Levine liked his entire life. His life had meaning; his life had purpose; his life was serene, orderly, and predictable. All and all, Stanley's life was good . . . until SHE moved next door. Suddenly, he was living next door to an insane asylum. The woman was crazy and her kids were driving him berserk. His well-arranged life was no longer going as planned! But life is a funny thing! Reviewer's Comments: When writing a short story, an author always runs the risk of minimizing character development. Many authors get around this problem by writing characters who already know each other. Yet, in UNDER THE MISTLETOE, Elaine Coffman's characters did not know each other previously, nor did they have anything in common! Yet, UNDER THE MISTLETOE is an outstanding, humorous success -- just goes to show some theories are meaningless. A few years ago, I read Elaine Coffman's THE BRIDE OF BLACK DOUGLAS and frankly, I didn't like it. And because there are so many books and so little time, I never gave Ms. Coffman another chance. Perhaps now is a good time to rethink my decision! Book 2 - Lisa Jackson: "A Baby for Christmas." Rating: 3 low stars. Grade: C- Mini Synopsis: Who was Liam O'Shaughnessy? Two weeks ago, the man had barged into Annie McFarlane's home with an outrageous story. He claimed an ex-lover had set him up, accusing him of embezzlement and murder, an ex-lover who just happened to be Annie's sister! And to make matters worse, Liam claimed to be the father of baby Carol. Little Carol found abandoned, one snowy night, on Annie's doorstep. The tiny baby Annie now loved with all her heart. But what else did Annie know? She knew Liam O'Shaughnessy was a gentle lover, a concerned father and a man determined to clear his name. Reviewer's Comments: Lisa Jackson has a nice style of writing, but A BABY FOR CHRISTMAS has an unbelievable storyline. Yes, romance is fantasy, but in this story Lisa Jackson pushed the fantasy button into overdrive. Unconvincing -- 1): Liam already had one child, would the man honestly get so caught up in a situation he would unconsciously have unprotected sex again? 2): Annie forgives her sister far too quickly; she blames Nola's failings on Nola's "free spirit" approach to life. What absurdity! Nola abandoned her baby in freezing temperatures; she'd been involved in an embezzling scheme; and then she falsely accused a man of murder. A free spirit? I think not! Sorry, I just couldn't buy A BABY FOR CHRISTMAS's wacky storyline. Book 3 - Kat Martin: "Christmas Angel." Rating: 2 stars. Grade: D+ Mini Synopsis: Union troops occupied Angela Summers' beloved Savannah! Long gone were the days of grandeur when Angela was the belle of the ball. Long gone were the golden days when Angela's future was bright and beautiful; the glorious days when she and Josh Coltrane loved. Now her feelings of love were also long gone. Doctor Josh Coltrane was dead as far as Angela Summers was concerned. Captain Josh Coltrane betrayed them both, when he joined the North! Reviewer's Comments: Kat Martin chokes CHRISTMAS ANGEL via widespread predictability and shameful stereotyping. Is Martin's heroine headstrong, intelligent, and beautiful? Maybe! And would Angela find it in her heart to forgive Josh's betrayal? Maybe! But I was too caught up wading through Martin's "all too familiar" storyline to really care! Book 4 - Katherine Sutcliffe: "Home for Christmas." Rating: 3 stars. Grade: C Mini Synopsis: In her entire life, horsewoman Virginia Valemere thought she had never meet a more intimidating jerk than Neil Ellison. The wealthy, good-looking motorcyclist had almost run her off the road! He was an arrogant menace and Virginia disliked him. But she truly hated him when she learned he was the man who had ordered the NO TRESPASSING SIGN, on her former property. A property so beautiful, so precious, Virginia considered it paradise on earth. And then she discovered he was her favorite student's father and he was the skilled brain surgeon her father needed . . . desperately! Reviewer's Comments: Certainly, there were moments when I enjoyed HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, but in the end Katherine Sutcliffe's story landed firmly in OK territory. The remarkable happily-ever-after based on a few brief confrontations was too much to give this story a higher rating. HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a nice story, but it certainly isn't a page-turner. Overall View: In 1997, Publisher Zebra promoted this anthology as "Nothing is Merrier than a Holiday Romance." Although, Elaine Coffman delivers a remarkable, merry tale, most of the stories, in TIS THE SEASON, land in the "mediocre" category, making this anthology a less than jolly read. MaryGrace Meloche.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Amazon has the reviews for two seperate books appearing on each other's pages,
By Gemma "bookworm" (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tis the Season: Christmas Masquerade/Snowbound (Christmas Romance 2-in-1) (Paperback)
Something strange is going on: this review is showing up on the Amazon pages for two different books (both are named 'Tis the Season, but they have different stories in them.) The first book, which has two stories, was released by Silhouette. The second book, which has four stories, was released by Zebra. Hope this bit of info will help buyers clear up the confusion. I've included the back cover blurb and my review for each story in both books:
First, a review for "Tis the Season" - by Debbie Macomber and Lisa Jackson "Christmas Masquerade" by Debbie Macomber: He's stolen a kiss in a crowd--and taken her heart with it. Jo Marie Early had never forgotten the stranger who'd held her so briefly. Then she met him again, engaged to another! Still, as the holiday celebrations commenced, Jo Marie dreamed about uncovering the truth behind the engagement--and claiming Andrew for her own Christmas groom! A little silly, but sweet, in typical Macomber style, it was "cute". It was clean though, no sex, if that's what you're looking for. If you like the whole "falling in love at first sight" thing, then you'll probably enjoy this. I find the concept rather silly. (I believe in attraction and infatuation at first sight - true love could GROW from that attraction.) Anyway, I got past that and tried to enjoy the rest of the story. However, the idea of a supposedly engaged man trying to make a play for another woman bothered me, as well as his fiancee, Kelly, getting caught numerous times by Jo Marie kissing another man. *Spoiler warning!* In the end, it turned out that Andrew and Kelly were only pretending to be engaged so that Kelly's love interest would be pushing into making a move before it was too late. Still, the revelation came so late in the book that it didn't take away the dirty feelings of people cheating. (If I were in Kelly's place, would I really want a man who was low enough to make a play for another man's fiancee? Nope!) Okay, but not worth a re-read. Fans of Macomber will probably enjoy this, but for a good Christmas romance, I would recommend her "Angel" books starring Shirley, Goodness and Mercy. (The Trouble with Angels, A Season of Angels, Touched By Angels, and Those Christmas Angels are part of that series. I can only hope she'll write more about them - they're so funny and touching.) "Snowbound" by Lisa Jackson: All Bethany Mills wanted for Christmas was peace and quiet. But sexy investigator Brett Hanson ruthlessly stirred up the past, placing Bethany in danger. Then he whisked her away to his mountain cabin for safety--but from whom did she need protecting...? This story was just okay. It was my first sampling of her work, and while it was enjoyable, it certainly didn't inspire me to run off and find more of this author's books. Not the most Christmassy story, just one that sort of happens to take place at Christmas time. The intrigue was well done, but the romance wasn't very well executed. Three stars. Not a keeper book, unless you happen to be a hardcore Macomber or Jackson fan. *** And now the review for the second "'Tis the Season" by Kat Martin, Lisa Jackson, Elaine Coffman and Katherine Sutcliffe "Christmas Angel" by Kat Martin Southern belle Angel Summers doesn't want to see one more damn Yankee, especially Josh Coltrane, the man she once loved. When he joined the Union Army, she vowed to hate him forever. Now he's back in Savannah for christmas, for a miracle that chould heal both their hearts... I had high hopes for this one. It has so many elements that I love: it's historical, a civil war story, and reunited lovers. But then I got to the part when some straggling Confederate soldiers try to rape Angel. Josh of course shows up with a gun and saves her. And what does Angel do? She begs him to let her attackers go, because "the war made them this way". Completely unrealistic. I guess the author was just trying to show how understanding and kind Angel was, but I just didn't buy it. No decent man will rape a woman, no matter what he's been through. They deserved to go to jail for what they did, but they didn't. That disgusted me so much that I again skipped to the next story. Two stars, since it started off well. "Under the Mistletoe" by Elaine Coffman When widow Holly Noel Winter, along with a nanny, housekeeper, six little girls and one baby boy, moves next door to resident scrooge Dr. Stan Levine, it's time for a war between the sexes. Unless Christmas brings peace on earth and a time for even a grouch to fall in love... I could hardly get through this one. I felt no connection to the characters. (When you find the antics of the dog and cat more entertaining than the growing attraction between the hero and heroine, that's a problem in a romance story.) Also, Holly's kids were spoiled BRATS! They broke windows, trespassed, peeped into Stan's house after being told not to, picked his flowers, stole his freshly delivered milk, uprooted the stakes from his plants, caused him to accidentally fall off his ladder and almost die...the list goes on and on. And were they punished? No! Holly only gives them a light "you shouldn't do that" scolding without ever bothering to back it up with real consequences, like a responsible parent should. If I had ever trespassed onto someone else's property and taken their stuff (read: stealing!), I would have been grounded for a month, and probably sent to bed without supper. Yet these kids are not punished for being horrible little monsters. Also, Holly had been married three, yes three times by the time she met Stan. When she and Stan finally get married in the end, is there any wonder why I'm left with a cynical "as if it will last!" attitude? One star. "Home for Christmas" by Katherine Sutcliffe Virginia "Gigi" Valemere is in a bah humbug period: it's Christmas, she's broke, and a stranger on a motorcycle spooked her horse so badly she was nearly thrown. Then the motorcyclist turns out to be a man with secrets, including the one that can make this holiday the best one of Gigi's life... This story was just so-so. Okay for a one-time read, but not good enough for a re-read. It did have the charming "small-town" thing going for it, which was pleasant. However, I know this author is capable of writing so much better than this, so I was a little let down when reading this story. Three stars. "A Baby for Christmas" by Lisa Jackson Lonely Annie McFarlane is having a blue holiday...until a baby in a basket is left on her doorstep. When a handsome man appears to claim the child, Annie faces losing the most precious gift she's ever been given...or getting another Christmas suprise. I never finished this one. I got about half-way through, but soon realized that it was a 'falling in lust' story rather than falling in love. I have no problem with the hero and heroine being sexually attracted to each other, but there needs to be more than that to make the relationship believeable. Also, I find that while Lisa Jackson writes mystery and suspense very well, her books are somewhat lacking in the romance department. This was no exception. Two stars. *** Neither book was a keeper. If you can borrow these from a friend or find them at a garage sale, you might want to read them. Otherwise, don't bother. Neither is really worth the money.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
very pleased,
By Lucina Lowmiller (WILLIAMSPORT, PA, US) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 'Tis The Season (Christmas Anthology): Under the Mistletoe/A Baby for Christmas/Christmas Angel/Home for Christmas (Paperback)
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